Daily Links for the LA Angels including Callaspo to be ready for full action soon, anticipating when Trout will be promoted to Triple-A, Scioscia tries to explain Kazmir’s decline and much more…
The Story: Alberto Callaspo should be ready for full action soon.
The Monkey Says: This is an old story as we saw Callaspo pinch-hit over the weekend, so we know that he is at least healthy enough for limited action and to not have to go to the disabled list. The real question is when he will get a start again, especially since the Angels are on the road in an NL stadium, making it a little harder for the Halos to find room in the lineup for him, not to mention making it more important that they also have a decent bat off the bench to pinch-hit.
The Story: John Sickels wonders just how much longer the Angels will wait to move Mike Trout up to Triple-A.
The Monkey Says: A lot of folks are wondering how much longer they will wait, with the consensus being that he’ll get the promotion at the end of the month when the minor league All-Star break happens.
The Story: Mike Scioscia attempts to explain Scott Kazmir’s rapid decline.
The Monkey Says: Well, he didn’t really explain much other than continue with more Kazmir propaganda in regards to how hard he worked even though his skills continue to erode. As far as I am concerned, all this really is is Sosh continuing to have a player’s back even after that player has been released.
The Story: Advanced stats show that Jordan Walden’s slider is ridiculous good.
The Monkey Says: And it is no coincidence that he is using the slider more and more and essentially scrapping the changeup he was tinkering with to start the season. It is scary to think how much better Walden could be two or three years from now.
The Monkey Says: There is a reason that I NEVER link to Jeff Miller’s “work.” But this piece is so fracking idiotic on so many levels that I cannot let this go. Why the hell is he even talking about Scioscia leaving the Angels? Has one person even suggested he’d be fired? I’d like to think that this is just Miller trying to stir up controversy to get some attention, but I don’t think he’s that smart.
The Story: Mark Trumbo is showing he can pound right-handed pitching too.
The Monkey Says: To be fair, it was never really a question. Trumbo has a lower batting average against righties, but it isn’t that much lower and his OPS platoon split is virtually identical. The only real reason he hasn’t been facing righties as often lately is because of the need to find ABs for other players.
The Story: Former Angel announcer Steve Physioc tackles his bucket list.
The Monkey Says: Is being a better baseball play-by-play man on the list? Because it should be.
The Story: The Angels have unveiled a line of 50th Anniversary wine.
The Monkey Says: Ummmm…. ok? And here I was worried about the team’s weak lineup and thin bullpen when I should’ve been focused on their lack of a team-branded anniversary wine.