The Los Angeles Angels are in the midst of a potentially season-ending stretch of losses. Prior to Tuesday night, they had lost seven straight and had just two wins in their previous 11 games. Phil Nevin, through it all, continued to praise the team’s effort.
He truly felt that the Angels were going into every game with the right mindset and preparation, but that the results simply weren’t going their way. It’s a common outlook during a losing streak and one that Nevin has shared during several skids over his Angels managerial tenure.
But it wasn’t a sentiment he felt earlier this season. Nevin admitted that there was a time in 2023 — though he wouldn’t disclose when — that he had to have an honest conversation with the team about their perceived lack of effort, according to Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:
“I don’t feel any reason to scream and yell at them right now,” Nevin said. “We’ve been through that. That happened earlier in the year. I don’t need to tell you guys when. But I felt like weren’t preparing properly. We weren’t playing winning baseball. That’s changed. I like the way we go about our work. The attitude we have each day. The fundamental stuff on the field.”
In this case, it’s easy to see why Nevin wasn’t frustrated. The Angels’ seven-game losing streak included four losses of two runs or less and had four games in which the Angels were tied or led after seven frames.
The seven-game losing streak was the longest of the season for the Angels, making it difficult to pinpoint when Nevin is referring to. L.A. had a stretch where they lost nine of 10 prior to the All-Star break and also had a 2-7 stretch in late May.
Regardless, Nevin felt this month’s skid came at the wrong end of a good process.
“You’re always evaluating and trying to figure out what the heck’s going on, right?” Nevin said. “You go back and look at each one of these games. The guys are in the right positions in the right places. We’re playing good defense. It’s just one little thing that happens and that’s baseball. I get it. But it certainly doesn’t help the fact that you got to sit there at night and stare at the walls and wonder what you could do different.”
Now that the Angels have a win under their belt, they can hopefully use the good process from the losing streak, close out games with more consistency and get back on the winning track as they face the uphill battle for a postseason spot.
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