The November 10th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including DiPoto says not to rule out the Angels on big name free agents, he also hints at adding a closer, Trout likely to start 2012 season at Triple-A and much more…
The Monkey Says: DiPoto says he believes in signing big impact players, but he also says that the likes of Fielder and Pujols are not a priority to them right now, so it probably won’t happen. However, he says he wants to get Downs and Walden “some help for closing out the last three outs of a game.” That sounds a lot to me like he is going to make a play for a legit closer and not a lower-end setup man. Perhaps the combo of these comments means he is going to go after a big name closer free agent?
The Story: It seems likely that Mike Trout will start the 2012 season in Triple-A.
The Monkey Says: Add to that the article above in which DiPoto says he wants Trout to play everyday and that if he can’t do that in the majors, he’ll do it in the minors. It definitely sounds like they are readying us for Trout to start with the Bees. That makes a lot of sense since the Halos will at least want to try and give Vernon Wells a chance to rebound and make them look not so stupid. However, it is worth noting that they haven’t always been honest about their plans for Trout. Don’t forget that Scioscia and Reagins both said in no uncertain terms that Trout would NOT be called up to the majors at all in 2011, yet they went and did just that.
The Story: Angel farmhand Gil Velazquez has been named a 2011 Topps Triple-A All-Star.
The Monkey Says: And his reward? The Angels dumped him from their 40-man roster and made him a minor league free agent earlier this week.
The Monkey Says: Your state tax dollars at work. A bunch of kids sitting in a stadium, not paying any attention to a “history class” with no real educational value. I can’t imagine why the test scores in California suck so much.