The January 17th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Callaspo avoids arbitration, the greatest Angels off-seasons ever, Kaleb Cowart scouting report and much more...

The Story: The Angels avoided arbitration with Alberto Callaspo by agreeing to a one-year, $3.15 million contract.

The Monkey Says: Callaspo is probably smart to settle.  He isn't a prototypical third baseman, so he could have had a hard time in an arbitration hearing since much of it is based comparisons to other players at the position.  This now leaves Erick Aybar as the only Angel still eligible for arbitration.

The Story: Reviewing the greatest Angel off-seasons ever.

The Monkey Says: This slideshow is worth it if only for the picture of Rod Carew in a headband.  Oh, by the way, it was a REALLY slow news day.  So slow, in fact, that I almost included the Giants avoiding arbitration with Angel Pagan in today's links simply because his name is Angel.

After two straight AL pennants for the Texas Rangers disrupted a decade of AL West domination by the Angels, a great rivalry was ignited.  Those flames have only been fanned by the Angels making the epic move to sign Albert Pujols, a move the Rangers countered by paying big money for the right to Japanese sensation Yu Darvish, with a potential Prince Fielder signing looming.  Given the state of the rest of the AL West, it is safe to say that Angels and Rangers will be going at each other for the next several years.

There will be bad blood.

There will be trash talk (see Kinsler, Ian),

There will be... incest.

No, that's not some sort of redneck in-breeding joke aimed at the state of Texas (though, I guess, why not?).  But rather, it is a reference to the fact that these two teams simply cannot stop poaching personnel from each other.

This sort of thing happens all the time in baseball, but the depth at which it has occurred between LA and Texas is a little bit ridiculous for two teams who are trying awfully hard to hate each other.  We know all too well about Mike Napoli going from the Angels to Texas and then C.J. Wilson making the reverse trip this off-season, but there is just so much more that has gone down over the last few years.  Here's a quick little history:

The January 16th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels announce several minor league coaching changes, Morales is "moving in the right direction," ??? and much more...

The Story: The Angels made several changes to their minor league coaching staff.

The Monkey Says: There is nothing terribly noteworthy here other than the Angels poaching some coaches from the Rangers.  Oh, and apparently they have a "bunting coordinator."  Of course they do, Scioscia still wields some power in this organization.

The Story: Jerry Dipoto believes Kendrys Morales is moving in the "right direction" after getting to see him in person.

The Monkey Says: I am starting to feel optimistic here as thi is the first time the front office has really given us cause for hope with Kendrys after being stubbornly non-committal about his status all off-season.  I can't wait to have my hopes dashed in six weeks when he gets shutdown again.

The Angels have a long and storied history, one filled with joy, tears, pain, and blood. Many great players have come and gone under the Big A, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, and Nolan Ryan to name a few, yet in the history of the Angels franchise not a single player has gone to Cooperstown wearing a Halo on his head. How could a franchise that has been honored by many historical players be shunned in the eternal afterlife of baseball that is the Hall of Fame? This current Angels team has many young stars with endless potential, but is there really a single player you can point to and say "He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt about it." The only player on the team that gives me vague hope of seeing him in Cooperstown wearing a Halo is Jered Weaver; well...that was my only hope a few months ago. With the Angels acquisition of Albert Pujols they now have a sure-fire Hall of Famer, a no doubter in anyone's book. However, the real question about his Hall of Fame eligibility isn't whether or not he'll make it, but whose cap will he grace in the Hall of Fame for all eternity.

He may have been a Cardinal for the past 11 years, but will he be remembered as an Angel for the rest of baseball history?

Another week, another collection of the best tweets (term "best" used loosely) from LA Angels players and personnel.  This week, we take a look at C.J. Wilson the breakdancer, Hank Conger going "Panda Mode" and Victor Rojas being as bored by the BCS game as the rest of us were.

You know how some people like to make fun C.J. Wilson because he is a "hipster" who has some unusual off-field interests.  Well, this isn't going to help dispel that stereotype:

Okay time to go get some breakdancing lessons

— C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer) January 11, 2012

I'm only in favor of this if he yells, "you got served!" at the batter after every strikeout and then starts popping and locking right there on the mound.

In case you didn't know, Hank Conger has been practicing yoga this off-season to try and improve his flexibility behind the plate:

Hot yoga with @Jkang11 #pandamode #namaste #flyingfrog

— Hank Conger (@HankConger16) January 11, 2012

Is anyone else dying to know what "panda mode" entails?

If you thought the "offense" on display in the BCS Championship Game sucked, you weren't alone:

That #BCS Championship trophy is extremely safe next to the end zone...nobody will come near it.

— Victor Rojas (@VictorRojas29) January 10, 2012

And this comes from a guy that has broadcasted every game for the last two seasons for an Angel team with a decidedly inept offense of its own.

And finally, Chevy Clarke graces us with his weekly contribution of... whatever it is this drivel means:

Where all my country singers

— Chevez Chevy Clarke (@OfficialChevy) January 9, 2012

Of course, that wasn't the most annoying thing he did this week.  Turns out is was Chevy's birthday, which I only knew because he tweeted out that fact several times that day after counting down to it hour-by-hour the day before and then retweeted EVERY SINGLE TWEET at him that wished him a happy birthday.  We get it, Chevy.  It was your birthday; now stop polluting our timelines.

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The January 13th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Francisco Cordero could end up in Anaheim by default, Angels finish their organizational meetings, official spring training reporting dates and much more...

The Story: Could Francisco Cordero fall into the Angels laps?

The Monkey Says: If he does, I hope they move out of the way at the last second and let him go splat on the ground.  I've been saying ALL off-season that Coco Cordero is washed up.  His velocity has dropped off dramatically and his strikeout rate has fallen even further.  The only reason anyone thinks he is still anything other than a scrub is that he has a career's worth of experience collecting saves, and saves are just a BS stat, so I think it is safe to say that I will be apoplectic if the Angels sign him for any amount of money.

The Story: The Angels wrapped up their first organizational meetings since Jerry Dipoto took over the front office.

The Monkey Says: There is nothing that will immediately come out of this, but it will be curious to see if there are any noticeable changes in the way prospects are handled.  Dipoto hasn't been shy about his thoughts on "controlling the count" being the key to success for both batters and pitchers.  There is only so much that can be done with prospects already far along in the system, but at the lower levels we could see dramatic shifts in philosophy.

It may have been Jered Weaver getting all of the Cy Young attention in 2011, but a case could be made that Dan Haren was actually better than Weaver last season.  Can Haren repeat the same kind of success in 2012 and if so, will it actually get noticed this time?

2011 Stats: 16-10, 238.1 IP, 3.17 ERA, 211 H, 33 BB, 20 HR, 192 K

2012 ZiPS Projections: 14-9, 215.2 IP, 3.59 ERA, 209 H, 38 BB, 24 HR, 177 K

2012 Bill James Projections: 16-10, 234.0 IP, 3.27 ERA, 221 H, 39 BB, 26 HR, 202 K

2012 CAIRO Projections: 15-10, 224.1 IP, 3.46 ERA, 217 H, 42 BB, 22 HR, 185 K

2012 PECOTA Projections: 15-13, 224.0 IP, 3.05 ERA, 209 H, 40 BB, 23 HR, 194 K

2012 MWaH Projections*: 17-9, 224.0 IP, 3.33 ERA, 208 H, 34 BB, 24 HR, 188 K

*The MWaH projections are simply my best guess based off my own personal opinion and research