The February 19, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the passing of my favorite Angels player, the revelation that Hector Santiago was almost traded to Baltimore at some point this winter, and more…
The Story: Tony Phillips dies of an apparent heart attack
MWAH Says: Extremely sad news. Phillips was my favorite Angels player growing up, despite being with the club for only two seasons. He was quite the character, and was tragically underrated—50.8 WAR!, .374 OBP!—throughout his career. He was just 56. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.
The Story: Hector Santiago was on the verge of being dealt to the Orioles
MWAH Says: No information on when this almost happened or who almost came to the Angels, unfortunately. Fun to wonder about, though. Looking at Baltimore’s roster, I have no idea who the Halos would want that Santiago could afford. Jonathan Schoop, maybe? But why would the O’s give him up? Probably better this move wasn’t made.
The Story: Mike Scioscia still optimistic about Angels’ offense
MWAH Says: Well, of course he is. This is exactly the kind of lineup he likes putting out there. Lots of high-contact guys who can potentially make something happen on the base paths. It’s tough to tell just looking at the starting lineup, but this roster looks a lot like Scioscia’s rosters of old. I’ll have much more on this later today.
The Story: Albert Pujols’ status for opening day still up in the air
MWAH Says: This is just an update to let us know nothing has changed. There’s still a chance he’ll be ready for Jake Arrieta and the Cubs, but the standard recovery time pegs him for a mid-April return. Pujols is up to taking BP, but won’t be ready for fielding drills for a while longer.
The Story: Kaleb Cowart, Kyle Kubitza getting work at new positions
MWAH Says: The two are getting reps at both second base and left field. Mike Scioscia doesn’t expect them to be everyday players at either spot when the season starts, but want them to be ready just in case. I get this for Kubitza, who’s never had a good glove at third, but not for Cowart.
The Story: Dipoto confirms relationship with Scioscia “wasn’t quite healthy”
MWAH Says: Dipoto finally confirmed what we’ve all known for a long time. It was him versus Moreno and Scioscia, and that made it a pain to do the job he was asked to do. Makes you wonder how long it’ll be before the same is true for Billy Eppler.
The Story: Yankees COO Lonn Trost puts foot in mouth about team’s new ticket policy
MWAH Says: Remember when that Angels marketing guy last year made those absurd public statements about how the organization was actively trying to deter lower-class families from going the stadium and got fired the next week? Well, Trost said more or less the same thing yesterday about the Yankees, except that he probably won’t get fired.
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