First Half Finale

Well that was a disappointing first half. With injuries upon injuries, the pitching staff is decimated. With injuries and slumps the offense hasn’t scored as much as they should. About the only thing the Angels did right in the first half was play defense but even that has been hurt because injuries thrust inexperienced fielders into roles they weren’t ready for. 50 different players have played for the team this year and at the rate they’re going, they’ll easily break their record of 55 from last year. With relievers, Felix Pena and Deck McGuire rounding out their 5 man rotation there’s really no hope that they’ll have a 6 man rotation as they planned at the start of the season and the whole point for that is gone anyway as Ohtani hasn’t been cleared to pitch any time in the past month.

49 – 48 Record and in 4th Place

I suppose the good news is that the team was 45 – 47 last season and still ended up competing for the wildcard. And with Mike Trout on the team, who can say how far he’ll be able to carry this band of walking wounded.

On Sunday, it was Jefry Marte who pushed as hard as he could to give the team a chance to win. He gets my Player of the Game for his 2 for 3 effort at first base. He hit a home run and drove in all the Angels’ runs but it wasn’t enough when the rest of the team went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. As it was, the team left the bases loaded twice. Even Marte could have played things better as he struck out in the first inning with the bases loaded.

As things went, the Dodgers did get a lucky break with a pickoff call that went their way, even after the replay clearly showed that Toles was out. He barely made it to the base in the first place with the umpire calling him out only to be overturned by the replay. I think the replay folks musta been tired or something to miss the call on the pickoff but it was a pretty sad call.

Anyway, that call and this game epitomized the Angels’ first half. Things were so close but it just seemed that everything…umpires making bad calls, replay reviews not being watched properly, injuries to key players, batters hitting under .200, relief pitchers required to start games, no one hitting with runners on base…it all adds up to a 4th place standing in the AL West. And when you’re in the division with the reigning World Series Champs and one of two where there are 4 teams above .500, I’m actually surprised the team is still treading water. Hopefully with 65 games left the team can make some magic happen during the 2nd half.

Daily Ramble 298.1 | Sports – Angels – First Half Finale