Daily Links for the LA Angels including Wood gets claimed by the Pirates, Pineiro on pace to be back this weekend, Downs placed back on the DL and much more…
The Story: Brandon Wood was claimed on waivers by the Pirates.
The Monkey Says: Well, the era is over even though it never really began. For Brandon’s sake, Pittsburgh might actually be the best possible situation for him since he gets to return to his natural shortstop position and play somewhere where he will be under almost no pressure to perform whatsoever.
The Story: Joel Pineiro will make a rehab start on Monday and hopes to rejoin the Angels this weekend.
The Monkey Says: Joel sounds like he is ready to go right now. It is worth noting that he is on pace schedule to return Saturday, which suggests that Matt Palmer will be the odd man out in the rotation.
The Story: Scott Downs was placed on the DL due to a virus that caused him to lose ten pounds in three days.
The Monkey Says: This guy just can’t catch a break, can he? Hopefully he will be back and finally healthy soon, if only so he can finally make me look smart for saying he will make the Angel bullpen markedly better.
The Story: Howie Kendrick believes he has a mechanical flaw that has caused his recent slump.
The Monkey Says: The good news is he believes he can fix it. Now if only he could provide the same service to all the other slumping Angel hitters.
The Story: Trevor Bell was added to the roster to take Scott Downs’ place.
The Monkey Says: Interesting. The Angels opted to promote Bell rather than recall Jepsen or Kohn, which tells me either that Bell won’t be up for very long, or that Jepsen and Kohn are a both a lot further away from coming back than we originally though.
The Story: Erick Aybar tries to defend his Friday night baserunning blunder.
The Monkey Says: Whatever. It was a stupid play made by a player whose career has been marred by one mental error after another.