The February 8th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including predicting what the Angel batting order might look like, another bad Bourjos trade idea, wondering how many at-bats Trumbo will get and much more…
The Story: A look at the many possible batting order combinations Mike Scioscia might try in 2012.
The Monkey Says: My preference would be to go Aybar-Kendrick-Pujols-Hunter-Morales-Wells-Callaspo-Iannetta-Bourjos with Aybar and Bourjos switching spots with a lefty on the mound. Really though, Scioscia uses over 100+ lineups each season (not an exaggeration), so worrying about this is a big waste of time.
The Story: A suggestion of trading Peter Bourjos and Rich Thompson for Tyler Clippard and a prospect.
The Monkey Says: The Bad Bourjos Trade Idea is becoming daily feature, and that isn’t a good thing. This idea is at least a valiant effort but still doesn’t do it for me because, as the writer said himself, “Trading a position player for a reliever is almost always a goofy idea.” Clippard is really good, but Bourjos is much better and I would think that the Nats would have to sweeten the pot a bit more than a guy like Solis to get the Angels to even think about it.
The Story: How many at-bats will Mark Trumbo get this season?
The Monkey Says: That is impossible to answer right now. If Morales is healthy and productive, he might not get more than 200. If Morales needs another surgery, he might get 600 at-bats.
The Story: Previewing the Angels shortstop position.
The Monkey Says: Saxon (finally) nails this one. Aybar’s impending free agency will be a big topic all season long, especially because Aybar has always been one of Arte Moreno’s personal favorite players.
The Story: A look at the roles of new front office members Hal Morris and Mike LaCassa.
The Monkey Says: I love this series because we seldom get insight into how the lesser roles in a front office work. Also, I kind of love the idea that Hal Morris got Dipoto’s attention because of fantasy football. That’s a pretty abnormal way to get a front office job for a baseball franchise.
The Monkey Says: As you likely surmised, this list is littered with Angels and as such, it will make you laugh (Kendrick and Aybar) and make you cry (Mathis, Wood and MacPherson).