The August 25th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Weaver wanted to avoid a long negotiation, Downs should be ready to pitch by Friday, Santana and Weaver likely to go on short rest against Texas and much more…
The Monkey Says: I am beginning to wonder why he ever had Boras as his agent if he didn’t want a long negotiation or to hit the open market. That is kind of what Boras does, no? On a related note, Jim Bowden actually made a great point today (a rarity for him). Everyone is mocking Boras for failing to bully Weaver into testing the free agent market, but everyone is overlooking that Boras did still get him the richest extension for a pitcher with years of arbitration left. Even when the guy loses, he still wins.
The Story: Scott Downs is expected to be ready to pitch again by Friday.
The Monkey Says: Downs did some drills and had a bullpen session, so it looks like he is ready to go, which is a welcome relief in lieu of the Texas series.
The Story: Signs continue to point to Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver starting on short rest against Texas.
The Monkey Says: Scioscia is remaining non-commital, but it makes sense to give the short rest a try, especially since it is more sensible to let Pineiro and Williams start against the Mariners rather than force one of them to go up against the Rangers.
The Story: Scott Kazmir will attempt to pitch in winter ball this off-season.
The Monkey Says: As bad as Kazmir was before he got released, I am shocked nobody picked him up on a minor league deal just to see if they could fix him. At this point, it seems unlikely he’ll pitch in the majors in 2012.
The Story: Mike Scioscia is campaigning for Peter Bourjos to win a Gold Glove.
The Monkey Says: Speedy Petey certainly deserves it, but for some reason the Gold Glove voting can sometimes take a year or two to actually catch on to a kid like Bourjos.
The Story: A look at Angels prospect Jeremy Moore.
The Monkey Says: Moore is an interesting prospect and has drawn comparison to Garret Anderson, but I’m not much of a believer. At best, he seems like Jeff Francouer without the arm. Moore’s biggest problem is that he is allergic to drawing walks, which will probably prevent him from being anything other than a reserver. Some people do think more highly of him (and I suspect one of those people will be leaving a comment here shortly), so he is worth keeping an eye on.