Daily Links for the LA Angels including Angel management takes to the media to defend themselves, details behind the offer to Beltre, determining if bringing back Guerrero is a good idea and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia reacts to the moves (or lack thereof) of the Angel front office.
The Monkey Says: And the Angel propaganda media blitz has begun. Sosh certainly tows the company line and is actually somewhat candid about the fact that the team just doesn’t have as much payroll space as people seem to think. I guess we should be kind of happy that he says they still are looking to add more offensive depth, even if it is only minor depth.
The Story: Tony Reagins defends the Angel off-season decisions.
The Monkey Says: Tony’s turn! He basically says all the same things and touts the philosophy of the Halos not wanting to spend more than they are “comfortable” with on a given player. Like Scioscia, he also hints at minor signings coming in the next few weeks. What bothers me most here is that none of the key Angel decision makers have even tangentially mentioned pursuing the trade route, only reinforcing my theory that the Angels are going to wait until mid-season before they start seriously pursuing big ticket trades (which isn’t necessarily a bad idea, I just wish they had more of a sense of urgency).
The Story: The details behind the offers the Rangers beat out to sign Adrian Beltre.
The Monkey Says: Oakland apparently made a better offer than first reported, actually beating the Angels’ total money offer but over an extra year. This doesn’t really change anything, but it does show how much Texas had to overpay to get Beltre and why it may not be such a horrible thing that they won the bidding.
The Story: Would re-signing Vladimir Guerrero work for the Angels?
The Monkey Says: I’m sorry, I just don’t like the idea. His bat just seems slow to me and I would much rather the Angels save money and take a chance on someone like Mark Trumbo.
The Story: Baseball Prospectus is very high on the Angel farm system.
The Monkey Says: We all know about Trout, but seeing them rate Segura as a five-star prospect is tantalizing. Segura is well-regarded, but most don’t have him quite this high. Seeing Kaleb Cowart receive yet another high rating is also a great sign for things to come. The Angels very clearly have a blossoming farm system, but they are in a delicate position of possibly setting back their prospect pipeline by having to potentially make a big trade.
The Story: Several Angels are wrapping up productive winter league stints.
The Monkey Says: Honestly, who cares? Winter ball is rather insignificant and treated as spring training for many players who are just working on something new and different. Seeing some prospects like Amarista excel is encouraging, but at the same time, a guy like Conger flaming out could be concerning or not at all. However, it maybe reveals a great platoon idea at third base. Alberto Callaspo was great in the Venezuelan league while Izturis struggled in the same league. The simple solution is to have Callaspo start against any Venezuelan-born pitchers and Izturis against everyone else. Brilliant!!! You can all thank me later.
The Story: The Rangers are not pursuing Rafael Soriano, but the Yankees might be.
The Monkey Says: Well, it is nice to see Texas ignoring a smart idea of signing MFIKY and moving Feliz to the rotation. Once again, the Angels are thrown into this conversation despite them not really ever expressing any real interest. I also don’t buy that Soriano would sign with the Yankees as a setup man since Boras likely just threw that idea out there to make it seem like a big bidder is interested in him.
The Story: Why does Jeff Mathis play so much?
The Monkey Says: I wish Mike Scioscia would read this because the reason Mathis plays is for his defense, which Sosh seems to clearly overrate.
The Story: Playing pitching coach with Ervin Santana using Pitchf/x.
The Monkey Says: This piece is a bit hard to get your head around and while it isn’t the main point of the article, it certainly seems like Santana could benefit from coming up with an improved change-up or perhaps another type of fastball (kind of like Weaver added a two-seamer just to give batters a different look). This piece also does nothing to dissuade those out there that think Santana should be converted to closer since he is really just a two-pitch pitcher.
The Story: The Angels off-season is not for the faint of heart.
The Monkey Says: At this point, I think True Grich and I are in some sort of unspoken competition to see who can be more bitter and disappointed with Arte Moreno and the Angels.