- The Story: The Angels have chosen their reps for the vaunted Arizona Fall League: Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos, Ryan Mount, Bobby Cassevah, Tim Kiely, Jeremy Haynes and Tommy Mendoza. The Monkey Says: Conger and Bourjos will be the hot names to watch on the Mesa Solar Sox this year for Angel prospect geeks.
- The Story: The Angels claim to have interest in recently traded reliever Billy Wagner. The Monkey Says: GM Tony Reagins wouldn’t say if they claimed Wagner or not, but they would have been trumped by Boston, who did get Wagner, nonetheless. At least the Angels are still working the trade market, but time is running out.
- The Story: Rafael Rodriguez is day-to-day after being struck in the pitching hand by a comebacker Monday night. The Monkey Says: It is good for Rodriguez that he avoided the DL since he has already been up and down on the Angel roster as it is.
- The Story: The Angels designated pitcher Shane Loux for assignment. The Monkey Says: The move creates a spot for Joe Saunders on the 25-man roster, but curiously also opens up a spot on the 40-man roster, which begs the question of why the Angels need an open spot? They could have easily demoted or DL’d Rafael Rodriguez to make room for Saunders, but chose to get rid of Loux instead. Loux has been awful and deserved to be waived, but now I can’t help but hope that a trade is coming for the Halos, either that or top prospect Trevor Reckling will be added to the 40-man roster and called up to take a shot at locking down the fifth starter spot.
- The Story: Prospect guru John Sickels gives quick reviews of the Angels top 20 prospects thus far. The Monkey Says: Sickels has not been impressed by Hank Conger, but is “very intrigued” by blossoming Single-A pitcher Ryan Chaffee.
- The Story: Former major leaguer and father of A’s shortstop Bobby Crosby, Ed Crosby, heavily criticizes Billy Beane and praises Mike Scioscia. The Monkey Says: This sounds like sour grapes from a guy who is disappointed in the way his son’s career has been handled, but still, I will happily link to anything that dumps on Oakland while simultaneously lavishing accolades on the Angels.
- AL West Update: The Rangers almost blew a 10-5 lead to the Yankees, but hung on to win 10-9. The Monkey Says: The Angel lead is now down to four. Is it starting to get a little hot in here?