Halo Headlines: Angels Targeting Reds C Hanigan, Scioscia Shows Off His Softer Side, MLB Has a New CBA

The November 23rd, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels interested in trading for Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan, Scioscia shows off his softer side, MLB announces their new collective bargaining agreement and much more…

The Story: The Angels have Red C Ryan Hanigan as one of their trade targets as a catcher upgrade.

The Monkey Says: I could get behind this deal, depending on what they would give up.  Hanigan is nothing special, but his defense graded out very well this year.  More importantly, he has shown that he can hit for a good enough average and draw walks at a strong rate.  He’s probably not quite good enough to start full-time, but as a platoon mate for Hank Conger as Hank learns on the job, the Angels could do a lot worse… like, for example, Jeff Mathis.

The Story: Mike Scioscia shows off his softer side at his charity golf tournament.

The Monkey Says: At Moorpark Country Club?  Hey!  I got married there.  That means absolutely nothing to the rest of you, but it is kind of cool to me.

The Story: Major League Baseball and the Players Association have agreed to a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.

The Monkey Says: There are a lot of good things in this deal, like more instant replay (yay!), but a lot of people are bitching about the spending caps in the amateur draft and in international signings.  The basic assumption is that it pretty much screws small-market teams since they won’t be able to spend extra resources on the draft to try and keep their farm systems fully stocked.  In other words, the Angels win!

The Story: The Angels’ pitching is about more than three great starters.

The Monkey Says: Yes, the defense is a big part of their success, but don’t for one minute try and sell me on their crappy bullpen.  Walden and Downs are keepers, but everyone else is a big question mark, even if some of them did post good stat lines.  Failing to address the bullpen would be a huge mistake.  Fortunately, Jerry Dipoto has shown interest in almost every single reliever with a pulse on the free agent market.

The Story: Bill James’ 2012 projections for the Angels are out.

The Monkey Says: Lots of numbers here, but the juiciest tidbit here is that James’ projection model suggests that Mark Trumbo will up his walk rate to an acceptable level (just barely, but still).