The July 28th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including reactions to Ervin Santana’s no-hitter, inside Jered Weaver’s BABIP, Angels focusing on bullpen help via trade and much more…
The Story: Ervin Santana’s no-hitter was a surprise, but also not a surprise.
The Monkey Says: I think I have always liked Santana a bit more than most Angel fans, so I appreciate how good he can be, but even I am a little surpised to see that he is capable of spinning such a dominant performance like he put forth yesterday.
The Story: Santana’s no-hitter shows that his tools are still there.
The Monkey Says: I don’t think there was ever much of a question about his slider, the concern has always been in regards to his fastball and the velocity he lost off of it a few years ago. What I think this glosses over is that Santana is also maturing as a pitcher and attacking in a smarter manner while also not getting rattled in pressure situations like he did his first few years in the league.
The Story: Santana could be the key to the AL West race.
The Monkey Says: I don’t think he is the key at all. Pitching is never an issue for the Angels, the offense is the real “key.” Now, in the playoffs, that is an entirely different story which I plan on telling later today.
The Story: Evaluating Jered Weaver’s uncanny low BABIP.
The Monkey Says: For the non-sabermetrically inclined, that is basically asking why Weaver is hard to hit. Great work on this piece, but you better like graphs and diagrams.
The Story: The Angels are now focusing on bullpen help via trade.
The Monkey Says: They were supposedly targeting bats yesterday, so who knows anymore. There are also rumors that they have been scouting the Cubs and Cards recently. The Cubs I get (Aramis Ramirez) but I don’t understand the interest in St. Louis unless they were exploring trades for Colby Rasmus.
The Story: Who does Mike Trout compare to?
The Monkey Says: Comping him to Marquis Grissom seems like a disappointment, but Grissom actually was pretty good in his day. I think Trout will eventually show more power than that though, which I think is why people are so excited about him as something more than just a really fast guy with a good eye.
The Story: Introducing the “Angels For Animals” Photo contest.
The Monkey Says: I feel like I could win this, but I have a very strict “no clothes on animals” policy with my dog.