.jpg&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "Mike Trout and the sophomore slump that wasn't")
.jpg&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "Why the Pujols contract isn't as bad as you think")
Halo Headlines: Pujols takes a veiled shot at Hatcher, Santana talks about his struggles, Pauley called up
The June 13th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Pujols takes a veiled shot at Mickey Hatcher, Santana talks about his ongoing struggles, David Pauley called up again and much more...
The Monkey Says: Albert may not have actually intended to insult Mickey Hatcher, but he did anyway. He also makes an incredibly salient point about the perceived inability of the Angel lineup to make in-game adjustments, something that was long a problem in Hatcher's tenure, though that may not have actually been his fault (but it probably was).
The Story: Ervin Santana talks about his ongoing struggles.
The Monkey Says: Ervin is at least aware of the problems because it very much is his fastball command that is failing him and, no, he isn't "all over the place" he is "all over the middle of the plate." That's a pretty big problem, one that should be fixable, but it sounds like neither he nor Mike Butcher can put their finger on the cause of the issue. It is also worth noting that the Angels will give Garrett Richards one more start before Jered Weaver returns, which could be Garrett's final chance to impress Scioscia and potential steal Ervin's rotation spot, though I still doubt that will happen (at least no until after the All-Star break).
The Monkey Says: Don't worry (or get excited), Wells is just being moved to the 60-day DL to clear room for Pauley on the 40-man roster. His return window should remain the same. Pauley was added mainly for last night's game as Ernesto Frieri, LaTroy Hawkins and Jason Isringhausen had all pitched on three consecutive days and were unavailable as was Scott Downs who was battling some soreness in his side after fielding a comebacker in Sunday's game (thus explaining why he didn't come in to bail out Jerome Williams last night). It is probably for the best that Kole Calhoun got demoted because he needs to start getting regular playing time again. Pauley should be demoted before long and there is a real chance that the Halos might carry three catchers when that happens, at least until Ryan Langerhans gets healthy.
The Story: Bobby Wilson will start a rehab stint with the Inland Empire 66ers tonight.
The Monkey Says: This story misreporeted it as Tuesday, but it will be tonight. He could return to the major league roster as soon as Friday.
The Story: Kendrys Morales and Vlad Guerrero will sign autographs this Saturday.
The Monkey Says: I normally don't link to these events unless it is a slow news day, but this is newsworthy because this was announced the same morning that Vlad angrily opted out of his minor league deal with the Blue Jays. It is just odd and a little suspicious that he was playing for a team in Las Vegas yet still felt like he could plan ahead to make promotional appearance in Anaheim on the wekend. Either that or he quit the Jays and then felt compelled to sign autographs. Either way, there is an odd thought process here.
The Story: Things we learned from Vin Scully on Monday night.
The Monkey Says: Scully is still great though he does have the infrequent cranky old man moment now and again.
The Story: Mike Trout could be an All-Star this year, probably as a reserve though.
The Monkey Says: This is just one of about 7 million articles slobbering over Trout after he single-handedly won the game for the Halos on Monday.
The Story: A look at the effectiveness of Ernesto Frieri's fastball.
The Monkey Says: Even more evidence that teams are better off sending righties up against him. As for saying it isn't as devastating on paper, I wonder if the Pitch f/x (which I am not well-versed in) can speak to how much of that "only" above average movement comes late in the zone because that is sure how it looks to the naked eye.
The Story: OF Travis Witherspoon was named to the California League All-Star team.
The Monkey Says: Witherspoon is quickly establishing himself as one of the breakout stars of the Angel farm system. He was one of the many raw athletes Eddie Bane drafted, but after some up and down years, Witherspoon is only starting to put it all together now.
The Story: Umpire Manny Gonzalez looks like he may have wet his pants in Saturday's Angels-Rockies game.
The Monkey Says: Ummmmm, no comment.
 |
Like MWAH on Facebook |  |
Follow MWAH on Twitter |
Mickey Hatcher was a clown! The best batting coach the Angels ever had was Rod Carew! Carew insisted his batters to zone the strike zone for the first two strikes as well adapting to what the pitcher was throwing! Hatcher only told his batters to see the ball and hit the ball! That is little league coaching! The only reason why he even had a job was his because of his friend mgr Mike! Players leave the Angels and hit better somewhere else (Napoli is poster boy) and players come to the Angels and hit worse (Vernon Wells and Pujols are perfect examples)!
Why do you think Vernon Wells went to Rudy Jaramillo for help over the off season after a .218 average instead of talking to Hatcher? Why when the Angels were in a batting funk and Pujols asked for help from Hatcher and he had know answers? Which caused Pujols to wonder what good was he? At least with Eppard the Angels seem to be seeing more pitches and have a better idea what to do at the plate!
On Mickey Hatcher , good friend of the mgr Mike , I trully think Alberto should have considered that he knew his job very well and being such a great superstar baseball player , listen to Mickey and take notes and not judge him cause he was a better hitting coach then an actual player , cause in fact Mickey was an instructor a teacher that was his job and he was damn good at it , and was a world series champion as well in being an hitting coach , so I say kudos to Mr Hatcher , and hope that you get another chance in coaching for Los Angeles maybe the Dodgers could rehire you again ....
My opinion is on The Impaler , he gave up on the Blue Jays , sure dont play in spring training at what 36 or so and expect to make a pretty good improved roster of current blue jays make you think wow Vlad u think you can make that decision is kinda thinking you are better then them , think not, just sign your autographs and hold your phone line open and maybe be the Padres might sign you up .I was hoping you could come back sooner then later and play along side the other old timer , wait what's his name Omar something , wait he made the roster and he is like 45 , hmmmm.
Hmm...Witherspoon is "only" 23 and making a High-A all star team? Be prepared for next season to be another of those down years. I'm a little sad to see Randy Grichuk on the same roster. Two years younger but I hoped for better progress. Looks like Cron is hitting the ball pretty hard, .300 and 10HRs.
I'm not panicked but my ears did perk up when I saw that Pauley had been "assigned to the major league roster." As we're down to Pauley and Cassavah, it would appear there are no reinforcements left.
My wife bought me MLB-licensed COOKIES last night at the local market? Cool! I haven't opened the box but they appear to be a shortbread kind of cookie.
