Angels stellar shortstop Erick Aybar was injured during a chump take-out slide by Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee in Monday night's game. That McGehee had been hit by the pitch to get on base in the first place hardly mitigates that the takeout was performed when the Brewers led 9-2 late in the game.
The Angels moved Maicer Izturis from 3B to SS, Kevin Frandsen from 1B to 3B and added Robb Quinlan at 1B. Aybar was announced as having a hyperextended knee, but did not leave the field until his arms were wrapped around two men's shoulders. No matter what the official word is, it would be quite a stretch to imagine that Aybar will not soon be in the disabled list.
The team's options include:
- This could spell the return of Brandon Wood to Anaheim. He is tanking big at AAA but his time on the Disabled List is drawing to a close as the maximum rehab assignment time he can take is almost upon us anyway. Wood can play above average SS.
- Gary Patchett (32 years old, .641 OPS in 53 AAA games this year), and Nate Sutton (28 with a .803 OPS in 52 AAA games this year) would be the other likely callups from Salt Lake. Patchett is the superior defender at SS, Sutton the more versatile infield position player.
- Freddy Sandoval remains on the DL at AAA. So is all-glove, no-bat SS Hainley Staita.
- Mark Trumbo is on the 40-Man Roster and could be called up as the Angels 1B. He has 15 HR at Salt Lake and could push Quinlan to the bench. SS and 3B could be operated by Frandsen and Izturis.
Any other ideas?
Not a lot of opitons
Iz being our only logical option at ss. Good thing we got Franz and Q to cover 3rd (and Q for 1st). Mathis comes up we got Napoli at first.
Wood is definitely not ready. We are officially thin in the infield. Now I guess we miss SRod.
vladtheimpaler - June 15, 2010
good thing we have Q to cover 3rd and 1st????
the guy is a below replacement level player. The Angels picked Frandsen up for FREE and he’s WAY better than Q. There are plenty of players that retire from baseball w/o having reached the majors that are better than Q.
MH252525 - June 15, 2010
There must be something to that we don't know.
44FAN - June 15, 2010
On your pre game picks
You say iz and hunter in the question.
On your drop down answer you have aybar and hunter listed.
vladtheimpaler - June 15, 2010
will fix that
bet as if it is Izturis
Rev Halofan - June 15, 2010
Reading some reports on Aybar
It looks like he’s able to move around, albeit slowly. The knee injury doesn’t seem to be horrific, but he sounds like he’ll probably be put on the 15-Day Disabled List, because he’ll need time for the knee to heal.
The Angels organization are approaching this situation very cautiously.
Slyintine - June 15, 2010
I predict they choose the 3Wood,
although any of the other three options listed would be a MAJOR WAKE-UP CALL for our man Brandon…..as if he needs it.
Can you imagine being Brandon Wood, your whole life being that of a prodigious SS until a couple of years ago, being passed over by the likes of Patchett, Sutton, or Trumbo when your team is in desparate need of a professional shortstop?
Talk about the game being half mental, the other 90% of Wood’s psyche will need a shrink to stop him from jumping off a ledge. I think he needs to widen his stance a little bit and swing for the fences, like Edmonds.
wumbug - June 15, 2010
A wide stance can get you in trouble
Just ask Larry Craig.
rspencer - June 15, 2010
Why is Trumbo the fifth option?
Why not give Trumbo and his bat an opportunity and see if he can continue his bat with the big boys. His biggest weakness may be patience at the plate.
MattSwift - June 15, 2010
Why don't we see what it would take
to get Hanley amirez from the Marlins?
billhune - June 15, 2010
Ramirez
billhune - June 15, 2010
everybody good
UpStream15 - June 15, 2010
Weaver, Santana, Trout, Bourjos, and Napoli might get it done
ryanfea - June 15, 2010
I hope that's a joke
blochead - June 15, 2010
if we’re going after a Marlins player, then I’d prefer Josh Johnson—pipe dream.
