The February 23rd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels sign Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal, Albert Pujols not pleased with the El Hombre billboard campaign, Scioscia tries to downplay Abreu’s trade request and much more…
The Monkey Says: A nice move by Dipoto. Isringhausen isn’t much of a pitcher anymore, but he is a low risk signing and he might just be the experienced closer mentor that they need for Jordan Walden. He has a decent shot at making the team, but it would most likely be as something of a middle inning right-handed specialist rather than someone who could challenge Hawkins for right-handed setup duty.
The Story: Albert Pujols is not a fan of the El Hombre billboards all over Southern California.
The Monkey Says: There, Cardinal fans. Can you shut up about it now? Whiners.
The Monkey Says: This is just Scioscia saying what he is supposed to say. If Morales and Trumbo are both healthy and Wells shows a hint of being productive again, it is getting very hard to imagine Abreu having any kind of role at all. Let’s all hope that the Orioles get desperate and solve this problem for us.
The Story: Francisco Rodriguez the Other has worked out his Visa issues and is set to report to camp.
The Monkey Says: Well, that’s nice. Totally inconsequential, but nice nonetheless.
The Story: Could Albert Pujols play third base?
The Monkey Says: No. He can’t. He might be able to in an emergency, but he also has a balky elbow that could need Tommy John surgery someday, so having him play third and making all those throws across the diamond probably isn’t the best idea.
The Story: Kevin Jepsen had an encouraging bullpen session in camp today.
The Monkey Says: Hehe, they called Jepsen a “veteran.” Anyway, Jepsen has a ways to go to get back in the team’s good graces, but he probably has the highest upside out of any of the pitchers vying for the final spot in the Angel bullpen.
The Monkey Says: I have a question; why do I keep linking to Jim Bowden?
The Story: Maicer Izturis is accepting of whatever his role turns out to be this season.
The Monkey Says: Why should he not be accepting of it? This is the same position he has been in pretty much his entire career.
The Story: Kendrys Morales speaks about his recovery and his resolve to return in 2012.
The Monkey Says: The focal point of this article is that he is not experiencing any swelling in his ankle anymore whereas he was last season. I can’t hide it anymore, this is a great sign and I’m ready to start believing that he is going to be the starting DH for the Angels on Opening Day.
The Story: C.J. Wilson has a Funny or Die video about him “learning to breakdance.”
The Monkey Says: I voted Die. Sorry, C.J., but humor isn’t your thing. I guess you’ll just have to stick to photography, cooking, fitness, auto racing and pitching. Probably just the pitching.