Daily Links for the LA Angels including Weaver is both good and lucky, Pineiro aims to return on Saturday, Izturis not likely to play before Friday and much more…
The Story: Jered Weaver is both really good and really lucky.
The Monkey Says: This article drew the ire of Angel fans yesterday, but it really shouldn’t. Neyer isn’t saying that Weaver isn’t good, he is simply pointing out that nobody is that good without a fair amount of luck. The real question is how much of Weaver’s success is based on luck. I see no reason he can’t continue to best his career averages as he really looks to be a much smarter pitcher even compared to last year. I can’t find the link right now, but someone over at Halos Heaven pointed out how on Weaver’s ten strikeouts last night, the velocities of the strikeout pitch were all over the map, showing how Weaver is beating guys by keeping them off-balance and guessing rather than dusting them with an “out” pitch like so many other pitchers.
The Story: Joel Pineiro aims to return to the rotation this Saturday.
The Monkey Says: Joel says he is ready to go but the Angel coaching staff is not going to sign off on his return until he has a clean between starts bullpen session. That seems like an easy hurdle to clear, so expect Pineiro back on Saturday which will likely spell an end to either Matt Palmer’s time in the rotation for now, though they could choose to demote Chatwood and simply push Palmer back a few days into Chatwood’s spot.
The Story: The Angels are rallying around a former Strike Force team member stricken with breast cancer.
The Monkey Says: Ladies, get yourself checked out and Save the Boobies.
The Story: Scott Downs is on pace to be activated from the DL on Friday.
The Monkey Says: Man, I almost forgot we even have Downs. Hopefully he can finally avoid all these freak ailments and stay on the field.
The Story: The Angels aren’t expected to let Maicer Izturis start again until Friday at the earliest.
The Monkey Says: Hmmm, that sounds like the plan of ignorant people, eh, Maicer?
The Story: It turns out that Peter Bourjos can hit after all.
The Monkey Says: He sure can and we all saw that last night. What the Angels need to figure out is how to best use him in the lineup. He has the speed to hit at the top of the order, but not the patience. He has enough power to hit towards the middle of the order, but not the situational hitting skills. He has too much hitting ability and versatility to be buried at the bottom of the order. Hmmm, I think I might need to explore this more in a full post later today.
The Story: Matt Palmer’s hometown has been hit badly by floods in Missouri.
The Monkey Says: First Takahashi and then Palmer. It has been a bad year for Angel pitchers and natural disasters.
The Story: The campaign to make Howie Kendrick an All-Star has already begun.
The Monkey Says: I get promoting a guy for All-Star votes, but Kendrick is kind of a lost cause because he is never going to beat out Robinson Cano or Dustin Pedroia. Then again, I don’t know any other Angel position player is worthy of All-Star stumping. Maybe Peter Bourjos or Maicer Izturis, but there resume isn’t as good as Howie’s right now. I guess what I am saying is don’t expect the Angels to have a position player starting in the Mid-Summer Classic.
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