At 21-35 and buried at the bottom of the American League standings, the Angels are quickly becoming the perfect example of a franchise going nowhere.
“Sell the team” chants have echoed throughout Angel Stadium in recent weeks as frustration with owner Arte Moreno continues to boil over.
But during Tuesday night’s loss to the Tigers, the most glaring sign that the season may already be lost came not from the stands, but from Jorge Soler jogging his way through a routine baseball play.
The moment happened with the Angels trailing 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Soler reached on a leadoff single before Wade Meckler hit a ground ball to second baseman Colt Keith.
While Keith initially bobbled the ball, Soler failed to show any interest in getting to second base in a timely fashion, drifting away from the play before realizing too late that the ball had been mishandled. He was thrown out easily.
Meanwhile, Meckler sprinted down the line trying to beat out the potential double play. For his part, Meckler stole second during the next at bat
The contrast couldn’t have been more obvious.
Fans online immediately questioned why Soler remained in the game and, later, questioned his place in the clubhouse after grounding out on the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning.
But the bigger issue may be manager Kurt Suzuki and his baffling attempt at an explaination at his postgame press conference.
When asked by OC Register reporter Jeff Fletcher whether Soler’s lack of hustle was related to Suzuki’s comment that the veteran slugger was “battling some stuff,” Suzuki delivered a confusing, rambling answer that never addressed the question directly.
The response only added to growing concerns that the Angels have lost control of the clubhouse entirely.
For a fanbase already furious over years of losing and squandering talent under Moreno, Soler’s effort and Suzuki’s inability to correct, motivate or even simply explain it is symbolic of a franchise without accountability, direction, or urgency.
And judging by the chants ringing through Anaheim, fans are completely done pretending otherwise.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
