- The Story: Maicer Izturis was forced out of last night’s game after getting hit on the elbow. The Monkey Says: The team is calling the injury just a contusion (which is just a fancy word for a bruise) right now and a team source has also told me that it doesn’t appear to be anything major, so it looks like Maicer avoided anything serious for once.
- The Story: The Angels have released Justin Speier. The Monkey Says: Better late than never, although I did call for this move nearly a month ago. The Angels are going to have to eat the rest of Speier’s salary, but he was just dead weight anyway and the team needed his 40-man roster spot for Trevor Bell.
- The Story: Mark Teixeira could well win the MVP, but the Angels are more than happy to have Kendry Morales instead. The Monkey Says: K-Mo’s stats are almost as good as Tex’s and might even be better if Yankee Stadium wasn’t playing like Coors Field East. Factor in the contracts involved and Morales is a much better player to have right now.
- The Story: Trevor Bell shouldn’t be scared of the spotlight tonight thanks to his family’s experience in the entertainment industry. The Monkey Says: If you didn’t know, Trevor Bell’s grandfather was Bozo the Clown. How this makes Bell ready for his MLB debut is beyond me, but whatever.
- The Story: Torii Hunter began his rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga last night. The Monkey Says: Hunter went hitless, but he did steal a base which speaks well to how good Hunter’s groin must be feeling.
- The Story: Tony Reagins tells Fox Sports that they are still looking too add rotation arms and there are no budgetary constraints. The Monkey Says: Reagins didn’t name any names but basically said he won’t be going after anyone just for the sake of adding and arm and that while they are willing to add money they won’t be stupid about it. I like seeing Reagins remaining active, but expensive gambles might be there only choice since Texas can effectively block any deals since they are in front of the Angels on the waiver wire order.
- AL West Update: The Rangers lost last night, as did the Mariners, pushing the Angels’ lead overtheir rivals to five and nine, respectively. The Monkey Says: Seattle is pretty much out of the AL West hunt now and the Angels have to like seeing Texas lose their momentum from the weekend by getting shutout by a bad Cleveland team.