The July 8th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Shoemaker to remain in rotation, Santiago to bullpen, Richards an All-Star snub and much more…
The Story: Matt Shoemaker will stay in the rotation with Hector Santiago shifting to the bullpen for the time being.
The Monkey Says: Not a surprise given the recent work from the both of them and because of Santiago’s familiarity with pitching in relief. What we don’t know is how long the arrangement will last. The Halos have repeatedly said they want to keep Santiago stretched out in case another starter gets hurt. My guess is that they rearrange things after the All-Star break and send Santiago to Triple-A.
The Story: Garrett Richards is one of the most egregious All-Star snubs.
The Monkey Says: Indeed he was and will remain that way as he doesn’t stand much of a chance in the Final Vote balloting.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto discusses his recent bullpen deals.
The Monkey Says: The best thing here is that the Frieri-Grilli swap came about in one seven-minute phone call.
The Story: Baseball America unveiled their mid-season Top 50 prospects.
The Monkey Says: Unsurprisingly, no Angels made the list. Baseball Prospectus released their top 50 as well with the same lack of Halos.
The Story: Why do teams pitch to Mike Trout?
The Monkey Says: An interesting question indeed, but I wonder if it might be something as simple as teams not perceiving Trout as a true “slugger” like Pujols, Bonds or others who typically get intentionally walked a lot. Trout clearly has power, but it isn’t his calling card, so perhaps there is a mental profile that he doesn’t fit into for most managers.
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