The December 22nd, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels still looking at less expensive relief options, evaluating the kind of protection Pujols can really provide, wondering if the Angels and Rangers are really in a spending war and much more…

The Story: The Angels continue to look at less expensive relief additions.

The Monkey Says: This is mostly a speculative piece, but it does seem to rule out Francisco Cordero and even Luis Ayala and Dan Wheeler.  Honestly, there just aren’t a lot of great options on the free agent market right now, so the Angels might be better off pursuing help via trade.


The Story: A look at the idea of Albert Pujols providing protection for those that hit in front of him.

The Monkey Says: I know it is only one year of stats, but it is interesting that the walk rates are the same and the power is less.  I would have totally expected the opposite.  It makes me want to do even more research to see what the trend is over several years.  Almost.  I’m just too lazy to do it right now.


The Story: Are the Angels and Rangers in a spending war?

The Monkey Says: The suggestion at the end of the article is that this is going to be an annual spending battle between the two teams, but that feels like an overstatement.  Each team has pockets that are getting deeper, but they aren’t bottomless like the Yankees and Red Sox.  In fact, both teams will be spending a lot of money in the next few years just trying to keep their homegrown talent from leaving.