We have a Trout down!  I repeat, we have a Trout down!!!  I'm going to need you all to remain calm.  I said remain CALM!!!!!!!!

I know what you are all thinking, "how can things get any worse for the Halos?"  Now their best prospect and future savior is injured.  Why not just kill the Rally Monkey too while you're at it, right?

Relax.  Trout will be just fine, or so we are led to believe.  Mike's injury is to his knee, which definitely sounds scary, but is just a day-to-day thing.  In fact, he hasn't even been placed on the Double-A disabled list, which is a good sign since it is only a 7-day DL, so it isn't like they would lose him for a long time if they put him on it.

That being said, this is a situation worth monitoring.  If Trout's injury does turn out to be more serious than reported, it could well cost or at least delay his expected promotion to Triple-A, which many have pegged for being some time around the Double-A All-Star break.  The Halos could easily give him that promotion based on hsi performance thus far, but if he misses a few weeks of action, then the team would be wise to let him get back in a groove in Double-A before promoting him, which could mean waiting until August, a period that wouldn't give him whole lot of Triple-A reps.

That's it for this week, check back in next week to see what happens to our future hero.  Same Trout Time.  Same Trout Channel... err, blog.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Halos select CJ Cron with their first pick, Wells could return today, Scioscia tries a closed door pep talk and much more...

The Story: The Angels selected Utah 1B CJ Cron with their first-round pick.

The Monkey Says: This was somewhat of a surprise as most mocks had the Halos targeting high school pitchers but they went the complete other way with a college power-hitter.  This selection also has to make one wonder if the health of Kendrys Morales didn't influence this pick at least a little bit.

The Story: CJ Cron needs surgery to repair a torn labrum.

The Monkey Says: The Halos said they wanted to get more physical with their draft, but I don't think anyone thought they mean "physical problems."  Apparently the shoulder malady was common knowledge and something he actually played through last season.  At a minimum, it sounds like the injury will make him easier to sign, though there is no mention about what kind of recovery time he is looking at.

The Story: Vernon Wells could return to the lineup today.

The Monkey Says: Yeah, that'll really help.  Wells did go 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and a strikeout last night and supposedly feels good, so the Angels are going to get him back in the lineup perhaps a little earlier than they planned.  He'll probably be a little rusty, but I can't imagine that anyone will notice.

Hey, Sosh.  Umm, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job but, well, I'm pretty sure that pre-game "closer doors" pep talk didn't really work.  That is, of course, unless you were trying to talk the team into continuing to be inept offensively, which I'm pretty sure they would have done without a pep talk.

Rays 5, Angels 1

Let me ask you, Skipper, what is the point of a pep talk to invigorate the team going to accomplish unless you couple it with some actual changes?  Seriously, few managers juggle the lineup more than you do, but in the midst of a pretty length offensive drought, the lineup changes have been relatively minimal.  Especially to the middle of the order.  Especially to the clean-up spot. 

Dammit!  Will you just drop Hunter in the order already!!!!

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Haren is "good to go," Wells hitless in his rehab start, Kazmir shows signs of life and much more...

The Story: Dan Haren is "good to go" for his start on Tuesday.

The Monkey Says: This is certainly good news, but I'm not going to exhale entirely until we see how Haren actually performs.

The Story: Vernon Wells was hitless in his first rehab start.

The Monkey Says: Wells and the word "hitless" is something I think we are all used to by now.

The Story: Scott Kazmir showed signs of life in his third rehab start.

The Monkey Says: His velocity was supposedly up, which is huge news for him, but his command was still pretty bad as he walked five batters, threw two wild pitches and allowed two extra-base hits (on just three hits total) in six innings of work.  I still think he is done, but at least this would suggest he may have a fighting chance of making it back to the majors in some way, shape or form.

Somewhere, Arte Moreno is sulking and elsewhere Scott Boras is chortling.  The bane of Arte's existence, Mark Teixeira, made Moreno regret those dubious free agency negotiations once more as his two homers sunk the Angels in this series and under .500 on the season.

Yankees 5, Angels 3

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New York Yankees (32-24) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (30-30)

Pitching Probables: NYY – Bartolo Colon (3-3, 3.26 ERA)  LAA – Joel Pineiro (2-2, 3.52 ERA)

Game Info: 12:35 PM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

I never thought I would see a day where Bartolo Colon was not only back in Anaheim, but back and pitching well for a contender like the New York Yankees.  It seemed like it was just yesterday that the Fat Man was busy losing his velocity and while gaining pounds on the Angels' dime.

Colon is hardly the pitcher he was back in his Cy Young-winning prime, but he has put together a pretty solid season thus far which makes me wonder that if he can pull off an improbably career comeback, might not another wayward Angel ace?  I know this is a total tangent, but I'm talking about Scott Kazmir.

Like Kazmir, Colon was a power pitcher who saw his promising career as an ace circle the drain very quickly after he hurt his arm, thus reducing his velocity.  Colon had some other issues, but he ultimately found a way to commit himself to getting back to the bigs and he did that by learning how to pitch without dominant velocity.  That is something the Halos have to be hoping Kazmir can figure out, but seeing how it took Bartolo a few years to work his way back on a permanent basis, I wouldn't be holding out any hope of Kaz figuring it out before his rehab assignment expires in the next few weeks.

I didn't get to write a preview but if I had I would have surely said something about the need to get to CC Sabathia early in the game or the Angels would be screwed. Hey look, I'm clairevoyant. The Angels decided to return to their usual pattern of getting men in scoring position and leaving them there and CC stemrolled his way through an out shy of a complete game. Meanwhile, Ervin Santana tried his darndest to stay in the fight and except for two mistake pitches that ended up in the seats, he threw a really good game. But alas, great pitching will beat medicroe hitting every time.

Angels 2 Yankees 3