OC Register: Alexander: Angels fans speak their minds, Part I

[AngelsWin.com]

And some big-mouthed pundit from the east actually stated that nobody cares about the Angels.

Don't expect to catch Stephen A. Smith at a Los Angeles Angels game any time soon pic.twitter.com/W3tsDJJDiw

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 5, 2023

Stephen A. Smith made that catty little comment earlier this month on one of ESPN’s morning gabfests: “The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. No one cares about you. No one. I’ve been in L.A. quite often. I never hear anybody talking about the Angels.”

Obviously, he’s not talking to the right people. (Note to Stephen A.: I know the name throws you off, but maybe you should seek out people who live in, say, Orange County.)

All you have to do to find Angels fans is to ask. Those “hopelessly loyal” supporters of what might have been baseball’s most underachieving team of the last decade responded quickly, passionately and in impressive numbers when I suggested a couple of days ago that they submit their ideas about how to improve the team and the organization.

Oh, and Stephen A. also might want to note that the team stopped using the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” name in 2016, in favor of just “Los Angeles Angels.” It’s also worth noting that since totally scrubbing Anaheim from the name, they were a combined 66 games under .500 through Friday night.

That issue was one of many that the Angels loyalists jumped on: No on Los Angeles Angels, yes on going back to Anaheim Angels or California Angels, or even trying Orange County Angels.

“Someone needs to tell Arte that LAA isn’t working,” Scott Nelson wrote. “Sometimes the TV stations don’t even tell the score, let alone highlights!”

Or, as Bill Bedsworth of Santa Ana put it, the problem “isn’t personnel or management or injuries. It’s The Curse of Arte: they will not win until he abandons the mendacious folly of calling OUR team the LOS ANGELES Angels.”

The name isn’t the only or even the biggest reason why Anaheim’s franchise has struggled so, according to our very unscientific survey.

Of the 24 emails that arrived in the inbox before 3 p.m. on Friday, six directly pointed the finger at Arte Moreno for his stewardship of the club, even beyond those who still resent his change of a name that once actually hailed the locality where they actually play. That’s a full column in itself, so stay tuned.

Trade Shohei Ohtani? The tally was 16 against, two for (sort of), and one of those was the written equivalent of throwing up your hands because there’s nothing you can do when Ken Fazekas of Banning suggested, “(It) pains me to say that it’s time to trade Shohei. For his benefit as well as all Halo fans.”

Albert Ruvalcaba suggested using the remaining week or so “exhausting all efforts trying to extend Ohtani. Only Arte knows what his limit is, so why wait until the offseason when he’ll need to compete with 29 other clubs, including our rivals up the 5 freeway?”

But if that’s not fruitful, and it probably won’t be, he wrote, “then (General Manager) Perry (Minasian) can approach the trade deadline knowing that Ohtani won’t be re-signed this offseason. At least at this point, the decision would be based solely on our chances at reaching the postseason.”

Jim Frear took a different approach in his email response, suggesting what would have been unthinkable not that long ago, that Mike Trout “might need a change of scenery to re-energize. My solution, trade Mike and get prospects back and use that money to sign Shohei.”

Most of the emails agreed with me that the trade speculation has grown tiresome.

“If they let him go before Aug 1st it’s just like letting all of the air out of 100 balloons for a 5-year-old’s birthday party,” George Conlisk wrote. “No fun and very dull. If they let Ohtani go (I don’t like saying this) they might as well trade (Mike) Trout during (the) offseason and rebuild the team. Current formula is not working.”

Or, as Bedsworth put it: “The upside of a handful of prospects just isn’t big enough to throw in the towel on The Unicorn.”

(Bill, next time I’m on deadline and running out of ideas, I might call you.)

Three respondents, including Bedsworth, wondered if the Angels could offer Ohtani a piece of the team, but giving a player part-ownership is still against baseball’s rules. Victor Nguyen noted that the commercial ties with Japan should also play a factor in any contract offer the Angels make to Ohtani.

“What’s not mentioned enough (maybe I haven’t done enough research) is that NHK media deal,” he wrote. “If a 20-year-old Fox media deal can bring in $150M a year to the team, I can’t imagine how much a new 10-year media deal will bring that would cover the entire Japanese market. It will pay for Ohtani’s contract and much more.”

This might be an aspect that none of us have really dived into. Japanese companies have spent heavily on marketing and advertising with the Angels. Could that interest be leveraged creatively in Ohtani’s next contract?

Then again, could we trust Moreno and his lieutenant, John Carpino, to handle anything creatively?

“Here is the most important aspect for keeping Shohei Ohtani: Mr. Ohtani has brought the Asian community to their feet,” Paul Parque of Canyon Lake wrote. “He’s the pride of all of Los Angeles. The hand-made signs about Ohtani that are held up in his native language at games in the stands show the love that they have for this man.”

