The September 25th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Hamilton confident he’ll play in ALDS, Trout leaves game early with illness and much more…
The Story: Josh Hamilton likely won’t play this weekend but is confident he’ll be ready for the postseason.
The Monkey Says: That’s his opinion, not the team’s. The big problem of him not playing this weekend is that the team will have to take it on faith that he can perform at a high level come the ALDS. If he can’t, they either have to remove him from the roster (and thus lose him for the ALCS as well) or burn a roster spot on him. Another consideration is that it sounds like he will only be able to DH, which limits the usefulness of certain players they might normally carry, like C.J. Cron.
The Story: Mike Trout leaves game early with stomach illness.
The Monkey Says: First Weaver, now Trout. It looks like the flu is working its way through the clubhouse. Let’s hope it works quickly so that nobody calls in sick during the playoffs.
The Story: Matt Shoemaker increased his throwing program slightly.
The Monkey Says: It sounds like he is on pace for the ALDS, but the Angels haven’t confirmed that either because they just aren’t sure or because they want to keep prospective opponents guessing.
The Story: Dino Ebel has not been contacted about the Houston Astros managerial opening.
The Monkey Says: Looks like the report was wrong. I’m sure Dino will get an interview somewhere eventually.
The Story: Hector Santiago blamed his previous bad start on changing his approach to try and be more efficient.
The Monkey Says: Clearly his inability to go deep in games was starting to bother him. The good news though is that he managed to fix the problem and actually looked rather sharp in his outing yesterday. He still may not get a start in the ALDS, but at least there is some level of confidence that he won’t be a disaster if he does get the nod.
The Story: Cory Rasmus will get a shot at earning a rotation spot next season.
The Monkey Says: There isn’t really an opening, but he has pitched very well as a semi-starter, so he deserves a shot to prove that he can do it on a full-time basis.
The Story: The Angels’ improved defense has been a factor in their success.
The Monkey Says: When you don’t have a lights out rotation, having a defense that doesn’t give away runs is always a big help. They still aren’t an elite defense, but they don’t have any real defensive liabilities out there and even have a few guys who should at least garner Gold Glove consideration.
The Story: Mike Trout met Ken Griffey Jr. for an episode of Griffey’s Fox Sports 1 show.
The Monkey Says: Wunderkind meets former wunderkind on a show that nobody knew existed.
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