The April 25th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Albert Pujols' lack of walks might not be short-lived, Mark Trumbo starts at five positions in five consecutive games, Mickey Hatcher concerned about lineups over-aggressiveness and much more...

The Story: Albert Pujols' lack of walks thus far may not be an anomaly.

The Monkey Says: This is unsettling information.  I've been convinced that Albert's seeming lack of plate discipline this year was just because he is pressing, but if this unfortunate trend began last season, then, as the post states, the Angels aren't getting the player they thought they signed, which is kind of significant what with a quarter of a billion dollars involved.

The Story: Mark Trumbo started at his fifth defensive in five games with his start in right field yesterday.

The Monkey Says: That has to be a first, right?  I mean, players have started at five positions in a season with great frequency, but five different positions in five consecutive days is definitely something I can't ever recall seeing before.

Come on now, come on guys. Seriously, there's no way this is happening for real guys. No way Santana goes and gives up 4 home runs in 5 innings to add to his terrible losing streak which has now extended to four games. His ERA is so horribly ugly that's I intentionally won't write it just to save you from the horrors that would be sure to come if you laid your eyes on such ungodly atrocities. Unfortunately that is my job here, to deliver this pain to you in the written word, and I'll have to let you in on a little secret. Well it may not be such a secret because I saw everyone talking about it on Twitter earlier, but Santana's 4 home runs allowed in today’s game is the worst in his career. For all his talk about being one of the four aces on the Angels he really isn't pitching like a guy you'd want at the top of your rotation. 

The fact is that this isn't all because Santana has turned into junk; the stress brought on by the Angels underperforming offense is affecting the entire team in big ways. Our pitchers are becoming too fine on the mound, they're pressing to degrees so bad that they've lost control of the strike zone; and don't forget about how bad the hitters have become with the strike zone as well. It's become a mental slaughtering that our team is having a hard time dealing with, they just can't manage to pull themselves through games. Once they bring out the super glue and put some of the mental pieces back together they'll be able to get through tough games and get back into the rhythm of baseball.

But dear God why is it taking so long????

Rays 5 Angels 0

@
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (6-10) @ Tampa Bay Rays (9-7)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Ervin Santana (0-3, 6.75 ERA)  TB -- David Price (2-1, 4.20 ERA)

Game Info: 4:10PM PT; TV - FS-W; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

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Well here we are again, back to square one where the Angels have to one again try to keep the ship from falling apart and get the ball rolling once again. Maybe things would be different if it weren't Santana on the mound, seeing as how he's been an absolute train wreck to start off the season I wouldn't be surprised to see the offense pressing too hard to get Santana all the run support he needs. Then again all the starters have been getting their heads back together so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to imagine Santana would be pitching like his old self again, or at least get back on track to pitching like his old self. 

The Angels still haven't gotten a win streak together, and it's going to be very tough to come out of Tampa Bay with a winning streak lined up, and with the way this team has been playing (especially this god forsaken bullpen) there's little chance the Angels will come out with a sweep. It's a painful realization knowing that we're all already scoreboard watching in the first month of the season, but the Angels need to win timely games so they can gain some ground on Texas.

The Angels have a tough task in facing the Rays and David Price, who hasn't been as sharp as he usually is which might give the Angels a chance to jump on him early and pull in some big runs for Santana. However, it does go both ways since Tropicana is a hitters park, and Santana has been extremely prone to the homerun ball as of late. Look for the Angels to bust out of their power funk they've been in as of late, especially with Albert Pujols. This is the best chance he has to hit his first homerun as an Angel, it might not come tonight, but it will definitely come this series.

Scratch that, it's totally coming tonight

Much has been made of the many varied lineup that Mike Scioscia has used this season.  The lineup has become some unpredictable that I am actually seriously considering instituting some sort of pre-game batting order prediction contest.  Through 16 games this season, the Halos have presented us with 14 distinct batting orders.  Even for Scioscia, that's a lot.

