The May 22nd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Vernon Wells out 8-10 weeks due to thumb surgery, Kole Calhoun and Bobby Cassevah called up, Mike Trout is going “God Mode” and much more…
The Story: Vernon Wells will be out 8-10 weks with a torn ligament in his thumb.
The Monkey Says: Insert “addition by subtraction” joke here. This sucks for Vernon as he was starting to show signs of life, but now he’ll have to start at square one in two months, assuming Peter Bourjos doesn’t play well enough to make Vernon obsolete by then. Other than the depth hit the Angels take, this probably does make them any worse since even with Wells playing well, he still wasn’t out-producing what Bourjos did last year and definitely wasn’t providing the same defensive value.
The Monkey Says: Calhoun is a solid prospect who could challenge for a starting spot next season, but he probably isn’t quite ready to be a contributor. At best, he’ll see time as a defensive replacement for Trumbo until Torii Hunter returns, whenever that is. As for Cassevah, he was strong down the stretch last season but was very slow to recover from a shoulder problem in spring training. In fact, he had been pretty lousy in Triple-A until about a week ago. If he performs well enough, he should stick on the roster when Hunter comes back. Even if he doesn’t perform well, he should still be safe from demotion because David Pauley is just awful.
The Story: Mike Trout goes “God Mode.”
The Monkey Says: I love the point in there about Trout’s BABIP. It is impossibly high right now, so he will regress before long, but his speed gives him such a huge advantage that he could sustain a higher BABIP than most mortal players. Still, a .400+ BABIP is bonkers.
The Story: For the next short while, the Angels are playing their outfield of the future.
The Monkey Says: I’m still not sold that this is, in fact, the outfield of the future. The Angels have a few guys who could slot into the corner spot next seas, including Vernon Wells if only because the team clearly isn’t willing to give up on him. They definitely need to find a permanent spot for Mark Trumbo, but they also need to find a permanent third baseman, so it would behoove them to see if they can’t find a way to make his transition to the hot corner work somehow.
The Story: Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Angels’ team bus crash.
The Monkey Says: That is only fitting because this whole season has felt like a prolonged bus crash.
The Story: Albert Pujols has brough is OhYeah! product endorsement with him to Anaheim.
The Monkey Says: And here I was thinking that he was going to bring a dangerous bat and some wins… oh, well, at least we’ve got a “nutrition shake.” That’ll solve everything!
The Story: The Angels stink, but yet we still watch, but why and for how long?
The Monkey Says: I’m with you, James. I’m still watching even though it breaks my heart most nights. I want to quit after every soul-crushing loss, but I always come back the next night. I’m sure I’ll reach a breaking point sooner or later, but I keep hoping the Halos turn it around before that point comes.