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Mike Scioscia on Jered Weaver‘s Cy Young chances, Zack Greinke a top priority and, is Dan Haren on the outs? For the first time in what feels like forever there will be zero Mike Trout in this post. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to get through this, but here goes nothing.

Sept. 18, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) during the game against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Scioscia on Weaver’s Cy Young chances

Finally, well, at least kind of, Scioscia is touting an Angel for an award.

Money Quote:

"Weaver is first or tied for first in the AL in winning percentage (.826), wins (19), WHIP (1.00), third in ERA (2.74) and he’s holding hitters to a .213 batting average, best in the American League. Weaver, however, has probably dropped behind Justin Verlander, Hernandez and David Price in the Cy Young conversation but his 2.10 ERA in September has him right back in the conversation and the Angels right back in playoff contention."

I so heart Jered Weaver.

Zack Greinke will be Angels’ top offseason priority

I wouldn’t say “Top Priority,” but it’s definitely something that Dipoto shouldn’t let fall to the wayside. The bullpen on other hand, should be the number one priority.

Santana could work relief in last series

I 100%, disagree with this decision. It is great that Scioscia is maximizing the use of both Weaver and Greinke since they have been dominant of late. But, Ervin Santana has been quietly consistent as well. I would have skipped C.J. Wilson and used him as pen help (especially since he has more recent bullpen experience), considering how maddeningly inconsistent he has been.

Angels’ playoff race pretty hard to avoid

It is a nice change of pace to here even Scioscia say that he’s paying attention to the other teams’ games down the stretch. It would be detrimental to the team to not be aware of what’s going on just one spot ahead of them in the Wild Card standings.

Money Quote:

"Angels manager Mike Scioscia plays a season-long game of ‘pretend’ – pretending he doesn’t know his team’s win-loss record or its place in the standings. Recently, though, he admitted “it’s relevant now” to be aware of those things."

Take this in folks, Mike Scioscia did not use a pre-fabricated quote:

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO RE-SIGN TORII HUNTER?

I am way to sentimental to be a General Manager. I would re-sign Torii Hunter tomorrow if given the chance.

Money Quote:

"The problem is Hunter has been too good, something I don’t think anyone anticipated as a potential outcome to this season. With a fWAR value of 4.3 and rWAR value of 4.8, the approximate valuation of $5 million per WAR win suggests that Torii should be set to receive a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for 2013. That’s obviously preposterous given his age and performance the two years prior to this season, but it shows you just how far down Hunter will have to come to “meet the Angels halfway.”"

Like I said, Waaaaaaay to sentimental to be a GM.

Market Fresh: Dan Haren

I’m sure, that with the recent blog enrty from Alden Gonzalez, teams are chomping at the bit to get a bounce back Dan Haren into their rotation for next season. Of course, this all hinges on what the Angels actually intend to do with Zack Greinke, and what they deem to be the most important part of the team to improve.

Money Quote:

"I’d imagine he would look to sign a deal that would at least average $16 million a year. For context, last December, Mark Buehrle signed a four year deal with Miami for $58 million. At the time of the signing, Buehrle was 32 years old. Haren’s 32nd birthday was on September 17. He’ll have about 500 innings less in the big leagues (as he debuted in 2003 which was Buehrle’s third full season in the majors)."

Yeah, if Mark Buehrle can get paid, Dan will do just fine on the market.

THE ANGELS FAN GUIDE TO ROOTING FOR THE TEXAS RANGERS

I admit that I did, in fact, kind of root for the Rangers the other night. It was not my proudest moment, but I did do it.

Money Quote:

"Step 1 – AcceptanceThrough no small coincidence, “acceptance” is also one of the stages of grief. Just make your peace early and remind yourself that this is only going to last another few days."

Woosah.

OK, I lied. I just cannot go an entire post without not only mentioning Mike Trout, but also enjoying how completely awesome he is. Here you go, bask in the awesomness that is Michael Nelson Trout.