CSU appoints Mildred García as Chancellor, first Latina to oversee mammoth university system

• July 12, 2023

The California State University Board of Trustees announced a new leader to oversee its 23 campuses during its Wednesday, July 12 meeting — putting an end to a year-long search to replace former CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro, who resigned last year amid blowback from allegations that he mishandled sexual harassment complaints against another administrator.

Mildred García, who currently serves as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and was formerly president of both CSUs Fullerton and Dominguez Hills, will take over the role on Oct. 1. She’s the first Latina appointed to the prestigious role, according to the announcement.

The chancellor is responsible for overseeing the mammoth university system, including its 460,000 students and 56,000 faculty and staff. She’ll have an annual salary of $795,000, a $96,000 yearly housing stipend, a $1,000 monthly car allowance, and other standard benefits offered to CSU employees, according to a Wednesday board report.

“I am honored, humbled and excited for this opportunity to serve the nation’s largest four-year university system and work alongside its dedicated leaders, faculty and staff,” García said in a Wednesday announcement, “and its talented and diverse students to further student achievement, close equity gaps and continue to drive California’s economic prosperity.”

Castro, meanwhile, came under fire in February 2022 amid allegations he failed to properly handle sexual harassment complaints against a former Cal State Fresno administrator, Frank Lamas, while Castro was president of the university.

Instead of thoroughly investigating multiple complaints of sexual misconduct and other questionable behavior involving Lamas, Castro allowed him to quietly retire.

Under a settlement agreement Lamas signed on Aug. 31, 2020, he was paid $260,000 and provided a glowing letter of recommendation from Castro. Additionally, the settlement called for Lamas to continue working on special assignment for Castro, remotely, until his official retirement date of Dec 31, 2020. Lamas was allowed to return to the campus only if Castro authorized it.

Shortly after the settlement was signed, the Board of Trustees appointed Castro to the position of chancellor of the entire CSU system.

Castro resigned about a month after the allegations surfaced in 2022 — following pushback from dozens of faculty members and staff at Cal State Long Beach and their union, the California Faculty Association, who had circulated a petition calling for the chancellor’s resignation.

The CSU board appointed Jolene Koester as its interim chancellor in May 2022. She’s held the position for the past year as the board conducted its nationwide search for a permanent replacement.

García, meanwhile, has an extensive background in public higher education — with her most recent stint as the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ president. That group advocates for federal policy and regulation changes to benefit the interests of 350 colleges and universities throughout the country.

“During her tenure at AASCU, she restored the financial health of the organization through strategic leadership, bold decision-making and vision,” the press release said. “She directed a strategic agenda that focused on public college and university leadership for the 21st century and provided professional development opportunities for presidents, chancellors and their spouses.”

Before that, Garcia was president of CSUF from 2012 to 2018. There she helped triple philanthropic donations to the school and oversaw record improvements in graduation rates. She held the same role at CSU Dominguez Hills from 2007 to 2012, where she increased student retention rates and and eliminated a structural deficit of $2.8 million, the release said.

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“García is a highly skilled, dynamic and principled leader who has championed student success —especially for those students from underrepresented communities,” Board of Trustees Chair Wenda Fong said in the release. “Her optimism, authenticity and courageous leadership will inspire greatness for the (CSU) community as we meet the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead and chart a path toward our great institution’s brightest future.”

Garcia also previously served as the CEO of Berkeley College, the release said, where she was the first systemwide president for all six campuses in New York and New Jersey.

She’s also held academic and senior position at myriad other universities, including Arizona State University, Montclair State University, Pennsylvania State University, Columbia University, and others. Garcia was also previously appointed by former President Barack Obama and the U.S. Secretary of Education, the release said, to serve on multiple federal advisory boards.

​ Orange County Register 

Irvine’s city manager gets a pay increase

• July 12, 2023

Irvine‘s city manager has a new contract and a considerable pay bump.

City leaders unanimously approved a new, rolling three-year contract for Oliver Chi who now makes about $370,000 per year — up from just over $301,000 when he first started. The raise, city documents state, includes a 5% merit adjustment for the prior year and an additional adjustment of 5% for the review period.

