The December 29th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels look like favorites to land Madson, words of warning about the Pujols contract, former Angel Napoli getting sued and much more…
The Monkey Says: First off, the Athletics have now officially raised the white flag on the season already. They and the Mariners are going to be just awful this season, so it really should be a two-team race in the AL West, possibly even for the next few years if the Mariners don’t figure themselves out. Lord knows the Astros are a long way from being decent. As for Madson, the Red Sox seemed like the only team out there with money and the need for a closer, so Madson doesn’t really have any logical landing spots. The closest there might be the Angels who are known to be looking for a closer-type. I just don’t know if they want to spend that kind of money, at least long-term. I’d say that the Halos should offer him a like $12 million for a one-year deal and let him test free agency again next winter, but with him being represented by Scott Boras, I don’t know if that is something he’d really consider. If not, I personally would not be a big fan of giving a reliever, no matter how good, tens of million of dollar in a over three or four years.
The Story: The Angels should be wary of the poor track record of mega-long-term deals in MLB history.
The Monkey Says: Oh, we’re back to harping on this again? Fair enough. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I think the Angels are well aware that the final few years of the Pujols deal will be bad for the club, but they committed to it because it was the price of getting Albert now and reaping the short-term benefits. It is also a step they felt they had to take to prove that they are willing to do what it takes to win and make themselves into an elite franchise than can acquire elite players.
The Story: Former Angel Mike Napoli is being sued by a friend for reneging on a promotional apperance.
The Monkey Says: Ha! See, I knew the Angels were right to trade him. What a bum.
The Story: The goat of the 2011 season is Carl Crawford with (dis)honorable mention for Jeff Mathis.
The Monkey Says: Great article with the exception of the bizarre lack of any reference to Vernon Wells.