J-Up the Creek

So, uh...Newsflash. Sportswriters can be wrong in January.

Yes, a team with Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Zack Cozart sounds great in concept...but they all have to be healthy. That would be the trick.

Trouble is, Cozart, Trout and Ohtani got injured, Kinsler left...THEN got injured, and Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons had to sort of hold the fort alone for a while. Which...in concept, is fine, but executed a bit...less than favorably. Because now this team is relying on a lot of untested, second-choice players that shouldn't be here.

The team is exactly .500 right now. 60 wins. 60 losses. Which, if you're into evenness, is nice, but is honestly just a disappointing stat for a team that was chasing Houston back in April.

And it's sad, because before everyone got injured, there was a lot of promise for this team. Now, there's basically no one left in the pitching staff, with only Jamie Barria, Andrew Heaney and Felix Pena remaining. Blake Parker is closing games due to lack of other options. Eric Young's 'sub for Mike Trout' tour isn't going as well as it did last year. It's just hard to watch.

I don't think it'll get any better, as there are three teams currently playing really well in that division, and the Yankees already have a Wild Card spot with their name on it. The Angels, at this point, should just look to finish the season with as many non-injured players as possible...which is a lowest-common denominator goal, but still.

Coming Tonight: Still probably the best pitcher in baseball. He just...probably win a Cy Young this year is all.