The June 29th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Walden’s closer job is safe, Weaver in good shape to start the All-Star Game, all other Halos remain completely out of the All-Star voting picture and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia says Jordan Walden’s job as closer is very secure.
The Monkey Says: As well it should be. Walden hasn’t been all that bad in his recent streak of blown saves, so taking the job from him would be a big overreaction. Plus, the Angels don’t exactly have a lot of options for replacing him.
The Story: Jered Weaver is in good position to start the All-Star Game for the AL.
The Monkey Says: As the article mentions, Justin Verlander seems like his prime competition, and he may not be allowed to pitch, making Weaver the easy choice. Then again, Ron Washington is the AL manager, so he might pass over Weaver out of spite.
The Story: The Angels remain totally absent from the latest AL All-Star voting results.
The Monkey Says: If Jose Bautista is the only non-Yankee or Red Sox to start for the AL, I’m going to junk punch Bud Selig.
The Story: The best way to make the Angels a contender is for them to switch to the NL West.
The Monkey Says: I have heard that suggestion a lot lately and I’m sick of it. Not only is it completely unlikely to happen, but it is a dumb idea as well. The Halos might play an NL style, but the NL West is actually a pretty good division, better than the AL West where the Angels are very much in the divisional race. If the Angels really want to contend, what they really need to do is make smarter personnel decisions.
The Story: Keith Law names Garrett Richards one of his top snubs for the Futures Game roster.
The Monkey Says: Anytime Keith Law says something nice about the Angels, it deserves a link.
The Story: Riley Breckinridge of the band Thrice analyzes the walk-up music of Angel players.
The Monkey Says: I may have bad taste in music, but I think “Dragula” is a pretty good song for a closer to enter to.