The August 26th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Hunter tried to fight Pujols, who gets fired: Scioscia or Dipoto and much more…
The Monkey Says: You know this much by now and we already covered it late Friday, but we need to reset the scene for the rest of the avalanche of Angels dirty laundry that was to follow. One additional observation that occurred to me since this broke was that somehow Morosi has a source that says one will be fired. That either means his source isn't that good because he doesn't know which of the two or, more likely and more scarily, Moreno hasn't decided yet. How do you get this deep into this mess without already knowing who you want to fire?
The Story: Torii Hunter tried to fight Albert Pujols at a team meeting last season.
The Monkey Says: Torii Hunter, such a great teammate, right? Pujols is no saint here either as this only supports the rumors that he has had some clubhouse issues regarding his role last year and this year. Whatever the case, this would seem to be a big black eye for Scioscia, suggesting that maybe the leak comes from the Dipoto camp. On the other hand, this story somehow sneaks in a report that Moreno essentially forced Reagins to make the Vernon Wells trade. Every report, including direct quotes from Moreno himself, if I'm not mistaken, laid much of the blame on Reagins for spearheading that trade. That makes me wonder if Reagins isn't at least somewhat involved as a leak in this whole mess.
The Story: Arte Moreno is not without blame in the Angels situation.
The Monkey Says: This reads like a rap sheet for all the meddling Arte has supposedly been guilty of over the years, including 2012 trades of Santana and Abreu that he allegedly vetoed. What makes this even more confusing is various sources saying he will fire Dipoto and then others saying he will fire Scioscia. This isn't going to end well.
The Story: Mike Scioscia claims that he and Jerry Dipoto are "in line" philosophically.
The Monkey Says: He does admit to being angry over the Mickey Hatcher situation, but claims they are cool otherwise. Scioscia, ever the diplomat.
The Story: Jeff Passan believes that it will be Jerry Dipoto getting let go at the end of the season.
The Monkey Says: The rumor mill certainly seems to be leaning in that direction, but I'm not sure that I totally agree based on the circumstances in which Moreno hired him. If anything, I think the lack of these rumors just singling out Dipoto suggest that Moreno wants to fire Scioscia but is playing coy because he doesn't want to disrespect Scioscia by letting it go public that he is going to get whacked. Or maybe I am just thinking that because I want Dipoto to stay and Scioscia to go.
The Story: The Angels called up Cory Rasmus and designated Billy Buckner for assignment.
The Monkey Says: That's three DFA's for Buckner this year. I'm guessing there won't be a fourth. As for Rasmus, he killed it over a small sample size in Salt Lake, but with the state of the current Angel bullpen, he should get ample opportunity to prove himself before the years is out.
The Story: Kevin Jepsen is likely done for the season after an emergency appendectomy.
The Monkey Says: Collin Cowgill was recalled to take his spot on the roster. My favorite part of this story though is Scioscia saying Jepsen is "still evolving." Dude, he's 29 and sucks just as much as he did three years ago. I know evolution is a slow process, but maybe it is just time to admit it isn't going to happen for Jepsen.
The Story: The Angels will skip Jerome Williams in this turn through the rotation.
The Monkey Says: The two off days permitted them that luxury, but it doesn't explain why they are bothering to leave him in the rotation. If he sucks so bad that he has to be skipped on a team that is playing for nothing, he just shouldn't be pitching. Hopefully they recall Hanson or promote someone like Shoemaker when it is time for Jerome to start again.
The Story: Nick Cafardo wouldn't be shocked if the Angels re-sign Kendrys Morales.
The Monkey Says: On one hand, I get the need to replace Trumbo's bat if they trade him this off-season, but don't think replacing him with a guy who struggles to play the field is a good idea when Pujols might need to shift to DH to keep his legs from crumbling into dust next season. Also, I can't ever recall an Angels-related Cafardo rumor that came true. He strikes me as a Peter Vecsey-type that has a good reputation on local rumors but tries to use that reputation to make his speculation on out-of-market teams seem legitimate when all they are is a guess.
The Story: Howie Kendrick still isn't close to running full speed.
The Monkey Says: There isn't anything serious still, just a slow recovery. One wonders if they won't reach a point where they just shut him down in order to play it safe since they haven't exactly had great luck this season with recoveries that take longer than expected.
The Story: Mike Scioscia jokes that to deal with the stress of managing, he eats.
The Monkey Says: He even admits that he has put on weight this season as a testament to his stress. He may not have a job in a few weeks, but at least he still has a sense of humor.
The Story: Angels minor league outfielder Angel Montilla has been suspended for a drug violation.
The Monkey Says: He was a DSL kid that you never heard of and probably never will.
The Story: Ernesto Frieri is the "primary" closer again.
The Monkey Says: That's a diplomatic way of saying he is the closer again, but Scioscia reserves the right to yank him if he falls apart.
The Story: Results for the "how big of a one-year free agent contract would Mike Trout get" poll.
The Monkey Says: I assume that "all of the money" just didn't fit on the x-axis of the chart.
The Story: Free agent alternate history featuring many different Josh Hamilton scenarios.
The Monkey Says: Bad timing might very well be the death of Jerry Dipoto's GM career.
The Story: The wildest pitches of the week.
The Monkey Says: Garrett Richards has been great in the rotation, but this is the second week he has held the top spot since returning to the rotation. I think that is meaningful.
The Story: The wildest swings of the week.
The Monkey Says: Two different Angel relievers making opposing hitters look foolish. That is something we haven't seen around these parts in quite some time. Relish it.
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