The June 11th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Bourjos activated, Nelson DFA'd, Burnett visiting Dr. Andrews and much more…
The Monkey Says: Bourjos returned to play center (get over it, people) and bat ninth. Nelson was cut loose in favor of Brad Hawpe who provides more positional flexibility since he can play first base, which has been a bit of a problem for the team this year thanks to Pujols' injury.
The Story: Sean Burnett is off to Alabama for another visit to Dr. James Andrews.
The Monkey Says: This is his second visit this season, so it speaks to how hopeless this situation is becoming. Andrews didn't find anything in his last exam, so one would think there is nothing new for him to find this time around, but perhaps he will be prompted to take a more invasive approach with Burnett to find the source of his continuing elbow problems.
The Story: Keith Law reviews the Angels' 2013 draft class.
The Monkey Says: He seems to think Hunter Green is a real prize for the Halos. None of the other selections really seemed to have impressed him, although there are a few picks that flashed some potential.
The Story: Joe Blanton made some comments after his last start that make some believe he "doesn't care."
The Monkey Says: That is such a cop out interpretation. Fans love to assume a guy doesn't care, but they are almost always wrong. I believe a lot of pro athletes learn that they can't allow themselves to get outwardly frustrated and emotional when they are struggling otherwise they will defeat themselves mentally. I also think there are many athletes that are so wildly overconfident that they always believe they will snap out of a slump the next time they play (cough, cough… Josh Hamilton, cough). Blanton is probably more of the former. Yes, some urgency would be nice, but I would be far more concerned if he was throwing himself a pity party to the press just so the fans can see how much he "cares."
The Story: The best names in the 2013 draft featuring Angels pick Riley Good.
The Monkey Says: That might be the best name ever.
The Story: What did everyone miss when it comes to determining how good the Angels would be before the season?
The Monkey Says: Some of it was foreseeable, but the real issue is just that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Even the Hamilton decline has been much longer and steeper than any reasonable person would've projected. That being said, experts probably overrated the Angels in general just because of the big names on the roster and leftover Trout euphoria.
The Story: It turns out that firing a hitting coach might actually boost offense.
The Monkey Says: Just imagine what the Angels could've done had this article come out five years ago.
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