@ 

Boston Red Sox (6-11) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (12-6)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Tyler Chatwood (1-1, 3.75 ERA)  BOS – Josh Beckett (2-1, 1.80 ERA)

Game Info: 7:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

Oh boy, it's finally here! I don't know about you but I've had this date marked on my calendar since December 8th 2010. As much as I want to see this Angels vs. Red Sox game, I just can't, this is Carl Crawford vs The Angels. This guy is going to stroll into Anaheim like he's some sort of king on top of his $140 million dollar throne. It's time to show him that money can't buy you wins, let the boo-birds commence!

Daily Links for the LA Angels including all sorts of reaction to the DFA of Brandon Wood, stats strongly suggest Wells won't get better, Rob Neyer is becoming an Angel convert and much more...

The Story: A look at which teams could take a chance on Brandon Wood.

The Monkey Says: My gut has always told me the Marlins are a logical destination for him, but he'll have to slide pretty far through waivers to reach them.  I don't doubt that there will be any shortage of suitors for him though, so there is a small chance that the Halos could end up trading him for a small return to a team that doesn't want to risk him not making it to them on waivers.

The Story: Brandon Wood was very emotional as he said his goodbyes to the Angels.

The Monkey Says: The shame of this all is that Wood's problems never had anything to do with attitude or work ethic as is so often the case with failed prospects.  By all accounts he is a great kid, so hopefully he lands on his feet.

The Story: Wood still has a chance to find redemption.

The Monkey Says: The popular notion here is that a change of scenery will do him some good, but I do worry that his confidence is damaged beyond repair.

The Story: Tony Reagins says the Angels did not mishandle Brandon Wood's development.

The Monkey Says: Sorry, but I disagree.  The Angels made some missteps in setting up his path to the majors and I feel that put too much pressure on him once he finally did arrive.  It was far from the only reason Wood failed, but Angel management definitely deserves some of the blame.

The Story: Contact rate and spray charts strongly suggest that Vernon Wells has lost a lot of bat speed.

The Monkey Says: I still think Vernon will snap out of it, and he has been looking better lately, but that is some pretty damning evidence and one just has to hope that this little study is a victim of small sample size.  Cognitive dissonance is a wonderful thing, eh?

The Story: It might be time to start believing the the surprising start of the Angels.

The Monkey Says: Rob Neyer seems a bit skeptical still, but at least he is starting to take small sips on the red Kool-Aid.

The Story: The Angels' RBI League is helping keep teen dreams alive.

The Monkey Says: This has been your daily dose of warm-and-fuzziness from Marcia C. Smith.

The Story: Tyler Chatwood is getting guidance from the veterans on handling his nerves.

The Monkey Says: It sounds like they've mostly been helping him keep his intensity in check, which is a good thing because when he gets too amped up he leaves the ball up in the zone and gets hit hard.

So many things to get excited about this game, Vernon Wells finally hit a home run as an Angel, Peter Bourjos made a stunning catch, Kendrick hit ANOTHER homer, and Weaver threw a CG victory. We can all mark down this as the day that I, Ryan Falla, on April 20th 2011, correctly predicted Jered Weavers complete game victory. I'm going to bask in this glory forever. This has to do wonders for my reputation, ESPN here I come!!!

Angels 4 Rangers 1 

@

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (11-6) @ Texas Rangers  (11-6)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Jered Weaver (4-0, 1.30 ERA)  TEX – Matt Harrison (3-0, 1.23 ERA)

Game Info: 5:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

Haha Rangers! You thought you could display your dominance over the Angels with your offensive "rout" Monday? Not so fast! With the Angels 3 rookies devastating the Rangers pitching, I think dominance over the Rangers was expressed very thoroughly. Now 1st place is in the hands of Weaver, will he be able to keep the Rangers in check? We can only hope so.

Friends, loved ones, thank you for joining us on this somber occasion.  As many of you know, Brandon Wood's Angel career met an untimely end last night when the Angels designated him for assignment with the big waiver wire in the sky.  Let us all take a moment of silence to honor his memory.

So long, Brandon.  We hardly knew ye.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Wood gets designated for assignment, Kazmir working on yet another new approach, Hunter is clearly pressing and much more...

The Story: Brandon Wood has been designated for assignment to make room for Erick Aybar coming off the disabled list.

The Monkey Says: And so it ends.  The Halos now have ten days to either trade Wood, or have him pass through waivers, where he is likely to be claimed.  If by some miracle he clears waivers, he could be assigned to the minors by the Halos, but only if Wood consents, otherwise he becomes a free agent.  No matter what, it seems that his time with the team has finally come to an end.  For his sake, I hope he is able to use the forthcoming change in scenery to get his once promising career back on track.

The Story: Scott Kazmir is going to work on a new mental approach and release point to try and salvage his career.

The Monkey Says: This is just more spin control from Kazmir.  I can't imagine he has made any groundbreaking adjustments in any facet of his game that are suddenly going to give him five MPH back on his heater and the bite back on his slider.

The Story: The stats show that Torii Hunter is pressing at the plate.

The Monkey Says: I think we all pretty much knew that, but it is always nice to have shiny pictures and numbers confirm it.

The Story: Top-shelf pitching defines the AL West.

The Monkey Says: Just in case you were actually feeling good about the Angel pitching staff, this is a nice reminder that the rest of the division can pitch their butts off too.

The Story: Beyond the Box Score presents the All Bonus Baby team for the Angels.

The Monkey Says: These are basically the best draft picks of the 21st century for the Angels.  I have to say, the list is not super impressive.  Maybe other team's lists will look just as boring, but if they don't, then I suddenly don't feel so bad about Eddie Bane getting canned this winter.

The Story: Some people got married at Angel Stadium.

The Monkey Says: I post to this bit of fluff out of sheer jealousy.

Look out!  The rookies are on a rampage!!!  Run for your lives!!!!  We are going to be crushed under this avalanche of runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Angels 15, Rangers 4

Holy home runs, Batman!  What got into the Angel Kiddie Corps tonight?  Trumbo smacks a homer, a double and 4 RBIs.  Not to be outdone, Bourjos matched Trumbo's power output and raised him a four-hit game.  Finally, Conger "only" drove in two runs on two hits.  Really it was the kind of night that Angel management must dream of.  Not only did we get to see the kind of potential that the youngsters have, but we also saw the Halo offense come to life with essentially no help from the top part of the lineup.

As I detailed earlier today, the Angel offense has been only marginally better than last season and very much in need of an identity.  Both of those problems can quickly find a solution if the trio of youngsters is able to become consistent producers.  Clearly they won't always all hit like they did tonight, but if Trumbo can become a consistent power threat, Bourjos can keep mixing in some pop with his blazing speed and Conger can prove that his bat is MLB ready, then this Halo lineup suddenly has a lot more depth and thus a lot more versatility when it comes to trying to push runs across the plate from game to game.