- The Story: The Angels will decide on Tuesday on whether to place Erick Aybar on the DL. The Monkey Says: There have been all kinds of mixed reports on Aybar the last few days, but I am guessing that he avoids the DL. Not because he is getting better, but because the Halos have nobody worth calling up. The only other infielder on the 40-man roster is Freddy Sandoval and he is injured too. Beyond that, they’d have to actually open up a 40-man roster spot to add a lowly player like Gary Patchett.
- The Story: Dan Haren would be a perfect fit for the Angels. The Monkey Says: The Halos made a push to trade for Haren last season but were told he wasn’t available. This year, he is fully expected to be and the Angels should still be interested. However, the idea of moving Santana to the bullpen is flat out preposterous.
- The Story: Mike Napoli’s power upside. The Monkey Says: The move to first will finally allow us to get a real sense of the kind of numbers Napoli can produce on an everyday basis. If he hits for the power that many expect, the Angels might just have to mover Napoli out from behind the plate permanently.
- The Story: Mike Napoli… first baseman? The Monkey Says: Napoli’s defense is going to play a major role in the team’s decision to trade for a new first baseman or not. Jeff Mathis’ bat will not. By this point of his career, it is pretty obvious Mathis can hit as poorly as he wants and Mike Scioscia will still stick by him.
- The Story: Mike Scioscia makes a case for Torii Hunter as an All-Star. The Monkey Says: Torii is having a good year, but might come up short on the All-Star credentials despite his recent surge. His best hope for making the team is that MLB selects him since he plays for the host Angels.
- The Story: Brandon Wood feels at home at shortstop. The Monkey Says: I wonder if he still feels that way after his poor defensive showing in Chicago?
- The Story: Is John Lackey knocking on the Angels’ run support? The Monkey Says: It is a veiled dig if one at all. Personally, I don’t think he meant anything by it. Then again, he is an a-hole, so I’ll just issue a blanket “screw you, John Lackey, you dumb redneck” to make sure we are covered.
- The Story: The Angels are optimistic about signing their top picks from this year’s draft. The Monkey Says: Kaleb Cowart sounds as if he is going to be a tough sign, but the Angels seldom ever get outpriced, so expect a deal to get hammered out.
- The Story: Reviewing round one of the 2009 MLB Draft. The Monkey Says: Grichuk has some proving yet to do, but Mike Trout is easily the shining star of the Angel farm system already. The point about BABIP is worth nothing, though I still think Trout is clearly the real deal and likely in line for a promotion in the near future.
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