The March 4th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Trout's agent upset over contract renewal, Angels still confident about keeping Trout long-term and much more…
The Story: Mike Trout's contract was renewed at $510,000 and his agent is upset about it.
The Monkey Says: I will give you the condensed version of what I said on the podcast. Trout and his agent are right to expect more, but they also have no negotiating leverage. If the Angels offered more than this, then Trout's agent is at fault for not accepting it. Dipoto seems to be sticking to his guns and not breaking from the flat pay structure as Trumbo got a normal raise this year despite being an All-Star, as did Walden last year. It is great to not set new precedent and all, but quibbling over a few hundred thousand dollars when you have a $160 million payroll seems foolish, especially if there is any chance it creates bad blood with an agent, though I really doubt that will be the case.
The Monkey Says: History and Trout's personality definitely seem to be on their side. Trout will get paid eventually, so his agent would be rather petty if he tried to hold the Angels over a barrel for not being generous in the early stages of his career. That being said, it seems like any hope of Trout signing a long-term extension before he hits his arbitration years is pretty minimal at this point.
The Story: Mike Trout still considers himself a center fielder.
The Monkey Says: This was him taking the high road, believe it or not. He doesn't seem too happy with the move to left, but he is being a good soldier about it. I imagine he'll still play plenty of center this season anyway and could move back their permanently if Peter Bourjos doesn't rebound.
The Story: It turns out Ernesto Frieri is working on a cutter AND a changeup this spring.
The Monkey Says: Tinkering with two new pitches seems like a great way to not develop either very well nor to make any refinements to his existing repertoire.
The Story: Bobby Cassevah elected free agency and signed with the Colorado Rockies.
The Monkey Says: As an extreme groundball pitcher, the Rockies took a smart gamble there. Clearly the Angels didn't think his stuff was going to play in the majors though.
The Monkey Says: Insert your own ironic "Fat Mike Trout" joke here.
The Story: Albert Pujols insists he will be ready for Opening Day.
The Monkey Says: He is still isn't running full speed but claims he is doing everything else as normal. That makes it quite likely that, at worst, he will be able to DH on Opening Day. OH WAIT! For some idiotic reason the Angels open their season in Cincinnati and thus won't have a DH slot available. Thanks again for reminding me how much I hate interleague play.
The Story: Sean Burnett threw a bullpen session over the weekend.
The Monkey Says: I've seen no follow-up to this story, so I assume everything went according to plan.
The Story: The Mike Trout bobblehead giveaway this year is a reenactment of his famous catch in Baltimore.
The Monkey Says: I don't care much for bobbleheads, but this one is pretty cool.
The Story: Your weekly article on Josh Hamilton's faith and family.
The Monkey Says: Thanks for filling the quota, Marcia.
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