Daily Links for the LA Angels including Reagins talks Branyan signing, Kendrick hits the DL, Scioscia says home plate collisions are part of the game and much more…
The Story: Tony Reagins talks about the Russell Branyan signing.
The Monkey Says: I gave my two cents on the signing yesterday, but it is good to hear what Tony has to say. I like the idea of having Trumbo be used a little less often so as to hide his flaws some and I also think it is smart to have Trumbo start practicing in LF. What I do think this sort of indicates though that the Halos are hoping that this will be the only real acquisition they make during the season. If Branyan does what they hope he can do, I believe they’ll just wait this out and hope for improvement from within to breath some life into the offense.
The Story: Howie Kendrick has been placed on the disabled list because of his lingering hamstring issues.
The Monkey Says: Sounds like the Angels are just playing it safe. Hopefully Howie can return by next weekend. And I do mean hopefully because I can’t stand watching Reggie Willits anymore.
The Monkey Says: Considering that Sosh made blocking the plate into a fine science in his playing days, I didn’t expect him to say anything less. Personally, I think the same thing as Sosh. The only reason this is such a big deal is because it was a marketable young star like Posey and not some scrub like Bobby Wilson. I don’t remember calling for a rule change when Darin Erstad nearly caved in Johnny Estrada’s head and basically ended his career several years ago.
The Story: Scioscia talks about having to manage his youngest roster ever.
The Monkey Says: Sosh does his best to put a good spin on it, but I think it is no coincidence that shortly after this article was written, the team want out and signed a 35-year old journeyman.
The Story: The Angels discuss the need for more power in the lineup.
The Monkey Says: The team talks about needing more home runs mixed into their attack and then they go out and sign Russ Branyan the next day. Coincidence? Methinks not.
The Story: Mike Scioscia says the team needs to get better at small ball.
The Monkey Says: Same day, yet the opposite statement as the article above, more or less. However, it is also totally correct and I am so glad to see Sosh publicly acknowledge that this team can’t seem to execute a hit-and-run to save their life.