1. IF Garret Anderson's hip flexor is a problem, do the Angels DL him, bring up Figgins and keep Brandon Wood on the bench instead of in every game - most would agree that an unseasoned Wood needs to playing every day...
2. Maicer Izturis left the game today with a tight hamstring...
IF Mice Tits is down, then the starting infield this week is Figgy/Cabby/Aybar/Kotch with Quinlan, Hillenbrand and Wood on the bench. Tommy Murphy is in AAA limbo for another week, as is Kendry Morlaes, so the likely replacement is Nick Gorneault or calling up Curtis Pride from his coaching internship as an outfielder at AA Arkansas...
3. With the Jered Weaver situation apparently settled, the question of Ervin Santana's shelf-life may be the next conundrum facing the Angels' brain trust - with Joe Saunders proving he is a #5 Angel Starter and competition in Moseley, Bootcheck and Carrasco safely placed in bullpen niches, the future of the Halo's Black Magic may soon sully an otherwise sublime Anaheim...
4. How much Mathis-free rope will Mike Napoli be given to hang himself? Is Jose Molina traded by June or will mike swap seats with Jeff on the Slat Lake Shuttle?
5. Gary Matthews has quietly come alive, but no player has performed Mike Scioscia baseball more flawlessly than did Reggie Willits today - and Mike answered the call in getting ejected after arguing an awful call of Willits having tagged up and scored on a sac fly. Were Shea Hillenbrand not in the way, a DH rotation of Anderson and Guerrero would benefit the team health and rest wise while getting Bang-Bang Willits onto the field and into the lineup.
6. On July 31, Erick Aybar and Ervin Santana were almost traded for Miguel Tejada. Ignoring the meddlings of Peter Angelos, would or could that trade still happen right now?
7. Is Kendry Morales getting seasoned for another season in AAA or is he playing every day to attract a trade? And why would they trade a developing bat?
8. Is more playing time the answer to the Robb Quinlan crisis or is any playing time the manifestation of this crisis?
9. Will, at any point in the season, the order of Speier/Shields/Frankie be shuffled?
10. If Figgins is a disaster how many ABs does he get anyway?
11. Will Hillenbrand be a starter on the Angels after the 4th of July?
12. What Would Ebel Do?
13. Is Bud Black missed?
14. Is Orlando Cabrera the Latino Darin Erstad? He is getting the reputation as being the clubhouse glue and chemistry guy, he is a presence defensively and a scrappy, low-average hitter...
15. Are the shakes at the stadium Ruby's a hundred times better than last season's non-dairy helmet sundaes, or one million times better?
0 recs | 33 comments
Figgins and Wood
Figgins is already up. Wood is already down. Happened after today's game.http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270429104
LA Seitz - April 29, 2007
I'll wade into the pool ...
Johnny Angel - April 29, 2007
Ruby's Shakes
Story of the season.Rev Halofan - April 29, 2007
I'm intrigued
by this developmentTy Webb - April 30, 2007
those helmet sundays
with the little dip-n-dots pellets in them were/are Goddamn awful. I'm still waiting for Wahoo's Fish Tacos to open up in RF(wishful thinking)Hutch (someone took my name) - April 29, 2007
The DOTS were COOL maybe ONCE
I almost barfed the 2nd time - and the soft-serve vanilla in the helmets had a chemical aftertaste - but that was before RUBYS arrived. WOOOT.Rev Halofan - April 30, 2007
Fuck Wahoo's
when are we getting Rubio's? They've got it in Tempe.Caseys Kiss of Death - April 30, 2007
Blasphemer!
Wahoo's wins, hands down!sipperphoto - April 30, 2007
No Way
Rubio's all the waythebigA - April 30, 2007
My Beef
is the awful Carl's Junior... the joke being that McDonalds now advertises in the stadium!Rev Halofan - April 30, 2007
I'm a traditionalist
Hot dogs or nothing. And a sushi-sized bottle of Sapporo Draft from the Beers of The World or whatever they call the bar behind home plate on the Sea View level now. And peanuts. And maybe a chocolate malt with the tasty flat wooden spoon.I'm hungry!
rspencer - April 30, 2007
figgins
figgins' performance will decide who stays and who goes.yeswecan - April 30, 2007
That answers 14 of them
and your answer to #15 is "beer"Rev Halofan - April 30, 2007
good idea
i think they should serve beer in the little batting helmets.yeswecan - April 30, 2007
That'll be $12 sir.
Chompo - April 30, 2007
Question 9
Will, at any point in the season, the order of Speier/Shields/Frankie be shuffled?I think that the it should be Shields/Speier/Frankie.
I dunno what it is, but Scoty has really taken over my K-Rod nerves. He has looked ineffective thus far.
