The October 22nd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Halo Headlines: Imagining an A-Rod-Angels trade, Rodney named Comeback Player of the Year, how the Cardinals thrived without Pujols and much more…
The Story: Imagining how an A-Rod-to-Angels trade would (or would not) make sense.
The Monkey Says: This post makes the salient point that Callaspo really isn't that bad and was actually better from a fWAR basis last season. Nobody is saying that Callaspo is A-Rod, he clearly doesn't have that kind of upside, but with Rodriguez getting old and injury-prone, there is no guarantee that he will be an obvious upgrade on the field over Callaspo.
The Story: Former Angel Fernando Rodney was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year.
The Monkey Says: Not to knock on Rodney, but I just don't get what he was coming back from. He was a bad pitcher in 2011 and probably no better than league average for several years before that. Now, Kendrys Morales coming back from a horrific injury and a lay-off of almost two years, that's a "comeback." That being said, Rodney had an amazing year, so I understand that people wanted to find a way to honor him somehow.
The Story: How the Cardinals are thriving without Albert Pujols.
The Monkey Says: Carlos Beltran having a huge year was a big help but really, they are just a very well run team that makes very few bad moves. If anything, it is an indictment on the Angels that the Cardinals were smart enough to avoid giving him such a massive contract. Of course, we all kind of knew that already.
The Story: Picking a cult favorite player for your team.
The Monkey Says: Oooh. I want to play too! Obviously, this means you can't pick a star player or a non-star who already was a fan-favorite. I must admit, I always had a soft spot for Shigetoshi Hasegawa and pulled for Todd Greene even after he left the organization. Those aren't great choices, but I don't think I'm old enough just yet to like anyone super obscure and kind of cool.
The Story: How the aces of 2012 were graded as prospects.
The Monkey Says: It is a shame that Weaver didn't make the cut. I would've liked to have seen that grade. He had a great reputation coming out of college, but he also never threw that hard or had one off-speed pitch that was particularly awesome.
The Story: A look backwards and forwards in regards to Ernesto Frieri.
The Monkey Says: I agree that it isn't 100% that Frieri will be back as the closer next season, but I think it is actually pretty close. Finding closers isn't easy and it really isn't easy when you are on record as being unwilling to spend big money on a reliever. I suppose a trade is always possible, but I'd be willing to bet money on Frieri at least opening 2013 as the closer.
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