Some other observations:

Angel fans seem to still trust Minasian, though I suspect what happens at this year’s deadline might play a role in public opinion, especially if the Angels are in a position to add rather than sell.

Phil Nevin? He’s more of a lightning rod. As is customary, those who don’t like him tend to zero in on pitching decisions, the bane of any manager.

“I like Phil Nevin, but not as a manager,” Ruvalcaba wrote. “The recent slide and his mishandling of the bullpen are more than enough to show he is not the one to lead us to the promised land. So, I would let go of Nevin and appoint Benji Gil as the interim manager for the rest of this season to see what he could do.”

Oh, and we haven’t even gotten to Anthony Rendon yet.

“In my humble opinion, any trade for Ohtani must include Rendon, who has proven to be a total injured bust and financial albatross, diminishing chances of acquiring up-and-coming good young players,” wrote Ken Low of San Juan Capistrano.

“Instead of chasing players like Rendon with dollars that could have been used improving the scouting and minor league system, Angel management seemed content with mediocrity as long as it could fill seats. With Ohtani most likely gone next year, why go to the stadium and watch the smiling Rendon go through the motions?”

Who should their trade targets be if there’s still a postseason spot to be had?

“Go big,” wrote Edward Lamoureaux, Bradley University professor emeritus and an Angels fan since day one in Wrigley Field in 1961, suggesting that Minasian pursue a starter (he mentioned Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox), a reliever, and a big bat (specifically the St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt) in the week before the deadline.

More than that, he wrote, the goal should be to “get the two big boys (Trout and Ohtani) to the dance before they’re too old to care.”

And season ticket holder Donna Quinn of Anaheim added: “All said, my gut wants Ohtani to see the value of teaming with Mike Trout for the remaining years of Trout’s contract. So many teams have a duo leading their team. Why would Ohtani go somewhere and need to recreate a partnership? I really feel Ohtani and Trout push each other to further greatness that couldn’t be achieved on their own. Give Ohtani his $700 million. Root for a parade in Anaheim.”

Do these sound like people who don’t care?

And if you do care, and you haven’t chimed in, there’s still time. We’ll publish more reactions in Tuesday’s paper.

jalexander@scng.com

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[PattyD22]

The first thing that Jack-hole Stephen A. Smith says that means anything will be his first.

I wish Bob Iger had the balls to give him a pink slip like he did with the others.

[Dtwncbad]

Smith is a blowhard of epic proportions.  He’s a cartoon character that adult sports fans openly mock.

[Inside Pitch]

Hilarious that the first thing talked about isn't the losing seasons, the mistakes etc..  nope..  Its changing the team name.

Angel fans used to be less vapid.

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, PattyD22 said:

The first thing that Jack-hole Stephen A. Smith says that means anything will be his first.

I wish Bob Iger had the balls to give him a pink slip like he did with the others.

Jason Whitlock >>>>>> Stephen A-Wipe Smith 

[ScottT]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

Hilarious that the first thing talked about isn't the losing seasons, the mistakes etc..  nope..  Its changing the team name.

Angel fans used to be less vapid.

It's not just Angels fans... but I agree.  It's crazy.

[gurn67]

I don't even pay attention to the name other than the "Angels" part and that they play in O.C. 

I started out a California Angels fan. I can care less what the name is. Never have. 

[EDinTUSTIN]

4 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

The first thing that Jack-hole Stephen A. Smith says that means anything will be his first.

I wish Bob Iger had the balls to give him a pink slip like he did with the others.

Well stated. He is a hack, so who cares what he says anyway? 

[Stradling]

It’s been 20 years and idiots are still upset at the name change.  We really are a special group of people. 

[Halo in Chicago]

Stephen A Smith is a POS who will say anything. I’m not even sure he knows what he believes. 

[AngelsMetsWS]

A curse caused by naming the team after Los Angeles does seem plausible. 

[Blarg]

18 minutes ago, AngelsMetsWS said:

A curse caused by naming the team after Los Angeles does seem plausible. 

No, it isn't. 

[Revad]

23 minutes ago, AngelsMetsWS said:

A curse caused by naming the team after Los Angeles does seem plausible. 

It’s got to be something, can’t just be ineptitude.

[Chico]

Rendon needs to be Moreno's last solo adventure. Moreno for all his good intentions, is ruining the team.

[ScottT]

Rendon was a reasonable signing.

A hitter and good defender not reliant on speed...   for 7 years... better bet than a starting pitcher for 9 years.

Shit hapoens.

[AngelsFanSince86]

13 hours ago, Stradling said:

It’s been 20 years and idiots are still upset at the name change.  We really are a special group of people. 

I definitely understand not liking the name change, even after all this time. However, attributing the Angels shortcomings to the name change is just dumb and speaks volumes about the average Angel fan. 

[AngelsMetsWS]

I’m pretty sure it’s the name change.