• The Story: Scott Kazmir was scratched from his start yesterday with “shoulder fatigue.”   The Monkey Says: Oh. Crap.  Shoulder fatigue halfway through the freaking pre-season?  Definitely not a good sign for the injury-prone Kazmir.  With Kaz and Santana both being scratched with injuries in recent days, the Angel rotation is suddenly starting to look shaky.
  • The Story: The best and worst baserunners in baseball.   The Monkey Says: This is more about actual running on balls in play than steals, and it is no surprise to see Maicer Izturis (and Chone Figgins, sigh) among the five best.  Nor is it a surprise that Juan Rivera is among the five worst as he continually gets thrown out trying to take an extra-base since he foolishly believes he has speed when in fact he is not much faster than a glacier.
  • The Story: Some spring training stats might actually mean something.   The Monkey Says: I’m not about to question someone like John Dewan, but it seems fishy to me that such a small and non-comparable sample of performance can actually correlate that strongly to regular season performance.  I sure hope he is right though because of Napoli and Hunter have big years, the Angels surely will as well.
  • The Story: Cory Aldridge won’t give up on finally breaking into the majors.   The Monkey Says: I hate to rain on Aldridge’s parade, but it isn’t going to happen this year, at least not out of training camp.  He actually might have had a chance if Michael Ryan wasn’t in camp with the Angels as both are having strong springs but Ryan’s major league experience and positional flexibility.
  • The Story: The Angels are starting to turn the Dodgers into LA’s “other team.”   The Monkey Says: Emphasis on “starting to.”  If the Angels can keep winning division titles and add another World Series while the Dodgers continue to be held down by their owners’ nasty divorce, it might not be too long before the Halos overtake the Dodgers at long last.
  • The Story: Win an autographed Torii Hunter bat.   The Monkey Says: You have to buy raffle tickets to enter, benefiting Torii’s charity.  Damn him and his altruistic heart.  Can’t he just be a selfish asshole like all other celebrities?