Daily Links for the LA Angels including Garret Anderson was a class act until the end, Scioscia wants more stolen bases, Napoli thankful to be free of Scioscia and much more…
The Story: Garret Anderson was pure class until the end.
The Monkey Says: I figured after I kind of took down GA yesterday, the least I could do today is lead with something nice about him. For the record, I’ve never disputed that Anderson was good guy, but being a class act off field has little to do with the way I perceive any player on the field. To me, the two are separate scenarios altogether, which is why I still am always going to have very mixed emotions when I remember GA’s career.
The Story: The Angels lost 10-6 to the Rangers yesterday via a home run barrage by Texas.
The Monkey Says: These things happen in Spring Training, so there is no use getting upset about it, but I can’t say it feels good to have the Halos get their butts kicked by Texas so early in the year.
The Story: Mike Scioscia wants to up the Angels’ stolen base production this year.
The Monkey Says: Let’s hope he knows the difference between actual production and just increasing attempts. The Angels have lots of youngsters with speed who can create pressure on the basepaths, but they best be careful not to let guys like Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter go crazy on steal attempts since their success rate hasn’t been so great of late.
The Story: Mike Napoli is thankful to get a fresh start as a catcher in Texas.
The Monkey Says: Naps was diplomatic about it, but he clearly thinks he didn’t get a fair shake from Scioscia when it came to his defense behind the plate. To that I must rebut with the fact that the Angels were successful in all three of their stolen base attempts against him yesterday, and one of the base stealers was Jeff Mathis. Scioscia 1, Napoli 0. Winning!
The Story: Kendry Morales is back at training camp after a bout of the flu.
The Monkey Says: This is good news because it lets Kendry get back to his rehab work, thus reducing the odds that he’ll have to spend extra time at DH when the season starts.
The Story: Mike Scioscia is up to his old tricks at training camp.
The Monkey Says: The article calls these tricks “pranks” but they are really more team-building assignments. There is no ostrich this year, but I definitely envy the players that were tasked with interviewing the Phoenix Sun cheerleaders.
The Story: A flowchart of what MLB team you should root for.
The Monkey Says: This is too funny. I ended up at the Angels and I didn’t even have to cheat. Give it a shot yourself, its just uncanny.