- The Story: The Angels aren’t interested in a rental player to help fill Morales’ void. The Monkey Says: That is what I have been saying all along. The Angels do not have the prospect depth to be throwing guys away on rental players and have the added need of filling their DH hole next year as well. Still, a cheap rental player might end up making sense for the Halos if they can’t find a better deal.
- The Story: The A’s designated Jake Fox for assignment and the Angels might want to claim him. The Monkey Says: This is totally speculation on my part, but Fox can play first base and has big power, so he could be worth a flier for the Halos even if his stats this year have been pretty terrible. Fox can also play third, outfield and catcher, so he definitely has the positional flexibility that the Angels tend to like, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they grab him and give him a look. He can’t possibly be any worse than Robb Quinlan.
- The Story: Jeff Mathis suffered a setback in his rehab and is now day-to-day. The Monkey Says: The Angels had hoped for Mathis to return for the Dodger series and now are hoping he can be activated this week.
- The Story: Jason Bulger was placed on the DL with a shoulder strain, Rafael Rodriguez has been called up to take his place. The Monkey Says: Bulger hopefully won’t be out long, but he has a long history of issue with his throwing shoulder, so this could be a problem.
- The Story: Erick Aybar says his hot hitting starting after his brief demotion in the lineup is merely a coincidence. The Monkey Says: Yeah, right. Whatever. Just be a man and admit you needed a wake up call.
- The Story: Kevin Frandsen is happy to know his role. The Monkey Says: Frandsen has been a pleasant surprise, especially at the plate. In fact, I wonder why he hasn’t gotten a shot at playing first base yet since he has been hitting better than Quinlan or Ryan.
- The Story: The demise of the Angels was vastly exaggerated. The Monkey Says: OK, settle down, let’s not go and jinx it. The Angels still aren’t in first place yet, so let’s not start anointing them as a team to beat again.
- The Story: A look at Scott Kazmir’s fixed arm slot. The Monkey Says: Kaz has definitely improved, but as the article points out, his opposition hasn’t been very good of late. Still, the return of his slider is very encouraging and should give him a shot at eventually becoming at least a reliable middle of the rotation arm.
- The Story: Daniel Cabrera intrigues Mike Scioscia. The Monkey Says: Cabrera was recently signed to the Angels Double-A team where the Halos will do their best to do what many an organization has tried and failed at doing, fixing the talented Cabrera’s control issues.