The September 14th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Weaver for AL Cy Young, Angels close to being huge disappointments, Scoiscia's job security and much more…
The Story: Does Jered Weaver still have a shot at the Cy Young?
The Monkey Says: No, he doesn't. And it isn't because the Angels might not make the post-season, despite the author's assertion. That line of thinking tends to apply more to MVP voting. The real problem is that Jered missed too much time and will be 30 to 40 innings behind the other top Cy Young contenders. That will carry great weight in the eyes of the voters and he doesn't have a major edge in the key stats to make up for it.
The Story: The Angels are close to squandering Mike Trout's great season and their massive payroll.
The Monkey Says: Kicking struggling contenders while they are down, it is what national columnists do. Can we at least declare a moratorium on these kind of articles until the season is over and we know who actually did and didn't make the playoffs?
The Story: New roster, new rules, same Angels.
The Monkey Says: I guess not. The real killer here is the reminder at the end of how the Halos tanked down the stretch with the exact same number of games to go last season even though they were on the cusp of contention.
The Story: The foolhardiness of the big acquisitions of the Angels and Dodgers.
The Monkey Says: Last one, I promise. It is an interesting assertion that big signings don't pay off. Certainly plenty of them don't, but the real issue at hand is always whether or not they are smart. It is hard to justify the ridiculous contract the Angels gave Pujols, though they were paying a premium to prove to the industry and the fans that they could make a "big splash." The other signings, those I thought were smart, but they still aren't paying off like they should. Still, it seems a bit unfair to judge so harshly because of one season of a strategy that was clearly intended to pay out over several years.
The Story: Will Mike Scioscia lose his job if the Angels don't make the playoffs?
The Monkey Says: Great, this again. Has everyone had their turn writing it now? I feel like they have, which is pretty impressive since there hasn't been even an inkling from the Angels' front office and ownership that they are considering such a move.
The Story: Torii Hunter stumps for Mike Trout to win a Gold Glove.
The Monkey Says: He has a great shot, regardless of who campaigns for him. Just run a reel of his highlight catches and that ought to do it. And, frankly, his sabermetrics numbers are ridiculous as well, so I really don't see how he could not win. Oh right, I just remembered, the players and coaches vote on the award and they are kind of dumb about it. Other than that, it should work out well.
The Story: The Angels have tough calls to make on the contract options for Haren and Santana.
The Monkey Says: Part of me thinks they should pick up both and then trade one of them. This free agent market stinks and I suspect that the Halos could get a nice return by trading away one of those two pitchers, especially if they picked up some of the money involved. And if they don't, then they have solid rotation depth again without affecting their long-term financial ledger, it is a win-win.
The Story: Arte Moreno pays a visit to a local Boys and Girls Club.
The Monkey Says: A very nice puff piece of a write-up which serves to remind us that there are more important things than baseball like… umm… hold on, gimme a minute… there's, uh… yeah, I got nothing.
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