The July 6th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Weaver and Kendrick are All-Stars, Reagins says he can add payroll at the trade deadline, Fernando Rodney recovering slowly from his back injury and much more…
The Story: Jered Weaver and Howie Kendrick were named to the 2011 American League All-Star team.
The Monkey Says: Old news, I know, but I didn’t get a chance to comment yet. Weaver was an obvious choice and should be the front-runner to start the game (especially since Verlander will start on Sunday and end up ineligible). Kendrick, though, is a bit of a surprise. I actually think he very much deserves to make the team, but I thought Ben Zobrist would get his spot instead.
The Story: Tony Reagins says he can add payroll at the trade deadline and expects to do so.
The Monkey Says: This is a surprise since it had been reported earlier this year that the payroll was maxed out. Reagins makes it sound like he has no ceiling, but I don’t believe that. I suspect any addition he will make at the deadline will be or a minimal financial addition, such as a righty-setup man like Mike Adams who shouldn’t be due more than $1 million or so. A big addition just doesn’t seem like something the Halos can afford, financially and prospect-wise, even if they say they can.
The Story: Fernando Rodney is recovering slowly from his back problems.
The Monkey Says: I’ll try to get over this somehow. OK, all kidding aside, the team actually does need Rodney back, if only for depth purposes, so hopefully this issue doesn’t linger much longer.
The Story: Juan Rivera was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Monkey Says: Yet this does little to make me feel any better about the Vernon Wells trade.
The Story: Buster Olney thinks the Angels might target Carlos Pena at the trade deadline.
The Monkey Says: That seems to be a popular notion, but I just don’t see it. Pena would be an upgrade over Branyan, but not by enough to justify whatever it costs to get Pena. Plus, the team seems happy with Trumbo and Abreu, so I don’t know why they would go out of their way to acquire someone who wouldn’t play all that much.
The Story: A look back at the bad acquisitions Tony Reagins has made.
The Monkey Says: This article is pretty much a hunk of donkey dung. First off, every Angel fan knows about those bad moves and doesn’t need them examined further. Second, and most egregiously, the writer simply cherry picks the bad moves without even mentioning the many good moves Reagins made over that span. Just horrible “journalism” all around.
The Story: The Angels’ 4 p.m. game start time claims its first victim.
The Monkey Says: I have never liked the 4 p.m. games for this exact reason. I was never actually worried about injury, but more the poor quality of baseball since batters for both sides have such a hard time pick up the ball. However, the team doesn’t seem to be concerned about this, so the 4 p.m. games are here to stay.
The Monkey Says: I’m sure him no longer pressing to live up to the huge expectations created by the controversial trade that brough him to Anaheim has nothing to do with it.
The Story: Mike Scioscia touts Peter Bourjos as a Gold Glove candidate.
The Monkey Says: A bit early to start campaigning for hardware, no? I actually doubt a campaign will be necessary since so many opposing teams that have come up against the Halos have left raving about how stellar Bourjos is in the field. Then again, Derek Jeter keeps winning Gold Gloves, so…
The Story: Torii Hunter blogs about how the Angels have turned their season around.
The Monkey Says: I don’t know how he did it, but Hunter somehow grounded into another doubleplay during that blog post.