LA Times column boasting Angels over Dodgers is truly sad stuff

And just like that, after 29 games in 2022, we have a changing of the guard in the city of Los Angeles — at least that’s what the newly-minted “hot take” machine LA Times believes.

Dodgers fans have been accustomed to the ridiculous Bill Plaschke columns that have dominated the timeline in their 15 seconds of fame, but it’s apparently now affected the entire Op-Ed department.

The latest is from Dylan Hernandez, who is now crowning the Angels as “Southern California’s Most Fun Team to Watch” because they’ve now managed to hang on to first place of the AL West for longer than a week. Tip of the cap.

Nobody here’s denying the Angels have been spectacular … because they have been. They lead MLB in runs scored and OPS. They have the first dominant two-way player in the sport since Babe Ruth in Shohei Ohtani. Mike Trout is still widely considered the undisputed best player in baseball. Taylor Ward is now apparently right up there with him. Noah Syndergaard has given the pitching staff some legitimate recognition. Rookie Reid Detmers just threw a no-hitter. The Angels are good! For now.

Again, it’s been 33 games for the Angels and 29 for the Dodgers, and we’re already giving the previous most boring team in MLB a new title over arguably the most successful franchise over the last decade?

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, but perhaps waiting until the All-Star break to run this piece would’ve been more prudent and sensible?

The LA Times thinks the Angels are more exciting than the Dodgers. OK.

Outside of Detmers’ no-hitter, which also featured Anthony Rendon hitting a homer from the left side of the plate when the Rays surrendered and brought in Brett Phillips to pitch the eighth inning, as well as Ohtani’s general presence, it’s simply an overreach to tell the world that a team that hasn’t made the postseason since 2014 is now all of a sudden the hot new product to watch?

Maybe in the interim! But have you forgotten who leads MLB in ERA and run differential? That would be … the Dodgers. A lineup that’s headlined by Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner has the potential to turn the entertainment value around in a millisecond.

For how anemic the Dodgers’ offense has been, the fact that the team has been able to out-score their opponents by this great of a margin after losing a series to the Pittsburgh Pirates shows how this take will age like milk in the coming weeks.

Let’s settle this during the first Freeway Series of the season on June 14, eh?

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