R.I.P. Sparky Anderson, Congrats Ron Roenicke And The Monday Links

Sparky Anderson was loved by many. With his passing last week,  Baseball lost a great ambassador to the game and an all  time great baseball man. For Halo fans we most closely remember Sparky for his time in the booth as an Angels Color Commentator in the late 90’s. During those broadcasts it felt like you were getting a  baseball101 from one of the best professors of all time.

You will truly be missed Sparky!

In a somewhat surprising development  Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke was named Manager of The Milwaukee Brewers last week.  Roenicke joins Joe Maddon, and Bud Black as former Scioscia wing men to get the managerial nod.  Congrats Ron and good luck!

Other Angels News:

• As expected Hideki  Matsui and Scot Shields are now officially  free agents
• The Angels are reported to be  in the mix for Hisanori Takahashi.  This guy was pretty much lights out as the Met’s closer after the K- Rod “incident”.  I’m all for signing him.
• Mark Trumbo has been playing third base  in Winter Ball.  This could be intriguing as Trumbo projects to have the power ( 5 home runs down there already) you look for offensively in a 3rd baseman. However his 3 errors in one game last week may indicate he doesn’t have the range needed to field the position.  
• Carl Crawford watch 2011 begins as the Angels make initial contact with Crawford’s agent. This is like telling the girl who knows you’re into her that you think she’s “kinda cute”. It’s a mandatory first step.