The August 1st, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Reagins talks about the lack of trades, Abreu’s 2012 option vests, Weaver still steaming about being disrespected by the Tigers and much more…
The Story: Tony Reagins explains why the Angels didn’t make any trades.
The Monkey Says: This is a fairly basic “cover your ass” explanation, but I actually believe it. I feel like the Angels were hamstrung by a lack of upper-level prospects and a relief pitching market that ultimately proved to be fairly thin. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, so get ready for a rant later today.
The Story: Count the Angels as trade deadline losers.
The Monkey Says: Hard to argue with them at this point, though I do think saying they are losers because the Rangers made moves is a false argument. Making a move simply because a competitor did is how you panic and make a bad trade yourself. We’ve all seen what happens (Vernon Wells) when Reagins overreacts to public pressure to make a move, so that is a small win for him, I suppose.
The Story: Jered Weaver felt disrespected by the Tigers and Justin Verlander did not appreciate Aybar’s bunt.
The Monkey Says: There was a lot of wrongdoing in that game, but I think the Tigers get the most blame because they started it with their unprovoked showboating. As I said in the recap, the Tigers have no right to be mad at Aybar for his bunt. The “unwritten” rules went out the window the second Guillen stared down his homer and then Weaver.
The Story: Bobby Abreu’s 2012 option vested over the weekend.
The Monkey Says: We all knew it was coming, but yet some folks are upset about it like it was avoidable. I don’t see this being a huge problem in 2012, the Angels aren’t dumb enough to let him block anyone. They will create space somehow with the main option being to dump him on another AL team, even if it means eating most of his salary.
The Story: Fernando Rodney has been good since his return from the DL, lessening the need for a trade.
The Monkey Says: That post is a bit stale, but I wanted to make a point. If the Angels really didn’t acquire a righty setup man because Fraudney has “looked sharp” this last week, then Reagins really should be fired. When he has his act together, he can be very good, but he couldn’t be more inconsistent and the Angels should know that by now.
The Story: Not making a trade doesn’t mean the Angels aren’t commited to winning.
The Monkey Says: I really hate agreeing with Jeff Miller of all people, but I saw plenty of fans saying things like “the Rangers showed they want to win more.” That is just dumb. Everyone wants to win very badly, the Rangers just have deeper pockets and a deeper farm system, so they were able to get more done. Want and desire don’t have anything to do with it.
The Story: The Angels are considering their options for the rotation after Joel Pineiro’s struggles.
The Monkey Says: It sounds like Pineiro might get his turn skipped soon if he doesn’t come around. I have a hard time believing they’d move him to the pen (which might actually be a boon to the relief corps), since the only viable replacement for him is probably Garrett Richards, and it just isn’t there style to thrust a raw rookie into the rotation in the middle of a divisional race.
The Story: Mike Scioscia is torn over how to use Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: Now that the deadline has come and gone, I’d be shocked if he didn’t get sent down to Triple-A before their next game on Tuesday.
The Story: Union workers at Angel Stadium have authorized a strike if negotiations merit such action.
The Monkey Says: The workers aren’t happy about a wage freeze, so they are threatening a strike, but aren’t actually striking yet. I’ve got bad news for those workers, if the Angels aren’t going to pay up to boost their bullpen, they aren’t going to open up their wallet to give some peanut chuckers a raise.