The April 17th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Calhoun out 4-to-6 weeks, Boesch called up, Pujols nears 500 homers and much more…
The Story: The Angels placed Kole Calhoun on the disabled list and added Brennan Boesch to the roster.
The Monkey Says: They moved Ryan Brasier to the 60-day DL to make room for Boesch. Calhoun is expected to miss four to six weeks. It appears they chose Boesch due to his power potential because it certainly wasn’t his performance as he did absolutely nothing in Spring Training or in Salt Lake to suggest he was going to be productive. This is just him failing upwards because he had a good season a few years ago. Let’s just hope Boesch can catch some lightning in a bottle for the next month so the Halos can weather this storm.
The Story: Albert Pujols is nearing 500 homers and nobody cares.
The Monkey Says: I think it will get some more fanfare once he reached 498 and 499, but, yes, this has been a low profile chase. I think Nightengale is spot on that a number of players have reached that mark in recent years, so it doesn’t seem as impressive as it really is. I also think the adoption of advanced stats has made people numb to shiny round number milestones like the 500-homer mark.
The Story: Looking ahead at the starting pitcher trade market.
The Monkey Says: The Angels are listed as potential buyers, but I think that only happens if someone gets hurt or flames out. I’m actually not so sure that they aren’t happy with Alvarez, Shoemaker, LeBlanc and Roth as their rotation depth. I don’t think that is a good idea, but they have had so little urgency in addressing that spot that it makes me think they are more confident in those guys than the rest of the baseball world.
The Story: The #FreeMattLong story.
The Monkey Says: Sadly, despite my pleas yesterday, Long was passed over in favor of Boesch even though Long could play everyday and Boesch is strictly to be used against righties. I really dislike that decision. I’d have been happier had they called up Grant Green and threw him to the wolves in the outfield. At least he is right-handed meaning the Halos aren’t forced to have both two of Ibanez, Boesch, Stewart and Shuck in the lineup no matter who is on the mound.
The Story: Rate the local AL West announcers.
The Monkey Says: I’d give Rojas and Gubicza a “B.” I’m not sure how much they add to the game, but they almost never detract from it, which is good enough in my book.
The Story: The most notable injuries of the young 2014 season.
The Monkey Says: Hamilton AND Baylor! The Angels have the injury market cornered, and that was before the Calhoun injury.
The Story: The ideal catcher platoon model for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: You mean the “keep starting Iannetta even though he can’t hit righties and is an inferior defender” model isn’t working for you?
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