SenorChuckles - June 16, 2010
no trade
at least not for that. bring back wood. this is his last chance to make his mark. we need some power, and this is his shot to get back into the game.
abreu leading off yet?
Kernel - June 15, 2010
I know
that was a joke. I agree with bringing Wood back up, or moving Izturis to SS and letting Fradsen play 3B
billhune - June 15, 2010
Call up Wood
In another week, he will have reached the end of his “rehab” anyway. One way or another, he was going to be back on the team. Mathis should be ready too, he did have three hits yesterday.
Play Izturis at SS, Frandsen at 3rd, Napoli fulltime at first, and Quinlan will have to go back to AAA as well. Wood is the utility infielder. Still, get him regular starts against lefthanded pitching, and he should get plenty of other starts when people need rests. We’d have only one backup infielder, so Michael Ryan would have to be ready in emergency. He played 2nd and 3rd a long time ago, and might have dusted the infield gloves off in spring (I think his versatility was a selling point).
RallyMonkey5 - June 15, 2010
The other option with Wood is if he has another "injury"
The fact that he can’t even hit in the PCL scares me. The guy has definitely lost his mojo.
righteous halo - June 15, 2010
Another shortstop to consider
Is Andrew Romine in AA. He has a very good glove. Won’t hit a lick, but maybe can drop a bunt here and there, lay off pitches out of the zone, and run. Patchett won’t hit either, but his glove is awful, either that or he had his worst day of his life when I saw spring training. He’s AAA filler, no more. Romine is not a potential starter but a possible MLB role player.
RallyMonkey5 - June 15, 2010
Sounds like Willits 2.0
Brew Angel - June 15, 2010
If Reggie Willits could play short
He’d be able to stay in the lineup, kind of like Nick Punto for the Twins. You need a bit more offense from an outfielder though.
RallyMonkey5 - June 15, 2010
What sort of penalty does McGehee get?
My wife made the point that in baseball there is no “unnecessary roughness” or “personal foul” kind of call. So, besides being booed and having angry blogs written about him, is there any repercussion on a play like that? Will he be fined? How can we find out if he even apologized?
Up 9-2 at the time, a wide throw leaving Aybar totally vulnerable, no chance to complete the double play anyway… Any half-intelligent little leaguer with a few years experience knows you don’t go in for a hard take-out slide there. That was f’ed up.
I didn’t watch the rest of the game, but I was really hoping they would throw at him again. Did that happen?
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
Nope, Rafael Rodriguez pitched him way away, possibly so that there would be no way he would even come close to hitting him, and ended up walking him.
Did hit Craig Counsell to load the bases later that inning though.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
Pretty sure hitting Counsell was just a product of Rafael’s less than remarkable control though.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
This ain't little league
If this was Richie Weeks getting taken out by Torii Hunter, we’d all be applauding him for a hard-nosed play. Nothing should happen to McGehee.
righteous halo - June 15, 2010
I think you're wrong.
There are unwritten rules to baseball that classy guys like Torii Hunter follow. One of them being the slaughter rule. When your team is up by a pretty insurmountable lead, you don’t do certain things like steal bases, or take-out slides. It’s also an unwritten rule that you don’t do a take-out slide when there is not going to be a relay to 1B, and any dimwit in McGehee’s situation would have known on Frandsen’s throw to Aybar, there was not going to be a relay to 1B. Watch the replay. He had plenty of time to make a calculated decision on how to slide. He chose to be a dick.
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
I suspect McGehee is a dimwit.
wumbug - June 15, 2010
Wrong!
Torii Hunter: “Erick was a little exposed, and Kevin pulled the throw inside. The slide was right over the bag, so I can’t find much fault with it.” Angels center fielder Torii Hunter didn’t form an opinion about it until he saw a replay. “Aybar was hung out to dry,” Hunter said. “[McGehee] was trying to break up the double play. That’s the way I play the game. It just so happened to be one of our better players, but we play the same way, and I respect that.”
