The February 14th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Jerry Dipoto not eager to trade Bobby Abreu, the challenge of Albert Pujols switching leagues, Vernon Wells is in the best shape of his life and much more…
The Story: Dipoto not eager to trade Bobby Abreu.
The Monkey Says: That is the sensible thing to say given the depth Bobby provides right now, but it is also the answer I would give if I were GM and asked about the trade value of a savvy veteran with no trade value.
The Story: The challenge or lack thereof of Pujols switching leagues.
The Monkey Says: The league switch can be a concern for some batters, but it doesn’t seem to ever affect the great ones. Fort example, Vlad Guerrero came to the Angels after spending his career in the NL and then proceeded to win the AL MVP in his very first season. Pujols is twice the player Vlad ever was (not a knock on Guerrero, mind you), so I doubt he’ll have much of an adjustment to make at all.
The Story: Check out video of Vernon Wells’ off-season workout routine.
The Monkey Says: No doubt, Vernon will be one of several hundred players reporting to spring training and claiming to be in the Best Shape of His Life.
The Story: Tim Brown provides the Angels off-season in review.
The Monkey Says: Count Brown amongst those who believe that Kendrys Morales is going to be the difference between the Angels being merely good and pretty great. I can’t say I disagree.
The Story: The best and worst case scenarios for the Angels starting pitchers.
The Monkey Says: Even in the worst case scenario for every pitcher described, the Angels would still have a pretty solid rotation.
The Story: Ranking the AL West by position.
The Monkey Says: I take a bit of an objection to Kendrick being ranked below Ackley at second, if only because Ackley just isn’t proven, though he could become an absolute stud this season. Other than that, I have no objections, aside from having to make changes now that the Athletics shocked the world and signed Yoennis Cespedes.
The Story: A look at Albert Pujols’ work with charity.
The Monkey Says: OK, we get it, he’s better than the rest of us.
The Story: Mike Trout and Jean Segura are the only Angels in the Baseball Prospectus top 101 prospect list.
The Monkey Says: We already saw Goldstein’s top Angels prospects, so it doesn’t surprise me as he was pretty down on everyone after Segura compared to the rest of the prospect experts out there.
The Story: AngelsWin.com has released their top 50 Angel prospect list.
The Monkey Says: Profiles are set to follow, so be sure to check them out. Another very different list from the ones we’ve seen before, especially the lofty ranking for Matt Shoemaker who had a great statistical year but doesn’t measure up in terms of scoutable tools.
The Story: A look at the major issues facing the Angels as they get ready for Spring Training.
The Monkey Says: What’s interesting here is that Alden Gonzalez has Torii Hunter hitting sixth in his projected lineup, behind Morales and Trumbo. I have not seen anybody suggest that arrangement before, but Alden says it is just his best guess and not some sort of insider information.