The Los Angeles Angels are in a state of frustration as the season starts to wind down. The organization isn’t in the position that they were hoping to be in at this point, and their long playoff drought will continue on.
The team has all but waved the white flag on the season, and now will be going forward with a bunch of young players over the last few weeks. It’s a chance for the Halos to see what they have in these players down the stretch, but there will also be some growing pains along the way.
Manager Phil Nevin isn’t concerned with these growing pains, however, and just wants his guys to work on getting their reps at the big league level.
“That’s where we’re at,” Nevin said. “It’s part of it. They are learning experiences for everybody. These guys are really good players. This is a different atmosphere sometimes. The more reps you can get here, the more games and just being around this level, the better off they’re going to be. I think they’re all maturing within the game. This game’s hard up here. They’ll simplify it. They will be very good for us.”
Against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, the Angels young guys had a few plays that didn’t go their way. It resulted in them dropping another game that they could have won.
“All teaching moments,” Nevin said. “You don’t have those plays. It’s hard to practice that play. You can simulate as much as you want, but you’re gonna get a game situation like that when things are happening. It’s difficult to make those when you haven’t had those experiences here yet.”
Since there is nothing at stake for this team now, these moments can only be used to help make sure it doesn’t happen again. The Angels have nothing to play for right now other than pride and getting ready for next season.
It has been a long year for the Halos, and they are likely to welcome in the offseason with open arms. However, behind that door lies another set of challenges that the organization may not be ready to face.
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