The March 7th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels win their spring opener 6-2, Halos rumored to be interested in trading for lefty reliever, Jordan Walden asks fans to pick his entrance music and much more…
The Story: The Angels won their spring home opener 6-2 over the White Sox.
The Monkey Says: The starting lineup did all the damage, including a big hit from Jorge Cantu. Garrett Richards got the start but didn’t look very sharp.
The Story: The Halos are rumored to be interested in adding a left-handed reliever to their bullpen.
The Monkey Says: This is puzzling on several levels. First and foremost, they already have two southpaws in Downs and Takahashi. However, this rumor has hovered around the Angels all off-season as well, so I tend to think it has legs. The motivation remains a mystery though it does make one wonder if the team doesn’t have faith in Taka to improve against left-handed batters or maybe that Taka or Downs is injured. What I also fail to understand is how another lefty is going to fit into what is already a pretty crowded bullpen.
The Story: Jordan Walden took to Facebook to ask fans to suggest his entrance music this year.
The Monkey Says: I know he wants an rocking energy song but I think he should go with “Loverman” by Nick Cave and Bad Seeds because it would creep the hell out of opposing batters.
The Monkey Says: I think it is just because he has kids and he is up that early anyway.
The Story: Inside the Angels spring training clubhouse.
The Monkey Says: Albert Pujols eats Lucky Charms?!?! This is great. If it is good enough for the best ballplayer in the world, then it is good enough for me. Or at least that is what I am going to tell my wife when she tries to make me drink another protein shake for breakfast for this stupid diet I’m on.
The Story: Garrett Richards has shelved his curveball as he tries to win the fifth starter job.
The Monkey Says: I’m sure they are very smart, but I find that frustrating as the curve was supposed to be a good pitch for him. His slider and changeup are very good too, but they are also inconsistent, so I guess it makes sense to reduce the number of pitches for him to work on. It is also worth noting that Scioscia stated Richards will not be considered as a bullpen candidate.
The Story: Positional power rankings at first base with the Angels coming in second.
The Monkey Says: Second? I am willing to entertain the idea that Votto was better than Pujols last season, but I would think having Trumbo and Morales behind Albert would overcome that very slim gap.
The Story: Jorge Cantu is determined to show what he can do and earn a bench job with the Angels.
The Monkey Says: I’m rooting for Jorge because I like the depth he provides. It is also possible that if Trumbo takes well to third and Cantu impresses in camp, then the Angels might consider Alberto Callaspo expendable and be able to flip him to the A’s who are said to want him.
The Story: Bobby Abreu thinks he can pitch.
The Monkey Says: This is just him goofing around, but when I saw the deadline I was actually thinking it might be true since he is delusional enough to think that he is still an everyday left fielder who can still hit in the middle of the order.
The Story: Thousands of fans flocked to Angel Stadium to redeem their mini-plan ticket vouchers.
The Monkey Says: I feel like this is highly inefficient. I mean, it is great that fans are so excited to get tickets and everything, but this is the Internet age, why do people still have to redeem vouchers in-person at a box office?
The Story: Randal Grichuk and Jose Rondon are minor league breakout prospects.
The Monkey Says: Rondon was not on my radar at all before, so this is intriguing to say the least. As for Grichuk, he has been on everyone’s radar, but I am hesitant to put too much faith in him until he proves he can stay healthy. If he can, he could definitely bust out, but it is a really big “if.”