The Return Of Kendrys Morales

Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

Kendrys Morales returned to the Angels lineup for the first time in 22 months after his ankle shattering home plate slip-and-fall in 2010. Morales looked good too and, more importantly, felt good. Let the overwhelming optimism and MVP talk begin! *slams half a bottle of champagne* Morales went 2-3 with a pair of singles, hitting right-handed on Thursday. He was able to run the bases without looking like a wounded deer or the “Vlad Guerrero” as I like to call it. So I do think there is reason for optimism. Cautious optimism. But you don’t have to take my word for it. What say you, Twitter?

Kendrys (w/ me as amateur translator): “I felt pretty good today, as you can see in running 1st to 3rd.” Expects timing to return in 5-6 gms

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 22, 2012

Weaver, who’s known Kendrys since A ball: “He doesn’t need much time to see live pitches. He’s 1 of those guys that’s see-ball, hit-ball.”

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 22, 2012

#Angels Morales on spring debut: “We reached a step we wanted to today. Everything felt good and hopefully we can keep it going.”

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 22, 2012

And keep it going they will. Morales will be back in the lineup on Friday. Hitting cleanup behind Albert Pujols.

#Angels lineup for the night cap v #Indians — with Pujols-Morales batting 3-4 twitter.com/billplunkettoc…

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 23, 2012

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, Angels fans, but I will anyway. A healthy Morales changes the dynamic of the offense. If Bobby Abreu looked cooked last season, he looks burnt to a crisp this spring. I’d rather have Mark Trumbo‘s sub .300 OBP sharing time at DH with Morales than Abreu getting any plate appearances. I did see Abreu hustle out a ground out but there was an ice cream truck in the first base line parking lot.