The August 20th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Moreno talks about the state of the Angels, Pujols officially done for the season and much more…
The Story: Jason Vargas and Erick Aybar were both placed on revocable waivers yesterday.
The Monkey Says: This is standard procedure, but it does mean that if a trade is going to happen, it will happen soon for either guy, but that is really just because time is winding down anyway. I'd guess Vargas is the only one really likely to get moved, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Cardinals kick the tires on Aybar once more. Since the news has already leaked about the two hitting waivers, I'd guess news will leak again come Wednesday if either gets claimed or traded.
The Story: Albert Pujols has officially been shut down for the rest of the season.
The Monkey Says: Well, the team moved pretty definitively to put to bed the talk of Albert wanting to return in September, didn't they? This is the smartest thing the Angels have done in months.
The Story: Howie Kendrick was nearly traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.
The Monkey Says: This isn't a surprise since Kendrick was always a logical fit for the Dodgers. That Zach Lee was involved is no surprise either since the Angels want pitching. What we don't know is just how serious these talks really were and who said no, assuming it ever even got that far. All this really tells us is that there should still be plenty of interest in Kendrick this off-season if the Angels still want to trade him.
The Story: Arte Moreno spoke about the state of the Angels, but said nothing of note.
The Monkey Says: If T.J. Simers were still allowed to write, he'd have a heck of time trying to fabricate the "Angry Arte" character from this interview. Arte actually sounds pretty level-headed here. He talks a lot about what went wrong but never assigns blame. He certainly identifies pitching as the problem, so perhaps that is where he will direct his spending this winter. He also commented on the stadium situation and was careful with his words but said nothing to suggest he is looking to move to Los Angeles proper.
The Story: What should the Angels do with Mark Trumbo?
The Monkey Says: This is one of the toughest decisions the Angels will have to make this summer. Based on their reaction to Pittsburgh's interest in him at the deadline, they value Trumbo highly, but his performance hasn't necessarily justified that. In a lot of off-seasons, a guy like Trumbo would be easy to replace as 1B/DH slugger types are typically abundant and reasonably priced. That really isn't the case this off-season though. Maybe they could roll the dice on Mike Morse and get similar production while having Kole Calhoun around as a bat that can mix in. The thing is though that the Angels need Trumbo's power. With Pujols and Hamilton in decline, there is a real lack of pop in the lineup and that is harder to replace than Bourjos even if Bourjos is the better all-around player. One of the two has to go though. We might be overthinking the dilemma though because it could boil down to who fetches a higher price on the trade market.
The Story: Howie Kendrick is taking batting practice again and could be activated before the weekend.
The Monkey Says: What they will do with Chris Nelson and Grant Green when Howie returns remains to be seen.
The Story: Uniwatch ranks the Angels uniform as the 12th best in baseball.
The Monkey Says: A solid ranking, but I don't know that they are feeling like new "modern classics." Personally, I actually like the red alternate best out of all the uniforms. That being said, I kind of want the Halos to overhaul the uniforms. They feel a bit bland to me. Obviously you risk a grand misstep like the Disney-era periwinkle uniforms, but after seeing those sweet throwback uniforms the Halos wore in the last series, going to a modernized version of the 1980's uniform would be just fine with me. I also feel a need to mention how much it tweaks me that the Angels' main color is red. I get the juxtaposition to the Dodger Blue, but when you think of angels, do you think red? No, red is for devils and demons. I've always thought the Angels should wear UCLA colors, but that is dangerous territory from a uniform standpoint as gold can gety gaudy in a hurry.
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