The May 14th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels deny shopping Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo wants the Angels to play with attitude, Chris Iannetta had successful wrist surgery and much more…
The Story: Jerry Dipoto says that the Angels are not actively shopping Peter Bourjos.
The Monkey Says: Dipoto wouldn’t admit it if he was, but I believe him. Jerry is too smart to be looking to trade Bourjos, especially since it would only be to create more playing time for Vernon Wells, which nobody wants. He also isn’t about to trade a valuable asset while its value is at an all-time low. That being said, there is nothing he can do to prevent other teams from calling on Bourjos and letting word of it get to the press.
The Story: Mark Trumbo thinks the Angels need to play with attitude and a chip on their shoulder.
The Monkey Says: I’ll be damned if Trumbo didn’t hit the nail on the head. For the last few seasons, this team has been playing tight and even afraid at times. They have no swagger whatsoever. Getting swagger and attitude isn’t that easy though because you usually acquire it by winning lots and lots of games. Still, the first step in solving a problem is identifying the cause of it.
The Monkey Says: The key to this story is that the Angels say they are going to stick with internal options until Iannetta returns. For now, that’s Wilson and Hester, but I suspect part of the reason they are standing pat is that they want to call up Conger and get a look at him once he is healthy. I actually think this is the right move at this point as anyone they would acquire would barely be an upgrade over Wilson, yet would cost them an actual prospect, which is more than anyone would want to give up for the likes of Kelly Shoppach.
The Story: Erick Aybar and Mickey Hatcher are working on fixing a Aybar’s swing.
The Monkey Says: Insert Micket Hatcher joke here. Hopefully this fixes Erick’s issues and he can return to being productive, possibly even a real offensive asset again. Since the Halos can’t slug their way out of their offensive slump, they might have better luck letting Trout and Aybar lead an attack predicated on speed and aggressiveness, just like the the good old days.
The Story: A look at how Mike Trout slid to the 25th pick in the 2009 draft.
The Monkey Says: Can we really blame all the other teams for being dubious of anything coming out of New Jersey? What other positive things has that state given us in this century?
The Monkey Says: As of today, I am limiting the “holy crap, Pujols sucks” articles to one per day. All apologies to the other three entrants for today’s slot.
The Story: The Angels and Nationals should consider a different trade: Alberto Callaspo-for-Jesus Flores.
The Monkey Says: Well, that isn’t on the table now after Wilson Ramos blew out his knee, however I do like the idea of Callaspo being dealt to the Nats as he would be a great fit for them. What I’d like to see them return is Sean Burnett, who is a quality lefty that would give the Angels the flexibility to leave Downs in the closer’s role. However, Washington probably wouldn’t entertain that deal until after Drew Storen and/or Brad Lidge got healthy.
The Story: Jason Isringhausen is barely being used, but he isn’t going to complain about it.
The Monkey Says: I imagine that is because even he seems to realize that he’s been pretty shaky in almost every single one of his outings.
The Monkey Says: This is why some baseball people say there is no such thing as a pitching prospect. Amazingly, Reckling is still just 22, so he has time to revive his career, but he is coming off arm problems last season and can’t get anyone out in High-A right now. He’s got a long road in front of him.
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