That’s the way you play the game. Classic Torii. That’s the way the game is played. This isn’t Olympic curling. If you don’t want to watch contact, that would probably be a better option. Baseball isn’t some woosie game.
righteous halo - June 15, 2010
I see.
So if it isn’t some “woosie” game, then McGehee certainly won’t object to having his hip dislocated, right?
rspencer - June 15, 2010
Well, if it was a "woosie" game...
I’d check to see what was really in the Gatorade coolers.
Commander_Nate - June 15, 2010
Well, I'm going to dare to disagree with Torii.
And Rojas and Gubi disagree with Torii too. Rojas said McGehee had no business sliding like that in that situation, and I concur. Perhaps Torii’s just trying to play it down and not antagonize the opposition.
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
yeahhh
mcgehee’s MO is not exactly team dick.
sowingwildoats - June 15, 2010
You're imagining a lot
Salty - June 15, 2010
I'm imagining those unwritten rules?
Or I’m imagining that Aybar was vulnerable and McGehee came in unnecessarily hard? I don’t see how either of those are any stretch. If I’m imagining things, why did the 39,000 who were at the game (and I’m sure all of us watching at home) moan at the instant replay, and boo McGehee the rest of the game? I guess we’re all imagining the same thing simultaneously.
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
People at the game boo EVERYTHING
Pickoff moves, calling time outs, etc.
People starting booing McGehee as soon as they realized Aybar wasn’t getting up, they hadn’t seen the replay yet to judge the slide, all they knew was that Aybar was hurt and they were booing Aybar getting hurt.
McGehee did exactly what every major league manager would want him to do, regardless of the score, try to break up the DP. Now we can go back and watch the replay and say “Aybar wouldn’t have turned that” but McGehee didn’t have that luxury. He saw Frandsen throw the ball to Aybar, so he slid to make sure there wasn’t a DP chance.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
x
1) There was an insurmountable lead
2) There was no chance for a double play
3) The player should be able to make an evaluation of the posssibility
4) He had plenty of time to make a decision by turning around, etc.
5) He chose to be a dick
Salty - June 15, 2010
The only point Here that makes sense is the insurmountable lead.
The others are nonsense. The runner is supposed to divert his attention and effort getting to 2nd by turning around to see how close the other runner is to 1st and then make a determination whether a double play is possible before choosing how to slide? And all this in a split second as the throw is made to second?
That’s just silly.
snowhor - June 15, 2010 via mobile
Maybe you didn't play baseball.
You don’t turn to watch the other runner, but you can tell from how fast the ball comes off the bat AND how good the throw to 2B is. You see it all the time when a runner going into 2B either gives a half-assed slide, slows up, or even gets out of the way when he knows it’s a double play that he can’t break up.
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
Or maybe I did play baseball and learned to read.
I was responding to the comment that the runner should turn around before sliding.
As for your point, yes you do make a judgement call based on how hard the ball is hit and the throw, but it is a judgement call the runner makes in a split second.
The judgement call could be wrong, but that doesn’t mean the runner chose to be a dick, unlike you and your must have never played the game attitude.
snowhor - June 15, 2010 via mobile
I said "maybe" not "must have."
So I was only being slightly dickish.
Rally Manatee - June 16, 2010
Fair enough.
snowhor - June 16, 2010 via mobile
How do we know the earthquake didn't cause this?
The Brewers are from WI – it’s not like they’re used to dealing with seismic activity.
Commander_Nate - June 15, 2010
Let's hope there are some vigorous slides into third base.
mattwelch - June 15, 2010
I wouldn't be surprised if there are. My money is on Frandsen doing it.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
I finished watching the game just to see him get a fastball in the ear hole but was disappointed. Jose Guillen had a point.
Halo84653 - June 15, 2010
Scioscia has never approved of hitting other players for revenge, I didn't expect this time to be any different.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
I agree
I know thats just baseball, blah, blah, blah, but that was just a ponk-azz play by McGehee, totally uncool.
TSamn15 - June 15, 2010
My money is on Wood.
