The July 25th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Trout the forgotten MVP candidate, Richards takes Blanton's rotation spot and much more…
The Story: Mike Trout is the forgotten MVP candidate.
The Monkey Says: Guess what? Trout now has a better WAR than Miguel Cabrera, again. However the article is spot on that Trout won't win the MVP. Odds are Trout, Cabrera and maybe Chris Davis will be relatively closely bunched atop the WAR leaderboard but the Angels will be well out of a playoff spot. With candidates that relatively equal, the guy on the losing team never stands a chance.
The Story: Garrett Richards will replace Joe Blanton in the starting rotation.
The Monkey Says: At least until Jason Vargas comes back. That give Richards maybe three starts to prove he deserves to stay over Jerome Williams, though we it shouldn't matter if the Angels smartly give up on the season and let Richards stay in the rotation so they can evaluate him for a rotation spot in 2014.
The Story: Josh Hamilton will miss a few more days of action after getting a cortisone shot in his ankle.
The Monkey Says: He still doesn't know how he hurt it though. Odds are he will miss the entire Oakland series, but a trip to the disabled list does not appear to be under consideration.
The Story: Sean Burnett and Jason Vargas both threw encouraging bullpen session on Tuesday.
The Monkey Says: They both seem to have another bullpen session on deck. Vargas could go out on rehab after that, but the Angels will likely be more cautious with Burnett given all the setbacks he has had.
The Story: The Angels claimed reliever J.C. Gutierrez off waivers and will add him to the active roster today.
The Monkey Says: This will be interesting. Gutierrez was a guy Dipoto knew from Arizona and is coming off Tommy John surgery. He hasn't been particularly good this season, but the Angels don't have much to lose by giving him a shot. What we don't know is who on the staff will get replaced. With Richards tabbed to join the roation it likely means Billy Buckner will be DFA'd, unless the Halos find a BS excuse to put Joe Blanton on the DL.
The Story: Joe Blanton isn't "good enough" to join the 20-loss club.
The Monkey Says: Pitcher wins and losses are horseshit statistics. Who cares how many losses Blanton gets? We all know he stinks.
The Story: Rating the MLB ballparks with the Big A coming in 16th.
The Monkey Says: 16th of 21 since Leitch hasn't been to all the parks. I can't say I disagree much with the ranking though. The Big A is nice, but nothing special and needs some work, which it will get soon enough.
The Story: Is it time to trade Mark Trumbo?
The Monkey Says: NOPE. Not only is he a fan favorite who could probably be signed to a team-friendly long-term deal, but he gives the Angels power, which is shockingly lacking their lineup. That is going to be hard to replace, especially in comparison to what it would take to replace Bourjos, Kendrick or Aybar.
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