Link Hangout

Mike Trout reaches a historic milestone, C.J. Cron has season ending surgery, a one on one with Randal Grichuk and, should the Angels pick up Dan Haren‘s club option? If there is one team I can’t stand to lose to, it’s the Red Sox. Luckily, I haven’t had to deal with that heartbreak yet so I’m in quite the cherry mood.

With leadoff homer, Trout reaches milestone

There’s this guy Mike Trout. He’s really good at baseball. Oh, you’ve heard of him? Well then, that saves me the trouble of explaining how great he is to you. Trout did another Mike Trout thing by becoming the first Rookie EVER to have 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases during his Rookie campaign. The next logical step is that he runs for president.

Money Quote:

"Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine simply called Trout “one of the best players I’ve seen in a long time.”"

Ditto Bobby. Ditto.

Morales’ two-run home run

In case you missed it last night, Kendrys Morales hit an absolute rocket of a home run to right field. The term “no doubter” is kind of an understatement.

Careers of Mike Trout and Randal Grichuk picked apart

Randal Grichuk, also known as “the player picked in the draft directly in front of Mike Trout” has done a lot of injuring himself since signing with Angels in 2009. He’s not Trout, and personally I wouldn’t have taken him in the first round, but the kid can play. He’s put up good numbers this year for the 66ers of the California League and he has managed to stay healthy all year. Next year he should get a bump up to AA where we will get a better idea of what kind of hitter he will be going forward.

Money Quote:

"“I wasn’t the only one, like some people make it seem,” Grichuk said, laughing at the conversational thread that has dogged him throughout the Summer Of Trout.“There were 24 guys picked in front of him.”"

Sorry Randal, but, before Trout, there was nothing.

No. 2 prospect Cron has season-ending surgery

When the Angels drafted Cron there were rumblings about his Labrum being torn then. He wasn’t much of a defender at the time of his drafting, so I have a really hard time accepting that his labrum was the reason for his 19 errors this year. Maybe it was and maybe I’m wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I don’t see a fit for him in the coming seasons and suspect he will become a trade chip as soon as he gets healthy.

Are the Angels already in must-win territory?

I am pretty sure that every team is in “win-now” mode. That’s the point right? To win? I don’t remember an Angels team having this high of expectations coming into a season, and it has been a severe disappointment so far, but it’s not over yet. And until this team is mathematically eliminated, I wont give up hope.

Money Quote:

"But there remains reason for optimism, despite the deficit they still must make up over this final month of the season. And it’s hard to explain except to say that the Angels are not the Boston Red Sox of last season. Their clubhouse is not toxic. Their manager is not loathed."

Wait? You mean to tell me there’s no beer and chicken? That’s it. I quit.

Cowart heads list of prospects going to AFL

Who doesn’t love the Arizona Fall League? Some of the best prospects in all of baseball, in the same league. It’s a scouts favorite time of year, and a Minor League baseball fans favorite time of year. This year the most notable Halo farm hands are Kaleb Cowart, Randal Grichuk and Nick Maronde.

Should Angels Pick Up Haren’s Option?

Alright. Time to get down to the nitty gritty. Dan Haren has been very not good this year (The word “bad” just sounds so, bad). Not good as in, this has easily been the worst season of his career. For 2013, Dan Haren’s contract includes a $15.5M Club Option. Does Jerry Dipoto look at Dan’s 2012 and say; “Thanks for the good times Danny” or, does he look at what’s available on the market and decide to stick with the bird in his hand? Along with Dan’s numbers being down across the board, his velocity has also took a tumble this year. It’s a very complicated situation made even more complicated by Ervin Santana having a club option for next year as well on top of their being very little on the Free Agent market this offseason. Would you pick up Dan Haren’s option?

Money Quote:

"When it comes down to it, the Angels are making a $12M decision because Haren has a $3.5M buyout. Assuming teams are paying roughly $5M per win on the open market, they don’t even need Haren to fully bounce back to his elite status in 2011 for the option to be worth it."

Yeah, still on the fence.

Ah, the joys of teaching your son how to hit a OUCH!