The January 18th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Aybar avoids arbitration with a one-year deal, projecting Pujols’ power in Angel Stadium, what ballpark effects tell us about the AL West race and much more…
The Story: The Angels avoided arbitration with Erick Aybar, agreeing to a one-year, $5.075 million contract.
The Monkey Says: They say they are still working on a possible long-term extension, but I don’t believe that is truly possible now. In fact, I think there is a very good chance that this development means that Aybar will be playing his last season as an Angel in 2012. I’ve got a full post explaining that line of logic later on today.
The Story: A look at how Albert Pujols’ power will translate to Angel Stadium.
The Monkey Says: New Angels blog! Everyone welcome Hudson Belinksy to the blogosphere. He’s done some nice work already and even had this story picked up and expanded upon by Sam Miller, the people’s journalist. Ironically, ESPN’s Mark Saxon picked up Sam’s piece and expanded upon it even further, though he didn’t credit Hudson. However, I think this train of linking basically means that Halos Daily has existed for one week and already appeared on ESPN. Not too shabby.
The Story: What ballparks can tell us about the true differences between the Angels and Rangers.
The Monkey Says: The conclusions are interesting, but I wonder what practical application they have since ultimately the ballpark situation remains unchanged. It definitely makes me think that we are going to be more than pleased with C.J. Wilson this season. I also would like to look further into the numbers to see just how much of the Angels road pitching problems fell on the shoulders of Tyler Chatwood, Joel Pineiro and the bullpen. Most of all, I really wish I weren’t too lazy to research it.
The Story: Mike Trout tops another Angels prospect list.
The Monkey Says: I like the confidence that Trout will be in the majors not too long after the regular season. I wish I shared that confidence. I seem to be doing a lot of wishing today.
The Story: Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger will be participating in a Home Run Derby for charity.
The Monkey Says: Mike Carp of the Mariners and Danny Espinosa of the Nationals are in the derby as well. Believe it or not, this is a great sign for the Angels because it means Trumbo is healthy enough to hit. Even with his injury, Trumbo should be embarrassed if he loses. I feel like winning home run derbies is Mark Trumbo’s greatest skill in life.