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Wood gets the call from Salt Lake
April 21st, 2009, 10:37 am · 20 Comments · posted by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
ANAHEIM
The Angels have placed rookie reliever Kevin Jepson on the 15-day disabled list (making him the fifth pitcher on the Angels’ DL) due to lower back spasms.
In his place, they have promoted …. drumroll, please …. infielder Brandon Wood. Wood was batting .318 (7 for 22) with four home runs and six RBI in six games for Salt Lake this season.
So …. who’s in charge of arranging the parade?
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‘Bout time, baby!
Amen!
now we’ll see if he starts…
There would be no reason to bring him up and have him sit. Even Mike knows that!
WOO HOO……….
The question is, will he start at short with EA getting the bench or will he go to third with Figgy taking a DH/LF rotation role? I’m thinking he’ll go to third.
i think they view him more as a 3B now, with Aybar as the SS
I think so, too. Although he more or less split time between SS and 3rd so far this year at SLC. If we took a poll and everyone voted for him to be at third Mike would start him at short. And vice-versa. ;)
I was going to post something in response to Sam’s Wood post yesterday about how this was the perfect time to promote Wood to the majors - pressure to perform being greater on other parts of the team (bullpen), Vlad’s injury opening up a spot in the lineup for regular playing time, general team expectations lowering as a result of slow start, etc. - but I didn’t, mainly because the logic of it was so overwhelming that I thought for sure he would be promoted by the end of the day anyway. And then I woke up this morning to no promotion. So I was just about to type out my “I can’t believe they didn’t promote Wood yesterday” post, and voila. That being said, some thoughts:
- I have definitely been in the the “don’t tear a hole in the current lineup in order to force Wood into it” camp - it was only a matter of time before something else got torn (in this case, Vlad’s pec) and a spot opened up. I’d have to think all those people who wanted to trade Chone in order to make a spot for Wood in the preseason are happy now that we didn’t compromise our depth. It took all of 12 games for someone to get hurt resulting in Wood getting called up, which honestly isn’t all that surprising. Still - is there anyone else who STILL wants a trade of some sort?
- All that to say, if Wood gets one pinch-hit at-bat in the Tigers series, I’ll be pretty upset, and I know a lot of people here will be ready to riot. This call-up has got to involve him starting every day, and I may just be really wrong, but I don’t think Scioscia, Reagins, etc. would bring him up if they weren’t going to be able to promise to play him every day. So then: how will he fit into the lineup? It seems that there are three options - Wood at SS, Aybar to the bench; Wood to 3B, Chone to LF, Abreu to RF, Juan to DH until Vlad returns; or, Wood to mostly DH until Vlad returns. Frankly, I like the first option best - I’d rather see him settle somewhere defensively than just be used as an offensive stopgap at DH, that’s for sure. What is everyone else’s opinion on this?
- I really hope this is the last time Wood ever gets called up from AAA. The ideal situation is that he hits well enough to convince the powers that be that he should stay in the lineup permanently. Aybar or Rivera would probably get relegated to the bench should this happen, and I’m actually somewhat okay with that. Let’s hope that’s the case. Now, I don’t want to go all doom and gloom on everyone, but let’s say Wood gets the at-bats and does nothing with them, and Vlad comes back. What do the Angels then do with Wood?
Honestly, I’m pretty excited. I took an old broken TV to the stadium on Saturday for the e-waste recycling drive, and so I have tix to tomorrow’s game. I’m really hoping I get to see one of many future Wood-bombs tomorrow. But we can’t overreact! The blurb under the headline on Halos Heaven right now says “Our savior arrives.” That just frustrates me. Let’s get it straight - Wood is NOT the savior of this team. Hopefully he will help our offense. If he doesn’t, let’s not freak out. Health and some serious adjustments by pretty much everyone in our bullpen will go most of the way to righting this ship… but here’s hoping Wood is the cherry on top of all that. Go Angels!
The team simply doesn’t need another person on the bench to back-up EA or Figgy. It would be a senseless move to bring him up for depth. He was called-up to start. No doubt about it.
Heh, I posted that blurb, and “Our savior arrives” was said with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Good to know. Maybe I’m taking this whole thing a bit too seriously. :-)
sweeeeeeeet.
Amen to that, Paul. I totally agree with you and had a “dear Mike” letter on my blog just yesterday about this very move. Aybar’s got some potential defensive stuff going, but he routinely misses the routine plays. His bat is never going to be anything more than league average at best. I say put Wood at 3B, Maicer at SS, and Figgins in LF. I think Abreu’s perfect for the DH, and while RIvera’s not a RF, even HIS glove would upgrade Abreu. That’s a bit more formidable. Honestly, I also agree with give Wood a Loooong look. This has got to be the time where he either gets it done or doesn’t and the Angels move on from their “what do we do with Wood” bit. I’m talking a nice 2 month look. There’s still Matt Brown, too, down there, who’s far from as “ready” as Wood, but is another 3B stymied by the clubs depth. I’m just glad that Wood’s on his way and Shield seems to have solved his problem in the ‘pen session the other day. GO HALOS!
Nobody has said yet that there’s a strong possibility Wood was called up to be showcased. Angels need pitching badly. Wood has proven he can hit AAA pitching, but not major league pitching yet. Huge difference between the two. If Wood does impress the next couple of weeks, don’t be surprised to see him dealt in a package for a starting pitcher. Without Adenhart (#1 prospect), Wood may now be the one who other teams keep asking for. If so, that means the other teams (scouts) want to see Wood play. If Aybar, Kendrick or Figgins is the trade bait, Wood is called up as a reserve until they’re traded.
Or there’s already serious talk involving Aybar or Izturis.
I’d give you strong odds that Brandon isn’t on the table. Besides, “showcasing” players is a myth. Looking at a prospect for a week in the show doesn’t really prove anything.
And I would give you the same strong odds that Wood isn’t called up to be a reserve. The left infield already has more than enough depth.
Bottom line is the Angels are hurting offensively and with Vlad out even more so. My opinion is that he’s there to hopefully spark some production.
this is great. its about time they put him where he belongs
two words- about time. However, lets see if he gets the 50 or so ABs he will need to see what he can do.
When, if ever, will Brandon Wood get his real shot to play for the Angels? Sadly, I must say never, The Angels always have these prospects but no place to play them. Maybe we can trade Wood for Kotchman?
Now they have to play him . Either short or third. I say move Figgins to left, and let him play third. Move Abreau back to third in the order ,then Hunter. Have Wood bat fifth with Napoli 7th.