- The Story: Hideki Matsui is expected to boost the Angels’ revenue. The Monkey Says: Well, duh! Don’t think for a minute that Matsui’s international appeal wasn’t a major reason the Angels went after him so hard in the off-season. Then again, his ability to generate additional revenue is also probably a reason the Halos were able to afford the small boost to their payroll for 2010 despite the economic downturn.
- The Story: Anxiety is part of the job for Brian Fuentes. The Monkey Says: And with Fuentes still the closer, anxiety will definitely be part of the job for any Angel fan watching him pitch in a close game.
- The Story: Fernando Rodney wants a championship not the closer’s job. The Monkey Says: Nice to see he is tempering his expectations, especially since the jury is still out on if he can even be a quality set-up man in Anaheim.
- The Story: Scot Shields could begin throwing off the mound within the next ten days. The Monkey Says: That is most certainly good news as it means Shields is on schedule to make good on his promise of being ready for Opening Day.
- The Story: Brandon Wood is more like Troy Glaus than Dallas McPherson. The Monkey Says: Or at least we hope so (assuming it doesn’t mean that Wood also used PEDs). Drawing comparisons is really a fruitless exercise anyway, especially since I still hold out hope that Wood can blossom into a star and become the first Brandon Wood rather than the next Troy Glaus.
- The Story: Robb Quinlan actually can’t really hit lefties that well. The Monkey Says: Not quite breaking news, but more of a friendly reminder that Q pretty much stinks and has no real usefulness on a MLB roster. No doubt Quinlan will still end up winning the final bench spot over the more deserving likes of Freddy Sandoval just to piss me off.
- The Story: Torii Hunter is the “Shaolin monk” of the team. The Monkey Says: I don’t know why Torii is trying to shed the label of being a leader despite the fact that he is such a natural. Hunter was a great leader when the team needed him last year, so hopefully this isn’t him shedding responsibility so much as him being humble. I just hope he doesn’t take the Shaolin monk thing seriously a la David Carradine from the Kung Fu show and end up hanging from a closet rod wearing fishnets.
- The Story: Bobby Abreu and Kendry Morales might be late reporting to camp. The Monkey Says: It may not matter if they are late if the rain keeps washing out the Angel workouts as it did all weekend.
- The Story: Tickets for the All-Star festivities in Anaheim go on sale today. The Monkey Says: Anyone want to buy me some tickets to the Fan Fest? Anyone? Aw, c’mon! Jerks.
- The Story: An interview with Angel PA announcer David Courtney. The Monkey Says: Read this for sure if you ever wanted to get into the exciting career of… PA announcing?
