The March 21, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes a fan favorite officially retiring as a Halo, C.J. Wilson restructuring his throwing motion to take pressure off his shoulder, and more…
The Story: Chone Figgins signs one-day contract with Angels to retire as part of the organization
MWAH Says: A nice move by the Halos to have Figgins officially retire with the team on Monday. Figgins amounted a solid 22.2 WAR in his eight years as third baseman and utilityman extraordinaire for the Angels, then struggled mightily (-0.2 WAR) in five seasons elsewhere. With Figgy out of the game, John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez are now the only two members of the 2002 World Series champs who are still active.
The Story: Nothing routine about C.J. Wilson’s delivery for Angels now
MWAH Says: Revamping one’s entire pitching motion to compensate for pain in one specific area sure sounds like the perfect recipe to contract an injury somewhere else. The body’s natural response to an injury is to overcompensate and put undue stress elsewhere—that’s likely how C.J. hurt his shoulder while rehabbing his elbow. Really doubt the answer to his problems is to do this consciously. Oh well.
The Story: Simmons set to return to field as early as Tuesday
MWAH Says: The shortstop has been limited to DH duty for over a week now because of what the team is terming “arm fatigue.” Really, really hope it’s nothing more than that. The Angels have much more depth up the middle now than they did last year, but not having their marquee addition on the field opening day would be a blow to the already withering fan morale.
The Story: Jered Weaver takes positives from minor league outing
MWAH Says: Dude allowed eight hits and three runs in four innings to the Rockies’ High-A affiliate. If he’s taking anything positive out of the that, it surely doesn’t involve the results. The radar gun had Weaver sitting 78-81 mph, peaking once at 83.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs takes a big step forward
MWAH Says: The left-hander threw to live batters on Saturday for the first time since July 2014. Next up is pitching in a minor-league game on Thursday. He won’t quite make it into the opening day rotation, but barring any more setbacks he should be good to go by late April or early May.
The Story: Billy Eppler is rebuilding the Angels, but on a fast track
MWAH Says: We’ll see.
The Story: Kyle Kubitza, Kaleb Cowart reassigned to minor-league camp
MWAH Says: Both will see time in Anaheim this year, just not on opening day. Utility infielder Sherman Johnson was also reassigned over the weekend—his path to MLB is less certain.
The Story: Mike Trout’s route efficiency by direction
MWAH Says: It’s a cool-looking visualization, but I’m not exactly sure what it means. What constitutes an efficient route? Does it have to be a straight line? Is it only efficient if he catches the ball? Still a whole lot of unknowns, but Daren Willman is doing a hell of a job making progress on this stuff.
The Story: The trail of tears after Tommy Hanson’s tragic death
MWAH Says: A touching story about the circumstances of Hanson’s untimely passing and the people he left behind.
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