The Angels are a season-high 11 games over .500 and trailing Texas in the AL West. They haven’t been in first place since May but they’ve been playing good ball lately. Still, there’s reason to be concerned about their ability to overtake Texas.
After a 2-1 win over Seattle Sunday, manager Mike Scioscia pointed out the problem for the Angels. “There has to be more growth offensively with us this last third of the season,” Scioscia said. “If not, it’s going to be tough. But we’re confident that these guys have hit before and they’ll pick it up and start being more consistent in their production.”
The Angels have scored the second-fewest runs in the AL. They’re in the same pathetic offensive category as Oakland and Seattle. Well maybe not Seattle, but the Angels have been pretty bad. They’ve scored almost 200 fewer runs than Boston. On the other end, the Angels have the best pitching in the American League and have been carried by Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana.
The team didn’t make any big acquisitions at the trade deadline. Scioscia explained the reason saying the team already had the pieces in place, they just needed those players to hit up to their abilities. He’s exactly right. Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter, and Bobby Abreu have all vastly underachieved. That’s the heart of the order. Without them going on offensive tears, the Angels won’t be able to catch the Rangers. Sadly, I don’t think it will happen.
