The July 1st, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels upset about clubhouse leaks, Albert Pujols wants to be in Home Run Derby and much more…
The Story: Albert Pujols is upset about the clubhouse meeting story being leaked.
The Monkey Says: I imagine part of that is because he comes off as looking bad for telling Dipoto the roster isn’t as good, but the leaks haven’t stopped and “sources” insist that the story from Rosenthal was verbatim. In general, the team is in damage control today with Scioscia making some comments about how he thinks they will move past this, C.J. Wilson saying he actually felt the meeting was a positive one and Dipoto claiming that the front office isn’t actually going to give reports to players themselves, but rather sending it directly to each player’s iPads rather than relaying them through the coaching staff. No, none of this convinces anyone that there isn’t still a lot of tension within the organization.
The Story: Albert Pujols wants to be in the Home Run Derby, presuming he makes the All-Star team.
The Monkey Says: Even Albert realizes that this might be his last shot at being part of the spectacle.
The Story: Mike Scioscia leaving the Angels after this season might be more likely than we think.
The Monkey Says: I’ve been saying it for weeks now, Scioscia is going to drop an ultimatum this offseason to bring in a new front office more in line with his thinking (possibly including Bud Black) or he is going to walk away and hand pick his next opportunity. The Phillies seem like a decent match for him if he’s willing to suffer a rebuild, but other jobs with teams that are less sabermetrically inclined (like the White Sox or Mariners) could open up this offseason or next.
The Story: The Scioscia-Dipoto feud is a fascinating case study.
The Monkey Says: I’m nominally on Team Jerry, but I’m mostly on the side of whatever allows the front office and coaching staff to be working together in harmony. When you look around the league at the teams that have sustained success for long stretches in recent decades, you see GM-managers relationships that are symbiotic. Sabean-Bochy, Friedman-Maddon, Epstein-Francona, Cashamn-Torre and even Stoneman-Scioscia. Just find two guys who share an ideology or where one is so clearly the dominant actor in the relationship that the other guy is functionally just an extension of the former.
The Story: Baseball’s best left fielders visualized.
The Monkey Says: Matt Joyce is so close to the y-axis you can barely even see him on the chart.
The Story: Prematurely judging the Heaney-Kendrick trade.
The Monkey Says: I thought the Angels won when it was made and still think they won now. I would even argue that Giavotella has given them more production at 2B, which isn’t much, than they could’ve expected when the season started. It does help that Howie hasn’t been very good for the Dodgers though.
The Story: Mike Trout’s latest star turn evokes memories of Mickey Mantle.
The Monkey Says: Just in case you forgot that Trout can’t face the Yankees without being compared to The Mick.
The Story: Fangraphs picks their American League All-Stars.
The Monkey Says: They obviously picked Trout, but added Pujols as well. Hector Santiago got snubbed, something he might want to get used to.
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