And I do mean that.  Scioscia has a propensity for using a great number of lineup permutations.  In 2011, Scioscia used 129 lineups.  He used 133 the year before that.  And in 2009 when the offense was actually good, he used 123.  This has been the pattern for Scioscia his entire tenure.  To be fair, most teams use well over 100 lineup in a given season.  Knowing this full well and knowing that statistical research strongly suggests that batting order doesn't matter that much, I didn't really think too much of Scioscia's early lineup tinkering.

However, after looking at some of the numbers and discussing the issue with various people online, I'm starting to think that this might be a problem after all.  It isn't just that Scioscia is making small adjustments here and there, he is monkeying with the batting order at such a level that it actively interferes with the lineup being able to establish any level of consistency.  Just look at the number of starts each player has gotten at each spot in the lineup.

Starts per Lineup Spot

1. Aybar (13), Izturis (2), Abreu (1)
2. Kendrick (14), Abreu (2)
3. Pujols (16)
4. Morales (9), Hunter (7)
5. Hunter (8), Wells (4), Trumbo (4)
6. Wells (8), Abreu (3), Trumbo (2), Morales (2), Callaspo (1)
7. Callaspo (5), Izturis (4), Trumbo (3), Wells (2), Iannetta (1), Morales (1)
8. Iannetta (10), Callaspo (2), Wilson (2), Izturis (1), Aybar (1)
9. Bourjos (12), Wilson (2), Iannetta (1), Callaspo

The April 24th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Albert Pujols has gotten pull happy, Angel Stadium attendance is down early this year, Trout OK after being hit by a pitch and much more...

The Story: Albert Pujols has gotten very pull happy.

The Monkey Says: Picture perfect proof that Pujols is trying too hard.  This is what I like to call Vernon Wells Syndrome.  Hopefully Albert can find the cure that has thus far eluded Vernon.

The Story: The Angels home attendance is way down from last year, but their road attendance is way up.

The Monkey Says: I would chalk up the low home numbers thus far to the lackluster opponents they have faced, though it is surprising that the presence of Pujols hasn't been more of a draw locally.  Where it has been a draw is on the road, where the Angels are now the top draw after being one of the lowest draws in the league last season.

After an unexpected week off, the Angels player power rankings are back.  As you might expect, there was a lot of movement in the rankings thought the top spots remain locked in with no sign of changing anytime soon.

As always, the rankings are based on a player's overall season performance with a weight on recent performance.

