The July 25th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Trout to stay in the majors a little longer, Scioscia wants more catcher offense, the time is now to lock up Jered Weaver and much more…
The Monkey Says: If it is only for another week or so, this is a smart move. The Halos need to be sure Bourjos is 100% and it also wouldn’t hurt to have another decent bench player around until Bobby Abreu snaps out of his funk. Of course, part of me is wondering if the Angels are keeping him in the majors just in case they find a way to dump Abreu on another team, thus creating a regular role for Trout.
The Story: Mike Scioscia wants more offense from his catchers.
The Monkey Says: Yet he keeps starting Jeff Mathis. This confuses me. I, of course, am hoping that this is just another indicator that my suspicions of the Angels trying to find a catch upgrade on the trade market are actually true.
The Story: The time is now for the Angels to sign Jered Weaver to a long-term contract extension.
The Monkey Says: I appreciate the sentiment, but well, duh. Of course the Angels need to re-sign him, but it isn’t going to happen mid-season. Scott Boras is always loath to not have his guys hit the open market, but I do suspect that if he were going to talk extension with the Angels, he’d wait until this off-season after big fish free agents like CC Sabathia and CJ Wilson sign new deals and set the market for Weaver first.
The Monkey Says: I get his point, but he kind of framed it in a dickhead sort of way. Not that I expect anything less from a Ranger.
The Story: The Angels don’t appear to be pursuing any major deals.
The Monkey Says: Their budget constraints dictate that be the case, but at the same time, the Halos have a way of working under the radar whenever they are pursuing something major. In other words, who the hell knows what is really going on.
The Story: Lyle Spencer tries to defend his constant defense of Jeff Mathis.
The Monkey Says: Lord only knows that I’ve given Spencer my fair share of crap, so I guess I am one of the many responsible for this. I feel bad that Lyle has been pushed to this point, but it just smacks of desperation, especially when he basically plays the nerd card by saying that the game is held hostage by stats. Look, Lyle, this isn’t sabermetrics run wild, this is a critique largely supported by the age old stat of batting average and how Mathis’ consistently stinks. At some point he just needs to admit that he was wrong and that Mathis won’t ever “unlock himself.” To retort to Spencer, if you think being hostile cheapens one’s position, the only thing more cheapening is continuing to support a position that has been so clearly proven wrong. Why not just start calling us out for believing in evolution instead of creation, Lyle?
The Story: Bobby Wilson keeps Nick Adenhart’s memorly alive.
The Monkey Says: Yet another reason Wilson should start over Mathis.