Chico

It's so Angels to win 25-1 against a .388 bottomfeeder but go on to lose the series. What is wrong with this team?

Lose tomorrow. Oops that's two words.

I said it a month or two ago ...the 2002 World Series Angels used to get one hit after another, advance the runners and before you knew it, they strung eight-ten runs in an inning, game over. It's a great formula which should become Angels baseball. The Angels have the hitters to do that this year. Last night was awesome but playing sports all my life, I know what it's like to be on the other side of a shellacking. You have to feel bad for the Rockies and their fans in attendance. Besides the abundance of gopher balls...how does three pitches in a row even happen??... I did see at least three Colorado outfielders "lose the ball" in the lights or in the sun, not sure which. I know they're 30-50 or so but some of the Rockies' badness seemed to be the result of giving up during the game or maybe laying down.

Don't know if anyone covered this but last night seems quite the night for over-turned calls at the plate that decided the game. Coincidence? https://nypost.com/2023/06/21/rangers-bruce-bochy-dumfounded-over-reversed-call-one-of-the-worst/

I was watching hilights this morning and see Anthony got HPB on the left wrist (he's had right wrist injuries that has kept him out an extended period of time in the past). But he had to keep playing because the Angels were shorthanded. Now he has to go for imaging on that wrist. He wears no protection on those wrists. What's with Anthony anyway? He's hitting .074/.167.148 in June with no homers or steals. He's always getting hurt and sitting out. Angels' curse? (1:11)

His heart belongs in St. Louis. Why push him to do work for the Angels if his heart's not in it?

I liked the good ole days when the AL West could be won with a .502 winning percentage and everyone was up around .500 more or less. It was a comfortable, mediocre division. Then they let the invasive species Cheatin' Astros in and ever since it's been a one or two horse race.

Has Arte been vaxxed? Just sayin'...

For Rendon, nothing. For Trout, something fitting, I'm not sure. It might be too late to trade Trout. The era of paying one or two people 500 million dollars has got to end for the Angels. This formula does not work. Go back to 2002. The Angels didn't have any of these supposed superstars. Just a bunch of guys who could pitch and string hits together.

With this loss, the Angels fall to 30-30. Houston is 35-23 and Texas is 37-20. I think the Angels have fallen too far behind, can't stack enough wins together to catch up and don't play well against the division leaders Texas and Houston. .500 or just above is not good enough this year. Again, til Arte leaves, the Angels are toast. If it were me, I'd trade Ohtani, Rendon and Trout and get a good bounty. Start with pitching first.

Not sure this has been mentioned but I think Ohtani was still seeking revenge against the Southsiders after getting hbp right in the shin the first game. That scream sounded painful. And yet, he's still not wearing a shinpad. But he is punishing the Sox with the longball.

At least maybe Shohei will disagree with the Dodgers for their total devotion to the LGBTQIA++ segment of our population. Hopefully Shohei stands up for what he believes and doesn't compromise his values for money.

Angels' curse: https://sabr.org/journal/article/of-witches-hexes-and-plain-bad-luck-the-reputed-curse-of-the-los-angeles-angels-of-anaheim/

Fan since 1971. I started with box scores and continue to this day. One story I read about -- it happened a little before my time-- was in the Angels' first year, 1961. Gene Autry was owner and talked his old friend Ty Cobb to throw out the first ball in Angels' history. Cobb, who died several months later in July '61, was a very sick and frail old man by then. The Angels' player (not sure who) who was supposed to catch the ball noticed how frail Cobb was, so he moved up to give him an easier target. So what did Cobb do? He heaved it over the guys' head!

In order for this team to progress, Arte needs to go. He has been the main person making all the bad decisions to hamstring this team.

I watch a game every so often. I definitely see highlights almost every day. I watched Anderson pitch for the first time. I know this is minutia, but he has a double hitch in his kick. I don't think I've ever seen a delivery like that before. Does he always do the double hitch or does he do a single kick sometimes? Also Moronta. I've seen Colon and Valenzuela, but very rarely is a fat pitcher any good. 5'11, 265 is not a good look. What's up with Moronta? He almost lost it last night.

Plus Shohei's favorite snack is...Funyuns. https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-eats-funyuns

Rendon, please retire from baseball. You can't make it physically, you're broken down. And please take Moreno with you.

Hamilton. Pujols. Rendon. Great record of signing superstars in their prime to astronomical salaries to propel the Angels to the playoffs, Arte.

The frequency of this guy's injuries makes me wonder if he takes steroids. I hope they investigate this and if it's true, void his contract.

Aren't all MLB and other major sports leagues 100 percent vaccinated? Not to say I agree with it but it would seem that's what the Manfreds and the Goodells would require.

Next up: Karine Jean-Pierre as the Angels' new head of PR. Wonder how those Tyler Skaggs lawsuits are going? Also, how much on the hook the Angels are going to be.

The reason why the Angels are bad or mediocre at best year after year...it's the players' love for ketchup on their hot dogs, and also that Angel Stadium is built on an old Indian burial ground. Every self-respecting person knows that ketchup does not belong on hot dogs. It kills the taste of the dog and the balance of the ingredients. In Chicago, ketchup is pretty much outlawed on dogs. For me, it's mustard, onions and chili, otherwise known as Coney Dogs, Texas Red Hots or Scum Dogs.

Good win against a 4-19 team who's about to move. Lord the city of Oakland is a disaster. To follow up on my last post, I hope the Angels can get consistent pitching and hitting. Fielding goes without saying. With hitting, a little less of the homers, especially with no men on, and much more of stringing singles together. Unfortunately with Trout, Ohtani and Rendon, the Angels seem to try to create a home run mentality. With the different HR cellys, the cowboy hat last year and the Japanese warrior hat this year, the Angels glorify the home run. But homers are hard to come by and singles are much easier and hit more often. Be a team, and string ten million singles together, not these puffed-up, glorified home run hitters who more often strike out or end innings.

The bottom of the sixth reminded me a tiny little bit of one of the great things about the 2002 World Series season. In 2002, the Angels had a certain way of winning...they'd string ten million singles together for that 8-12 run inning. Few homers but an insane amount of base knocks in a row. And the Angels used to crush teams that way. Maybe that mentality of holding back a little and just killing 'em with ten million singles in a row isn't such a bad idea, as opposed to scorching the ball for an impressive third out.