Daily Links for the LA Angels including Aybar on the DL, Kohn and Jepsen demoted, Downs activated, Chatwood to start Monday and much more…
The Story: The Angels placed Erick Aybar on the disabled list and called up Francisco Rodriguez.
The Monkey Says: Aybar must not have been recovering as fast as the team hoped, but don’t worry he can come off the DL on the 18th. As for Wolviriguez, he may only be up for a week or two, but with the bullpen in so much flux (you’ll understand why in a second), he could carve out a niche for himself if he performs well in what is now an open audition for middle relievers in the Angel pen.
The Monkey Says: Talk about a shocker. Kohn I understand, but demoting Jepsen, who hasn’t been great, but certainly not awful, is truly puzzling. I suppose the idea here is that the coaching staff wants both of them to work on their command in the minors. I have the feeling this might be more of a motivational technique for Jepsen though, since he has a decent track record. Hopefully he is back up by the end of the month. As for Downs, this seems like a premature activation since he has allowed runs in both his rehab appearances, but I’m sure he’ll just be worked into the bullpen mix slowly. Finally, we get to the juicy news of stud pitching prospect Tyler Chatwood getting promoted to start today. This is a big gamle by the team, Chatwood has mountains of talent, but he is just 21 and he lacks much experience above Single-A, and his stats weren’t all that impressive at those higher levels either. But who knows, young pitchers have made the big leap before and Tyler’s combo of a big fastball and inducing grounders could make him a viable option for the back of the rotation for a couple turns if not the whole season.
The Monkey Says: Scott allegedly has a back injury. Emphasis on allegedly. The Halos are going to be more than happy to have him take his time rehabbing in the minors and trying to figure out if he can get back to being useful. I’ll cover this a lot more later today.
The Story: Don’t expect Joel Pineiro to return for at least two weeks.
The Monkey Says: That makes me feel icky since he was supposed to be ready to go by this weekend, yet he hasn’t even started his rehab assignment yet. The good news is that they are saying he is pain free. Let’s hope he stays that way.
The Story: Rob Neyer attempts to figure out what will become of Brandon Wood.
The Monkey Says: If Neyer can’t even figure out Wood, I don’t know who can.
The Story: TJ Simers profiles the man that received a Silver Star before the Angel game on Saturday.
The Monkey Says: The only thing more amazing than that soldier’s story is that Simers actually wrote something nice about somebody.
The Story: Is Vernon Wells trying too hard?
The Monkey Says: The short answer: Yes. The long answer: Yes, of course he is, idiot.
The Monkey Says: I can only assume that this is a some sort of big deal since the newspapers are reporting on it. I have nothing else to offer.