The January 24th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Francisco Cordero to chose between Angels and three other teams this week, Trumbo finally starts working at the move to third base, Howie Kendrick is the most frustrating Angel (really?) and much more…
The Monkey Says: I’ll save the rant against Cordero, but suffice it to say that I am NOT with Coco. Hopefully he ends up elsewhere and thus saves the Angels from themselves here.
The Story: Mark Trumbo is finally set to begin learning how to play third base.
The Monkey Says: Trumbo is only barely to get work as a third baseman, but at least he is finally healthy enough to field grounders, even if he is still limited in what he can do. I still don’t think this transition will work though, mostly because he is getting such a late start.
The Story: Mark Saxon calls Howie Kendrick the most frustrating Angel.
The Monkey Says: I don’t think he is that frustrating, at least no anymore. Kendrick isn’t “elite” like Saxon said, but he has proven to be pretty good and consistent. I think Saxon is looking at the wrong side of the diamond. Aybar is most frustrating to me as he has also failed to live up to lofty expectations and his performance from year-to-year has been wildly inconsistent.
The Story: Is Yu Darvish really worth $40 million more than C.J. Wilson?
The Monkey Says: This has been debated all over the place and the consensus is that it is going to be a close call. The age difference gives Darvish a big edge, but Wilson’s track record makes him more of a sure thing. Either way, we won’t really know who “won” for several years and by then nobody will care anymore. I’m glad we had this discussion.
The Monkey Says: Trout has lost his narrow edge over Harper in most lists it seems, likely because of his struggles in the majors in 2011. That is somewhat fair, but also kind of not since basically no 19-year old ever has success in the majors.
The Story: A call to have Albert Pujols bat fourth instead of third.
The Monkey Says: This is a tact I think Mike Scioscia might experiment with, though it is wrong-headed to do so. The main reason for Pujols to bat third is that it increases the likelihood of him getting an extra at-bat in games. The bigger issue is that the Halos lack high-OBP guys to put in front of him, so putting three guys with iffy on-base skills makes even less sense. What they should do is make sure whoever bats ninth isn’t their worst OBP guy since he isn’t going to be far from Pujols in the order once the lineup comes around the second, third and fourth time.
The Story: Taylor Lindsey, the #9 Angel prospect.
The Monkey Says: It would be an upset if Lindsey isn’t a top-five Angel prospect this time next season.