The October 17th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Don Baylor hired as hitting coach, Scioscia says organization is on 'same page' and much more…
The Story: Don Baylor has been named the new hitting coach for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: This is a coup for the Angels as Baylor is widely considered to be one of the best hitting coaches and best people in baseball. The fact that he won the 1979 AL MVP with the Angels is just gravy for the faction of Angel fans who think all coaches must be former Angel greats. He had been with the D'Backs in the same role, but Dipoto was able to lure him away. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited about an Angel hitting coach which is a very weird and uncomfortable feeling. For what it is worth, Baylor has also managed in the league, so he might be taking on a bigger role on the coaching staff other than his nominal position. This hiring might very well explain why Eppard and Picciolo were let go.
The Monkey Says: There is a lot of talk of team chemistry here that makes me wonder if the Angels are going to focus on bringing in character guys to round out the roster not unlike what the Red Sox did last off-season. Aside from that, Scioscia's references to "aggressive discussions" implies that there was some issues that needed to be hashed out for everyone to get on the same page, but at least he is taking public responsibility for some of his failings last year and championing this "same page" thing, providing hope for a more harmonious organization in 2014.
The Story: A look at Mike Trout's reverse platoon splits.
The Monkey Says: Oh, there are some other players discussed, but who cares. As for Trout's platoon splits, those should even out over time, but even if they don't, I doubt it will affect how teams deal with him as I can't recount as single instance of teams going out of their way to match him up against left-handed pitching.
The Story: T.J. Simers is suing the LA Times for discrimination and wrongful firing.
The Monkey Says: I include this here because Simers claims one of the reasons he was fired was because the LA Times asked him to be less critical of Arte Moreno. That hardly seems like something he should be able to sue for, so I guess he is going to have to hope his migraine syndrome works for him. Really though, I just hope the LA Times doesn't rollover and settle because a troll like Simers shouldn't get paid because of some trumped up lawsuit filed solely to exact revenge because he felt the paper didn't treat him right even though Simers hasn't treated his readers or the sports he covered with any respect in decades.
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