The September 20th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Aybar named Co-Player of the Week, Wells’ quote on opting out turns into an internet meme (and not in a good way), Howie Kendrick’s Gold Glove credentials and much more…
The Story: Erick Aybar was named AL Player of the Week along with Justin Verlander.
The Monkey Says: Good thing the week ended on Sunday because he wouldn’t even have factored into the voting after his choke job performance yesterday.
The Story: Vernon Wells’ “Maybe it’s just society” quote becomes an internet meme.
The Monkey Says: Ugh. Vernon can’t even make the obvious decision to not opt out without turning that into a disaster as well. He literally can’t do anything right.
The Story: Examining Howie Kendrick’s Gold Glove credentials.
The Monkey Says: Howie has become an excellent fielder, but I don’t think he is going win it. With the way the voting works, I suspect Dustin Pedroia will win the award as a sort of compensatory honor since he has fallen out of the AL MVP race.
The Story: Erick Aybar is breaking out… again.
The Monkey Says: I don’t know if it is really a breakout so much as a stabilization. Aybar has clearly recovered from his attempt to morph into Bobby Abreu and is putting up solid numbers now. I definitely don’t think the Angels should really consider upgrading over Aybar with a big investment in Jose Reyes, but I also think they need to recognize that he has limitations and that means he shouldn’t be a leadoff hitter and he will always be very streaky.
The Story: The Angels pitching is amongst the best in the majors.
The Monkey Says: Yup, they are going to be the best rotation NOT in the playoffs. Shoot me in the head.