Halo Headlines: Angels have no immediate plans to talk extension with Greinke, Downs return date unknown, Cowart rockets up top prospect lists
The August 2nd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including the Angels have no immediate plans to talk extension with Greinke, Downs' return date unknown, Cowart rockets up top prospect lists and much more...
The Monkey Says: How long this statement applies for is anyone's guess. They could wait a month, they could wait two weeks, they could wait until the end of the season (but probably not). All reports suggest the Angels very much want to sign him to a long-term deal, but they are wisely waiting until they get a more intimate look at what he can do before they decide to throw bags of cash at him. It is hard to imagine though that the Halos won't at least broach the topic with Greinke and his agent before the end of the season.
The Story: The duration of Scott Downs' stay on the disabled list is still up in the air.
The Monkey Says: They say the injury is probably minor, but the medical staff still hasn't given their official opinion yet. This seems to be the case with many of the Halo injuries of late for some reason, possibly because the Angels don't want to deal from a position of weakness if they decide they need to make a waiver trade.
The Story: 3B prospect Kaleb Cowart ranks #34 in Kevin Goldstein's mid-season top 50 prospect list.
The Monkey Says: This is kind of a big deal because Cowart's prospect status started getting a bit shaky at points last season, however he now seems to be on the fast track to big things.
The Story: Yet another ridiculous Mike Trout feat of greatness.
The Monkey Says: New accomplishment, different day.
The Story: The Dodgers designated Bobby Abreu for assignment.
The Monkey Says: This could well be the end of his career, though I suspect a team like the Orioles or Rays might pick him up. Abreu didn't exactly leave Anaheim under the best of terms, but if this really is the end of the line for him, he should be applauded for a long, highly productive, borderline-Hall of Fame career.
The Monkey Says: That really puts into perspective just how big a price the Angels paid for Zack Greinke and why it seems so important that the Angels justify the deal by keeping Greinke long-term.
The Story: Albert Pujols is the third player ever to hit 20 or more homers in his first 12 MLB seasons.
The Monkey Says: That month of April continues to feel like a distant memory, doesn't it?
The Story: Mike Trout appreciates the comparisons to Rickey Henderson.
The Monkey Says: I don't. In fact, I am quite weary of all the comparisons Trout gets because they serve no actual purpose.
The Story: Prospect C.J. Cron has a shot at setting an RBI record in the California League.
The Monkey Says: I hope he doesn't get it because he should really be promoted to Double-A at this point. Cron could crack top 100 prospect lists this off-season. After overcoming a slow start to the minor league season, Cron has been raking like many predicted. He has nothing left to prove in High-A and an advanced hitter like him needs to be challenged with a jump to the next level, especially if the Halos hope to fast track him to the majors as was initially believed when he was first drafted.
The Story: Are the Angels the Miami Heat of baseball?
The Monkey Says: Full disclosure: I did not watch this because the idea of watching a Skip Bayless-Stephen A. Smith debate makes my eyes and ears bleed, especially when the topic is as innocuous as this forced comparison.
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"Borderline Hall Of Fame career"? That seems generous. He was a nice player for the Angels for a while, as he was for the Yankees and the Phillies and, yes, he should be applauded for that. How about Hall Of Very Good?
It's too bad I'm not living in a Texas League city yet. I'd sure like to see Cron and, especially, Cowart as they either pass through or become mired in AA. I'm not so sure we need the modern incarnation of Steve Balboni on the Angels but maybe Cron could be traded for something more useful. Did you hear the discussion about big, un-athletic baseball players yesterday by Goldstein and KLaw? For some reason that video of Cron trudging up the first base line after striking the ball jumped to mind. If he can hit like David Ortiz for a few years it might work and the point is valid; move him up and find out.
@Rick K. I come down on the side of Abreu being just Hall of Very Good too since he was never really dominant or feared. However, he was very good for very long. There are only a handful of players in baseball that have a career OBP higher than Abreu's that aren't in the Hall though, so he does have some credentials. I assure you that Abreu will at least get a fair number of votes when he becomes eligible for voting.
@monkeywithahalo There you go. He was good for a long time, at least we got in on the tail end of it. Again, I think we'd all have a lot less negative feeling about him if Reagins hadn't thrown in that ridiculous vesting feature to his last contract. Like VW, I guess we shouldn't hate on him for it but he sure didn't help our memory of him by the way he handled it.
