The August 22nd, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including reactions to the Weaver extension, Trout’s call up is bad news for Wells and Abreu, Scott Downs’ hamstring injury is believed to be minor and much more…
The Story: Details on Jered Weaver’s five-year, $85 million extension.
The Monkey Says: This is a great deal for both sides. The Angels get to keep Weaver through his prime at an annual price just below what he likely would’ve earned on the open market and the duration of the deal limits their risk, even if Weaver has been highly durable. As for Weaver, he gets a no-trade clause and the deal allows him to hit the open market again at age 33, which should be just young enough for him to sign one more big money deal to end his career.
The Story: Lyle Spencer credits Jered Weaver for taking control over the process to get the deal done.
The Monkey Says: I don’t know if he is reporting this as a fact, but with Scott Boras prominently involved, one can only assume this extension got done because Weaver ordered it.
The Story: The price and risk make this a good deal for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: Weaver gets more that Felix and Verlander, but the cost of pitching continues to skyrocket, so I don’t think anyone is going to knock the Angels for this move, especially when CJ Wilson convinces a team to hand him a five-year, $80 million contract this off-season.
The Monkey Says: Trout probably won’t play every single day, but he figures to get five or so starts per week. That has forced Scioscia to essentially put Abreu and Wells into a platoon situation, which is absolutely the right move. It is also a harbinger of what is to come next season. Presumably the Angels will try and move/dump Abreu, but if they don’t, Vernon and Bobby will be the ones trying to keep themselves off the bench, not Trout.
The Story: Scott Downs suffered a minor hamstring injury while warming up on Saturday night.
The Monkey Says: It sounds like Downs might have even been available yesterday, so he seems to have dodged a bullet here, as have the Angels because their bullpen would be totally hopeless without him.
The Monkey Says: Hank is definitely going to have to keep earning playing time both with his bat and, especially, his glove. Scioscia seems to be at the end of his rope with Mathis though, so Conger has a huge opportunity to win the job for 2012 by impressing Scioscia these final six weeks of the season.
The Story: The Angels have moved up the renewal date on season tickets to October, rather than January.
The Monkey Says: This announcement has not gone over well with the ticketholders. It is a curious thing for the Angels to do and their explanation is not all that convincing. Frankly, it seems counter-productive to me to ask ticketholders to hurry up and renew right in the middle of the team falling off in the AL West race.
The Story: Tyler Chatwood made little improvement in his first start since returning to Triple-A.
The Monkey Says: Chatwood walked just two batters in six innings but he didn’t throw a lot of strikes (53 out of 92 pitches) and he only got one strikeout while allowing nine hits. This isn’t cause for concern, really, just a sign that he still has things to work on.
The Story: Reggie Willits cleared waivers and rejoined the Angels’ Triple-A team.
The Monkey Says: Willits will stick around and probably try and win his roster spot back next spring.