Daily Distractions: Caving to the #whiff, like the rest of Major League Baseball.

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There’s an episode of The Simpsons in which Krusty the Clown agreed to give away a free Krusty Burger if the United States won gold at certain events in the 1984 Olympics. When the Soviet Union boycotted the Games, Krusty stood to lose $44 million.

For some reason I was reminded of this episode when this came through my Twitter feed this morning:

CJ Wilson ad

Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson is a pitchman for Head & Shoulders’ hashtag-friendly “Season of the Whiff”.

You see, Procter & Gamble is donating $1 to the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) campaign every time a Major League Baseball player strikes out this season. To raise awareness of its Head & Shoulders shampoo brand, P&G is encouraging fans to tweet the hashtag #whiff along with the hashtag of your favorite team.

According to AdAge.com, Head & Shoulders spent $60 million in measured media last year, so MLB’s record strikeout rate probably won’t leave the company’s executives pulling their hair out like Krusty. Which is good, since bald shampoo executives can’t exactly offer a ringing endorsement of their product.

I’ll be here all week.

• Who is benefiting the most from playing in the American League West? The A’s are 5-0 against the Angels, 6-0 against the Houston Astros, and 4-12 against all other opponents this season.

• Josh Hamilton stats deserve their own daily bullet point. Here’s one: Josh Hamilton’s batting average on balls in play is actually better against left-handers than right-handers, .313 to .246. He rarely puts the ball in play against lefties, however, having struck out in 15 of 32 plate appearances against southpaws. Hamilton will bat fifth against left-handed starter Tommy Milone today.

• Howie Kendrick listens to Madonna. (Fox Sports West)

• From FoxSports.com: “The Angels selected [Matt] Harvey in the third round. He asked for $2 million. The team offered $1 million. So he went to school.” Harvey is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA in his first full season for the New York Mets.

• A reminder that Friday’s home game against the Baltimore Orioles will be televised on KCOP-TV (My13) and begin with “Angels Live” pre-game coverage at 6:30 p.m.

• The scouting report on Sandy Koufax is getting its 15 minutes of fame at a new exhibit in New York. Included in that article: Could this Brewers scout have been more wrong about Albert Pujols?

• It’s been years since I read the brilliant GQ piece about Tommy Lasorda Jr. Here it is in full on Deadspin with a brand-new postscript by author Peter Richmond. (h/t @dylanohernandez)

• I’ve been on a jazz kick lately. Gerald Wilson’s version of Ashford & Simpson’s “California Soul” is possibly the most California, and the most soul, version of the song I’ve heard:

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