The December 7th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels moving on from Greinke (or not), Trout could move into the two hole, Angels lose Sanchez in Rule 5 draft and much more…
The Story: Jerry Dipoto says the Angels are "prepared to move on from Zack Greinke.
The Monkey Says: As usual, Jerry can't give a definitive answer on the Greinke situation. Logic and payroll numbers certainly suggest that the Halos just can't make a big Greinke contract work at this point. Or…
The Story: Bob Nightengale reports that the Angels are still "in the thick of the Greinke sweepstakes."
The Monkey Says: This is thing is never going to end is it? I'm pretty sure Greinke could sign a contract with another team and there will still be rumors that the Halos still are trying to sign him.
The Story: Mike Scioscia is considering moving Mike Trout into the vacant two-hole.
The Monkey Says: Lineup construction really doesn't matter that much, but this is still sure to raise eyebrows. The reason this is being considered is because Scioscia can't figure out who else could bat in that spot and he probably likes the idea of putting Trout in a slightly better position to use his power to drive in runs. But even if he does that, then it becomes a question of who bats first, so it doesn't solve much.
The Story: The Angels lost infielder Angel Sanchez in the Rule 5 draft.
The Monkey Says: Sanchez was going to be competition for Andrew Romine for the utility infielder role and also allow me to live my dream of having a guy named Angel play for the Angels. Clearly this is devastating news on all fronts.
The Story: The Angels were the big losers of the Winter Meetings.
The Monkey Says: Such is the case because they are not only going to lose Greinke but lose him to a division or local rival while all they did was plug a few holes.
The Story: The Angels were big winner of the Winter Meetings.
The Monkey Says: Such is the case because they plugged some holes and still remain in on Zack Greinke, but also did not yet wildly overpay him. Baseball analysis is confusing sometimes.
The Story: Selling you on Joe Blanton.
The Monkey Says: I don't think we need selling on Blanton, I think we need selling on the fact that while he is useful, we felt the Angels could've done better. Would it really have cost much more to bring in Brandon McCarthy or Shaun Marcum? There is also just a general sense of disappointment that the Angels made such a vanilla move after being involved in so many rumors that were more exciting.
The Story: Are the 2013 Angels better on paper than the 2012 Angels?
The Monkey Says: I think they could be given that Haren and Santana were so bad but also because C.J. Wilson will hopefully be better, as should the bullpen in general.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto is content having "plugged holes" in the Angels roster.
The Monkey Says: "Plugged holes" is the new "big splash."
The Story: The Dodgers and Angels have taken different tacks this off-season.
The Monkey Says: So far, I'm still not sold that the Halos don't have one more big or semi-big move up their sleeves.
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