The April 26th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels have no plans to call up Trout for now, an Angel fan offers to pay for a Halo home run, Albert Pujols may never be the best hitter in baseball ever again and much more…
The Story: Mike Scioscia has no plan to call up Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: I agree with that, but that isn’t easy to do right now. As Scioscia says, this team lacks an identity. If they don’t find one soon, Trout is the kind of player that can give the lineup an identity. It sounds to me like Scioscia feels the same way because he wasn’t exactly adamant in his denial of Trout getting promoted soon.
The Story: An Angel fan offered to pay if an someone on the team hit a home run last night.
The Monkey Says: This is really a funny, whimsical thing, but also kind of depressing that it even became a thing at all. Vernon Wells ended up making the fan pay up on his promise, but it feels like an empty gesture since the Halos still lost the game in aggravating fashion.
The Story: Trends suggest that Albert Pujols will never be baseball’s best hitter ever again.
The Monkey Says: Don’t read this if you are even remotely depressed and have access to a length of rope, sharp objects or the roof of a tall building.
The Monkey Says: I have no doubt that switching leagues is playing a role here, but it is only part of the story. There is so much more going on here to lead Pujols to struggles this deep.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto is keeping his thoughts on the ever-changing lineup to himself… sort of.
The Monkey Says: Jerry wisely says he isn’t going to tell Scioscia how to fill out the lineup card, but he also strongly intimates that he is not a big fan of it being in constant flux. In fact, it seems like there could be problems relating to it in the clubhouse as well. Torii Hunter was quoted after last night’s game as saying, “We’re just going through the motions. We have to do what we’re capable of. That’s everybody; not just the players.” That certainly sounds like a shot across the bow at the coaching staff.
The Monkey Says: I understand Rodney for being upset about that, even though he needs to recognize that he pitched terribly last season. Scioscia handled that situation poorly. I said it at the time too that if he was going to have such a quick hook with Fraudney then he should never have anointed him the closer to begin with.
The Monkey Says: Oh, good. I feel much better now.
The Monkey Says: And thus continues the most antagonizing edition of the Halo Headlines ever.