“He knows so much about what’s going on in the city,” said Councilmember Kathleen Treseder. “I can ask him any small detail, any department, and he will have the answer right on hand.”

If the city chooses to terminate Chi without cause, he can receive six months’ pay plus benefits while Irvine seeks out a replacement for his role, according to city documents. If he is terminated with cause — for example, because of criminal activity, negligence at work or misuse and destruction of city property — there will be no compensation.

The pay increase is effective Wednesday, July 12.

Under Chi’s tenure as city manager, Irvine has embarked on an ambitious development of the next phase of 300 acres of amenities in the Great Park. The $1 billion project includes the Veteran’s Memorial Park and Gardens, botanical gardens and a 14,000-seat amphitheater in partnership with Live Nation.

Chi, who came to Irvine from Huntington Beach, also spearheaded the purchase of the All American asphalt plant that was the subject of resident’s complaints for years. The plant will be converted to the Gateway Preserve, an approximately 700-acre open space preserve with hiking and biking trails on and around the land where the plant sits. The project is designed to include expansive green spaces, native gardens and outdoor classrooms.

Irvine has also gotten increased negative attention of late. In January, the Justice Department released a plea deal that said political consultant Melahat Rafiei attempted to defraud a cannabis dispensary client associated with her firm. As part of its investigation, the FBI interviewed Chi in March.

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​ Orange County Register 

Mission Viejo’s plans to revamp shopping, trails and more around Oso Creek

• July 12, 2023

Efforts to revamp and expand Mission Viejo‘s Oso Creek area — from a new shopping and entertainment plaza to trails along the creek — are continuing to develop.

Since 2017, the city has been working at Oso Creek to expand the area to include a one-of-a-kind shopping, entertainment and event plaza called the Los Osos Core Area. Located at the Village Center off of Marguerite Parkway and La Paz Road, the 22,736 square-foot plan has been taking over the older shopping center and connects to the greater project on Oso Creek.

The next phase of the project includes connecting the North Paseo area, which includes the shopping center, to the north bridge that expands over Oso Creek. This will be the central point for the portion of the Oso Creek Trail that runs on the eastern side of Oso Creek back to the shopping center, assistant city manager Keith Rattay shared in a presentation given to the Mission Viejo Planning and Transportation Commission on Monday, July 10.

The trail will expand from Marguerite Parkway to La Paz Road and will connect to the existing trailhead located on Marguerite. Additionally, a new viewing platform along Marguerite will be included in this expansion, showcasing views of Saddleback Mountain.

The plan also outlines the creation of the “Urban Alley” located along the rear of the buildings of North Paseo. The plan for this is a central community gathering place that will include enhanced landscape, lighting, paving, seating areas and a sculpture with views of Oso Creek and the trail.

This area will also house new retail spaces to further energize the area and create more opportunities for expanded retail and community gatherings, according to the presentation.

After this phase of the project, the city will move toward creating various entertainment plazas across the creek as well as a special events barn that the city and residents will be able to rent.

The area has been extending and adjusting since the initial proposal in 2017, which included the purchase of the Oso Creek Golf Club, previously called Casta del Sol Golf Course, in 2019 as well as the installation of the North Paseo area in 2022.

North Paseo, located in the middle of the Village Center, has already provided the community with a “safe zone” that allows residents to walk or ride a bike without disruption of vehicles as well as a new place to socialize.

North Paseo, additionally, serves as the space for all of the monthly markets.

The next steps in the process include presenting updated information to the Community Services Commission on Aug. 16 and presenting the final input, cost and recommendations for the first phase of construction of the bridges and Urban Alley to the Mission Viejo City Council for approval, slated to take place sometime this fall.

​ Orange County Register 

‘Succession’ leads all Emmy nominees with 27 as HBO dominates; ‘Ted Lasso’ leads comedy contenders

• July 12, 2023

By ANDREW DALTON | AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES — HBO dominated Wednesday morning’s Emmy nominations, with the elite trio of ” Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” combining for a whopping 74, but the dominant theme darkening the scene is the ongoing writers strike and the looming possibility that actors may join them in as little as a day.

