The February 7th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Trumbo is eager to begin his transition to third base, picking apart the Bourjos-Lannan trade rumor, anticipating Dipoto’s next move and much more…
The Story: Trumbo is eager to get started with his transition to third base.
The Monkey Says: That’s great and all, but camp starts in a few weeks and he says he isn’t even running yet. The talk about being willing to take thousands of grounders per day doesn’t mean a thing if those days don’t start very, very, very soon.
The Story: Breaking down the many reasons why the Bourjos-for-Lannan trade rumor is absolutely stupid.
The Monkey Says: I always knew I liked Dave Cameron.
The Monkey Says: Cameron is smart, but Plunkett might be a wizard. Edge: Plunkett.
The Story: Anticipating Jerry Dipoto’s next move.
The Monkey Says: There actually isn’t much consideration for actual moves so much as shooting down moves that people are hoping for. My guess though would be Dipoto adding one more veteran relief arm to the mix, but probably only on a minor league deal. The well is running pretty dry though, so it is probably going to be Luis Ayala or maybe he’ll roll the dice on an injury-reclamation project like Mike Wuertz or David Aardsma. Or maybe they won’t do anything and hope that they can find help from within in the form of Kevin Jepsen or Michael Kohn. I’ve been predicting a reliever signing for several weeks now and it hasn’t happened, so take that with a grain of salt.
The Monkey Says: Everything that can be said about this has already been said.
The Story: Mark Trumbo’s move to third is one of the top position changes to watch this coming season.
The Monkey Says: You know, I really don’t think that this is a big deal. Everyone around the league is acting like the Halos intend to have him play their everyday, but Scioscia has been adamant about the fact that Trumbo would play 50 games there at the most. What’s more interesting is the idea that he is going to play the outfield too, as suggested in this article. That is a very real possibility, but Trumbo will need to practice at those positions too since he doesn’t have a world of experience in the outfield. That just seems like a pretty heavy workload for a guy to take on during an MLB season. As I’ve suggested before, the only way I see it working is if the Angels option Mark to Salt Lake for a month or two so that he can play every single day at defensive positions other than first base, but I find it highly unlikely that they would consider that since it would weaken their depth at the big league level.
The Story: Previewing the Angels’ third base situation.
The Monkey Says: Risk vs. reward? This is not an either/or situation. Again, Trumbo isn’t taking over full-time, just being added to the mix.
The Monkey Says: It certainly couldn’t hurt, but the bigger issue with Trevor isn’t the mechanical stuff that Langston has aided him with and more the mental aspect of the game since Reckling has real confidence issues that have submarined his once promising career.
The Story: Everything you ever wanted to know about recently signed Greg Smith.
The Monkey Says: He is not good and has almost no chance of making the team. That is all.