RANK	PLAYER	CHANGE	COMMENTS
1		-- 0 Last Week: 1	Jered Weaver - You just can't beat Jered Weaver in April.  It just isn't done.
2		-- 0 Last Week: 2	Albert Pujols - He's still the Angels best hitter, but I have to penalize for the home run drought.  #2 he shall remain.
3		+5 Last Week: 8	C.J. Wilson - Results have been pretty great so far for C.J., but he has had some control issues with 9 walks in 19 IP.  Plus his command on throws to first leaves a lot to be desired.
4		-1 Last Week: 3	Howie Kendrick - Explain to me why it would be wrong for Kendrick to hit behind Pujols with Hunter taking over the two-hole?  You can't, can you?
5		-- 0 Last Week: 5	Dan Haren - I think it is safe to say that his case of dead arm has been cured.  Man was he filthy on Sunday.
6		+8 Last Week: 14	Mark Trumbo - He's been freed and even allowed to return to playing 3B while also getting playing time in the outfield too.  What more can we ask for?
7		-1 Last Week: 6	Erick Aybar - Apparently the best way to coax him out of his slump is to give him $35 million.  I'm going start slacking off at work and then see if my employer will go for that same deal.
8		+3 Last Week: 11	Chris Iannetta - Say what you want about small sample sizes, but is it too early to start asking if/when Iannetta is going to get his extension?
9		-- 0 Last Week: 9	Torii Hunter - Nobody is happier about Albert Pujols getting so much attention for being homerless right now than Torii Hunter.
10		-- 0 Last Week: 10	Scott Downs - The Angels haven't had much luck this season, but Downs emerging from his getting his ankle stepped on with nothing more than a bruise shows that Lady Luck hasn't totally forgotten about the Halos.
11		-7 Last Week: 4	Kendrys Morales - He has snapped out of his slump and is delivering a bit of power too.  However, it turns out that he is the slowest Angel since Bengie Molina, and it is a lot closer than you think.
12		+1 Last Week: 13	Jordan Walden - He got a save!!!!!  Too bad that save just served to remind us all that Walden is the leading cause of heart attacks amongst Angel fans.
13		+6 Last Week: 19	Maicer Izturis - After barely playing the first week, Mighty Mouse has become almost an everyday player and part of the reason Trumbo isn't playing everyday himself.
14		-7 Last Week: 7	Peter Bourjos - He looks like he has no idea what he is doing at the plate right now, which makes it really hard to justify screaming at Scioscia when he benches Bourjos and plays Wells in CF.  Oh, I still scream at Scioscia, it is just harder to justify doing so.
15		-3 Last Week: 12	Ervin Santana - Ervin is on pace to allow 68 homers this season.  Can't imagine why he dropped in the rankings.
16		-1 Last Week: 15	Vernon Wells - I really want to try and be on Vernon's side and I do see that he is hitting more line drive while starting to use the opposite field, but I just can't buy in until he stops swinging at every single pitch.
17		+1 Last Week: 18	LaTroy Hawkins - I think the bullpen looks worse than it does because Hawkins hasn't had much of a chance to pitch in setup situations.  That's what happens when the guys in front of him blow it first.
18		-1 Last Week: 17	Alberto Callaspo - If he keeps hitting so poorly, Mike Scioscia won't have much choice other than to re-commit to the Trumbo at third base experiment.
19		N/A Last Week: n/a	Jerome Williams - Awful first start, good second start.  His third start better be a lot more like the second because Garrett Richards continues to carve up the Pacific Coast League.
20		+3 Last Week: 23	Jason Isringhausen - It must be hard to mentor a young closer when said young closer almost never gets to close.
21		+1 Last Week: 22	Bobby Wilson - You have to hand it to him, he has made the most out of very limited playing time.  Turns out carrying him as a third catcher all that time was totally worth it.
22		-6 Last Week: 16	Bobby Abreu - If you think we've heard the last of Abreu complaining, think again.  He is on pace for 249 plate appearances this season, well shy of the 400 he was promised.
23		-3 Last Week: 20	Hisanori Takahashi - Supposedly he is dealing with "arm discomfort" but that doesn't excuse how terrible he has been this season.  At least Scioscia is wising up and using him less.
24		N/A Last Week: n/a	David Carpenter - I can't wait for the last man standing cage match between Carpenter and Cassevah to see who gets to be the Angels designated groundball guy out of the bullpen.
25		-1 Last Week: 24	Kevin Jepsen - There is no scarier phrase in Angels baseball right now than "Kevin Jepsen begins warming up in the bullpen."

Biggest Riser: Trumbo, up eight spots

Biggest Dropper: Bourjos and Morales, each down seven spots

Dropped from rankings: Alexi Amarista (demoted), Rich Thompson (waived, claimed by Oakland)

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The April 23rd, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Pujols-type personal service clauses to be denied by MLB, Angels might have too much talent for their own good, Pujols not caught up in home run drought and much more...

The Story: MLB announced that any future contracts including personal service clauses like the one the Angels gave to Albert Pujols will be denied.

The Monkey Says: They will also deny milestone clauses like Pujols received.  The league wisely is cracking down on these clauses because they can be used to get around luxury tax penalties potentially, so they are just going to nip them in the bud before they get popularized throughout the league.

The Story: The Angels might have too much talent for their own good.

The Monkey Says: At first, I thought this was typical LA Times horse-puckey (don't worry, we have a sterling example of that later in the links), but there are valid points here.  Offensively, the Angels basically have 11 or 12 players who deserve substantial playing time and Scioscia is trying to shuffle them all in and out of the lineup, but is doing so to the detriment of offensive consistency, as is shown by Sosh using 14 different lineups in 16 games.