- The Story: John Lackey has signed with the Boston Red Sox for five years and $85 million. The Monkey Says: Big John is taking the coward’s way out by signing with the team he never really could beat. On a related note, he is now dead to me.
- The Story: The Angels have reportedly come to terms with DH Hideki Matsui on a one-year, $6.5 million contract. The Monkey Says: Good bye, Super Vlad and hello, Godzilla. Tony Reagins salvages an otherwise dreary day by adding a potent bat to the middle of the order at a very reasonable rate. As beloved as Guerrero was, Matsui is definitely an upgrade and now all Angel fans can do is wish Vlad well.
- The Story: Rob Neyer determines that the Angels are paying Matsui exactly what he is worth. The Monkey Says: Nice to see the Angels getting some credit for proper player valuation which likely also explains why they refused to pay $18 million per year for John Lackey.
- The Story: The Angels are had a horrible day yesterday as they lost John Lackey and also saw Roy Halladay traded to the Phillies with Cliff Lee going to the Mariners. The Monkey Says: Maybe it wasn’t the worst day ever, but it was definitely up there. The Angels front office simply has to be reeling as they really seemed to have all their eggs in the Roy Halladay basket and now have to cope with a vastly improved Mariner team challenging them in the division.
- The Story: The Angels may have to look within to fill the last spot in their rotation. The Monkey Says: The Angels have plenty of options with Matt Palmer, Anthony Ortega, Sean O’Sullivan, Trevor Bell and Trevor Reckling but none are exactly going to be difference makers so expect the Angels to explore every trade and free agent possibility.
- The Story: Expect the Angels to consider trading for Derek Lowe. The Monkey Says: That would pretty much be the ultimate panic move by Tony Reagins. Lowe seems to be well past his prime and has an onerous contract to boot. If anyone really thinks he is going to push them over the hump, they are fooling themselves.
- The Story: Is the balance of power shifting to the northwest in the AL West? The Monkey Says: The Seattle rotation is definitely scary now with Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, but Seattle still lacks a legit middle of the order bat, so let’s not crown them the division champs just yet.