Why does the main MLB media outlets continue to ignore the Angels and the amazing season they are having??

Question

I am sick and tired of reading headlines about what Manny ate for breakfast or how Derek Jeter cut himself shaving (no disrespect to those players). The Angels are on a tear, easily the #1 choice for the best team in all of baseball yet they get hardly any attention. Even after sweeping the Red Sox TWICE and the Bronx Bombers this past weekend, they still get mentioned about the same amount as Tampa Bay. I understand that there is a huge market for East Coast teams, but Southern California is also a comparable market. In the past 5 years Angels stadium has always ranked in the top 5 as far as season sell-outs and what not. Yet ESPN will spend 15 minutes talking about how Papelbon learned a new jig over any Angels news. The culprits also exist in Yahoo and various other online outlets. MLB.COM is about the only site that gives some notice to the Angels besides the teams own website.

Team stats as of today (8/11/08):

- 74 wins - 43 losses (best record in ALL of baseball)

- 36 - 22 home record

- 38 - 21 road record

- great starting rotation, awesome relief

- K-Rod on his way to breaking the all-time single season saves record

In years before the offense has been in question, but that quandary was put to rest with the stellar offense of this season. In the past few years whenever the Angels have made the playoffs, pretty much the WS champs have to go through Anaheim. '04 the Red Sox, '05 the White Sox, '07 The Red Sox again. I can go on and on, but I want to ask others for their thoughts. I am hoping for well written answers, not some lame answer from a 15 year girl that thinks Jeter is cute or some c**p like that.

Answer 1

I would say that the real reason for that is that you major outlet for most people is ESPN and they are homers for the Sox and Yankees...they still cover ManRam like he is on the Sox and they seem to like to disrespect the teams that are doing better because they are not the Sox or the Yankees.  As far as the LA market, there is so many other things to cover in LA (movie stars...) that sports do not get the coverage that they do in Boston and NY, a lot of nationwide stories are collected from the writers in Boston and NY so you have papers nationwide jumping on board the train.

I think the Angels should not be surprising anyone at this point but due to the lack of coverage which I find to be LESS than what the Rays get at this point (the Rays get coverage because everyone is predicting their demise), which is horrible considering that the Angels should be the model of what to do to build a franchise.  They have pitching, both starting and bullpen, plus the offense that can play both a long ball game and a manufacture game....they have it all!

Answer 2

The main thing you have to realize is that ESPN is situated in Bristol CT which is just about half way between Boston and New York.  A lot of the people working there are a fan of one or the other.  The thought that Boston and/or New York may not make the playoffs this year is big news considered their team's payrolls.  The Angels don't get mentioned much because a) they're on the West coast and b) they don't have any competition this year.  

I'm sure once the playoffs start the Angels will get the attention they deserve provided they do a better job than they did in last year's post season.

Answer 3

Isn't it amazing! If you not on the East coast there is no coverage. I stopped watching ESPN awhile ago because of that. I just watched ESPN last week and everything is the same. If you are fan of an east coast team you can hear where they ate dinner and who paid the bill. A fan of the Midwest or west coast team you won't hear about a winning streak or the Home run leader.

ESPN is just bad.

Answer 4

You gave the answer yourself, the big money and attention is in the East.  Yes K-Rod is great and Vlad is good.  You just got Teixeira and your starting pitching is great.  Good luck winning 105 games, you will do that too.

You just don't have any sizzle.  Nobody on your team self destructs.  You don't have players dating supermodels.  Everyone on your team does their job and goes home.  I love to hear about them and I am back east.  But even I traded Vlad in Fantasy Baseball because he isn't Vlad anymore.

Jeter dates the hottest chicks!!  Manny is Manny!!! A-Rod is the best player in MLB and he is Crazy!!  Every year the WS champs beat the Angels.

Think about it this way, last year the Patriots only lost one game, but it was the most important game.  Now they are a footnote and so are the Angels.  

BTW--my golddigger female friend says that Derek Jeter is cute.

Answer 5

The media over here is all over the Angels. So is everyone else. Don't give me all that underrated stuff because I'm sick and tired of it. The media has stopped covering many other teams including our local team to talk about America's team the Angels.

Answer 6

there has always been a bias against southern california teams. This is nothing new.

I say go ahead and cover the other teams. The Angels will get enough coverage when they win the World Series.

Answer 7

FORGET ANGELS, GIMME MORE BRETT FAVRE UPDATES