Last night, the Angels lost. They struck out over 10 hitters for the second time with Ohtani on the mound. He does it. The Halos didn't score and lost to the Rangers. Ohtani has struck out at least 10 hitters in a row. Ohtani gave up six runs to the Braves in his previous start, but the Angels lost both of them. They are 5-16 in July, and once again their truck is in a ditch, and they are trying to figure out how to get it out, so that it doesn't go off the road.
Rumor has it that they will not hang up the phone when teams call to find out what it will take to get Ohtani in a trade. There is a resignation from Anaheim that they are not going to be able to entice Ohtani to stay after his contract expires. Spending an extended amount of time in Orange County is a test run for spending an extended amount of time in purgatory.
If you read between the lines, you will see that Ohtani isn't committing himself to a long stay.
He could have said, "I don't even know what I'm doing here, I was told there would be free beer."
Baseball would be better off if more teams like the Angels were around. It's not like they haven't tried Anthony Rendon is going to be paid $38 million by the Angels next year. After signing Ohtani, they signed again. They've signed a player. They signed a person. The trade for David Freese wasn't all that far away from a World SeriesMVP. They went from trying to buy a pennant to trying to build a team from within.
Is all of it true? Is any of it? It's not really. All of it was out of desperation to do something. To get the victory. It was all splatter paint that didn't create a pattern. They were throwing things at the wall.
Is the wall ever thrown at by the Pirates? A lot of teams would envy the young pitching produced by the Marlins, but they never bothered to pair it with any hits. Before they play any game that matters, they will lose that pitching. The Nationals have a half-pass from this year. The Rockies are doing something. The Cubs are continuing to be incompetent. Is that the name of the baseball team?
It isn't much of a salve for Angels fans, but at least they have something to talk about during the winter. Spring training is around the corner. During a hot streak in April, it might be worth it to dream about something. At least there was a flicker.
Soon enough Ohtani will be gone, owner Artie Moreno will still try to get his shady stadium and real estate deal, and perhaps Trout will never be Trout again as his back continues to be a concern. They will become part of the scenery of the Flying Dutchman when they fade into the background with most of baseball.
You can't say they didn't attempt. Fans are more likely to trade places.
Having a lot of money doesn't mean you're smart.
The team launched its own channel at the same time it sent its team into the dirt, and can't figure out why nobody wants to watch it. Kids, this is how you fall.
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