The November 8th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Trout and Weaver finalists for BBWAA awards, Greinke wants $150 million, Angels hire international scouting director and much more…
The Monkey Says: None of those are surprises although I had a minor heart attack when the first three AL MVP candidates were announced without Trout before I realized that MVP has five finalists unlike the rest of the awards. Weaver probably wasn't a total lock for AL Cy Young, but he definitely was a favorite to be in the top three. The winners will be announced starting Monday.
The Story: The Angels named Carlos Gomez their new director of international scouting.
The Monkey Says: He had been in the same position for Arizona, a team that has been very active in the international market recently. The Angels, however, have been fairly dormant, so this really is a great development for the future of their farm system.
The Story: A source (probably his agent) says Zack Greinke is seeking a six-year, $150 million contract.
The Monkey Says: Like, zoiks, Scoob! That would make him the highest paid right-handed pitcher in history, by a lot. Most experts have pegged him closer to $120 million over six years, so this is clearly just a ploy to artificially inflate his price before bidding even opens. Basically, this is the equivalent of his eBay "Buy It Now" price.
The Story: Dan Haren's agent swears his client is fully healthy.
The Monkey Says: Quite obviously the agent has a lot of motivation to make such a statement even if it isn't true. But if it isn't, I'm not sure how the agent will be able to hold serious contract talks after being so outright dishonest. Or maybe that is just standard operating procedure for a sports agent.
The Story: Does the Les Milgram Award suggest Miguel Cabrera will win the AL MVP?
The Monkey Says: The gist is that KC writers voted for Billy Butler over Alex Gordon even though Gordon is probably better once you factor in his defense and baserunning. Sounds familiar, right? That could just be the KC writers though. I was actually quite encouraged to see that Ryan Braun was named an NL MVP finalist, suggesting that there is a contingent in the BBWAA that is more open-minded. How big that contingent remains to be seen.
The Story: Starting pitching remains a top priority for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: This link was brought to you by the Department of Stating the Obvious.
The Monkey Says: I think I started saying this back in May and I still wholeheartedly support it. I imagine the Angels do to, but they have bigger fish to fry right now.
The Story: The Diamondbacks are having "active discussions" regarding a trade of Justin Upton.
The Monkey Says: I have no idea if the Angels are even interested, but give that Dipoto comes from the Arizona organization, he would potentially have an inside track on pulling off such a trade if he were so inclined. Or maybe he knows enough about Upton to make him not want to even get involved with such a deal.
The Monkey Says: One year isn't really a good sample, but it shows it can happen. It also suggests that the best pitchers are only acquired in massive packages. I actually think it bodes well for the Angels if they re-sign Greinke and want to find a reasonable number four starter via trade rather than overpaying for one on the free agent market.
The Story: It is "unlikely" the Angels will ask Mark Trumbo to play third base again.
The Monkey Says: So says Dipoto at the GM meetings. That's probably the smart move given the way the roster is currently constituted and how poorly Trumbo's first go at the hot corner went. Also, Jerry all but guaranteed Garrett Richards a rotation spot, which we all kind of assumed already.
The Story: Speculation that the Angels could make dark horse acquisition for Japanese pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The Monkey Says: A nice idea, though I don't really know much about him, but I think this is another case of just assuming the Angels have that kind of money. As I mentioned earler this week, the Angels didn't have much of a scouting presence internationally this last year, so they may not have enough information on Ryu to make a play for him.
The Story: Mark Gubicza talks about his love of hockey and the LA Kings.
The Monkey Says: …even though there probably won't be a NHL season. This seems like one big troll.
The Story: Considering Anibal Sanchez as a fallback option to Zack Greinke.
The Monkey Says: I'm not a fan. He just isn't that good but he is going to be paid like he is. I'd rather the Angels pick up a slightly lesser pitcher for a much lesser contract.
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