The March 12th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Long and Green make case for bench jobs, Hamilton could be back Sunday and much more…
The Story: Matt Long is emerging as a dark horse to earn a roster spot.
The Monkey Says: This isn't just Long having a hot spring. He has been productive his entire minor league career. He does a lot of thing well, making him a more well-rounded and versatile outfield option than Shuck or Cowgill. It still seems like the team prefers Shuck to Long, but he might be able to change their mind if he keeps up this torrid play.
The Story: Grant Green is making a case to be the utility infielder for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: I don't see why the Angels can't keep Green and either Romine or McDonald. I also wouldn't mind them having Green work in the outfield some too so that he can become a superutility player. Understandably, they want Green to focus on the infield first to make sure he gets those down pat before extending him further, but giving him more outfield experience would give the Halos a very flexible bench.
The Story: Josh Hamilton could return as soon as Sunday.
The Monkey Says: He'd have to play a lot of games to get the 45-55 plate appearances he wants, but he should still be close enough to ready.
The Story: Mike Scioscia wants to use Ernesto Frieri for only three outs if at all possible.
The Monkey Says: If you know me you know that I love when relievers go four or more outs, but it isn't a role every reliever can handle. If the team has real data on Frieri not being able to handle such duties this makes sense. Scanning the game logs, I have to say that I don't see much evidence.
The Story: Mark Mulder has been officially released but isn't going to give up on making a comeback.
The Monkey Says: Best of luck to him.
The Story: Jett Bandy, Kaleb Cowart, Eric Stamets and Alex Yarbrough were reassigned to minor league camp.
The Monkey Says: They had their fun, time to get out of the way and let the guys with a chance of making the majors this year get more playing time.
The Story: Joe Smith is set to play a key role in the bullpen.
The Monkey Says: Why? Has the bullpen been a brutal, life-sucking problem for the Angels the last few years?
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