Daily Links for the LA Angels including Aybar should be back next week, worrying about the rest of the rotation after Weaver and Haren, assessing if Howie’s hot start is for real and much more…
The Story: Kendrys Morales, Erick Aybar and Joel Pineiro will all head to Arizona to rehab their injuries.
The Monkey Says: It sounds like Morales is just going to work out there while the team is on the road, the same for Pineiro, but it hints that a rehab outing is close for him. I’m not totally sure why Aybar is going when they could easily send him to Inland Empire to get some game action instead. Either way, it sounds like he’ll be back early next week barring any setbacks.
The Story: Despite the heroics of Weaver and Haren, the Angel rotation has a lot of queistion to answer.
The Monkey Says: Tell us something we don’t know. Look, Santana is going to be more than suitable as a third starter and Pineiro should be a fine #4 so long as he stays healthy. Really, the only real question is what to do with the number five spot, and I have to think that someone from the quadrumverate of Kazmir, Palmer, Chatwood and Bell can hold the spot down without being a total liability.
The Story: Is Howie Kendrick this year’s Rickie Weeks?
The Monkey Says: And by that they mean is he in for a long-awaited breakout year like Weeks had last year. I remain cautiously optimistic here, but I sure am hoping that this is finally Howie’s year.
The Story: Mike Scioscia isn’t going to ban headfirst slides just because of Josh Hamilton’s injury.
The Monkey Says: The headfirst slide is always going to be a little risky, but it is part of the game. Not going headfirst into home is a long-standing rule that Hamilton violated and thus paid the price. That being said, the reason it is not advised at home is because you don’t want to run into the catcher, but Hamilton didn’t, he just belly-flopped instead of slid and the impact busted his shoulder up.
The Story: Taking a look at Vernon Wells’ epic slump.
The Monkey Says: Oy, leave the guy alone. Wells is getting crucified like he had the worst start ever in history but nobody is freaking out about other slumping stars like Carl Crawford or Albert Pujols. Let’s just hold off on declaring Wells’ career dead until, I don’t know, maybe mid-May.