Erik121 - April 30, 2007
An additional question...
How serious in Kendrick's injury.? It hasn't gotten much play in the press, but an injury like that can nag and nag well after the player is re-inserted into the roster. If Howie's not the same player upon returning to action (though it's probably too early in his career to say definitively what kind of player he is or will be), then there will be additional pressure on Stoneman to make a move for a bat. Rev mentioned earlier this season that the pickings out there are slim, unless the Halos are willing to rent a high-priced player. All this is further complicated by the fact that the club would need an infielder who can hit since the outfield is more or less set, assuming the Escalade's injury is not serious. What are the potential trades they could make for more offense, even if Kendrick does come back strong? Your thoughts, please...Kenny Katella - April 30, 2007
Hand injuries are bad
but wrist injuries are worse. Howie, from everything I've read, should be fine when he returns, though there may be an early slump.scareduck - April 30, 2007
Speier/Shields/Frankie
You don't touch that lineup. Shields is the man and it takes more than a couple of bad outings to change that. Let's let Speier be what he is, and Shields be what he is.Hell, Romero even bailed us out of a jam at the beginning of '06 against Seattle. It is still April (barely), remember.
thewebb - April 30, 2007
There may be a deal already in place.
Most teams will wait until their team is out of contention prior to the trade deadline to pull the trigger. It will involve Santana/Saunders, and will also depend on how healthy the rest of our rotation is at the time of the deadline.Wytelitning - April 30, 2007
Oh, baloney
Show me one single big midseason deal Bill Stoneman has ever pulled off. One.He tinkers, he doesn't make wholesale readjustments.
scareduck - April 30, 2007
Haha, good point.
Maybe a little wishfull thinking on my part. Hillenbrand will probably begin to pick up his average and hit a few home runs allowig Stoneman to sit on his hands again.I guess I'm counting on Moreno more than Stoneman.
Wytelitning - April 30, 2007
opd picks
i have to do my monday picks here cause i cant figure out how to do it elsewhere. vladdy, lackey, 2adirondakangelfan - April 30, 2007
The most interesting question in this list
is the Mathis/Napoli question. Mathis is quietly off to a very good start offensively at Salt Lake, hitting .303/.346/.461. He's still damned young, and may have just hit a hiccup on his way to the majors. If he can continue to hit down there, the Angels may not have a real choice but to call him up, especially if Napoli continues to post lines like .208/.296/.354.scareduck - April 30, 2007
At SLC
There's nothing really impressive about hitting .303/.346/.461.That .303 becomes .250 in the show, and without walks or much power. Mathis doesn't have a track record of doing anything better than that either.
I guess that's better than what Napoli's hit so far, but I think we need to stick with Napoli a good while longer.
RallyMonkey5 - April 30, 2007
Pride
Wait Rev, why do you say "coaching internship" when talking about Pride? Think he's coaching material?Carl Johnson - April 30, 2007
He was sent to Double A
for specifically that reason - play and learn to coach...Rev Halofan - April 30, 2007
Good points
I think Dino staysBud is defineately missed but you cannot fault him for wanting to manage.
I wonder why Wing & Co. has not set up a Wahoo's at the Big A. He is a big supporter of the Angels and Salmon's charities. For me, I prefer the fish there to Rubio's. No deep frying at Wahoo's = more beers of the month.
BrianDowningFan - April 30, 2007
Bring Saunders Up
and run with a six-man rotation...skipping any road starts for Ervin Santana...make sure Santana only starts at Angels Stadium.Downing Rules - April 30, 2007
I haven't tried their milkshakes.
I'm going to have to do that, and come back with a full report.bc56274 - April 30, 2007
give it another month
i think we need two months to fully evaluate where we stand, but it's basically what we all expected: the pitching is solid, and with Bart back, really even better than we thought.The offense is as we thought too - still have a power shortage, especially at 3B. Nap has another month, Chone has two, Wood needs at least another month at AAA, and eventually we trade a combo of our surplus at SP, C, and infielders for a big bat.
one thing we can conclude though - Rob Neyer is wrong (Texas = 1st place in AL West). again. (he probably doesn't like Ruby's Shakes either.)
In 1st place at the end of April, so we are discussing the most prominent issues - the merits of Rubio's vs. Wahoo's, and ice cream.
rbrianc - April 30, 2007
No Mo Nap
Napoli needs more AAA seasoning; he's become the offensive equivalent of Rob Deer -- without the HRs. Defensively, the guy can't throw out anyone to save his life.Bring back Jose Molina to 1st string status. I'd gladly put up with some offensive mediocrity (or a little bit below that) for that superior defensive game of his.
PieceOfAase - May 1, 2007
I second that
Hutch (someone took my name) - May 2, 2007
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