LA Angels Series Preview: The cycle continues vs the Tigers

Totally Tubular T.V!!

The first game in this set will be broadcast on Youtube as the MLB Game of the Week, which is really interesting given the low energy nature of this affair. This is a game that features one of the worst teams in baseball vs one of the most inconsistent teams around, I just don’t see the national appeal for this game. Unless the MLB has some secret scripting behind the scenes and are waiting to unleash some serious storytime magic in tonight’s game there really is no reason for this game to have such a big platform.

What exactly is the MLB planning here? Do they know something we don’t? Is Mike Trout going to hit for the cycle? Will Jaime Barria throw a perfect game? Is Matthew Boyd going to be traded to the Angels mid-game and switch dugouts before the nights end? There has to be something going on here, but don’t mind the inner conspiracy theorist in me, at the end of the day I’m sure the MLB just needed to fill up the broadcasting schedule and went with the least interesting game to ensure that no one will watch and end these YouTube/Facebook broadcasts.

There isn’t much to watch tonight either; Jordan Zimmerman has had an awful season to date and is only getting worse and worse with a 14.40 ERA in four July starts. On the other hand Jaime Barria came off what may be his best start of the season as he took the Dodgers for five innings and allowed just one run against one of the best MLB offenses. Given his recent success it’s almost a given that his outing today will be a disaster because that’s just how the Angels luck rides. The pitching is awfully inconsistent to the point where Jaime Barria, the struggling young starter, will look like a developed pitcher vs the Dodgers yet will probably make the entire Tigers lineup look like future Hall of Famers

I guess it will be pretty cool to see Mike Trout on an international stage when he doesn’t get as much media attention as he should, but that’s a conversation for another day.