Will Collin and Matt make Josh's healing a non-issue?
Josh Hamilton will have some surgery Wednesday on his right shoulder's AC joint. The shaving off of some bone should take away a lot of the pain he feels when he swings the bat. He will recover and put on the uniform again but in the mean time there is a spot in the outfield open until he comes back (and reclaims it). Who are the most likely Angels to take over in Left Field?
Matt Joyce was acquired in December from the Rays in a move that appears to be genius on the part of Jerry Dipoto now. Joe Maddon used Joyce judiciously, platooning him strictly to see Right Handed pitching. He mashed it. He is an alright outfielder. I personally think Hamilton is a tick above average in the field and Joyce statistically appears to be a tick (or two) below average. Joyce is not a recovery-blaming victim-mentality headcase like Hamilton, so expect to see him interact with teammates.
Collin Cowgill is a masher of left handed pitching. He is an above average defender and a great baserunner. He talks like a supporting actor in Deliverance and I can say that because he is probably out huntin' gator instead of home reading blogs. even though he was once on the Mets, he is not a thin-skinned psyche-damaged baby like Hamilton, so expect him to embrace whatever role Mike Scioscia chooses for him.
Conventional Wisdom has Cowgill starting in LF and batting against Left Handed Pitching and Joyce in there against Righties. CowJoyce will be the apparatus to cheer for in the absence of boooo-worthy HamBone.
David Robertson is on the 40-man roster. We acquired him from Texas. I say "we" because I was following this team before David Robertson was born and will be in the stadium this season more times than David Robertson will be, okay? Okay.
Grant Green would be bre great to have in the lineup but can he even play outfield? It is not shagging batting practice flies. Ooops, I said "Shagging" in a comment about Grant Green - a sizable subset of our female readers just got a little excited there. Sorry. Better than seeing C.J. Cron out there shagging cans of corn, amiright?
Anyway - Who do you see taking over for the overrated HamBone himself, at least for most of April? Is there someone that you hope has a great