Tweeted by an Angel is back!  Yay for me, I finally came through on a New Year's resolution!!!

OK, enough stroking of my own ego.  Let's get to taking a fond look back at the mountains of wisdom that your belove Angels have dropped on us in the last week.

I see no better way to re-introduce this segment than the following tweet from Trevor Bell:

Just ate 7 pickels, does that mean I'm pregnant?

— Trevor Bell (@TrevBe22) January 5, 2012

And now we know why Bell opted for baseball instead of medical school.

Up next is LaTroy Hawkins.  I have to admit, I thought C.J. Wilson was the big addition to the Angels Twitter contributors, but Hawk is already proving to be a hidden gem.  Take this for example:

This is how we Roll. @veteranoutdoors @dmcroof twitter.com/Adidas219/stat…

— LaTroy Hawkins (@Adidas219) December 30, 2011

Note to self: only say nice things about LaTroy Hawkins.

Just to prove that not all of our tweets are meant to mock the Angels, we have this entry from Rich Thompson that proves that he is not only an underrated reliever but also an underrated humanitarian:

Would it be wrong to approach a 16 year old pregnant girl who was smoking?

— Rich Thompson (@chopper63) January 5, 2012

My only question is if Rich gets the teen to quit smoking, will he get credited with a save?  I'm guessing it would only be a save if the girl is in her final month of pregnancy.

And finally, no Tweeted by an Angel is complete without a contribution from minor leaguer and Twitter (idiot) savant Chevy Clarke.  This week, Chevy gives us all some words to live by in the new year:

Keep it sexy or just don't try at all

— Chevez Chevy Clarke (@OfficialChevy) January 6, 2012

Thanks, Chevy.  This weekly feature would be lost without your sage wisdom.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Apologies if the tweets don't display, I'm trying out Twitter's new embed functionality and have no idea if it is going to play nicely with Joomla (SPOILER ALERT: it probably won't).

Like MWAH on Facebook

Follow MWAH on Twitter

The January 6th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Morales undergoing medical tests, Dipoto says signing Madson is "very unlikely," Angels open extension talks with Aybar and Kendrick and much more...

The Story: Kendrys Morales is off to undergo tests on his leg with a specialist in Colorado.

The Monkey Says: This sounds scary, but it really shouldn't be.  Given how long this whole process has taken for Morales, it is silly to think that he wasn't ever going to see a doctor again and that it is a specialist shouldn't be cause for alarm, just a sign that the Angels are making sure Morales gets the best care.  Actually, the tone of the organization sounds pretty optimistic for Kendrys right now.  However, if these tests don't go well, at least it is early enough for them to make other plans to replace his potential production unlike last year when Morales wasn't shutdown until mid-March.  Also, a very special note, there is a guy on Twitter that I won't name because I don't want him getting any more publicity, but he is COMPLETELY FULL OF CRAP, but he is getting some run around the rumor mill right now because he tweeted that Morales might retire if these tests don't go well.  Do not believe these reports.

The Story: Jerry Dipoto says it is "very unlikely" that the Angels will sign Ryan Madson.

The Monkey Says: This is the same GM that also repeatedly called the chances of the Angels pursuing Albert Pujols not very good, so, take this statement as seriously as you want.

The next Angel up in our 2012 player previews is the one acquisition from last off-season that actually worked better than expected, setup man Scott Downs.  The veteran southpaw almost single-handedly kept the Angel bullpen from imploding, but can he be as excellent in 2012 as he was in 2011?

2011 Stats: 6-3, 53.2 IP, 1.34 ERA, 39 H, 15 BB, 3 HR, 35 K, 1 SV

2012 ZiPS Projections: 5-3, 48.0 IP, 3.56 ERA, 46 H, 14 BB, 4 HR, 36 K

2012 Bill James Projections: 4-2, 53.0 IP, 2.72 ERA, 46 H, 14 BB, 4 HR, 42 K, 5 SV

2012 CAIRO Projections: 3-2, 45.2 IP, 2.32 ERA, 38 H, 13 BB, 3 HR, 34 K, 2 SV

2012 PECOTA Projections: 3-2, 52.1 IP, 3.06 ERA, 47 H, 16 BB, 4 HR, 42 K, 4 SV

2012 MWaH Projections*: 4-2, 62.0 IP, 2.48 ERA, 55 H, 16 BB, 4 HR, 43 K, 2 SV

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

The January 5th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Trumbo's recovery delayed again, what other moves the Angels still need to make, and spring training tickets to go on sale soon and much more...

The Story: Mark Trumbo's recovery from a stress fracture in his foot has been delayed once again.

The Monkey Says: This is a very bad sign.  Trumbo was supposed to be all healed up months ago, but now he is not going to start rehabbing until spring training, and it sounds as if that isn't even a guarantee at this point.  At a minimum, this should just about completely scrap the notion of him moving to third base.  It also makes it even more important that Kendrys Morales not suffer any recovery setbacks of his own, otherwise the Angels will be looking at Bobby Abreu as the full-time DH.

