- The Story: Torii Hunter thinks some of his teammates are coasting. The Monkey Says: Get ’em, Torii! It is hardly a tongue lashing, but the Halos need someone to light a fire under their butts and Hunter is just the man to do it since he is seemingly the only position player doing anything good right now.
- The Story: The Angels are running into problems on offense. The Monkey Says: Scioscia is just playing the “sometimes you get burned when being aggressive” card, but the real issue is that this just isn’t as speedy a team as previous Angel rosters, and that is fine, that is what the Angels have intentionally shifted towards. The problem is that they keep trying to run like they still are a bunch of burners and they simply aren’t. Then add in all the recent mental gaffes on the basepaths and the Angel offensive style is starting to look pretty stupid.
- The Story: Joe Girardi defends picking CC Sabathia over Jered Weaver. The Monkey Says: There really isn’t any mystery here, CC is a Yankee, so Girardi picked him. Sabathia is plenty deserving so he got the honor first and there is nothing wrong with that. That is the perk of getting to manage the All-Star team.
- The Story: The Angels should be sellers at the trade deadline. The Monkey Says: At first I thought this was a ridiculous statement, after all the Halos are 5.5 games out and have five games against the Rangers before the deadline hits. However, this team does have a lot of holes and while they could still win the division, I don’t really think they are legit championship contenders, so maybe it would be best if they raised the white flag just this once to try and reload for a real run at the World Series next season and beyond. Honestly, I could go either way at this point.
- The Story: A look at some of the random players the Angels have already employed this season. The Monkey Says: And this only supports the assessment of the previous story. That so many no-name guys are actually getting ample playing time speaks to the depth issues of the Angel roster this year, putting in question the front office’s ability to patch up enough of those holes to make the Halos real contenders.
- The Story: Joel Pineiro is exceeding expectations. The Monkey Says: I admit, I doubted Pineiro’s ability to have success in the AL West, but he has been a pleasant surprise for sure even if he is prone to the occasional shellacking. This is part of the flipside of the no-trade argument. With Weaver, Santana and Pineiro fronting the Angel rotation, they have shot at winning it all if their hitters can get hot at the right time in the post-season, so why not try and beef up the offense and bullpen and roll the dice for the sake of the title?
- The Story: Former Angel Darin Erstad has been hired as an assistant coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team. The Monkey Says: Nebraska is Erstad’s alma mater and a great way to get his feet wet in coaching. Ever the competitor, Erstad just had to get back into the game and I have little doubt that he will work his butt of to become a MLB manager someday.
- The Story: Alexi Amarista ranks among the best defenders in the minor leagues. The Monkey Says: And Amarista has a legit bat to boot which is why he is one of the most prized prospects in the Angel farm system right now. I am surprised though that Peter Bourjos didn’t make the list as he has been touted as being an exceptional center fielder.
<a href=”http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/sports/mlb-kansas-city-royals-los/image/9294151?term=paul+mcanulty” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://view3.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9294151/mlb-kansas-city-royals-los/mlb-kansas-city-royals-los.jpg?size=380&imageId=9294151″ border=”0″ width=”380″ title=”MLB: Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels” height=”292″ oncontextmenu=”return false;” ondrag=”return false;” onmousedown=”return false;” alt=”Jul 4, 2010; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Paul McAnulty (41), left, is greeted by left fielder Hideki Matsui (55) after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Angel Stadium. The Angels defeated the Royals 11-0. Photo via Newscom” /></a>http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js
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