Do you remember when the Los Angeles Angels were actually off to a decent start in the first couple of weeks of the season?
Well, that wasn’t going to last, not with their current roster, without Shohei Ohtani, and now with an injured Mike Trout.
At the moment, they are fourth in the AL West with a mediocre 11-19 record.
Even the 14-17 Oakland Athletics have been better than them, and it’s only a matter of time before the 10-19 Houston Astros surpass the Angels in the standings.
The problems are the same as always: Ohtani is gone, they were overly dependent on Trout, and the pitching is just not good enough.
Oh, and they are the same dysfunctional franchise they have been since Arte Moreno took over as the owner.
In other words, nothing has changed for the Angels.
The bullpen has been particularly atrocious.
“The Angels bullpen currently has the highest ERA (5.61) in the Majors,” MLB writer and researcher Brent Maguire tweeted.
The Angels bullpen currently has the highest ERA (5.61) in the Majors
It’s impossible to go anywhere with a bullpen that is allowing a 5.61 ERA.
No lead would be safe under those circumstances, and no game can be kept close.
It’s simply unfathomable.
The Angels’ pitching staff as a whole has a 5.08 ERA as of Wednesday afternoon.
Only the Colorado Rockies, at 6.05, have been worse.
For starters, their closer Carlos Estevez has a 6.23 ERA.
In fact, the Angels have multiple relievers (and starters, for that matter) with an ERA over 6.00.
With that being the case, and seeing how they will be without Trout for at least more than a month, there are many losses in the Angels’ short-term future.
The long-term outlook is actually not much better.