The September 26th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Thatcher uncertain to make postseason roster, Trout won’t change game for postseason and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia speaks on Joe Thatcher’s status regarding the postseason roster.
The Monkey Says: Scioscia failed to endorse Thatcher, but he didn’t bury him either. He should get an opportunity to get Joe into at least one game during this upcoming series against the left-hand heavy Mariners lineup. If he can do something impressive, he might be able to lock in that roster spot. If he doesn’t, well, trading for a LOOGY was a nice idea, in theory.
The Story: Mike Trout won’t alter his game for the postseason.
The Monkey Says: Nor should he. While he is having a down season, by his lofty standards, the last thing the Halos need is him trying to play heroball in the ALDS and taking himself out of his comfort zone just to try and impress a national audience.
The Story: Mike Trout has the third highest-selling jersey since the All-Star break.
The Monkey Says: Trailing some no name chumps named Jeter and Kershaw. Pujols comes in at 11th, which strikes me as surprisingly high.
The Story: Arte Moreno talks about his pursuit of a World Series.
The Monkey Says: He doesn’t say anything new, really. The closest thing to controversial is that he doesn’t completely shoot down the idea of selling the team.
The Story: The Angels and Orioles are looking great for different reasons.
The Monkey Says: Are they really that different? Both have succeeded on the strength of a good offense, outstanding bullpen and quality defense. The Orioles have probably gotten better starting pitching than the Angels, but neither has a truly dominant starter.
The Story: The “glove” story continues for John McDonald.
The Monkey Says: Unfortunately for Johnny Mac, it looks like it is going to end with him being left off the postseason roster.
The Story: Mike Trout will be the AL MVP, but will it be unanimous?
The Monkey Says: Someone will find a way to vote for someone else. There is bound to be at least one writer who just votes anti-Trout because of all the WAR-related animosity the last few years. Others might call into question his strikeout total or cast a homer vote for Abreu, V-Mart or Bautista because they have an edge in OPS. I haven’t seen anyone do this yet, but I’m sure one will pop up sooner or later.
The Story: We finally got a post from someone trying to make a case that Mike Trout doesn’t deserve the AL MVP.
The Monkey Says: …like this one. This is no BBWAA writer, but it is an example of the mental gymnastics a voter can go through to justify voting against Trout just for the sake of voting against Trout. He stumps for Victor Martinez and then actually tries to pass of Michael Brantley and Jose Abreu ahead of Trout as well. Weird that someone from Midwest Sports Fan would vote for three AL Central players ahead of Trout. I’m sure it is just a coincidence. But, hey, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters, apparently, is that V-Mart had a better batting average since August 1st, which we all know is the top criterion in deciding the MVP.
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