The February 27th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Callaspo reported to camp overweight, Hamilton makes his spring debut and much more…
The Story: Alberto Callaspo showed up to camp 20 pounds overweight, but has already lost most of it.
The Monkey Says: It seems Alberto was nursing a shoulder problem in the off-season so he didn't work out as much or play winter ball, thus the weight gain. I'm glad he is already dropping the weight, but I'm more glad that someone else in camp besides Trout is getting crap for behind too heavy.
The Monkey Says: Well, he didn't work on it much as he grounded out on the very first pitch he saw, much to the delight of Rangers fans across the land.
The Story: Sean Burnett and Albert Pujols both ramped up their rehab programs.
The Monkey Says: Pujols is still on track to play in the next two or three weeks while Burnett appears to be close to throwing off a mound again, which puts him right about on schedule with most of the other Angel relievers.
The Story: Chad Cordero talks about his rise, fall and comeback.
The Monkey Says: Cordero is a feel-good story and reportedly looked good in his spring debut, but let's not put the cart in front of the horse. Cordero is coming back from a major shoulder problem and personal tragedy, so his return to the bigs is far from a given though I am sure we are all rooting for him.
The Story: Mike Trout tops PECOTA's biggest projected declines in 2013.
The Monkey Says: This once again comes with the caveat that his decline is mostly predicated on the fact that he was so amazing in 2012 that projection systems just won't ever project him to repeat that level of performance.
The Story: Why Miguel Cabrera is a better player than Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: This is (mostly) a measured comparison of the two, though it does have a couple eye-rolling conclusions in it, especially the parts where the writer seems to be wagging his finger at Trout for gaining weight even though Cabrera is chubby and has been for years. Anyway, the best point here is that Trout just isn't proven yet. I'd like to think that line of logic will be thrown out the window after Trout tears it up again in 2013.
The Story: Putting the Mike Trout weight controversy to bed.
The Monkey Says: If him announcing his body fat is less than 9% didn't kill this whole stupid debate, then this post certainly will.
The Story: Torii Hunter says he is now "over" his frustration with the Angels lack of pursuit in free agency.
The Monkey Says: It takes a big man to admit to that, even if he only had to admit to it because if his stupid comment on Twitter a few months ago.
The Story: Alfonso Alcantara made Baseball America's list of top 20 DSL or VSL prospects.
The Monkey Says: Not a lot of meat on this bone without a subscription, but I just like that the Halos actually have a high-end Latin American prospect again.
The Story: Josh Hamilton is what the Angels need to push themselves to the next level.
The Monkey Says: Yeah, not really. I mean, he'll help, but they had a strong lineup last season so what they really needed was a better rotation and bullpen. They kind of upgraded the bullpen, but the rotation might actually be worse, so, no, Hamilton isn't going to be a panacea to the Halos' playoff drought.
The Story: Mike Trout isn't changing his approach or his attitude despite his success.
The Monkey Says: Man, there is going to be a lot of sycophantic ball-washing of Trout this season, isn't there?
The Monkey Says: Wow, how dare they market the biggest rising star in the sport! Seriously, who cares?
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