Daily Links for the LA Angels including Crawford still puzzled by how the Angels pursued him, Scioscia already knows how his lineup will look, Santana trying to add a splitfinger and much more…
The Story: Carl Crawford is still puzzled about how the Angels courted him this off-season.
The Monkey Says: I can see why it is puzzling, but it ultimately boils down to the Angels simply not being ready to spend what it was going to take to land Crawford. To me, their lowball offer was merely an attempt to save face after they realized they had wildly underestimated the market. Of course, if Crawford was puzzled at how the Angels pursued him, he must’ve been downright flabbergasted that the Red Sox basically stalked him for several months before they signed him.
The Story: Scioscia has a good idea of how his lineup will look this year.
The Monkey Says: That is exactly what I expected the lineup to be, though I am fairly concerned that having Izturis batting leadoff but only playing four or five times a week is going to cause some consistency issues for the team. On the bright side, Scioscia seems to have abandoned all pretenses of trying to turn his offense into one that is powered by drawing walks and hitting homers. It would be better if the Angels had more power and OBP in the lineup, but at least they aren’t pretending to be something they aren’t.
The Story: Ervin Santana is working on adding a splitfinger to his repetoire.
The Monkey Says: It certainly couldn’t hurt to have another pitch in his arsenal, especially since his changeup is more for show than anyting else.
The Story: Mike Trout ranks #2 overall in the new Baseball America rankings.
The Monkey Says: Most other publications have Trout #1, but Baseball America is one of the top prospect sites, so there vote carries extra weight. Bryce Harper is an amazing talent, so there is no shame in Trout finishing behind him here. What is interesting though is that Baseball America ranks Jean Segura at #57, whereas most other rankings have him in the top 40.
The Story: What to do with Alberto Callaspo?
The Monkey Says: Yes, Callaspo duplicates a lot of what Izturis does, but seeing how Maicer is good for at least one DL trip each year, that is a useful insurance policy to have.
The Story: Tim Salmon served as a guest inspector for Mike Trout and others in training camp recently.
The Monkey Says: It is funny that Trout and Salmon get compared a lot because other than their similar appearances and their fishy surnames, they really have little in common.
The Story: The Angels are not holding any intrasquad games this spring.
The Monkey Says: That’s kinda weird and I am not totally sure I buy Scioscia’s excuse of the schedule being too tight, but I can’t imagine the intrasquad games are really that important.
The Story: Loek Van Mil is more than just a tall tale.
The Monkey Says: The article does shed some insight on how much learning Van Mil has done since coming over to the States and why he is considered to still have a fair amount of potential despite his spotty minor league performance.
The Story: The Angels signed catcher Cole Armstrong to a minor-league contract.
The Monkey Says: Armstrong, who I have never heard of, supposedly is a defensive specialist who has bounced around the minors the last few years. The article mentions that he has a shot at being added to the Angels 40-man roster, but I kind of doubt that simply because I do not see anyone on the roster that the Angels would be willing to part with right now.