- The Story: Joe Saunders FINALLY received a cortisone shot for the “knot” in his shoulder that has been bothering him since Spring Training. The Monkey Says: He only just now got a cortisone shot?!?! That didn’t occur to anyone when he was getting his ass kicked for the last three months?
- The Story: Vladimir Guerrero was held out of the line-up on Sunday with leg stiffness after getting hit by a pitch in that leg the game before. The Monkey Says: Vlad is expected to play on Monday, so it looks like it was just a precaution.
- The Story: Nick Adenhart’s father attended the Angels-Orioles games this weekend and talks about how he is coping with the loss of his son. The Monkey Says: Honestly, his descriptions of his recurring dreams about his son are just heartbreaking. Save this article for later if you don’t want to be even more depressed than usual on a Monday.
- The Story: The Orioles might consider pursuing John Lackey in free agency this summer. The Monkey Says: Of course they would, half the league is going to be after him since he is going to be the best pitcher on the market. The O’s might be able throw a lot of money at Big John, but so will the Angels and they aren’t stuck in rebuilding mode like Baltimore.
- The Story: The Angels signed 10th round pick, and U of Washington starting QB Jake Locker. The Monkey Says: Locker intends to pursue football, so this is his fallback option, but a decent gamble for the Angels since so many QBs wash out in the NFL so quickly.
- The Story: Mike Scioscia is trying to help Mike Napoli work through his defensive funk. The Monkey Says: Looks like Sosh seems to think part of the pitching staff’s struggles are on poor pitch selection by Nap. Expect, at a minimum, a 50/50 platoon between Napoli and Mathis for the next few weeks.
- The Story: Heath Bell has been placed on trade waivers and the Angels will be expected to make a run at him. The Monkey Says: This assumes no other team claims Bell first, which seems unlikely to me. If Bell does slip through though, I fully expect the Angels to make a big run at him after barely missing out on him at the trade deadline and given the bullpen looking fairly shaky since then.
- The Story: Reggie Willits was option to Triple-A to make room for Torii Hunter. The Monkey Says: Don’t weep for Reggie, he’ll be back in two weeks when rosters expand.
- The Story: It was the food that Torii Hunter bought for the RC Quakes that ended up making him sick and unable to return until Sunday. The Monkey Says: I guess no good deed ever goes unpunished. Safe to say that Hunter won’t be dining at the Olive Garden again anytime soon.
- AL West Update: The Rangers also won two of three this weekend to keep pace with the Angels. The Monkey Says: The lead remains at 4.5 for the Halos and now Texas gets to host the struggling Twins for four games.