The September 7th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Weaver out with shoulder tendinitis, McCarthy stable after brain surgery, Greinke won't talk contract until after the season and much more…
The Story: Jered Weaver's MRI showed tendinitis in his shoulder.
The Monkey Says: Believe it or not, this is good news. Not that I'm a doctor, but pretty much every single MLB pitcher has a little bit of shoulder tendinitis at this point of the season. There is still no timeframe for when Weaver will return, but this is good reason to believe that it could be as soon as Tuesday.
Also, personal note, I was on vacation the last week, so I apologize for the lack of posts and headlines the last two days. I'm back now and have some catching up to do, so this batch of links will be long, but the comments might be a bit shorter than usual because I'm not just some monkey here for your amusement, dammit! That and I just came home from taking my daughter to Disneyland and then flying back to Seattle, so I'm tired.
The Monkey Says: Again, not a doctor, but holy $#!@. I think we all assumed that McCarthy was going to be OK after he was able to walk off under his own power, but clearly the situation was much more grave than anyone realized. Thank goodness he is doing better now and I'm sure everyone wishes him a speedy and full recovery.
The Monkey Says: That is disappointing but also not a surprise. The good news is that he reiterated that he likes it in Anaheim, so the Angels should have a good shot at keeping him.
The Story: The Angels added Hank Conger and Barry Enright to the active roster.
The Monkey Says: Enright might actually get a shot at a spot start if Weaver has to miss an addtional start, otherwise he is nothing but a mop-up man. Conger was called up presumably so that Mike Scioscia could continue to actively ignore him.
The Story: The Angels once had a plan to hire Sparky Anderson and have Joe Maddon serve as his understudy.
The Monkey Says: This was back in 1996 under Bavasi and would've resulted in Maddon taking over in two years once Sparky was ready to hang them up. The plan never materialized, obviously, but it really makes you think about how different the path of the franchise might have been had it come to fruition.
The Story: Angel prospect Yancarlos Santiago was suspended for drugs.
The Monkey Says: If I am reading that correctly, it isn't a PED suspension but a drug of abuse suspension, which is a shame because Santiago is something of a deep sleeper in the farm system. Hopefully he can get whatever issue he is dealing with taken care of and carry on with his career.
The Story: Can the Angels afford to re-sign Torii Hunter?
The Monkey Says: They can if they want to, they have a big payroll now in case you didn't notice. The real question is will they want to? A one-year deal for him can't be a bad thing, but they might also want to stop blocking Peter Bourjos. On the other hand, they might want to have Hunter on board as a hedge against Mark Trumbo never recovering from this epic slump.
The Story: The tentative 2013 schedule has the Angels opening the season in Cincinnati.
The Monkey Says: Well, that is just odd. Also, it is kind of annoying because now I need to remember the proper way to spell "Cincinnati." More also, I still hate interleague play.
The Story: MLB could alter the roster expansion rules in 2013.
The Monkey Says: Mike Scioscia is part of a committee that recommended the change, which sounds reasonable to me though I can't say I even fully comprehend the true need to have expanded rosters in September. I know teams want to take a look at some youngsters, but how often do those guys ever even get extended playing time, especially on teams that aren't completely out of contention?
The Story: A look at Nick Maronde's debut.
The Monkey Says: Just imagine what this article would be like after he fanned the next three batters he faced in his second outing. Maronde certainly looks like he might be worth getting excited about, but we would all be well advised to not start envisioning the second coming of K-Rod until he has faced more than four batters.
The Story: The Angels need help to make the playoffs.
The Monkey Says: Well, duh. They are holding up their end of the bargain so far though. The real issue is that Baltimore just won't lose and they were one of the teams that most (or maybe just me) were counting on to collapse in the pressure of September. 2.5 games isn't much to make up, but the Angels have precious little time to close the gap, especially when they also need to leapfrog the Rays in the process while holding off whoever ends up in second place in the AL Central.
The Story: What would a Mike Trout contract extension be worth?
The Monkey Says: This topic pops up about once a month now and all the thoughts offered are intriguing. What I really want though is the see someone in the media actually ask Jerry Dipoto about such an idea come this off-season because it seems like a gamble worth at least considering.
The Story: The very first Angels top 20 prospect list of the minor league off-season.
The Monkey Says: Not going to lie, I disagree with a lot of this list, especially after the top five. This seems like a good time to mention that the MWAH Top 30 Prospect List will return this winter. Hooray for shameless plugs!
The Story: Chris Iannetta is ending the era of offensively inept Angels catchers.
The Monkey Says: If you think about it, it was actually a very short era because Napoli only got traded before the 2011 season and preceding him by a few years was primarily Bengie Molina who was underrated as a hitter. I know Mathis was painful to watch, but it was all the more painful because Napoli was right there waiting to be used. Now, here's the bad news, Iannetta might become a free agent this winter and with his recent hot streak, he could make himself a whole lot of money that the Angels may not be willing to pay since Iannetta is kind of struggling to meet Scioscia' defensive expectations.
The Story: A retrospective on Brandon Wood's ill-fated time as a top prospect.
The Monkey Says: It really is amazing how Wood bombed. The fact that he can't even carve out a role as a part-time player is mind-blowing when considering his early hype and still hard to believe even when you factor in the reduced expectations once he hit the high minors.
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