The December 12th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including details of how the Pujols negotiations unfolded, Angels finalizing $3 billion TV deal which backed this big spending, Morales tendered a contract and much more…
The Story: The details behind how exactly the Albert Pujols signing went down.
The Monkey Says: The best part of this to me is that Pujols actually chose the Angels. He didn’t just wait around for the Cardinals to up their offer and then reluctantly accept the Halos’ offer after St. Louis failed to pony up. He actuallys WANTS to be here.
The Story: A new $3 billion TV deal enabled the Angels shocking spending spree.
The Monkey Says: This has been rumored to be happening for years, but it looks like it is now official. Over the course of the 20-year deal, the Halos will average $150 million per year from the contract, which essentially covers the entirety of their payroll, or awfully close to it. That’s a $100 million per year raise, so it is pretty safe to say that the Angels aren’t exactly putting themselves in financial jeopardy with this Pujols contract. They are going to be able to sustain an almost $200 million payroll for quite some time if they so choose.
The Story: The Angels will tender Kendrys Morales a contract.
The Monkey Says: There was some speculation that he would be let go, but at $2.975 million, Morales is not too expensive too keep and definitely not too expensive to trade to a team looking to take a gamble on his health.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto says they are not going to entertain trades for Peter Bourjos.
The Monkey Says: Glad he cleared that up, but he has quite a few other trade rumors to address right now. I will say though that he was singing the praises of Bobby Abreu in that interview. The Halos definitely can use him as a lefty bat, but it sounded to me more like he was trying to pump up Abreu to be traded himself. Izturis was mentioned in there as well, but in a manner that suggested he is not being shopped, though he didn’t exactly take him off the block either.
The Story: Albert Pujols took out a full page newspaper ad to thank Cardinal fans and C.J. Wilson sent a similar thanks to Ranger fans via Twitter and Facebook.
The Monkey Says: I’m sure both gestures, while kind, did little to console either fanbase. Plus, my understanding is that Ranger fans aren’t exactly broken up over losing Wilson.
The Monkey Says: Actually, I’m pretty sure this is just all the people getting late word that Jeff Mathis got traded away.
The Story: A mild endorsement of Mark Trumbo being able to maybe play third base.
The Monkey Says: I don’t think he can do it. He just isn’t going to have enough prep time. Plus he has frying pans for hands.
The Story: The Angels went from 22-1 to 12-1 in Vegas for odds to win the World Series.
The Monkey Says: D’oh! I already puy $5 on the Astros at 250-1. I’m gonna win me a house!
The Story: The logjam at first could test Jerry Dipoto’s roster creativity.
The Monkey Says: This is the biggest topic in Anaheim now. Everyone thinks at least one trade needs to happen. I’m not so sure that is true and will expand upon it later today.
The Story: Did Albert Pujols’ age matter?
The Monkey Says: It might’ve mattered, but not enough to make a difference. I’m still firmly anti-birther here and think he is being honest about his age but I do reserve the right to go crazy if someone proves he is secretly three years older than he says.
The Monkey Says: In other words, expect to see a lot of Albert in Howard’s Superstore commercials after he retires.
The Story: A chat with Arte Moreno sealed the deal for Albert Pujols.
The Monkey Says: I’m sure the $254 million didn’t hurt either.
The Story: The Angels have stolen the limelight from the Dodgers.
The Monkey Says: You didn’t really think T.J. Simers would miss this golden opportunity to bury the Dodgers did you?
The Story: A live recap of the Pujols-Wilson introductory press conference from Angel Stadium.
The Monkey Says: You can only imagine my chagrin when I went to DVR the press conference only to realize that I can’t watch Fox Sports West in Seattle. D’oh!
The Story: A satirical take on what each team will now do in response to Pujols joining the Angels.
The Monkey Says: My favorite, “Royals – Re-hire the people who were around when Pujols played at a community college in Kansas City and dropped to the 13th round of the draft. Fire them again, just to be sure.”
The Story: The Taiwanese animators give their take on how the Angels landed Pujols and Wilson.
The Monkey Says: Let me preview it for you and just say there are floating bags of cash, multiple people getting shot and what appears to be Nolan Ryan horse-whipping C.J. Wilson in the desert.