The March 14, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes some ‘mild degenerative spinal changes’ for Jered Weaver, some continued shoulder discomfort for C.J. Wilson, and more…
The Story: Jered Weaver diagnosed with being an old guy
MWAH Says: Weaver saw a back surgeon over the weekend, from whom he got a diagnosis of “mild degenerative changes in the cervical spine”. In layman’s terms, he’s getting old and so his back isn’t as flexible as it used to be. Whether it’s anything more than that will be determined in his follow-up today with a spine specialist.
The Story: C.J. Wilson suffers setback during bullpen session
MWAH Says: Well, I guess it officially isn’t normal spring rustiness. Wilson seems to be throwing long toss on flat ground just fine, so there must be something specific about his motion on the mound that is causing the discomfort. Or at least that’s how I’m choosing to interpret this. The latest setback more or less guarantees he’ll be on the disabled list to begin the season, which pretty much kills any chance the team had of trading him before Opening Day. On the bright side, at least Tyler Skaggs seems to be progressing.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs will throw live batting practice Monday, eyeing mid-April debut
MWAH Says: See? While Skaggs won’t be ready come Opening Day, he could get a start or two in before the Angels leave Tempe. If all goes well during his BP session today, he’ll throw a simulated game on Saturday. From there, it’s all up to his elbow.
The Story: Kole Calhoun’s spot in the lineup now geared toward run production
MWAH Says: It seems Scioscia has already made up his mind about the Opening Day lineup: Daniel Nava will hit in the two spot, Kole Calhoun will move down to the five spot. I like the idea in principle, but Calhoun has never hit very well when batting anywhere but ahead of Mike Trout. I guess we’ll see. Also, I’m pretty sure this only applies to days when they’ll face right-handed starters. Hard to imagine Craig Gentry (or Nava) hitting in the two spot vs. lefties.
The Story: GM Billy Eppler says Mike Scioscia embraces new metrics
MWAH Says: At the SABR conference over the weekend, Eppler called Scioscia an “information savant”. He then dove into a long-winding analogy about broccoli and almonds and how they relate to sharing new data with players and coaches. He also compared the stats vs. scouts dichotomy to the East Coast/West Coast rap feud of the ’90s. Lmao. Dude loves his analogies.
The Story: Mike Gallego charged with sowing seeds in Angels farm system
MWAH Says: I feel like this is a sort of variation on Jesus’ parable of the sower. In this case, it doesn’t really matter how good of soil he plants the seeds in if the seeds themselves are low quality. Gallego can water them all he wants, but he can’t turn them into something they’re not. He simply needs better seeds.
The Story: Cory Rasmus takes no-worries approach into spring
MWAH Says: I feel like something will have to go very wrong for Rasmus to not make the bullpen out of camp. The Angels aren’t just going to let someone with his potential get snatched up on waivers right out of the gate when their other options are just as volatile. Also, he’s significantly cheaper than Al Alburquerque and owns a far better track record than Deolis Guerra.
The Story: Should have taken Mike Trout
MWAH Says: Sam Miller investigates what would have happened the last four seasons if every team that passed over Mike Trout in the draft had actually not done that. It’s a fun exercise, especially considering how things really worked out.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
