The July 1st, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Bourjos to the DL with a wrist fracture, Astros manager Bo Porter apologizes for his team's bush league play and much more…
The Story: Peter Bourjos is headed to the DL with a non-displaced wrist fracture.
The Monkey Says: Petey just can't avoid the injury bug and really these last two injuries have been of the completely freak variety. The non-displaced nature of the fracture should mean a quick return and hopefully not another stretch like Bourjos suffered last season where the wrist injury ruined him at the plate. No corresponding move has been announced, but the Angels will almost certainly call up Collin Cowgill who was acquired for exactly this reason as he can now platoon with J.B. Shuck in left field. I'd still rather they call up and Kole Calhoun and let him play full-time, but I don't totally blame them for going with Shuck who has played well this season and has been especially hot of late.
The Monkey Says: It doesn't get much more bush league than calling off another team on a pop fly from the dugout. I'm not even a guy who is big about the "unwritten rules" but that is the kind of play that even Little League players know better than to make.
The Story: Mike Trout got a day off yesterday due to a "little hamstring issue."
The Monkey Says: I suspect that is BS and Scioscia just wanted to have some kind of justification when people started asking why a 21-year old uber-athlete needed a day off.
The Story: Hank Conger has convinced Mike Scioscia to start giving him more playing time.
The Monkey Says: It also helps that Iannetta has had a brutal time behind the plate. While I am a fan of Conger, I hope Scioscia doesn't overlook that Iannetta has a .364 OBP and is thus a great bat to keep in the lineup even with his defensive woes.
The Story: Albert Pujols' not-so-wonderful life.
The Monkey Says: Get ready for a whole lot this kind of narrative this week as St. Louis fans look to bury Pujols for leaving St. Louis. They desperately want to see him fail, yet without denigrating what he did for the Cards at the same time. This is a scorned fan base that loves to trumpet the success their team has had without Pujols but still wants to cast themselves as mortally wounded by his departure. You can't have it both ways.
The Monkey Says: If only more aging players could accept what the DH position can offer them rather than bitching about not being allowed to hurt the team as a defensive liability.
The Story: Joe Blanton actually had a pretty good month of June.
The Monkey Says: Now who are we going to kick around? That's no fun at all. It should be pointed out though that his BABIP in June was .220 and there is no way he can sustain that. In other words, don't get too excited about his prospects for July.
The Story: The mid-season top 50 Angels prospects.
The Monkey Says: I don't know that I'm personally ready to drop Cowart from the top spot because of his struggles this half season as one of the youngest players in the Texas League. His left-handed swing issues are real, but they are also something that can be overcome. As for Lindsey, he is looking great and is now flashing a higher ceiling than most believed he possessed.
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