Halo Headlines: Cron and Rucinski called up, Green and Ibarra demoted

The June 8th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Cron and Rucinski called up, Green and Ibarra demoted and much more…

The Story: C.J. Cron was recalled by the Angels with Edgar Ibarra getting demoted back to Triple-A.
The Monkey Says: Cron was on a tear in Salt Lake, so the team brought him back up. It may have just been the plan all along, but him playing so well over ten games certainly didn’t hurt. I still wouldn’t expect much from Cron, but you can’t blame the Angels for trying to find someone with offensive upside.

The Story: The Angels sent down Grant Green and recalled Drew Rucinski.
The Monkey Says: Rucinski was needed after Garrett Richards’ disastrous start. The real problem here is that Green once again didn’t get much of a look and got dumped in favor of Efren Navarro, even though it leaves the Angels so loaded with lefties that they had to let Matt Joyce start against Sabathia. It certainly seems like they just don’t much care to see what Grant Green can do.

The Story: Angels player information coach Rico Brogna has returned to the team after surgery for testicular cancer.
The Monkey Says: He had been out a month, but the team had kept it confidential. Fortunately it sounds like Brogna will make a full recovery.

The Story: An analysis of the Angels short-sighted ticket pricing and attendance strategy.
The Monkey Says: This seems painfully obvious to everyone but the Angels. I get that it is a business, but part of building a business is keeping it sustainable in the long-term and the Angels are thumbing their nose at the long-term right now.

The Story: Mike Scioscia is not assigning a personal catcher to Jered Weaver.
The Monkey Says: Iannetta caught him for the first time in weeks in New York, but that seemed to be more of a coincidence than anything. The catchers are pretty much alternating each game unless one is on a particular hot streak.

The Story: Albert Pujols isn’t worrying about milestones.
The Monkey Says: He passed Jimmie Foxx this weekend, but he really only cares about the team performance. That’s noble, but it doesn’t seem to be helping the team’s performance.

The Story: Mike Trout went first in ESPN’s franchise cornerstone draft.
The Monkey Says: This is a pointless draft in which I am highly certain the participants are encouraged to make “shocking” selections to serve as clickbait.

The Story: Which is the best spot to bat Mike Trout?
The Monkey Says: It is the #2 spot. The research on this is pretty well-established, as the article points out. This isn’t a debate, yet it will continue to be debated.

The Story: What would Mike Trout’s numbers have looked like in the Steroid Era?
The Monkey Says: Not if he was taking steroids, but rather if he played ten years ago. I’m pretty sure if Trout ever took steroids it would be a precursor to his plans for global domination.

The Story: Mike Trout once won a high school home run derby batting left-handed.
The Monkey Says: This seems like one of those #MikeTroutFacts, only it actually happened.

The Story: Mickey Mantle’s son thinks that Mike Trout could be the next Mick.
The Monkey Says: Well then, Trout better get to work on developing that drinking and womanizing problem then.

The Story: The Angels say they have “yet to determine” if they will attempt to re-sign David Freese.
The Monkey Says: Freese certainly sounds interested in returning, but Dipoto just deflects the question. It is pretty obvious that the team intends to hand the job to Kyle Kubitza next season. Question his defense if you want, but it isn’t like Freese is a good defender either. The only way Freese returns is on a deeply discounted one-year deal to platoon with Kubitza and that just isn’t going to happen.

The Story: Ranking the worst long-term contracts in baseball.
The Monkey Says: I think these columns are like entering the numbers into the computer in Lost. If someone doesn’t keep writing this article ever few weeks, the internet might implode on itself, or so we are told. It would seem no one is daring enough to stop writing these kinds of columns to find out what really happens. See you in another life, brother.

The Story: The Angels are tamping down any speculation of rushing Sean Newcomb to the big leagues.
The Monkey Says: For starters, there is no sense starting his service clock yet. Second, he’s not even in Double-A yet either. He still walks A LOT of batters, so he has plenty left to work on. A 2016 debut might be more realistic, but with his potential, the Angels might be better off playing it safe and waiting until 2017.