‘Twas the week before Christmas and cellphones were ringing

as GM’s all scrambled over deals they’d be swinging."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Angels PregameAngels PostgameGamethreadsHalos Heaven PodcastsShohei OhtaniMinor LeaguesInterviewsHALOLINKSTuesdoLinks: 7 Shopping Days ‘til Christmas!New Tanner Roark Jersey ,96comments‘Twas the week before Christmas and cellphones were ringing as GM’s all scrambled over deals they’d be swinging.ByStirrupsDec 18, 2018,4:00am PSTShareTweetShareShareTuesdoLinks: 7 Shopping Days ‘til Christmas!Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsEppler is trying to catch a catcher, before all the good catches are caught.Today we do a handful of Christmas-Advent-ure-HaloLinks:A Little Bit Of Angels NewsAs expected, and mentioned yesterday, the Angels are turning their lonely eyes to Yasmani Grandal............So if I am understanding this right, would you bet $100,000 on Mike Trout to win AL MVP next year, against any player from the Astros? Or against any player from the Red Sox? Or against any player from the Yankees?............Don’t go giving Shohei Ohtani any ideas, now, coach..........Don’t read TOO much into it, but Yusei Kikuchi is flying to LA to meet with team representatives..... He is still interested in meeting with ALL 30 teams.........On, no. “The Angel’s Way”. That smacks me much the same as “AngelsNation”. With 1 WS win in almost 60 years of futility, we really don’t much of any claim to any “Way”, and we don’t have anything close to a “nation” of fans..........Everywhere In BaseballA not-so-horrible idea: create a new trade deadline for December. The Players’ Union should be all over this, because it accelerates the roster re-swizzling that is to be done via trades, leaving teams with zero alternative but to engage in the free agent pool thereafter. The way things have evolved over the past few years, teams are pushing all but the elite FA’s to the back end of the offseason while they take as much of the front-loaded time as possible to figure things out some other way. Players get desperate and wages are suppressed. But putting the franchises all into the FA pool at the same time would increases bid warfare. The MSM Khris Davis Jersey , of course, would love it because it forces news for them to write about. So, good for the players, good for the media, good for the sport because the media can promote it. Who loses? Owners. Yeah, not gonna happen............Of course, we can’t eliminate the Winter Meetings altogether, because that is the very best place for an MLB franchise to find a lot of labor begging to work cheaply, all in one place..........If Kyler Murray opts out of his baseball contract he has to give back some money. Not such a big deal when NFL quarterbacks are paid a premium, starting right away. Personally, I think NFL wins the money argument. It’s this other argument that the lose by a wide margin..........Stop when you can figure out where this is going. Young whip-smart MLB Front Offices are less inclined to hire established, cranky, guys 20 - 30 years their senior to be the person calling the shots on all the players and strategies they are calculating up in their tower suites. So, more and more, we are seeing a rising number of young and inexperienced managers being hire to sit in the dugouts, and manage egos in the clubhouse, and leave all the decision-making to the young bosses upstairs..........Not that Albert Pujols cares, but total salaries paid to players in 2018 was down from 2017 http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , by a near-record amount..........That’s one way to look at it. Another way to look at it would be that a couple of teams recently spent small fortunes on their payroll, and now have decided to stop. The Yankees and Dodgers come to mind...........A third way to look at it would be tanking. In the source article for all of this, over at Forbes, scroll down to the final table (at the bottom of the article). Notice how the combined payroll cuts for the Tigers, Royals, Marlins, Orioles and White Sox tally up to a net drop of $220,942,475.............That means that teams have money to throw around, so the Yankees threw around $500,000 at C.C. Sabathia to make him whole on that innings bonus he was losing out on for getting ejected in his final start..........Adam Ottavio finds science and data in his pursuit of improving his pitching ability, and Lyle Spencer’s head spins.No Jeff Mathis? How can this be??............Video coverage of MLB wanting to expand video streaming outlets. Definitely what the world needs is more pathways for MLB to impose their blackout map upon us all..........Hot StoveThe Dodgers do want Bryce Harper, just not for the rest of his career. There aren’t too many guys worth taking a career chance on anymore. Not after what we have learned about so many in the past. But if that number is only 3, once would think Harper would still be on it............The Yankees finalized their deal with J.A. Happ, so Billy Eppler did not have to.....But Eppler came within $6 million of that Yankee offer, so he was almost “in” on Happ...........And to make room, the Yankees DFA’d Parker Bridwell...........Remember all that Miguel Andujar versus Shohei Ohtani stuff over Rookie of the Year coming from the MFY fan base? Uh, do you think anybody realistically would consider the Angels trading away Ohtani? Well Jake Smolinski Jersey , the Yankees seem hell bent to do that with their Andujar.....And their fans now seem to be kinda OK with that.........Yeah! The Machado Tour 2018 is in effect. I wonder what his entourage is going to look like? And does his tour have a dressing room rider?.........The Duffle BagBut will they feature Victor and Gubi?..........Hey, have fun with your social media account during the holidays, even if you are not good at it..........There is yet another spot for hiring on with TrackMan..........Also with MLBAM..........MLB players making the most of their offseason: Hunter Pence in the Dominican Winter League.....Justin Turner on the high seas.....Kiki Hernandez kickin’ it with the pachyderms.......... GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has been shut down indefinitely after telling manager Dave Roberts that he “didn’t feel right” after two discouraging outings on the mound.Kershaw worked out indoors at Camelback Ranch on Friday, but didn’t play catch. Roberts wouldn’t speculate on the left-hander’s next bullpen session.“Just going to take a few days. It’s just best if I do that,” Kershaw told reporters. “I’m not going to get another chance to do this during the season. It feels like it’s a good time. Hopefully be playing catch, if not this weekend, by the first of next week.”Kershaw told Roberts he wasn’t feeling right after throwing live batting practice Monday and a bullpen session on Wednesday.Roberts was unclear as to what exactly is going on with the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, but the manager told reporters in Arizona “no one is alarmed or worried about it.”Kershaw has dealt with back injuries the last three seasons and a left shoulder injury last year.Roberts said Kershaw could be going through a so-called “dead-arm stage,” which can affect pitchers in spring training.“There’s plenty of time for him to get his ‘pens in and build up,” the manager said. “He holds himself to a high standard. He really wasn’t pleased with how he felt. It’s sort of a day-to-day thing.”Kershaw signed a $93 million, three-year contract in November and was named the opening day starter for the ninth consecutive year earlier this week. He turns 31 next month.He had a 2.73 ERA last year.Notes: LHP Rich Hill will start the Dodgers’ Cactus League opener on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Last year, Hill was 11-5 with a 3.66 ERA. At 38, he is the fourth-oldest active player in the majors. … RHP Walker Buehler tossed his second official bullpen on Friday. … RHP Joe Kelly tossed live batting practice to non-roster invitees Gavin Lux and Cameron Perkins. … Tom Lasorda, the 91-year-old Hall of Fame manager, arrived at camp on Friday.