The polls are back, folks!  I don't know if anyone was actually missing them, but a few things have compelled me to bring back our weekly poll feature:

1. I'm lazy and posting a poll is quicker than writing a full post.
2. I just realized the main site poll has been if the Angels will overtake the Rangers for the AL West still.  Yeah, might be time to take that one down.
3. We actually have a good topic this week.

Yessir, the Angels general manager candidate list is finally starting to slowly trickle out and I think we have enough prospective candidates to make this an interesting vote.  We already knew that Jerry DiPoto of the D'Backs and the Yankees' Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Eppler were on the short list, but the last two days has also revealed that Texas AGM Thad Levine and MLB exec Kim Ng will be getting interviews as well.  All seem like great candidates and I simply can't decide who is the best man or woman for the job, so I am going to let you all do it for me by voting in this weeks poll.

Oooh!  Hire her, she has two cell phones, that means she can be twice as productive!!!

The October 19th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Angels to interview Rangers' Thad Levine for GM spot, Kendrick gets caught up in autograph controversy, a new defensive metric provides more evidence against Mathis being an elite defensive catcher and much more...

The Story: The Angels will interview Texas assistant GM Thad Levine for their own general manager opening.

The Monkey Says: Levine is a hot commodity after two straight AL pennants for Texas and I think the Angels are clearly taking the "if you can't beat 'em, steal their assistant GM" strategy.  It is also worth nothing that Levine will interview with Baltimore as well and that he grew up as a diehard Oriole fan, so the Halos are at something of a disadvantage here.

The Story: Howie Kendrick allegedly refused to sign an autograph for young boy and his family, making the boy cry.

The Monkey Says: This whole story is ridiculous and I almost don't even want to dignify it by linking to it, but it actually got some run on the internet today, so I figured it needed covering.  First off, Kendrick has every right to refuse to sign autographs and take photos, especially when you bother him at his own home.  More importantly, you really need to take the story with a grain of salt because if this family was so innocent and well-meaning, they never would have gone to some trashy internet tabloid with the story in the first place.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.  Time for me to keep with the time honored annual tradition of me donning the Angels general manager cap and detailing what I would do if I had the privilege of being the Angels real general manager for a day in the off-season.  Normally, I just do this for my own edification, but given that the GM position actual is vacant at the moment, I think this is my big chance to impress good ol' Uncle Arte!

Or I will just make some really smart (or not) suggestions that will be completely ignored, like usual.

But before I unveil my master plan, let me just lay down the ground rules.  This isn't entirely a fantasy so I will be spending and dealing within the bounds of reality, meaning that the Angels budget is my budget.  That means I am going to have at most $25 million to spend this off-season.  And since this isn't a video game where I can force the other team to accept a trade or a player to accept a contract, the deals I propose will be realistic and fair, at least to the best of my estimation.  The other caveat I am going to work under is that Kendrys Morales is 50/50 to play a significant amount this season.  I don't have access to his medical reports, obviously, so I can't just assume that Morales is going to be his old self by Opening Day or the All-Star break or ever again.

There, all done with that.  So without further adieu, on to the grand plan to turn the Angels back into real contenders!

The October 18th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Williams playing winter ball in Venezuela, a look at what service time considerations might mean for Mike Trout, wondering if Arte Moreno is the Angels biggest problem and much more...

The Story: Jerome Williams is pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League this off-season.

The Monkey Says: Nice to see that Jerome is keeping busy this off-season and working to stay in shape for next year.  As I alluded to in yesterday's article, Williams has had issues with staying in shape earlier in his career, so the fact that he is voluntarily still playing during the off-season, working on refining his craft is a great sign that he finally understands what it takes to have prolonged success in the big leagues.

The Story: Service time considerations could affect how the Angles handle Mike Trout next season.

The Monkey Says: I still don't think Trout should play in the minors next season, but some other experts do.  What I very much doubt is that the Angels will keep Trout in the minors solely to so that he doesn't become a free agent until 2018 instead of 2017.  That is the sort of move a non-contending and/or smaller market type of team might pull, but the Halos have never shown much of a penchant for small-minded maneuvers like that.  The fact that they called him up at all in 2011 pretty much proves that.

Alright, Angels.  You've had two weeks to rest up and lick your wounds since the end of the season, but relaxing time is over.  If you want to return to the playoffs next year, you're going to have to do some work this off-season.  The position players got their assignments last week, but now we turn our attention the the crown jewel of the Angel roster, the rotation.  As good as the starting pitchers were this season, all of them still have plenty of work to do if they want to be as good if not better in 2012.

The Angel rotation got good marks this season, but they weren't perfect and thus have plenty of work to do this off-season.

The October 17th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Angels get permission to interview DiPoto, Angels discussing huge TV contract with Fox, looking at what Trout's AFL experience could mean and much more...

The Story: The Angels have received permission to interview Jerry DiPoto.

The Monkey Says: Some believe DiPoto is the front-runner for the Halos gig, but Buster Olney tweeted late last week that DiPoto was also the front-runner for the Orioles job.  Normally, I would think picking between the Angels and the Orioles would be no contest since Baltimore hasn't been good for years and also has a meddlesome owner in Peter Angelos and controlling manager in Buck Showalter, but the Angels have Moreno and Scioscia, which makes it more a matter of preference, though I think the Angels still have the edge.

The Story: The Angels and Fox Sports are in discussions on a new TV contract believed to be worth around $1.6 billion over 20 years.

The Monkey Says: Assuming that is the figure, that would add $30 million in revenue per year for the Angels.  Take this report with a GIANT grain of salt though.  For starters, their current TV contract doesn't expire until after 2015, so there isn't a ticking clock on these talks nor would that big revenue boost be realized soon enough to make a major change in the current dealings.  Most importantly, this is the second off-season in a row the two sides have talked and supposedly been near a deal, so this may stall out just like last season.  Personally, I believe the report is emerging more as a PR stunt from either Fox or MLB to try and somehow put pressure on the Dodgers and their ongoing saga over their TV contract rights with Fox.

With the Angels' new GM vacancy they've made it publicly know that they want to pursue aggressive and creative options on the free agent market. The standing opinion is that the Angels need to upgrade in the bullpen and at 3B, and while these aren't the only spots that need improvement, they are the most important. But what if I told you that the Angels could fare much better chasing a starting pitcher on the FA market over anything else? What if I told you that pitcher should be longtime Ranger C.J Wilson? Now let's be nice and civilized Angels fans while I state my case, in fact, let's just throw our Angels fandom in the backseat so I can throw some cold hard facts your way without facing some ire from the Rangers haters (all of us).

Yes, this C.J Wilson, in case you were hoping I was talking about a different one.