The November 10, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the sudden and immensely tragic passing of former Halos starter Tommy Hanson, a foot operation for Albert Pujols, and lots more…
The Story: Tommy Hanson dies following sudden organ failure
MWAH Says: Just a terrible, terrible tragedy. Hanson, 29, struggled on the mound in his time with the Angels, but earned endless praise for his positive demeanor off the field. He was by all accounts a great teammate and a good person, and was far too young to be taken from this world. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with the Hanson family, who have now lost two sons in the span of three years. The grief they must be experiencing right now is unfathomable.
The Story: Albert Pujols underwent foot surgery, might miss Opening Day
MWAH Says: This is one of those things where you wonder why they waited so long to do the operation if they knew the recovery was going to be 4½ months. Like, I get why players generally try to rehab injuries without going under the knife, but with Pujols and his plantar fasciitis history, you think they’d just go in there and get it done. He’s now had fascia tears on both feet in his time with Anaheim, which hopefully means it won’t be an issue again. A source close to Albert believes he’ll be ready by Opening Day despite the mid-March prognosis, which seems a very Pujols thing to say. We’ll just have to wait and see how realistic it is.
The Story: Ryan Jackson clears waivers, elects free agency
MWAH Says: Yet another depth piece leaving in the hope of finding greener pastures elsewhere. The Angels now have zero options behind Erick Aybar at short other than Taylor Featherston. You can bet your butt Eppler will add at least one utility guy this winter.
The Story: Eppler to meet with David Freese’s agent this week
MWAH Says: Whether or not they’ll actually talk about Freese is up for debate. Maybe they’ll spend all their time talking about the new Peanuts movie instead. Or maybe they’ll chat about one or more of Nez Balelo’s other free-agent clients, like Nori Aoki. Or perhaps Trevor Plouffe and Andre Ethier, also Balelo clients, are open to moving to Orange County.
The Story: Angels Triple-A manager is leaving job to (re)join the Orioles
MWAH Says: Not sure what Dave Anderson did in Baltimore the last time he was there, but it’s probably safe to assume it involved coaching of some sort. In terms of replacing him, my vote is for Gary DiSarcina. At least he won’t be directly hurting the big-league team if he’s in Salt Lake all the time.
The Story: Angels re-sign Michael Brady and Geoff Broussard
MWAH Says: Two of the pitchers who elected for minor-league free agency over the weekend. I imagine being on the open market allows them slightly more freedom in determining their salary as long-time players. By making it this far, maybe now Brady and Broussard will be lucky enough to be given a living wage, unlike 95%+ of minor leaguers.
The Story: Anderson, Eckstein, Edmonds, and Glaus all adorn 2016 Hall of Fame ballot
MWAH Says: No Scot Shields, which is a bummer. I think Edmonds is a borderline case but he won’t ever get anywhere close to the votes he needs. Will probably stick on the ballot another year. Can’t promise the same for any of the other former Halos.
The Story: Jose Reyes arrested on domestic violence charges
MWAH Says: Kind of amazed it took 10 days for this story to emerge. It should be interesting to see how Rob Manfred chooses to handle the situation, considering the new rules MLB recently put in place to combine domestic violence and/or child abuse. Manfred essentially has a blank check on suspension lengths in this scenario; let’s all hope he does a better job with it than Roger Goodell. Reyes is the first to fall under the rule’s purview, and I hope he’s punished harshly so that a message is sent, even if no convictions are made in the courthouse.
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