Winning is fun. After a brutal road trip, the Angels got some nice home cooking and a really favorable home stand and now sit at 7 and 7 over the last two weeks and 2 games over .500 overall.
Yesterday was another showcase of the brilliance of Ohtani and just how hard baseball is. Shohei had his worst inning on the mound, giving up 5 runs in the 4th inning, but he hit himself out of the loss column as only he can.
Going into the season I thought the Angels bullpen was the weak link. But right now the Angels have an unexpected rotation dilemma.
Jose Suarez has been horrible, but Trout and Ohtani might have helped him solve a pitch tipping issue. Suarez is going to get another start on Sunday in Milwaukee.
A young guy struggling isn’t fun, but when your supposed stud free agent is also off to a bad start, that hurts. Tyler Anderson looked rough again last Saturday and is struggling to find his mechanics. He gets the start tonight.
Brandon Drury also got off to a slow start but really heated up this week. He says he’s getting his feel back. Hopefully that’s true.
Fellow newcomer Hunter Renfroe has been a great addition. His resemblance to Mike Trout is causing confusion on and off the field.
Hunter’s strikeout rate continues to drop. He’s also walking a bit more than usual.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Pirates and would love to see them do well. As of Thursday morning they were the NL’s best and beating the Dodgers.
Bob Nutting actually opened his wallet and signed Bryan Reynolds to a nine figure extension. And they might not be done with extensions.
I promise I’m not trying to turn this into a Pirates blog, but this scene of 13 year minor league veteran Drew Maggi finally getting into an MLB game is too good to pass up.
In sadder news out of Pittsburgh, the legendary Dick Groat passed away at the age of 92. Talk about a life well lived. Simply incredible. RIP.
The Angels aren’t the only team in the Southland that is struggling. The Dodgers just had a very up and down road trip and sit dead on .500.
Speaking of up and down, Jose Berrios is either terrible or great depending on which numbers you’re looking at.
Now that the A’s are officially on the move people want to play the blame game. There’s plenty of it going around with most getting hung on A’s ownership. Deservedly so, but that link glosses over the original proposal to get Oakland off the hook for substantial stadium bond debt and redevelop the existing site.
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