The May 5th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Cron called up, Angel Stadium renovation fight about to get ugly and much more…
The Story: The Angels called up C.J. Cron and Luis Jimenez, sending down J.B. Shuck and placing David Freese on the DL.
The Monkey Says: You already saw this, but I wanted to talk about it a little. While the Freese injury might’ve spurred the move, it was clearly something the organization was ready to do. They know they need to pick up the pace and have been pleasantly aggressive in trying to find solutions. Cron may not be the answer, but at least they are asking the question of what they can do if Ibanez doesn’t turn things around. The same goes to a lesser extent with Grant Green getting promoted to help in the outfield and now third base.
The Story: The city of Anaheim got back their appraisal on the Angel Stadium land and want to use it against Arte Moreno.
The Monkey Says: Mayor Tom Tait seems to really want to stick it to Moreno in negotiations, but not the whole council is behind him. There should be more news after the council meets on Tuesday. It is either going to calm down quite a bit after that meeting or get very, very ugly. Probably the latter.
The Story: Yoslan Herrera was outrighted to the minors.
The Monkey Says: He was cleared off the roster to make room for Cron. He’ll stay with the Salt Lake Bees.
The Story: David Freese thinks he will be ready to play when the first day he is eligible to come off the disabled list.
The Monkey Says: He supposedly might’ve been healthy fast enough to avoid the DL, but the Angels can’t sacrifice a roster spot right now (or should I say two spots, because John McDonald doesn’t ever actually do anything).
The Story: Kole Calhoun hopes to go on a rehab assignment in two weeks.
The Monkey Says: The offense is hanging on without him and Hamilton, but the sooner he gets back, the better they will be.
The Story: Josh Hamilton hopes to return ahead of schedule, if the Angels are willing to let him.
The Monkey Says: Considering his injury history, they’d be stupid to let him, even if they really need him back behind Pujols in the worst way.
The Story: Dane De La Rosa could begin a rehab assignment very soon.
The Monkey Says: Supposedly he has looked good and recovered much of his velocity. The Angels aren’t quite as desperate for him as they once were, but he still figures to be a major part of their bullpen once he gets healthy.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto acknowledges that he has internal options to fix the bullpen and won’t hesitate to use them.
The Monkey Says: In fact, we might see some of those options called up today. The bullpen is a bit overworked, so they could use a fresh arm, likely with Nick Maronde going down. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Cory Rasmus got the call. Other more interesting options might have to wait as the Angels’ real need now is someone with length who might just be a temporary fix, so clearing out a 40-man roster spot would be a bit excessive for a short-timer. If they do clear a spot, I would not be shocked if the DFA’d Kevin Jepsen to do it. He no longer has Scioscia’s favor and had two rough outings this weekend. There doesn’t seem to be much of a role for him going forward.
The Story: Ernesto Frieri is close to regaining the closer role.
The Monkey Says: He looked much better this last week, but he’ll probably need to prove himself in one or two more high leverage situations to unseat Joe Smith, who has looked nothing but excellent as closer.
The Story: Howie Kendrick has been walking much more frequently this season.
The Monkey Says: It doesn’t appear to be on purpose, so don’t expect it to last.
The Story: Mike Trout isn’t worried about his strikeouts.
The Monkey Says: He’s still great, but this increased whiffing has lasted longer than it should. It might actually be time to at least start thinking about maybe, possibly worrying about the strikeouts.
The Story: Mike Trout bought his mom a new car for Mother’s Day.
The Monkey Says: Aw, shucks! Never mind. Strikeout all you want, just keep being nice to your mom.
The Story: A look at each team’s expected run differentials.
The Monkey Says: This was from before the Texas series, but thus far the Angels’ run differential is not a fluke, which bodes well for them contending for a playoff spot. It would be nice if they started doing that soon though. Seriously, any day now, guys.
The Story: Our irrational love/hate of J.B. Shuck.
The Monkey Says: Ever see an article and wonder if it is specifically aimed at you? Well, um, I am never that conceited, but this one certainly caught my eye. For the record, I don’t hate Shuck. I more had an issue with the fact that there was irrational love for Shuck both by fans and the organization.
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