Sports Talk: My Two Cents on the Los Angeles Angels so Far 😐

Overall, I'm loving the buzz surrounding the Los Angeles Angels, which is largely due to the arrival of two-way rookie phenom Shohei Ohtani.

Image from Stubhub

I know that the naysayers will argue that Mike Trout truly represents the Angels, which he does. However, let's not kid ourselves: Trout is the best at what he does. Ohtani is doing something that's never been done since Babe Ruth.

No matter how things turn out, that part of it can't be denied.

Now, the team's trajectory is very much concerning.

The Angels are losing games. Not only that, they're losing games that they shouldn't be losing.

Perhaps the problem is that the former San Diego Chargers -- now Los Angeles Chargers -- moved next door to the Angels. As football fans know, the Chargers are notorious for stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.

Maybe the Angels are getting "Charged?"

Whatever is going on, you can't drop games that are within relatively easy reach of securing victory. Otherwise, all this long-term planning that you're doing for October is useless if you lose out in September.

Here are some specific thoughts on what's going on:

I believe overall, the team seems to lack killer instinct. It's great that they're putting up some big numbers, but they need to do so when it really matters. For instance:

• The Angel's bullpen is bullshit -- How many games are they going to blow? And seriously, you cannot afford to load the bases right after the SP leaves the game. They need to start closing out some games, not create excitement and drama for the unaffected TV audience.

• Mike Scioscia needs to figure out what to do with his lineup -- Prior to entering a hot streak, Kinsler was becoming a liability at lead-off. It's an important position that requires competency at-bat. Going sub-200 isn't cutting it. Also, Calhoun is an enigma. Yes, he's a great RF, but damn is he as useless as a cardboard box at the plate. The bottom of the lineup cannot be considered automatic outs.

• Clutch-hitting, anyone? -- In my view, Simmons is wildly underrated. He's the complete ballplayer, and he consistently comes through at crunch-time. The other cats? I'm a little bit surprised from what I'm seeing. Trout is obviously marketed as the best in baseball, yet he doesn't seem to deliver as much as you'd expect in high-pressure situations.

Hopefully, the Angels can turn it around. I do see a lot of positives. One of them is that the Angels are a different team when Ohtani pitches. Check out the tweet below...

Shohei Ohtani, Disgusting 3 pitch K. 🤢

On, probably, his 3rd and 4th best pitches (slider/curve).

When you can throw 100+mph & have a ridiculous Splitter...well, this is not fair. pic.twitter.com/XcY7NuRO2h

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 31, 2018