The July 16th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Walden placed on DL, Haren likely back July 22, Hunter nursing a sore groin and much more…
The Monkey Says: Waldo might only be out a few days since the move is retroactive to July 9th. What’s interesting is that Jordan says he has had fits of this all season, which is strangely comforting as it might be one of the underlying reasons for his wild inconsistency. As for Calhoun, he is just up as insurance while Hunter is nursing a sore groin.
The Monkey Says: Given the nature of his injury, there is no guarantee that his back won’t tighten up on him after the start, so it isn’t a certainty, but all reports seem to indicate that Dan is feeling much better than he did a few weeks ago.
The Story: Torii Hunter is nursing a sore groin and considered day-to-day.
The Monkey Says: Reports suggest that the Halos are just playing it safe and that Hunter could be in the lineup as soon as today.
The Story: Brad Mills was sent down to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Jerome Williams.
The Monkey Says: This makes it a virtual certainty that Garrett Richards will get the start on Tuesday.
The Story: The Angels have shown trade interest in Francisco Liriano and Matt Capps.
The Monkey Says: Capps frightens me as he is a mediocre reliever who has been overbilled as a closer. As for Liriano, he could slot into the rotation should the Angels get fed up with Santana or Haren not be able to get healthy. However, Liriano has been very inconsistent his entire career, so he is hardly a surefire answer to the Angels problems finding a consistent arm for the back of the rotation. However, when Liriano is on, he can be outstanding, so it might be worth the gamble depending on what the Twins want in return.
The Monkey Says: With the exception of having Scott Boras as an agent, Weaver has never been a guy who has shown much concern over money, so this is not a surprising revelation at all. What will be amazing to watch though is just what a bargain Weaver’s deal looks like after guys like Hamels and Greinke get signed this off-season.
The Monkey Says: This is becoming a thing, but it really shouldn’t. Scioscia doesn’t like the idea of having the entire top half of the lineup being right-handed, which is a somewhat legitimate concern, so he is keeping Morales in the four-hole. Trumbo is clearly the better hitter, so he deserves the slot to himself, but it probably isn’t hurting the Angels much in the long-run as statistical studies show that switching two batters in the batting order would only cause a marginal improvement, if any.
The Story: The Angels signed all but two of their 2012 draft picks.
The Monkey Says: They missed on their 31st-round and 39th-round picks, so no big deal. This is a great thing for the Angels, but don’t overrate the accomplishment too much as they greatly lowered their degree of difficulty by drafting almost entirely from the college ranks.
The Story: Chris Iannetta says he would like to return to the Angels next season.
The Monkey Says: First, he needs to get healthy and he is reportedly going to start throwing again this week. The Angels have a reasonable club option on him next season, so he should get his wish so long as the team is comfortable with his recovery from wrist problems. (NOTE: It appears, but I am not 100% certain, that his option is a mutual option thanks to a clause in his contract because of being traded, so it isn’t a lock he’ll be back, though it would seem prudent of him to take the guaranteed $5 million and try and rebuild his value after an injury-plagued season).
The Monkey Says: This is all just everyone doing their due diligence, so don’t go getting excited. Alden Gonzalez said it best this afternoon when this story came out “I’m told the Angels have a lot of scouts, & their job is to scout teams, & they are in a lot of ballparks, watching players.”
The Story: Mike Butcher blames Santana’s lack of aggression, not his weight or conditioning, for his struggles.
The Monkey Says: Santana looks a little bloated, but it isn’t like he turned into Bartolo Colon, so this makes sense. Given Ervin’s career track record of going sideways for inexplicable reasons, I have little doubt that his problems lie in his mental approach.
The Story: Mike Trout is apparently also known as the Millville Meteor.
The Monkey Says: I hate that nickname. In fact, I hate any nickname for Trout. First off, his last name is Trout. That’s enough. Second, he is so good that I feel as if he is beyond needing a nickname.
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