Peter Bourjos Says All The Right Things

Apparently, Peter Bourjos’ legs aren’t the only part of him that moves at a rapid pace when given the chance. Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com got the chance to catch up with the Angels centerfielder after Bourjos skipped Winter Ball to rehab his hip in Arizona. For all of Bourjos’ thoughts on Albert Pujols, Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo, you can read the full account here. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t note some of the highlights Bourjos covered down the cliche road.

He’s seen Morales “working out” so let’s start there. How does the gimpy first baseman look, Pete?

"“He looks real good. He’s in real good shape, and he looks like he’s moving around real good. I think he’s been hitting a little bit in the cage. I see him every other day, and he says his ankle is feeling really good.”"

What’s he going to say? “Yeah, Kendrys has really mastered driving around that Rascal scooter. You should see him maneuver around sharp corners.” I’m rooting for Morales but I’m surprised Bourjos didn’t add that he’s taking it one day at a time. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.

Bourjos had the same reaction as the rest of us on Pujols-mas morning.

"“The night before [on Wednesday], I went to bed, and I woke up with my phone ringing and I look. My buddies are texting me that we signed Pujols and I was like, ‘Holy cow!’ I was shocked. But at the same time, I was really excited and happy. I couldnt’ go back to bed. It was like 8 in the morning.”"

It was 10 in the morning for me but I couldn’t go back to bed either. My employer also didn’t consider the Pujols signing a reasonable excuse to have celebratory Scotch before noon. Some people, jeesh.

Bourjos gave a resounding “Yeah, I think so” when asked asked if he thought Pujols made the Angels an instant contender. I wonder if it was scary all the way out on that limb.

Finally, Bourjos was asked whether his good friend Trumbo could man third base everyday.

"“I think so.”*snip*“I know that he’s going to start at some point after the holidays, start working. He works his tail off, so I don’t see any reason why he can’t make that adjustment. He has a tremendous arm, too, so that’s going to help him out over there.”"

I cut out the part where he calls Trumbo a hard worker over and over again but you get the point. I don’t have high hopes for Trumbo moving to the hot corner. He’s been so terrible there that he’s never been allowed to log a professional game at 3B. Is it worth a shot? Sure, somebody has to win the lottery, right?

It’s just the people much smarter than me, ala Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein, seem nauseated by Trumbo’s potential defense at third base.

I’m not trying to bash Bourjos. He seems like a nice kid. He is in “pro-athlete says all the right things” mode though. Plus, these guys are his friends and/or teammates. Just would have been refreshing if he said Trumbo would be an unmitigated disater at third. What? I’m cynical. Get off my lawn.