As if things weren’t bad enough for Mike Trout, a stiff neck knocks out of line-up

When Mike Trout is playing well it is a thing of beauty, when he is not it is major disappointment.  The Angels lean very heavily on their star center fielder, but lately Trout has been scuffling at the plate.  Now he finds himself out of the line-up.

The Angels and their fans were so excited last month when Mike Trout made his long awaited return from the disabled list after the All-Star Break. Trout started strong batting .367 (33 for 90) in his first 25 games back to raise his average to .348 on August 11th.  Trout hit seven homers and drove in 20 runs during that span as helped ignite an Angel hot streak.

However over the last eight games Trout has been ice-cold going 3 for 28 (.107) with just one RBI.  To make matters worse Trout woke up with a stiff neck that will take him out of the line-up for tonight’s series opener against the Oakland A’s.  Trout is listed as day-to-day on the injury report and according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia he could be back in the line-up tomorrow if he feels ok.

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Now I would never wish an injury on anybody, certainly not Mike Trout, but this actually may be a blessing in disguise.  With Trout in a slump and surely pressing to produce to help keep the team in the race a day off or two may not be such a bad thing. Sometimes you may just need a day or two to recharge your battery and to relax and clear your head.

While having Mike Trout out of the line-up will always weaken it, if Trout can get rejuvenated from this short rest it will be better for the Angels and Trout in the long run.  As much as a gamer that Trout is he would not want to be out of the line-up at all.  However, this gives Angels manager Mike Scioscia a good reason to rest Trout.

Now if the injury persists for more than a few days, it is a different story.  Hopefully it will be just a couple of days that Mike Trout will be out of action.  The Angels will need Trout at full strength and locked in down the stretch in September if they hope to claim the second wild-card spot.

Next: Home cooking has not been to good as of late for the Angels

Keep your fingers crossed and maybe your toes too, Angel fans, that Mike Trout recovers quickly and that he can regain his stroke. For now Cameron Maybin will shoulder the load in centerfield for the Angels and Ben Revere will take over in left field.