The July 24th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Ron Washington says Mike Trout is ‘not Willie Mays,’ Angels awaiting further test results on Aybar’s foot, the Angels recently scouted James Shields and Josh Johnson and much more…
The Story: Texas manager Ron Washington says that Mike Trout is no Willie Mays.
The Monkey Says: Rabble! Rabble! Rabble! This quote got everyone worked up, but Washington didn’t actually mean any harm. If you read the entire statement, he is simply trying to say that it is stupid to compare a 20-year old who has yet to play a full season to anyone, which is completely and totally true. But still… Rabble! Rabble! Rabble!
The Story: The Angels are awaiting more complete test results before making a decision on Erick Aybar.
The Monkey Says: I’m no doctor, but a line in the foot where bone should be is not a good thing. The Angels are in no rush to put Aybar on the DL since they seldom ever use their full bench, but one would think they’ll make the call in the next day or two.
The Monkey Says: Scouting is just scouting, but clearly the trade market is starting to get rolling after multiple trades were made yesterday, including the Tigers paying a premium price to land Anibal Sanchez (though Omar Infante was in the deal as well). That Sanchez deal though could make the likes of Hamels and Greinke prohibitive for the Angels to pull anything off. However, the fact that the Halos have been scouting guys like Shields and Johnson suggests that they are more interested in bringing in a pitcher who is more than a rental, which has always been more in line with their organizational philosophy.
The Story: Jim Bowden considers the Angels one of the best fits for Cole Hamels.
The Monkey Says: Way to go out on a limb Bowden. The only reason this is interesting is because if there is something Bowden knows, it is the price for a guy in a trade package and he believes it will take a Hellweg-Segura-Bourjos package to get Hamels, which seems ridiculous for someone who is extremely likely to go to the highest bidder in free agency.
The Monkey Says: Celebrating your 18th birthday with your very first arrest seems like an awfully stupid thing to do, even if it was for a Trout autograph.
The Story: Mike Trout ranks #1 on FanGraphs’ annual Trade Value list.
The Monkey Says: No surprise here. A few other Angels are on the list too.
The Story: Opposing teams can’t find the flaw in Mike Trout’s game, other than maybe bunting… for now.
The Monkey Says: The problem isn’t that he has no flaws, it is that he adjust so quickly. When he first came up, the speculation was he could be beat up and in, but he immediately figured out what pitchers were trying to do and was, at last check, one of the best hitters in the league on that pitch. For Superman fans, he is like Doomsday. You beat him once one way and he evolves a defense for that. And he just keeps on doing that until he has no more perceivable weaknesses.
The Monkey Says: This is nothing to pay any mind to. The Angels needed another arm at Salt Lake and Enright is clearly a guy that Dipoto must’ve thought well enough of during his days in Arizona. Suffice it to say that any player that you can acquire for “or cash” is probably not one with a bright future.
The Story: Mike Trout currently rates as the most valuable player in baseball.
The Monkey Says: These stories are becoming so commonplace that it almost isn’t worth linking to them anymore.
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