The August 9th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including more ammunition for Jered Weaver’s Cy Young case, Trumbo uses his doubters as motivation, Angels set to call up top pitching prospect Garrett Richards and much more…
The Story: Keith Law says the Angels will call up Garrett Richards to take over Joel Pineiro’s rotation spot.
The Monkey Says: This is obviously not official yet and flies in the face of recent reports that it would be Hisanori Takahashi getting the start instead, but I do believe it is the right call. Throwing Richards to the wolves against the Yankees is a tricky proposition, but if he shows that he can compete against them, the Angels will be getting some great reinforcements for the stretch run. If not, then they can just send Richards down and try someone else or, perhaps, try in earnest to acquire someone via waivers to fill in the rotation.
The Story: Jered Weaver’s lack of run support could actually help his case for the AL Cy Young.
The Monkey Says: Well, that will certainly help, but I still think that with Justin Verlander having a no-hitter on his resume this year as well as two near no-hitters, he is going to end up winning the award.
The Story: Mark Trumbo uses his doubters as motivation.
The Monkey Says: It definitely seems to be working for him, so I am going to go ahead and keep on doubting him. Maybe if I keep it up long enough, he will learn to draw some walks and evolve from a decent starter to a real superstar. Just doing my part, folks.
The Story: The Angels are still negotiating with some of their tough-to-sign mid-round picks.
The Monkey Says: These are high-risk selections because they were seen as players with loads of talent but major signability issues.
The Story: A look back at the life of the late Billy Malone, the Angels’ very first clubhouse attendant.
The Monkey Says: I can certainly think of worse gigs to have.