The September 7th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including two more prospects called up to Anaheim, a low-level Halo prospect gets suspended for PEDs, the Mike Trout effec and much more…
The Story: The Angels called up infielders Alexi Amarista and Gil Velazquez to the major league roster.
The Monkey Says: The Triple-A season is now over for the Bees, so Amarista and Velazquez are now freed up for big league duty. They are also likely the last Bees to be promoted this year, which is interesting since Michael Kohn did not get called up even though he seemed like a likely candidate. This gives the Halos 34 players on the active roster, which is more than they usually use in September, so they may not promote anyone else at all, though I still hold out hope that reliever Loek Van Mil will get the call when the Double-A season is over.
The Story: Angel minor leaguer Ercilio De La Cruz has been suspended for failing a PED-related drug test.
The Monkey Says: De La Cruz is an 18-year old in the Dominican Summer League and not a particularly good one, so this really isn’t all that newsworthy. Frankly, I think baseball makes sure each team gets at least one nothing prospect suspended every year or two just to make an example of them to the other kids in the organization.
The Monkey Says: That is definitely an overlooked aspect of Trout’s presence. With him in the fold, Scioscia can afford to rest Bourjos like he did on Monday as well as pick his spots with Bobby Abreu rather than trot him out there every day even when he isn’t playing well.
The Story: How many consecutive seasons can the Angels miss the playoffs before Mike Scioscia gets fired?
The Monkey Says: Purely hypothetical, but an interesting question. I’d say five seasons given the current state of the roster. Scioscia kind of gets a free pass from me for last year and this year too since the Angels’ issues are more related to a poorly constructed roster. Actually, I give Scioscia a lot of credit for keeping this year’s team in the hunt for so long. However, depending on what the team does this off-season, with Weaver locked up and Trout ready to roll, the clock will start ticking on Scioscia to mold this young team back into a contended, a task I doubt he will have a problem executing, but stranger things have happened.
The Story: Mike Butcher’s wife Tami is holding a signing for her new childrens’ book.
The Monkey Says: And the signing is with “comedian” Bill Engvall… for some reason. So, if that is your kind of thing, have fun.
The Story: The recent offensive production of the Angel lineup has True Grich wondering, “what if?”
The Monkey Says: This is all I have been saying. Keep hope alive!