Daily Links for the LA Angels including Moreno tells Reagins no more spending, more Kazmir release reactions, the Angels now have a three-man catching rotation and much more…
The Story: Arte Moreno reportedly told Tony Reagins that the team cannot add any more payroll this season.
The Monkey Says: I’ve got some more thoughts on this major but obvious development later today. However, this doesn’t mean the Halos won’t make trades as they could always do what the Rangers did last season and just give up bigger prospect packages in return for the other teams eating more salary. Of course, that means the Angels need to be in position to be buyers and not sellers at the deadline.
The Story: Assessing the demise of Scott Kazmir.
The Monkey Says: I think a lot of people overlook Kazmir’s history of relatively minor but persisting arm problems. He never had to have major surgery or had to miss giant chunks of time, but my theory has long been that those nagging arm problems ultimately sapped him of his natural ability and velocity and screwed up his mechanics.
The Story: Scott Kazmir’s rise and fall parallel that of Steve Avery.
The Monkey Says: Dammit, that’s a great comparison, I wish I’d thought of it.
The Story: Scioscia appears to be employeeing a three-man catcher rotation for the time being.
The Monkey Says: It is a move that, while unofficial, is hard to complain about. Conger is slumping and the Halos don’t want to overexpose him and hurt his confidence. Wilson has been patient but deserves a shot to show what he can do. Mathis, well, as bad as he has been, none of the other backstops have been much better. This shouldn’t be a permanent rotation, hopefully, but it will give all of them a chance to prove their worth and maybe one will emerge from the pack as a the best primary catching option.
The Story: The Angels have already signed 30 of their 49 draft picks.
The Monkey Says: I suppose that is good news, but it also seems pretty normal, especially since there aren’t a lot of high draft picks on the signed list. The good news is that it sounds as if the Angels don’t have anyone with real signability concerns like they did with Kaleb Cowart last year.
The Story: The Halo rotation has been shuffled, partly due to workload concerns for the starters.
The Monkey Says: I hope the Angels aren’t too serious about the 170 inning limit on Chatwood. It would really suck if he hit 170 innings in September, right in the middle of the run for the division. Then again, that might be a good problem to have since it would mean the Angels are still in contention.
The Story: Mickey Hatcher has always felt the heat whenever the Angel offense struggles.
The Monkey Says: Hatcher catches a lot of unfair blame, but he is also a guy that I have never heard Angel players rave about, so it is something of a miracle for him to be the longest-tenured hitting coach in the majors.
The Story: The ten worst moves of Tony Reagins’ tenure as GM.
The Monkey Says: I think it is a bit early to disparage Reagins for not signing Weaver to an extension. First off, they can still try again this off-season. Second, it isn’t Reagins’ fault that Scott Boras is Weaver’s agent and that Boras almost never lets his clients sign extensions.
The Story: How all the players the Angels traded the last few years are doing.
The Monkey Says: Funnily enough, the Haren trade, which most considered to be a steal, looks like it could end up being like less of a rip off since Skaggs and Corbin are both looking very good in the Arizona farm system. After that though, it really doesn’t look like Reagins has given up much of anything that the Halos have missed. Maybe he isn’t all that bad after all.