LA Angels Series Preview: Getting Dirty with the White Sox

The LA Angels were lucky enough to pull a win in the last game against the Pirates after dropping the first two in embarrassing, but standard Angels fashion. Pitching woes led the team to drop the first two games, the second being a heartbreaker.

That game saw the LA Angels drop yet another nice lead later in the game thanks to erratic pitching. The team will look to move past their recent woes with a four game series featuring the White Sox

The season gets harder and harder to watch, and the fans get angrier and angrier, but at what point does it become useless to be upset with this team? It’s a huge disappointment that they could not compete this year after what seemed to be a promising team coming into the 2019 season, but at this point it’s really time to move on from hoping to see the team win. Even at the All-Star break this still looked like a team that could pull through and finish the second half of the season strong enough to place them in wild card contention, but that didn’t happen. In fact it blew up in all of our faces and left us shell-shocked for a short period of time.

At this point it’s very clear the team is not going to be winning and no amount of screaming for people to be fired or trying to find someone to be upset about will change that. All we can do is wait until this upcoming off-season to see if the Angels brass will have the brass to spend the money needed to become a real competitor. Until then all we can do is watch baseball for the pure love of the sport and to see the young prospects developing into something that can contribute in big ways come 2020.

At this point if you’re watching just to be upset with the team you’re only hurting yourself. With how this pitching has been handling itself over the course of the season, and especially this second half, hoping for a win and getting bent out of shape when it predictably does not go the Angels way. Like the great philosopher Epictetus once said, “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take them”. If you’re watching the Angels team with hopes that they’ll win you’re only disturbing yourself when they don’t. If you watch the Angels game prepared and accepting of a pitching dumpster fire then you will be free of any anger or irritation when comes the trouble.

That being said, the Angels do have a nice series ahead against the White Sox where they can potentially secure at least a couple of wins. Heading into the series, however, I would fully expect a lot of the same, so if you have any expectations I would advise you to temper them now.

White Sox @ Angels 

(8/15) 7:07 PM PT @ FS-W: Reynaldo Lopez (7-9, 5.16 ERA) vs Andrew Heaney (1-3, 4.89 ERA)

(8/16) 7:07 PM PT @ FS-W: Lucas Giolito (12-6, 3.42 ERA) vs Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 5.59 ERA)

(8/17) 7:07 PM PT @ FS-W: TBD vs. Jose Suarez (2-4, 6.57 ERA)

(8/18) 7:07 PM PT @ FS-W: TBD vs Griffin Canning (4-6, 4.86 ERA)