The September 11th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Weaver to return on Thursday, Trout surpasses 10 WAR, Aybar exchanges texts with Brandon McCarthy and much more…
The Monkey Says: With Weaver starting Thursday the Angels have the option still of slating him to start the final game of the season by keeping him on normal rest the remainder of the season thanks to two off days. I'm not sure that is the wisest move if his tendinitis is a potential lingering issue, but it is an option.
The Story: Mike Trout is the first player to post a 10+ WAR season since Barry Bonds.
The Monkey Says: Say what you want about WAR, but that is freaking amazing unto itself and gets twice as amazing once you factor in his age.
The Story: Erick Aybar has been exchanging texts with Brandon McCarthy.
The Monkey Says: I'm sorry, I need to go to the bathroom.. I, uh… I… have something in my eye.
The Story: There is the potential for a seven-way tie in the American League.
The Monkey Says: The odds of that have to be astronomically small, but with the way all these teams are bunched together, it isn't totally out of the question. What seems far more likely is a three-way tie or maybe even a four-way tie. Whatever the case, the playoff schedule is going to be bonkers if there is any kind of tie at the end of the regular season.
The Story: The Angels were the toughest outfield defense Jim Leyland has ever seen.
The Monkey Says: Sadly, I don't think we are likely to see a lot of the fabled Trout-Bourjos-Hunter outfield after this season which is too bad for me because outfield defense is like one step down from porn for me.
The Story: Ervin Santana's rediscovered slider is a big reason for the Angels' recent surgence.
The Monkey Says: He's still giving up homers at a stupid rate, but sure, I'll buy it.
The Story: A look at what could be a budding rivalry between the Angels and the A's.
The Monkey Says: A very interesting point but I do think the real issue is going to be the A's remaining consistently competitive and I'm not 100% sold moving to San Jose is going to allow them to accomplish that. Their lack of payroll flexibility leads to a lot of turnover on the roster too, so even in the rare case that the Halos and A's are good at the same time, the Oakland players are not as likely to be around the next time they are good at the same time. That makes it hard to build the kind of bad blood that fuels rivalries.
The Story: Torii Hunter says the Angels' goal is to win the AL West.
The Monkey Says: That is the right thing for him to say, but, yeah, it probably isn't going to happen. It isn't an impossibility, but they have so little time to make it happen.
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