- The Story: Check out how the Angels did on Yahoo’s post-season entrance exam. The Monkey Says: This is, of course, meaningless, but still entertaining.
- The Story: Chone Figgins finishes the season with 100+ runs, 100+ walks, 180+ hits and 40+ steals. The Monkey Says: The only other player to accomplish that feat was Ty Cobb and Figgy managed to do it without being a misanthropic racists, so kudos to Chone.
- The Story: Mike Scioscia is the first manager to have six post-season teams in his first ten years as a manager. The Monkey Says: This accomplishment is mitigated somewhat by the fact that Sosh is managing in the Wild Card era, but it is still impressive nonetheless.
- The Story: Mike Scioscia wants a harder road for Wild Card teams. The Monkey Says: His idea is for Wild Card teams to get one less home game in the ALDS. That is actually a pretty good idea, but let’s not forget that the Angels on World Series win came as a Wild Card.
- The Story: AngelsWin.com says to bring on the BoSox. The Monkey Says:I agree, the only way the Angels are going to get over their post-season jitters is by finally exorcising their demons against the Red Sox.
- The Story: Kevin Jepsen thinks he needs to focus less on mechanics and more on attacking batters. The Monkey Says: Jepsen feels like he has been in Spring Training all year with all the different things he is trying on the mound and wants to now focus on developing a closer’s mentality.
- The Story: Maicer Izturis says his bruised knee is fine and won’t limit him in the ALDS. The Monkey Says: Considering how poorly Howie Kendrick performed in the last ALDS, that is a huge sigh of relief for the Halos.
- The Story: HalosHeaven.com says that Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA can suck it. The Monkey Says: The stat geeks projected just an 84-win season for the Angels this year. It is also a pretty funny read because Baseball Prospectus missed the mark by so much on so many Angel player projections.
- The Story: Jason Bulger will test his sore arm on Tuesday. The Monkey Says: He is suffering from bicep tendinitis and this throwing session will determine whether he makes the final ALDS roster.
- The Story: The White Sox think that Chone Figgins will be to expensive for them to pursue in free agency. The Monkey Says: This could just be a bluff since the ChiSox have had a hard-on for Figgy for years now, but given that massive contract they took on in Alex Rios, it is possible they don’t have the budget to sign Chone.
- The Story: ESPN’s Keith Law scouts the Angels for the ALDS. The Monkey Says: Law doesn’t offer a prediction, but is impressed with the Angel line-up finally being built for the post-season though he has real concerns over the bullpen. In other words, he now knows everything Angel fans already know.