The January 17th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Angels remain involved with Tanaka negotiations (or not), Pujols “really excited” about progress and much more…
The Story: Reports insist that the Angels remain involved in talks for Masahiro Tanaka.
The Monkey Says: Oh, good! I’m so happy! I really hope they get him. There has just been so many conflicting reports with Tanaka lately, I had started to lose hope. Phew!
The Story: The Angels insist they are no longer involved in the Masahiro Tanaka negotiations.
The Monkey Says: What the what? Dammit! I’m so confused! I can’t take this Tanaka Hokey Pokey much longer. One more week, just need to get through one more week without these divergent truths about the Angels’ pursuit or lack thereof shattering my reality.
The Story: Albert Pujols is “really excited” about his rehabilitation from foot problems.
The Monkey Says: Let’s hope so, there aren’t many scenarios in which the Angels are able to contend for the AL West crown that don’t involve a resurgent Albert Pujols.
The Monkey Says: McDonald is 39, but he is still a great glove at short, second and third. He still can’t either, so there’s that. He is likely being brought in to challenge Andrew Romine for a spot on the Opening Day bench. He’ll make $850,000 if he gets rostered.
The Story: Bovada gives the Angels 15/1 odds to sign Masahiro Tanaka.
The Monkey Says: The Yankees are the favorite, but that is beside the point. The real point is that this feels like a situation ripe to be exploited by Tanaka and his agents. How do they not place a massive bet on the team that Tanaka is going to sign with? Just lay $10 million on the Cubs, then call up the Cubs the next day and take their offer. Instant $70 million bucks right there. Heck, that might be one way to funnel cash back to his old Japanese team. Just tip them off to where he is going and they stand to reap a massive windfall.
The Story: How TV money and smart front offices shifted the balance of power in MLB to the AL West.
The Monkey Says: Only the division has no World Series titles to show for it, but I get the point. The AL West is going to be a bloodbath of competition on and off the field for years to come.
The Story: How will Clayton Kershaw’s new contract impact Mike Trout’s potential new contract?
The Monkey Says: I really don’t think it will impact it much at all. People knew Kershaw was in line for that kind of deal for months and it was more or less in line with the current salary trends. Trout’s will be as well, whenever he gets around to signing it.
The Story: A proposal for a Mike Trout contract extension.
The Monkey Says: Interesting, but a 12-year contract isn’t going to happen. That would make Trout 34 when he finishes the contract. If his agent is doing his job, he’ll try and get him to free agency while he is in his prime or just coming out of it so that he can net a second massive contract. An eight-year extension seems far more likely to me.
The Story: Team-by-team scores according to the “Hustle Index.”
The Monkey Says: I don’t know if it really reflects hustle as much as it reflects a combination of speed and smart baserunning, but that is actually better, in my opinion. As you might have expected, the Angels finished in the middle of the pack.
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