We are pretty sure Albert Pujols can catch and throw a ball, and sometimes hit it, too … and is ready to take the field, if he gets the chance. Which suddenly makes him attractive to the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Dodgers. Pujols was released by the Angels 10 days ago, and most of us figured […]

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Honestly, I do not enjoy dwelling on the failures of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were the first sports team I followed, as a first- or second-grader. I have been watching them ever since, even from my six years in Abu Dhabi and our five years in France. That devotion may stem from growing up […]

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What a great time to be an Angels fan. A well-rounded team, a first World Series, one of the great comebacks in baseball history, leading to a championship. The key game was Game 6, at Anaheim Stadium, I filed a comment piece. Here it is, under the headline: “Angels create an instant classic; Commentary: Game […]

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Been donkey’s years, as the Brits would say, since I did a list. It’s time. This one is going to be a little apples-and-oranges. My favorite road trips as a professional sports journalist. Some considerations: –What is more important? The travel? Or the event I was there to cover? –Or will we almost certainly get […]

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The Los Angeles Angels play at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Doesn’t mean they really want to. Also doesn’t mean they will be moving somewhere else anytime soon. Why are we talking about this? Because the mayor of Long Beach says the seaside city is in talks with the Angels about the club relocating to a […]

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The last time someone other than Mike Scioscia was manager of the Angels … it was another decade. Another century. Heck, it was another millennium. Lots of Angels fans have no memory of the club without Scioscia. And may not even know Scioscia was a key player for two Dodgers World Series championships, in 1981 […]

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Media outlets are suggesting Los Angeles Angels fans are excited that Japanese rookie Shohei Ohtani will return to the pitcher’s mound tomorrow night. I am filled with foreboding. Ohtani, the most prominent pitcher-hitter since Babe Ruth, has not pitched since June 6, when he exited a game with elbow stiffness — later described as a […]

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It was when Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs in a game at Cleveland two days ago that it became clear to me. The rookie from Japan should stick to hitting. His dream of becoming the first player since Babe Ruth, nearly a century ago, to be a regular Major League starting pitcher as well […]

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Another benefit of waking up at 4 a.m. in France. West Coast baseball is just getting started! And I stumbled on to the start of the Los Angeles Angels home opener, versus the Cleveland Indians — also known as “Shohei Ohtani’s first game in Anaheim Stadium.” And the Japanese Babe Ruth acquitted himself well, slugging […]

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The Los Angeles Angels have under contract the consensus “best player in baseball”, one Michael Nelson Trout. For all the won-loss good it has done the club — which has not won a postseason game during Mike Trout’s six full seasons. It appears that one great player, surrounded by mediocrity (or worse), is unlikely to […]

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