- The Story: The Angels failed to come up with a firm payroll number for next year at the recent organizational meetings. The Monkey Says: This is slightly concerning given the slew of big free agents they have on their roster. The sooner GM Tony Reagins knows how much he has to spend, the sooner he can begin proper planning to bring back the players he covets most.
- The Story: Angelswin.com looks at how the Angel rotation got rolling again. The Monkey Says: No matter how it happened, the resurgence of the rotation came at a perfect time now that the Angel bats have gone somewhat cold.
- The Story: Jayson Stark thinks that the Angels’ lack of contract talks with John Lackey could make other teams worry about his long-term health. The Monkey Says: That could drive down his price, but I highly doubt it since he has been totally dominant lately and is the best starter in a weak free agent market.
- The Story: Even mired in a massive slump at the plate, Mike Napoli is gaining Mike Scioscia’s confidence with better defensive work. The Monkey Says: Sosh isn’t going to play Nap more than 50% of the time until he fixes his defensive flaws, but it won’t matter if his bat doesn’t heat up soon, though it is showing some signs of coming around.
- The Story: Top Angel prospect Trevor Reckling set a World Cup record with 11 strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Team China recently. The Monkey Says: Reckling’s stock has been rocketing upwards since the start of the year and it wouldn’t be shock to see him get at least a look with the Angels at some point next season.
- The Story: Vladimir Guerrero could be the first Angel in the Hall of Fame. The Monkey Says: What is this “could” nonsense? Vladdy is a shoe-in for Cooperstown based on his career numbers and total lack of association with PEDs. It is possible he could where an Expo cap on his induction, but I highly doubt it since he won his MVP award as an Angel. Though he will have played more seasons with Montreal if he leaves Anaheim as a free agent this off-season.
- The Story: Chone Figgins credits his success to his daily weight lifting regimen. The Monkey Says: Hard to believe that such a little guy is such an avid gym rat.
- The Story: Or maybe Chone’s success has got to be the shoes. The Monkey Says: Figgy is playing with some new sole inserts in his shoes to keep his legs and feet healthy. I’m sure you find this as fascinating as I do.
- The Story: The Angels figure to be competing with the White Sox, Mariners, Tigers and Blue Jays for the services of Vladimir Guerrero next year. The Monkey Says: The real competition will be figuring out Vlad’s price tag now that he is an injury-prone DH who may or may not have a potent bat.
- The Story: Mike Scioscia held a 25-minute closed door meeting with Brian Fuentes after yesterday’s game. The Monkey Says: Sosh said the meeting was about Tito’s mechanics, which Fuentes later refuted, but both confirmed that there are no hard feelings and a change in relief roles is not forthcoming. Still sounds fishy to me and I will be delving into this topic later this afternoon, so check back later.
- AL West Update: Texas dropped two of three in their weekend series against the Mariners. The Monkey Says: The Rangers just squandered two of what was twelve of their remaining home games, and now have just nine games left on their home field, which is bad news for them as they are now 6 games back of the Angels whose magic number currently sits at 15.