Bloated Contracts. Failure. Injuries. How one of the most exciting franchises continue to fail: The Angels of Anaheim

3,566 days. The days since the Angels last playoff appearance in 2014. 5,372 days. The days since the Angels last playoff win in 2009. 15 miserable years compounded into two numbers that stare faithful fans in the face every day as they tune in to watch whatever AAA arm is currently on the mound for the ball club. Angels fans have suffered year in and year out with no rewards and only pain to show for their fandom. As a die hard Angels fan, every Opening Day starts with so much hope and excitement, but by May 1st, the team is already out of contention with no direction in sight. The Angels are the most mediocre team in the history of the sport. Fans of other teams might be thinking, “What the heck is this guy talking about? My team is way worse!” Mediocrity is defined as the quality of being average or ordinary. Over the last 10 full seasons, the Angels have averaged 79 wins putting them right at a .488 winning percentage. 

This fanbase is a sleeping giant ready for a good baseball team. There is only one problem: this franchise has no clue what it is doing. With a revolving door of managers and GMs since Mike Scioscia left, only one thing has stayed consistent through it all: Arte Moreno. Moreno and his trusty sidekick, John Carpino, continue to sink this franchise into a deeper abyss than the Titanic. As soon as you think they couldn’t get any worse, they show up in the biggest moments to outdo themselves on the biggest stage. Horrendous contracts like Rendon, Pujols, Hamilton, Wilson, and Wells, an appalling farm system built on Arte deciding when to trade young talent away, or banning reporters just for doing their job. Dumb and Dumber seem to be focusing on all the wrong things. 

Mitch Stringer, USA TODAY Sports

There were legal battles to be able to name this team “The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim '' to compete with the Los Angeles market share, specifically Dodger fans. Dodger Stadium is 31.6 miles away but it may as well be on another planet, because these two are treating the team like an independent ball club in the middle of nowhere. Get rid of the name! Embrace the Orange County fans. My advice to Arte Moreno and John Carpino is whatever decision you think is the right one, do the opposite, you can’t do any worse. Arte, you really want to save this team? SELL THE DANG TEAM! Take the money, walk away with your billions, and give the real fans an owner who wants to compete and win. We are tired of watching you trade away our best prospects for the wrong guys when we are 7 games out of the Wild Card post the Trade Deadline. We are TIRED of you hiding from the media. We are TIREDDDDD of you not being able to handle the backlash of fans showing their support even when you don’t show it back. If you were smart, you would let Perry trade Anderson, Ward, Estevez, and Moore, and replenish the 30th ranked farm system in the MLB.  Do the right thing. Leave on a high note and the fans might forgive you for (some) of your actions. The ineptitude of the front office over the years is exhausting and we are the laughing stock in baseball. What other teams can say they won 5 MVPs in a 10 year span without winning a playoff game??? Please Arte step down and give the fans what they want and stop giving us lineups like these year in and year out. And to John Carpino, if you gave a TENTH of the effort you gave for Christmas in June for the actual product on the field, we would be a contending team every year! 

The city needs a winner and we need someone at the helm that can deliver. There is only one man for the job and he needs to be in Anaheim as soon as the last out of Game 162 is delivered. First order of business: making Logan O’Hoppe the Captain of this team. 

Written by: Michael Shcharber