The 2012 Major League Baseball season started with a ton of excitement
for The Los Angeles Angels. Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto signed
former Texas Rangers starting pitcher C.J. Wilson to form a formidable
quartet of starting pitchers including All-Stars Jered Weaver, Dan
Haren, and a dependable Ervin Santana. Dipoto came out nowhere to sign
former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols to a ten-year
contract for $254 million as well. The Angels were expected to unseed
the two-time defending American League Champion Rangers in The American
League West while moonwalking to The World Series.
Instead with over 40 games under their belts, The Angels find themselves
in last place of the division. Los Angeles is looking up at The Rangers
who have asserted themselves as the team to beat in The American
League. The Angels have only won two series all season. They are only
7-14 on the road and 3-6 against their divisional foes.
Aside from Weaver, the starting pitching has been paltry. Haren,
Santana, and Wilson have combined to go 7-15 so far. This trio has
failed to throw a complete game as well. The Angels team earned run
average is sixth in The AL at 3.72 while Texas is in front of the
category at 3.18.
When Pujols came to The West Coast , it was under the anticipation the
would be the most feared power-hitter for The Angels since Reggie
Jackson. Instead of anchoring the lineup, he is helping them sink into
the abyss. Pujols’ batting average is at .211 to go along with three
homers. The Machine has already struck out 21 times on the season as he
is on pace for his highest total since his rookie season of 2001 when he
struck out 93 times. The three-time National League Most Valuable
Player has looked out of place since he traded in Cardinal red for Angel
red.
As a team, The Angels are 13th in The AL in runs batted in with 145
which is one better than The Oakland Athletics who happen to be their
current opponent. The Angels are also 10th in The AL with home runs with
36. The Angels lack of production in these categories can be attributed
to Pujols’ struggles, but also to the overall lack of protection in the
lineup. Right fielder Torii Hunter is currently missing extended time
away from the team as he is attending to an issue with his son in Texas.
Hunter was expected to give Pujols protection in the lineup.
Mickey Hatcher has become the poster boy for the team’s struggles.
Hatcher was fired last week as The Angels hitting coach. Hatcher had
been the only hitting coach employed by Angels manager Mike Sciosia
since he took over in 2000. Sciosia and Hatcher were teammates when The
Los Angeles Dodgers won The World Series in 1988, but since you cannot
fire the players Hatcher became the fall guy. The Angels tend to excel
in on-base percentage under Sciosia, but they have struggled mightily in
that category this season as they are near the bottom of The American
League.
The Angels are finding out the hard way what The Boston Red Sox realized
last year, that winning the headlines in free agency does not guarantee
success. As a team, The Angels have not gotten into one of those
grooves where they can tear through baseball and it doesn’t help their
cause when they are struggling against team like The Kansas City Royals
and Minnesota Twins. It also doesn’t help The Angels cause that The
Dodgers currently have the best record in The MLB. The Angels have to
get back to the little things that they do which is stealing bases and
drawing walks which have been a hallmark under Sciosia’s tenure. At some
point Pujols has to get out of his funk because he is too dynamic of a
player to struggle all season, but The Angels have to wake up in a
hurry.
Prior to the season starting, it was almost a forgone conclusion that
the five teams that would make The American League Playoffs would be The
Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox along with The New York Yankees and
Detroit Tigers. The only team from this group that currently looks the
part of a contender are The Rangers who appear to be running away with
The AL West. Teams such as The Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and
Tampa Bay Rays want to spoil the plans of people such as myself who
pegged The Angels to make The World Series in the winter as these teams
are looking like legitimate contenders. When it comes to October
baseball it is all about the best teams. The Angels are starting a
seven-game road trip against The A’s and The Seattle Mariners, followed
by six home games against The Yanks and Rangers. For The Angels, October
starts right now.
The main thing that concerns me about The Angels is the fact that The Rangers are so far ahead of them. Also with Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Cleveland playing so well it isn’t a guarantee that The Angels can get a wild-card spot if they don’t catch Texas.
I think its still too early too panic, maybe a littke concered, but not paniced. MLB unlike football, you can afford a bad month and still put together a really good month or two. Two examples are the 69 mets and the bobby thompson giants, got hot at the right time and won tittles. Pujols is such a big star that, we’re not used to seeing him struggle like this, and we havent seen him struggle like this in a long time. We still have over 5 minths left in the season and anything is possible. If it were august or september then yeah panic, but even still, he has 9 years too win a title with the angels.