Fallen Angels

You don't see teams just completely fall apart much anymore. Just go from a legitimate contender for first to a team struggling to get hits out of the best player in baseball and trying to break a losing streak by playing Nickelback.

Nickelback isn't your indicator that things are about to get better. No, Nickelback is an indicator that things haven't gone the way you wanted to. Why the hell d'you think Avril Lavigne got out of there?

Anyway. The Angels were inches from first on May 24th and haven't won a game since [as I write this]. A team with Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Taylor Ward, Brandon Marsh, Jared Walsh and Raisel Igelsias all playing well and unified, and they just...completely went cold. Which happens. Cold streaks happen all the time. But this was a cold streak that took Trout, Joe Maddon and any positive momentum the team had, and now, while they're still in second, the Angels are so far from 1st compared to where they were. And now the Astros don't seem to be letting up on momentum anytime soon.

It's infuriating. I'm not even an Angels fan and I'm infuriated.

And, look...all things considered, this rotation is still pretty damned sharp. Noah Syndergaard has taken a slight downturn, but Sandoval, Lorenzen, Detmers and Ohtani are all still doing well, and Jhonathan Diaz is a great sixth man. Michael Lorenzen has been the biggest surprise as a starter, logging the most innings through the first 10 starts, and going 5-3 with a 3.69 ERA in his first season starting in over half a decade. I never thought he'd ever be the backbone of a rotation anywhere, and I'm really glad it's happening. 

But...this team has lost any sense of momentum, any sense of fan trust, and now are going into battle to stay in 2nd with their manager being Phil Nevin, a man who was a third base coach for the Yankees as recently as last year, and whose best years as a slugger with San Diego were felled with steroid rumors. The Rangers, as mediocre as they are, are catching up, and the Mariners could very easily catch fire and overtake them both. In a division where everyone else is basically playing for second, and two, if not three, wild card spots could be going to AL East teams, the Angels going cold now is not a great sign.

This team could reignite and surprise everyone, but it'll take a lot more recon and a lot more circumstances from other teams that might not play fair.

Coming Tomorrow- The low-man on the pole after the Padres' trades last year, and how he's become the ace.