The July 23rd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Aybar out with an injured toe, Richards takes Williams’ rotation spot, Santana to get one more start and much more…
The Story: Erick Aybar will miss at least a few games with a toe contusion.
The Monkey Says: He has not been placed on the DL as of yet, but it isn’t out of the question. There were internet rumors circulating before yesterday’s game that Aybar actually was going to be out 4-to-6 weeks, but that was never verified. It could just be a dumb internet rumor, but it could also be the Angels reviewing their medical options. The shame of this is that Aybar was finally starting to play very well. Hopefully he won’t be out long because if he is, it may make it difficult for the Angels to part ways with Jean Segura via trade as it would leave their middle infield depth frightfully thin.
The Monkey Says: I can’t say that Williams doesn’t deserve it, his last few starts have been poor, though he hasn’t been getting shelled either, save the start where he had an asthma attack. My concern is that I don’t think his repertoire doesn’t play very well in a relief setting since he doesn’t have one particularly strong off-speed pitch or throw all that hard. Hopefully Richards can lock down the spot and make this a decision where Scioscia won’t second-guess himself. What I find curious about the whole thing is that this announcement came right before Santana’s poor start, which means Ervin got a stay of execution no matter how awful he was (and he was).
The Story: Ervin Santana will get one more start but will be limited to just fifteen outs.
The Monkey Says: Assuming he can even get that many before being knocked out. This is what the Halos tried with Scott Kazmir and we all know how well that worked, though Kazmir’s problems appeared to be much deeper. If you ask me, it is time to put Santana out of his misery. Nobody seems to have any clue what is wrong with him, so I don’t see how one more start will suddenly fix him. This sounds to me like they are just trying to buy time until Jerry Dipoto can make a trade for a starting pitcher that is now very much a necessity.
The Story: Jean Segura was called up while Kole Calhoun and David Carpenter were demoted.
The Monkey Says: Segura is up for depth, but don’t take it as a sign that Aybar will definitely be out a long while. Andrew Romine was only sent down on the 17th and thus not eligible to be promoted for a few more days, though it is possible that they would’ve called up Segura anyway just to give him a few starts to showcase him. Calhoun got sent down to make room for Segura. As for Carpenter, he drew the short straw, getting demoted so Haren could be activated and so Williams could be shifted to relief.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto is finding the current trade market very difficult to navigate.
The Monkey Says: This seems to be JeDi’s new line, and it is a good one. It may be true, but it also is a great way to keep the rumor mongers at bay.
The Story: James Shields could be a trade option for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: I hope that it is because I really like the idea of acquiring him as he is under team control through 2014 potentially. I just don’t know that the Rays are going to move him while they are still within striking distance of a playoff spot. If they are serious about trading him before he gets expensive, it seems that the Halos could be a good match since Hank Conger fits their professed desire for a young catcher that can hit.
The Monkey Says: This is actually a very nice piece on what kind of person Wells is. He obviously takes all of this very personally and very much wants to prove his haters wrong, but you get the sense that he knows he may never get a chance, despite his final quote of the story.
The Story: The greatest encounter between T.J. Simers and Mike Scioscia ever.
The Monkey Says: Just in case that last story made you think that Simers wasn’t a heartless prick who didn’t hate his job and people in general.
The Story: Eric Hurley elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Angels.
The Monkey Says: Good luck to him.
The Story: Vernon Wells and Chris Iannetta started rehab assignments with the Salt Lake Bees this weekend.
The Monkey Says: Both are off to good starts, especially Wells. If all goes well, both players could be back with the Angels by this coming weekend.
The Story: The Angels will consider carrying three catchers when Chris Iannetta returns.
The Monkey Says: Of course they will. I guess Mike Scioscia still gets to call some shots, right? It makes a small amount of sense to carry three backstops if the Angels still have lingering concerns about Iannetta’s health or conditioning once he is activated. It may not be a viable option though depending on what the Angels feel they need to do with the Aybar situation.
The Story: Mike Trout is on pace to make all kinds of history.
The Monkey Says: Honestly, it gets exhausting trying to keep up with all the rookie records Trout is on pace to obliterate.
The Story: Mark Trumbo has been worth the wait.
The Monkey Says: Yes, he has. And yet folks outside of Anaheim are going to continue doubting him, probably for several more years to come.
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