Halo Headlines: Izturis Battling a Sore Foot, Rodney On the Mend, Eckstein Pays a Visit

The June 30th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Izturis day-to-day with a sore foot, Rodney nearing a return, David Eckstein visits the Halo clubhouse and much more…

The Story: Maicer Izturis is day-to-day with a sore foot.

The Monkey Says: This is a nagging issue that he’s dealt with before, but the team seems confident (or at least as confident as they can be when it comes to Mr. Glass) that Izzy will be available at some point this weekend.

The Story: Fernando Rodney is getting close to returning from his back injury.

The Monkey Says: Fraudney may or may not go out on rehab, but I’m going to go ahead and suggest they definitely send him for a brief assignment before they allow him back in big league bullpen, even if they are desperate for help.

The Story: David Eckstein paid a visit to the Angels before yesterday’s game.

The Monkey Says: Amazingly, Scioscia didn’t try and sign him after Eckstein declared that he wasn’t actually retired.

The Story: Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo credit Mickey Hatcher for helping them make adjustments that have led to their recent hot streaks.

The Monkey Says: Let this day go down in the history books as the first I am have EVER heard Angel players giving Hatcher public credit for helping them fix their swings.

The Story: Davey Johnson says he wanted to have Mike Scioscia on his coaching staff when Johnson was hired to manage the Dodgers in 1999.

The Monkey Says: Well, we all know what happened after that.  Good call, Dodgers.

The Story: The Angel Stadium grass won’t be back to normal conditions for a few more weeks.

The Monkey Says: Players are already complaining about funny hops on the beat up sod, so this is a real issue.  I hope that U2 concert was worth it.

The Story: Infielder Gil Velazquez is the lone Salt Lake Bee chosen for the PCL All-Star Game.

The Monkey Says: That a 31-year old who has played in 9 Major League games in 14 years is the only All-Star for the Bees really goes to show just how little big league-ready talent the Angels have in Triple-A.

The Story: There will be a celebrity softball game after Sunday’s Dodgers-Angels game at Angel Stadium.

The Monkey Says: Rex Hudler will call the game, which should make a lot of Angel fans happy as some still pine for the days of the Wonder Dog.  On a related note, an actual dog is supposed to play in the game, so… there’s that.