Halo Headlines – 6/17/10

  • The Story: The Angels placed Maicer Izturis on the DL with a forearm strain.   The Monkey Says: Good thing Wood is back.  With Izturis DL’d and Aybar still hurting and possibly DL bound, Wood suddenly becomes the starting shortstop for the next little while.  Kevin Frandsen might see time there too, but he has hardly impressed with his glove so far and Sosh may not have the confidence to put him in such a crucial defensive position.
  • The Story: Sean O’Sullivan was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake.   The Monkey Says: The Halos wanted some more pitching depth, so they brought up O’Sullivan.  Sully will now likely battle with Trevor Bell to be the mop-up man, with the loser likely to be demoted in the next few weeks.  The article also says Robb Quinlan was sent down, but that move was rescinded after Izturis went on the DL.
  • The Story: The Angels designated Michael Ryan for assignment.   The Monkey Says: The Halos are hoping Ryan will slip through and elect to report to the minors, but it isn’t a guarantee.  Ryan didn’t do anything special in his brief tenure, but he is getting squeezed out to make room for Jeff Mathis who is set to be activated by Friday.  What stinks for Ryan is that he probably would still have a job if Aybar and Izturis didn’t get hurt.  Instead, the Angels kept Robb Quinlan who can offer more positional depth on a team that suddenly really doesn’t have any back-up infielders.
  • The Story: The Angels might have to go shopping for a new shortstop.   The Monkey Says: That seems like knee-jerk reaction, Izturis won’t be out long and hopefully Aybar won’t be either, so don’t expect them to trade for a guy just to provide bench depth for two weeks.  Signing a veteran to a minor league deal does seem smart though since nobody in the Angel farm system seems ready to be called up to fill the void.  The Adam Everett idea actually makes a lot of sense if he is amenable to taking a minor league deal.
  • The Story: The Angels are still clutch.   The Monkey Says: Yep, the Halos continue to confound the sabermetric community with their ability to win despite what the numbers suggest.  This piece is actually more Angel-friendly than most and seem genuinely interested in figuring out how they keep doing so much with so little all because of clutch hitting.  I hope they never find out because whatever it is, it is giving Mike Scioscia and his boys a competitive advantage.
  • The Story: The clubhouse of the Angels is overrun with technology.   The Monkey Says: The players are all apparently hooked on iPads and iPhones, just like everyone else.  Despite all these gadgets and technology, Mike Scioscia probably still has no idea what OPS is.