Halo Headlines – 8/24/09

  • The Story: Erick Aybar is living up to his potential.  The Monkey Says: We all knew Aybar could field, but he is hitting better than anyone expected and has finally cut down on the mental mistakes that used to drive Angel fans so crazy.
  • The Story: Joe Saunders threw a bullpen session over the weekend and is feeling the best he has all year.  The Monkey Says: This is excellent news if Saundo isn’t blowing smoke up our ass, especially after terrible starts by O’Sullivan and Bell this weekend.
  • The Story: Sean O’Sullivan was demoted to Triple-A with Rafael Rodriguez called up to take his spot on the 25-man roster.  The Monkey Says: So long, Sully.  O’Sullivan had a good start to his career, but the league clearly got the scouting report on him and he is probably not going to be seen again this year unless injury strikes.  R-Rod will only be up until Saunders is activated later this week.
  • The Story: Jeff Mathis is “coming alive” offensively.  The Monkey Says: Mathis has been hitting .265 since the All-Star break, which really only qualifies as “coming alive” for a guy that was under the Mendoza line prior to the break.
  • The Story: Nick Adenhart would have turned 23 today if not for his tragic car crash.  The Monkey Says: And fittingly, the Angels are making up the game that was canceled due to his death later this week.  Personally, I think it would be appropriate if the Angels did not serve any alcoholic beverages during that game in honor of Nick.
  • The Story: Vladimir Guerrero wants to play the field again and Mike Scioscia isn’t ruling it out.  The Monkey Says: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Didn’t Sosh learn his lesson the first time when Vlad had to miss a month after tweaking his knee jogging to a ground ball?  Guerrero is mashing right now, don’t mess with it.  Boo-hoo for him if he isn’t happy with being a full-time DH, it is working for the team and that is all that counts.
  • The Story: Bobby Abreu’s patient approach is having a huge effect on the Angel line-up.  The Monkey Says: To a man, the Angels all give credit to Abreu for their offensive awakening this year.  For that reason alone, the Halos cannot let Bobby get away in free agency this winter.
  • AL West Update: The Rangers also dropped two of three this weekend.  The Fire Says: Texas remains 5.5 games back.