Daily links for the LA Angels including Crawford doesn’t want to leave the Rays (but he is still going to), ten things the Angels did wrongs, Amarista starting hot in winter ball and much more.
The Story: Carl Crawford doesn’t want to leave the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Monkey Says: But he is still going to. He just is going to feel bad about it, at least until he puts his signature on that nine digit contract he is going to get from somebody (hopefully the Angels) in a few weeks.
The Story: Ten things the Angels got wrong this season.
The Monkey Says: I am actually going to take a little bit of umbrage with that list. The one where they the Halos were wrong to expect Matsui to replace Guerrero, when, in fact, Matsui had an OPS of 124 this season while Guerrero’s was 107 last season and actually just 122 this season (as Sam Miller of the OC Register is so fond of reminding everyone about).
The Story: Alexi Amarista is off to a good start in the Venezuelan winter league.
The Monkey Says: Expect to be hearing more and more about Amarista this next season as he is quickly climbing the organizational ladder and is going to start pushing for a starting job in the majors in the next year or two.
The Story: Assessing the free agent market for third baseman.
The Monkey Says: Yikes. Now I see why the Halos made the trade for Alberto Callaspo. Adrian Beltre is in prime position to get overpaid and that just isn’t Arte Moreno’s style, so it looks like Callaspo is pretty likely to be manning the hot corner in 2011 unless the Angels are able to find an upgrade on the trade market.