- The Story: Scott Kazmir is starting the season on the disabled list. The Monkey Says: The Halos just want him to build stamina since he started the spring late and had some shoulder issues and already expect him to start against the Yankees April 13th. Matt Palmer will take over Kaz’s spot in the rotation until then.
- The Story: Robb Quinlan surprisingly made the Angels’ final roster. The Monkey Says: This is total crap. Q played like garbage in Spring Training and hasn’t been any good for a few years now but basically makes the team simply because Mike Scioscia is familiar with him even though he was vastly outplayed by Michael Ryan and Cory Aldridge. Why even bother having spring training? Maybe Quinlan will be the one waived when Willits gets off the DL and not Terry Evans or Bobby Wilson.
- The Story: The Angels kept three catchers on the active roster, including Bobby Wilson. The Monkey Says: Scioscia loves his catchers doesn’t he? This could be a temporary arrangement though since the Angels have Kazmir and Willits due to come off the DL in a few weeks and at least one position player will have to go. It does help Wilson’s case that he can play some first base, but this may just be a way for the Halos to slip Wilson through waivers in a few weeks.
- The Story: Terry Evans made the Angels’ final roster. The Monkey Says: As the only viable back-up center fielder, Evans will remain with the club until Reggie Willits is healthy, but after that, all bets are off.
- The Story: An interview with Brandon Wood. The Monkey Says: Wood made sure to mention that he is not the kind of hitter that can perform when only playing once or twice a week. Hopefully Mike Scioscia was paying attention.
- The Story: MLB Trade Rumors calls Fernando Rodney one of the ten worst signings of this last off-season. The Monkey Says: I should probably try and come to the Angels’ defense, but that signing was pretty indefensible.
- The Story: As the last member of the 2002 World Series team, Scot Shields prefers to look to the future. The Monkey Says: Shields wasn’t really an integral part of that team, but he seems to have learned to handle the departure of other players from that team with relative ease, something he should keep in mind if he ends up being shown the door when he hits free agency this off-season.
- The Story: What other teams could Maicer Izturis start for? The Monkey Says: As you could imagine, the list is pretty extensive which is exactly why I thought the Angels should have traded Izzy this off-season and gotten a valuable prospect and then signed a veteran to replace him.
- The Story: ESPN’s experts all say the Angels won’t win the American League. The Monkey Says: Just over half of them said the Halos would still win the division, but those ESNPers still love the Yankees to go to the World Series (which is hard to argue with).
- The Story: Mike Scioscia defends his retooled team. The Monkey Says: I can’t wait for the season to start simply so we don’t have to keep listening to all the speculation over the moves AL West teams did and did not make. Now the results will be visible on the field and everyone can just shut the hell up.
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