The January 30th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Angels sign Chad Tracy, hire new team doctors and much more…
The Story: The Angels signed Chad Tracy to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
The Monkey Says: Tracy had a nice start to his career, but he really hasn't been of much use since 2007. He is another left-handed bat, so he won't be a platoon option to go with Ibanez, but he is capable of playing both first base and third base and maybe even can fake it in the outfield, so he comes with more positional flexibility than Carlos Pena and Brennan Boesch. He has a shot at making the roster, but it seems more likely that he is being signed to hang out in Salt Lake as a mentor for C.J. Cron.
The Story: Orthopaedic Specialty Institute has agreed to become the new medical staff for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: Dr. Robert Grumet and Dr. Michael Shepard are now the new official team doctors, replacing the late Dr. Lewis Yocum. The team isn't completely cutting ties with the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic where Yocum worked, but this move adds more doctors to their staff, which is never a bad thing.
The Story: The all-time single-season Angels team.
The Monkey Says: I love Brian Downing, but would 1990 Lance Parrish not be a better choice since Parrish was actually a capable defender behind the dish?
The Story: A look at the Angels corner infield depth chart.
The Monkey Says: That depth chart has gotten a lot more crowded in recent days, but really all that matters is how Freese and Pujols bounceback from injury-ravaged seasons. Who backs them up is a much lesser concern.
The Story: Four things to look for from Mike Scioscia in 2014.
The Monkey Says: Of the four, I am most intrigued to see how Scioscia handles the bullpen. He was much better at handling his relief staff early in his managerial career but has since vacillated between a slavish devotion to inning-defined roles and riding the hot hand regardless of situation in recent years. This bullpen has improved talent, but more importantly has more diversity, so Scioscia will actually need to think about his bullpen selection carefully if he wants to maximize their utility.
The Story: There is a new Angels blog, ManiacBall.net.
The Monkey Says: You might recognize some of their talent for work at other Angel fan sites. It looks like they'll be offering up a wide variety of content so go give them a look. Just do it quickly because I have yet to decide if I will allow them to live. Err… I mean, the more the merrier!
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