The February 17th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Angels talk to Tustin about new stadium, Mulder out for the season and much more…
The Story: Arte Moreno is talking with the city of Tustin about potentially building a new stadium.
The Monkey Says: Nothing but posturing as Moreno admits talks with Anaheim over giving him a bunch of free land have stalled. A Tustin stadium would only make sense if the Angels get a Braves-like deal in which Tustin pays for the whole thing.
The Story: Mark Mulder ruptured his Achilles season and is likely to retire again.
The Monkey Says: Just heartbreaking. Mulder was had a great shot at reviving his career and making the Opening Day rotation, but then this goes and happens. It is a shame that he never even got to play in another game. It is an even bigger shame that the Angels already thin rotation depth just got so thin that it is now translucent. They almost have to sign a veteran like Joe Saunders to a minor league deal if not someone like Chris Capuano to a big league deal.
The Story: Arte Moreno confirmed that they team is actively engaged in contract talks with Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: That's about all he was willing to say though. We'll just have to keep waiting to see if anything happens.
The Story: The Angels will exceed the luxury tax if it "pushes them over the top."
The Monkey Says: Which puts a blockbuster mid-season trade on the table. Or at least it would if they had any prospects teams wanted. The scary part about this is Moreno later said the restriction is more just their operating budget which suggests the bigger issue for him is the $150 million actual payroll rather than the tax number.
The Story: T.J. Simers reprimands Arte Moreno for using "fear" to get his way with stadium renovations.
The Monkey Says: Well, T.J., that is kind of how negotiations work. You look for leverage. Taking your business elsewhere is a form of leverage. I'm sure Simers NEVER in his career threatened to join another newspaper if he didn't get the pay raise or promotion he wanted because that would be "extortion," at least according to his definition.
The Story: Josh Hamilton is back up to 240 pounds and using his hips more in his swing.
The Monkey Says: Neither of those things are going to help him layoff sliders in the dirt, but at least he might be able to drive the ball better. That can't hurt.
The Story: Jim Fregosi passed away on Friday after suffering a stroke last week.
The Monkey Says: Sad news which you probably already knew, but Fregosi was so important to the Angel franchise that I didn't want to leave it unmentioned.
The Story: Sean Burnett is optimistic about his rehab but still hasn't even begun long toss.
The Monkey Says: His goal is to be ready just in time for Opening Day, but if he thinks he needs to cut it that close, it leaves little margin for delay in his rehab. At this point, given his history, I'd be surprised if he didn't start the year on the DL.
The Monkey Says: Also, he has finally stopped being indignant about the fact that there might have been something wrong. At this point, Blanton still may not be on the Angel roster come Opening Day, but after the Mulder injury, that means Jerry Dipoto needs to add another arm (or maybe two?) for Blanton to be made expendable.
The Story: Hector Santiago is a humanitarian.
The Monkey Says: Come for the nice story of altruism, stay so you can feel old when Santiago says he was in middle school during 9/11. By the way, the more we learn about Santiago, the more it seems like the Halos might have acquired a heck of a person. He has been extremely accessible and friendly to fans and obviously this story shows he has a big heart. Now I really feel bad about doubting his ability to stick in the rotation. It doesn't change my mind, I just feel bad about it.
The Story: The trio of Pujols, Hamilton and Freese are under pressure to have bounceback seasons.
The Monkey Says: For all of them, they don't have to bounce all the way back. 80% would do just fine and the offense should still be pretty good.
The Story: Another Mike Trout contract extension thinkpiece.
The Monkey Says: Complete with a Ken Griffey Jr. comparison just to scare people a little bit about the possibility that Trout won't be awesome in perpetuity. However, the author predicts eight years, $240 million, which I can't help but agree with since I made the same prediction last week.
The Story: What happened to the Angels defense in 2013?
The Monkey Says: Everyone had a bad season at the same time, plus injuries. That's the answer to what happened to their offense, rotation and bullpen, too. Just in case you were going to ask.
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