Halo Headlines: Richards To Start Tonight And Maybe More, Sciosca Getting Manager of the Year Buzz, Trumbo Ready for a Bigger Role

The August 10th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Richards officially gets the call, Scioscia getting Manager of the Year buzz, the Angels are ready for Mark Trumbo to take on a bigger role in the lineup and much more…

The Story: The Angels made it official that they will call up prospect Garrett Richards to start today’s game.

The Monkey Says: This confirms what Keith Law tweeted Monday night and I must reiterate how much I agree with this decisions and how glad I am tht thy are leaving the door open to him sticking in the rotation if he impresses.  Some folks have expressed concern about having him make his debut in “big, scary” New York City, but I tend to think that is overblown.  If a guy is too weak mentally to handle that big stage, he probably isn’t ever going to succeed anyway.  To make room for Richards, the team has optioned Horacio Ramirez back to the minors.

The Story: Mike Scioscia deserves credit for keeping the Angels in contention despite their punchless lineup.

The Monkey Says: You know, I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but Scioscia has a great shot at the award, especially if Cleveland goes into a tailspin and finishes the season under .500.

The Story: The Angels think Mark Trumbo is ready for the jump up to the five-hole in the batting order.

The Monkey Says: Really?  You think the team leader in slugging percentage, homers and RBIs is ready to bat somewhere other than the bottom third of the order?  What a novel idea!

The Story: Mark Trumbo is on pace to join the exclusive club of sluggers who have hit more homers than they have walks.

The Monkey Says: That isn’t a good club to be in.

The Story: Pitcher Matt Shoemaker’s 2011 performance has him climbing up the list of top Angel prospects.

The Monkey Says: Shoemaker has always had good strikeout and walk numbers, but this is the first year he has limited hits so well, so we will have to wait and see if he can keep this up when he jumps from pitcher-friendly Arkansas to hitter-friendly Salt Lake, whenever that promotion comes his way.

The Story: Catcher Carlos Ramirez and infielder Michael Wing have been named the Angels Minor League Players of the Month.

The Monkey Says: Wing was the Offensive Player of the Month, while Ramirez won Defensive Player of the Month.  Both players are in High-A ball with the Inland Empire 66ers.  Congrats!