There have been some significant changes made to the Angels’ roster over the years, but the story remains the same. A pitching staff with potential but decimated by injuries. An offense with potential but plagued by expensive black holes. Questionable managing. A superstar cast supported by an amateur crew. The result is typically a team that looks great on paper but finishes below .500, as the Angels have done now for the previous three seasons.
So, of course, Mike Trout is having a typical great season, slashing .288/.456/.589, hitting twelve home runs and driving in thirty runs through the years’ first third, but the Angels have been basically plodding along around him, with a middling offense and a middling pitching staff to play to the tune of a 24-28 record.