Daily Links for the LA Angels including Scioscia favors playoff expansion, Kendrick getting some early MVP consideration, Scioscia downplays concerns over the Halos’ lack of power and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia favors MLB adding a second wild card in each league.
The Monkey Says: This is actually pretty big news because Scioscia is a member of a special committe put together by Bud Selig to discuss changes to the game, so Scioscia’s opinion will both carry weight and not fall on deaf ears in the league office. As of right now, I’d say it is a pretty safe bet that the playoffs will be expanded sometime in the next two seasons, once they figure out the logistics of it all.
The Story: David Schoenfield of ESPN rates Howie Kendrick as fifth in MVP voting in the American League so far.
The Monkey Says: It is nice to see Howie getting some national attention, but I am not even totally convinced that Kendrick is the MVP of the Angels right now. Then again, who am I to argue with Howie’s 2.3 WAR, which is the second-highest in the AL.
The Story: Mike Scioscia tries to downplay concern over the Angels worsening power outage.
The Monkey Says: I kind of get the whole, “this team isn’t built that way” mantra, but the situational hitting and aggressive baserunning method isn’t working all that well right now either, so mixing in some more power sure sounds like a good idea to me.
The Story: Jered Weaver’s rising strikeout rate is more than ‘smoke and mirrors.’
The Monkey Says: As the article states, Jered is just one of those guys that knows how to pitch and keep batters guessing even though he doesn’t have an overpowering fastball or an elite off-speed pitch. The article is also right about how Weaver’s ability to maintain last year’s strikeout pace is going to make him very expensive for the Angels to keep.
The Story: Which Angel infielder deserves to be an All-Star the most?
The Monkey Says: They all have legit cases right now, but I have the feeling none of them will make the team. I’d say Howie Kendrick has a good chance, but his recent shift to left field could end up working against him.
The Story: Mike Scioscia gives Mark Trumbo a vote of confidence.
The Monkey Says: Does he really have another choice? Trumbo is riding a cold streak right now, but the Angels are desperate for any kind of power threat and have very limited options at first as it is, so expect to Mark in the lineup nearly everyday for the next long while.
The Story: Is the Angel bullpen throwing the season away?
The Monkey Says: Throwing it away? That seems a bit strong, but the blowpen definitely isn’t helping. The good news there is that bullpens tend to be easier to fix as there are normally a fair amount of quality relievers available at the trade deadline… assuming Fernando Rodney doesn’t single-handedly destroy the Angels’ division crown hopes before then.