1. He’s out of time in rehab
2. He’s a natural SS. 3B was a positional shift for him anyways.
3. At SS, for some reason, there’s less pressure to be a “Power Hitter”.**
** I never understood the whole “you have to be a power guy to play 3B” thing
red floyd - June 15, 2010
Me neither
You do need offense at 3B, but you can do that with a bunch of singles, walks, and steals too. Seems like the Angels would know that better than anyone after playing Figgins there. The point is to score runs any way you can. All that matters is you put runs on the scoreboard, not how you do it.
Wherever Wood plays though, there will be pressure on him to hit for power. He’s obviously never going to be an OBP guy, and his speed is just average. Either he starts hitting for some power, or he has no use on a baseball field.
RallyMonkey5 - June 15, 2010
This team needs a lot more Drysdale/Gibson-minded pitchers
and a lot less of the Lady Byng-types that Scioscia favors. McGehee needs a heater in the melon!
PieceOfAase - June 15, 2010
No he doesn't.
The last thing we need is one of our pitchers getting suspended.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
Which, judging by the way our pen has been, may not be a bad thing.
PieceOfAase - June 15, 2010
A reliever getting supended wouldn't be the end of the world.
Maybe we could call someone up who turns out to be even better.
Rally Manatee - June 15, 2010
Frandsen plays 2nd base
DAD OF VLAD - June 15, 2010
The injury does not sound serious
From the LA Times:
The injury was not as serious as it first looked; Aybar was diagnosed with a hyperextension of the left knee and is listed as day to day, though he appeared very stiff as he limped out of the clubhouse. “Erick is a tough kid — he feels some pain,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You always think worst-case scenario, but hopefully it calms down. He was stiff, but he was walking around. We’re cautiously optimistic.”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-angels-brewers-20100615,0,1640662.story
Brody - June 15, 2010
Give Wood his LAST chance.
If he still can’t hit, trade his ass or DFA him.
Wally's World - June 15, 2010
Wood isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
~MMP~ - June 15, 2010
This will be Woods Chance #19 of Infinity
Remember who the coach is, and remember how sometimes braindead loyal he can be. Wood could hit .000 for 3 months straight going into the playoffs and he would still start. I’m not exactly thrilled for the return of rotten-Wood.
Dontbatvlad4th - June 15, 2010
you have to be patient, remember he’s not a grizzled veteran, so he won’t suddenly wake up like an Abreu or Matsui
SenorChuckles - June 16, 2010
Are you joking?
be patient? Jeesuz, how much is enough? I AM being patient by accepting that he is getting another chance. After this, is it patience, or Ignoreance (as in, ignoring the reality that he sucks) ?
Wally's World - June 16, 2010
Why in God’s name would you give this ultimatum on the organization’s most cherished player? If they didn’t think he could do they job they would’ve traded him and give figgy an extension a long time ago. I understand that there is a chance he’s a bust, but sweet freakin’ Jesus am I getting tired of the whole “be successful now, and often” mentality some people have on this site. As if they expect the player to be better than Pujols along with expecting the player to never struggle. Here’s an idea, how ‘bout we give him a whole freakin’ season worth of ABs to determine what the kid has, then we may continue this debate.
SenorChuckles - June 16, 2010
How much time can you give him?
He’s 25. He’s been up for parts of 4 seasons now. I keep waiting for a sign. Any sign. I really want to see it, but every single at bat leaves me disappointed. Last night he made contact on 3 balls, but they were, once again, weak contact. Soft ground balls and a lazy fly to center.
RallyMonkey5 - June 16, 2010
Option at shortstop
Adam Everett released by the Tigers. Won’t hit at all but an excellent glove. Not that exciting, but if Aybar goes on the DL Everett is a better option than someone like Patchett, Statia, or Romine.
RallyMonkey5 - June 16, 2010
Schofield is available as well.
Downing Rules - June 16, 2010
Hell, I hear Fregosi might be available.
red floyd - June 16, 2010
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Halos Heaven to post a comment.