The Sky Is Not Falling

Forgive me for interrupting the giant pity party/memorial service everyone in Angels nation seems to be attending currently, but I have some important news-

The sky is not falling.  The Angels’ season is not over.  The franchise is not on the verge of crumbling into a pile of ashes.

I know that may seem like a ridiculous set of statements, but I guess I just can’t overcome all that pesky logic and reason floating around in my head (either that or I am amazingly good at cognitive dissonance).  Yes, the last few weeks have been excruciating for Angel fans, but two bad (OK, horrendous) weeks does not a season make.  I know it may seem like a crazy notion right now, but there is still plenty of time left for the Angels to challenge for the division crown, or at least save a little face and provide some hope for the future.

Help me spread the word, won’t you?

Before you jump down my throat and start disparaging me as some sort of myopic who can’t see how bad this team really is, let me put this out there: there is no doubt that the Angel offense is horrible, but didn’t we know that already?

Going into this season, we all knew full well that the Angel offense was going to be a problem, we just didn’t know how big of a problem it was going to be.  In the last two weeks, the problem has been bigger than any of us could have imagined, there is no doubt about that.  But let’s not lose sight of the fact that, a month ago, before the offensive downward spiral began, the Angels were five games over .500 hundred and in first place in the division.  The offense was better back then, but it really wasn’t that much better.  So, who is to say that once the offense extricates itself from these doldrums that the Halos can’t slowly begin climbing back towards first place?

The team has the pitching to be a good team, that hasn’t changed one bit over the course of the season and there is little reason to believe it will change going forward so long as everyone stays healthy.

The tricky part will be getting the offense back into some semblance of shape to continue meeting the bare minimum requirements the pitching staff requires.  With the team mostly healthy, one has to imagine they aren’t that far away, despite their massive struggle of late.  They’ve performed at that level before, they can do it again.

Of course, I would be remiss to assume that the offense may not be quite up to the task, though it pains me to admit it.  Even still, I see no reason for the rampant wailing coming from the fan base.  People are acting like this was some surefire World Series team that has lost its way.  Was it not the consensus before this season that the Halos didn’t quite have enough to make the post-season?  Who amongst didn’t predict the team to win 85 games, give or take?

Perhaps instead of wallowing in the current miserable state of the team, we should be focusing on the silver linings of the season.  For example, should we not be pleased that Aybar and Kendrick are realizing their potential?  Should we not be excited that Mark Trumbo is at least a solid major leaguer?  Should we not be pumped up that Jordan Walden has so readily taken to the closer role?  Should we not enjoy the ascension of Weaver and Haren to being one of the top 1-2 rotation punches in the majors?

As dark as the present might seem, their is a bright future on the horizon because of the things that have gone right this season.  And I haven’t even mentioned the eventual beginning of the Mike Trout era or that the Angels will have a fair amount of available payroll over the next two off-seasons.

I’m not saying that you have to like the Angels embarrassing themselves on a nightly basis like they have been of late, just stop acting like the world is coming to an end because of it.  If the Angels don’t salvage this season, there is still plenty of hope for the seasons yet to come.