Daily Links for the LA Angels including the agent who stole from Kendry Morales gets charged with grand theft, Scioscia not worried about Rodney (yet), figuring out what to do with Mark Trumbo and much more…
The Monkey Says: So this asshat is the guy pretty much responsible for Kendry switching to Scott Boras as his new agent. I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that he should get the death penalty.
The Story: Mike Scioscia isn’t worried about Fernando Rodney’s recent troubles this spring.
The Monkey Says: Fraudney was a major contributor to the massive bullpen meltdown on Monday and hasn’t exactly looked like closer material thus far. Sosh may not be worried now, or at least not admitting to it, but if Rodney doesn’t get it together in the next few weeks, we might all actually get our wish to see him lose the closer’s job before the season even starts.
The Story: Trying to make sense of Mark Trumbo’s big spring start.
The Monkey Says: There are great points in this article. Trumbo is turning heads, but there isn’t really going to be a lot of at-bats available for him if everyone is healthy. Then again, it doesn’t look like Morales is going to be 100% to start the season, creating a pretty clear opening for Trumbo, even if it is only temporary.
The Story: Erick Aybar is hoping for a bounce-back season.
The Monkey Says: It is perfectly conceivable that Aybar rebounds this year (and, as I posted in my preview of him earlier this week, he should get at least a little better), but it is only going to happen if he really is as relaxed as he claims he is. He clearly wasn’t relaxed last season and it hurt every facet of his game and if he allows that to continue, he could be in real danger of losing his starting job.
The Story: Alberto Callaspo is progressing in his recovery from a sore shoulder.
The Monkey Says: This explains Callaspo’s absence of late. It also is going to make it very hard for him to earn a lot of regular playing time at third base once the season starts. In fact, if Brandon Wood continues to heat up, he might actually be able to use Callaspo’s absence to carve out some real playing time.
The Story: Examining Ervin Santana’s unusual tendency to throw inside against left-handed hitters.
The Monkey Says: This is great stuff, I had no idea Ervin was so prone to busting lefties inside with his slider. I’d actually be curious to see if this is something he has always done or if it is more recent, as it might very well explain his extreme inconsistency early on in his career.
The Story: Ervin Santana thinks the Angel rotation is the best in baseball.
The Monkey Says: That is some mighty big talk from Santana, but at least he is confident. Seeing how Santana has turned in some up-and-down seasons, he better be sure he is going to have another strong season if the Angel rotation is really going to be the best in baseball.
The Story: Alexi Amarista is sidelined with a bruised heel.
The Monkey Says: Amarista is one of the more intriguing Angel prospects, but he wasn’t going to make the big league roster, so this isn’t anything to worry about. Let’s just hope that the injury is minor though, that way he can have a nice full season at Triple-A to try and prove himself as big-league ready for 2012.
The Story: Pitching prospect Anthony Ortega is being converted to a reliever.
The Monkey Says: That’s a damn shame. Ortega had potential as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but he has barely pitched the last two seasons due to arm problems. Moving him to the bullpen makes sense as far as keeping him healthy, but he doesn’t have the kind of stuff that translates to him being anything more than a middle relief guy.
The Story: Chris Pettit is just happy to be back playing baseball.
The Monkey Says: Pettit is healthy again, but since he missed all of last season, he’ll probably need to spend all of 2011 in Triple-A to get himself right again. Once he does that, he has the potential to push Reggie Willits for the reserve outfielder slot.
The Monkey Says: This makes a lot more sense. There had been talk of DiSar’s managerial potential, but he worked in the front office last season, but now they have an actual plan to get Gary some actual coaching experience.