The June 28th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Iannetta still limited by forearm problems, Angels scouting Brewers for possible trade, Trumbo talks about his new approach at the plate and much more…
The Story: Chris Iannetta is still suffering from forearm problems.
The Monkey Says: These issues don’t seem to be going away, so the Angels really have no idea when or if Iannetta is going to be back in action. One has to think that they will finally start exploring the trade market for some catching help if he doesn’t show signs of progress very soon.
The Story: The Angels sent a special assignment scout to yesterday’s Reds-Brewers game.
The Monkey Says: The suggestion here is that they were taking a look at K-Rod, but I don’t really buy that. Instead, I am guessing they were just doing their due diligence on Zack Greinke, who will be a free agent at season’s end and possibly even a trade candidate next month. I doubt very much that they are looking to trade for Greinke, but I wouldn’t put it past them to at least be thinking about signing him via free agency if they decide to let Haren and/or Santana walk.
The Story: Mark Trumbo talks about the change in approach he made at the plate this season.
The Monkey Says: His old approach was basically, “see ball, swing at ball” but now he has wisely decided that he should try and wait for a good pitch in a specific location. In other words, he is kind of guessing, which might explain why he has a .621 OPS once he gets two strikes on him and strikes out over 40% of the time since he can’t really guess as much and must resort to free swinging agian.
The Story: Wondering why Izturis keeps getting playing time at third despite Callaspo’s recent hot streak.
The Monkey Says: This is actually a good query because Callaspo has been raking of late, and not just by Callaspo standards either. Izturis, conversely, has been awful, but Scioscia loves him and probably wants to try and get him going again so that he isn’t ice cold if someone gets hurt.
The Story: Albert Pujols, but not Mark Trumbo, has been approached about participating in the Home Run Derby.
The Monkey Says: Nothing agains Pujols, but that would be a gross miscarriage of justice.
The Story: Albert Pujols is playing better but is no longer playing at his previous elite level.
The Monkey Says: That split shown is discouraging, but it is also a perfect example of picking arbitrary end points and then comparing two small and possibly meaningless sample sizes. That isn’t to say the conclusion is wrong just that it isn’t based on irrefutable facts.
The Story: Buck Showalter is very impressed with Mike Trout.
The Monkey Says: So it the rest of the free world.
The Story: Debating whether or not the Angels can catch the Rangers in the AL West.
The Monkey Says: This is stupid that this is even a debate since the Halos are only 4.5 games out and the Rangers have half their starting rotation on the DL. I really hate TV shows sometimes.