Daily links for the LA Angels including O’Sullivan and Bell called up, this week is crunch time for the Angels, the Rangers threatened with contraction and much more.
The Story: It is crunch time for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: No duh. How the next week goes will very much determine if the Angels will even bother trading for some help at the deadline, though it might have been more prudent of them to get that help today so that they are well-tooled to succeed this week instead of using it as a litmus test.
The Story: The Angels’ bench is shallow and full of holes.
The Monkey Says: In related news, the sky is blue and water is wet. If you didn’t figure out the Angel bench was an issue when Paul McAnulty and Cory Aldridge started to get frequent starts, I don’t know what else to tell you.
The Story: MLB threatened in court to “terminate” the Texas Rangers franchise.
The Monkey Says: It isn’t going to happen, but I can’t help but delight at that headline. Of course, this only makes it more infuriating that the Rangers were able to add Cliff Lee and might even make more salary-adding trades in the coming weeks.
The Story: The Angels recalled Sean O’Sullivan and Trevor Bell.
The Monkey Says: O’Sullivan will likely start today as he would be working on normal rest whereas Bell would be starting on short rest, though it is quite likely that he will be called upon quickly if O’Sullivan struggles early. It should be noted that the Angels now have 26 players on the active roster, so someone will need to be demoted before first pitch tonight (probably Rich Thompson).
The Story: Assessing the trade market for Dan Haren.
The Monkey Says: The Angels are sure to be in on Haren as they made a run at him last season, but it is sounding more and more like the Diamondbacks are going to hang on to him unless they get bowled over by an offer and the Angels just don’t have the prospect package necessary to do any bowling.
The Story: Erick Aybar is learning the leadoff ropes on the fly.
The Monkey Says: Aybar has been struggling to find a balance between patience and aggressiveness, but he is starting to click right now although it has meant less of a focus on walking.
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