The Story: What other needs to the Angels still need to address?

The Monkey Says: This is yet another endorsement for the Angels to add more late-inning bullpen help.  If this keeps up, LaTroy Hawkins is going to develop a complex.

In the next few weeks, the Angels will have to start getting into arbitration discussions with some of their key players.  Up next is the incumbent starter at third base, Alberto Callaspo.

Callaspo is coming off arguably his best season in the majors, yet that has still left the Angels and their fans wanting for more.  His bat is passable but not really much of an asset.  His glove has proven to be solid but one that still doesn't seem to have everyone's trust.  He's basically the classic guy who takes nothing off the table but also doesn't bring a whole lot to it.  So what should they do?

Here is what we know about Callaspo:

• He led the Angels in OBP last season, so that has to make Jerry Dipoto happy.
• His 10.8% walk rate was far and away a career-best, suggesting that perhaps his newfound patience at the plate was something of an aberration.
• The increase in patience last season also came with a drop in power as his ISO was a career-low .086, which is hard to stomach at a defensive position that normally is manned by a player with at least average power.
• In 2011, his platoon splits were practically identical and they aren't too far apart for his career, which makes him an asset since he can play everyday.  The Angels are a right-hand heavy lineup, so having someone that can swing from the other side of the dish will help, even if he can't hit for power.
• Alberto struck out just 48 times last season, exemplifying his strong contact skills which make him a useful weapon for Mike Scioscia and his propensity for small ball.
• Callaspo has just 18 career steals and is, at best, league average on the basepaths otherwise, which might explain Mike Scioscia's reluctance to allow Callaspo to hit in the top two spots in the order where his OBP would be best served.
• His defense improved to a pretty good level according to advanced defensive metrics, likely an effect of him getting to focus on one position rather than serving as a utility guy, so it is possible that he could get even better defensively next season.
• Off the field, Callaspo has had his fair share of trouble, including a domestic violence arrest and a recent paternity squabble with his former girlfriend/mistress.
• The general consensus is that Callaspo will wind up earning a bit more than $3 million via the arbitration process.

So what should the Angels do with him?

The January 4th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Mickey Hatcher promises not to mess with Albert Pujols, looking at what additional move the Angels must make to pass Texas, and Dipoto tops amongst GMs that have helped improve their team this off-season and much more...

The Story: Hitting coach Mickey Hatcher promises to take a "hands-off" approach with Albert Pujols.

The Monkey Says: And Angel fans everywhere breath a sigh of relief.  But seriously, folks, Hatcher is an easy target for jokes and criticism, but there really isn't anything that any hitting coach has to offer Pujols, so a hands-off approach is only natural.  If anything, Mickey can learn from Albert and pass on some of those good habits that make Pujols great on to the rest of the team.

The Story: Angel bloggers weigh in on what next move must the Angels make in order to move past Texas in the AL West.

The Monkey Says: These are all great suggestions, especially the sixth one.  I actually really like the idea of trading for Pedro Alvarez.  I'm not sure he can stay at third base, but he has loads of potential and might thrive if he were to get out of Pittsburgh and under the wing of Albert Pujols who can motivate him to get in shape and finally realize his full potential.  I don't know that the Pirates would really trade him though, at least not yet since they may not want to admit they are giving up on a former top pick before giving him every last chance to succeed.

An annual tradition like no other starts off even earlier than normal this year.  Yup, it is time for the official Monkey With a Halo player previews to begin.

Who better to lead off with than the man who is first in line to be leading off the batting order for the Angels than Erick Aybar.  Coming off a Gold Glove-winning bounceback season and headed into a contract year, Aybar has a lot of expectations to live up to and hopefully exceed in 2012.  But can he pull it off?

2011 Stats: 556 AB, .279 AVG, .322 OBP, .421 SLG, 71 R, 10 HR, 59 RBI, 30 SB, 6 CS, 68 K

2012 ZiPS Projections: 553 AB, .275 AVG, .320 OBP, .392 SLG, 74 R, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 24 SB, 7 CS, 71 K

2012 Bill James Projections: 551 AB, .274 AVG, .320 OBP, .390 SLG, 74 R, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 26 SB, 10 CS, 71 K

2012 CAIRO Projections: 436 AB, .267 AVG, .311 OBP, .379 SLG, 58 R, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 16 SB, 5 CS, 59 K

2012 PECOTA Projections: 657 PA, .269 AVG, .310 OBP, .367 SLG, 71 R, 6 HR, 64 RBI, 24 SB, 8 CS, 84 K

2012 MWaH Projections*: 540 AB, .287 AVG, .332 OBP, .409 SLG, 88 R, 8 HR, 61 RBI, 34 SB, 9 CS, 64 K

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