“Succession” and its deeply dysfunctional dynasty of one-percenters led all Emmy nominees in its fourth and final season with 27, including best drama, which it has won two of the past three years. It got three nominations for best actor in a drama, with Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin all getting nods for playing men of the Roy clan, and Sarah Snook getting a best actress nomination. It also got four nominations for best supporting actor in a drama.

The cursed vacationers at a Sicilian resort from the second of “The White Lotus” truly dominated the supporting categories, however, landing five nominations for best supporting actress in a drama – including nods for Jennifer Coolidge and Aubrey Plaza – and four more for best supporting actor.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, the duo on a fungus-filled quest in ” The Last of Us,” each got lead acting nominations. The show was second behind “Succession” with 24 nominations. “The White Lotus” had 23.

“Ted Lasso” was tops among comedies with 21 nominations, including best comedy series and best actor for Jason Sudeikis.

The nominees for drama series are: “Andor”; “Better Call Saul”; “The Crown”; “House of the Dragon”; “The Last of Us”; “Succession”; “The White Lotus”; “Yellowjackets.”

The nominees for outstanding comedy series are: “Abbott Elementary”; “Barry”; “The Bear”; “Jury Duty”; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Ted Lasso”; “Wednesday.”

The nominees for limited or anthology series are: “Beef”; “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”; “Daisy Jones & the Six”; “Fleishman is in Trouble”; “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The nominees for best actress in a drama series are: Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”; Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”; Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Sarah Snook, “Succession.”

The nominees for best actor in a drama series are: Jeremy Strong, “Succession”; Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Kieran Culkin, “Succession”; Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”; Brian Cox, “Succession”; Jeff Bridges, “The Old Man.”

The nominees for best actor in a comedy series are: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”; Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”; Bill Hader, “Barry”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking.”

The nominees for best actress in a comedy series are: Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”; Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”; Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face.”

The nominees for best supporting actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”; Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”; Phil Dunster, “Ted Lasso”; Henry Winkler, “Barry”; James Marsden, “Jury Duty”.

Scherma said during the announcement that the academy is hoping negotiations will “come to an equiatable and swift resolution.”

Actors joining movie and television writers on strike would further shut down the industry and be the first time since 1960 that two Hollywood unions are on strike. While show and film releases will continue, work on upcoming projects will cease and the promotional interviews and appearances by actors to support the projects would cease.

The possibility of an industry debilitated by two strikes could dampen any joy for those nominated, and could put the damper on the ceremony scheduled for September 18 on the Fox network.

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​ Orange County Register 

OC Fair 2023: Here’s a one-stop shop for what you need to know

• July 12, 2023

The OC Fair kicks off Friday for 23 days of feeding your adrenaline with thrill rides, hoping to beat the odds and win that giant stuffed animal and trying food combos that shouldn’t really exist, but taste good at the fair.

The fair will run through Aug. 13 in Costa Mesa and we’ve pulled together everything you need to know to plan your visit, pick a show and get inside.

More thrills

Three new rides join the lineup of thrills on the midway including Slingshot, which will be catapulting the brave into the air reverse-bungee style.

It’s classified as a high-level thrill ride.

Joining it are Raptor, a roller coaster, and Joker360, with spinning carriages at the end of a giant arm.

Also new this year are the Flying Royals, an acrobatic act that is taking up residency near the Green Gate and will wow visitors every 30 minutes from 2 to 9 p.m. daily.

Did you miss singing karaoke with a live band for your backup? It is returning nightly at the Plaza Pacifica Stage. Other fan favorites are magician Frank Thurston, comedian and hypnotist Mark Yuzuik and the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs.

2023 OC Fair set to open with familiar favorites, new thrills

The basics of the OC Fair: What can you bring into the fairgrounds? How much is parking? What’s the best deal if you are a frequent fairgoer. Basically, here is what you need to know to park, pay and get inside.

What’s on the menu: Fair food has never been one to follow culinary rules, so check out these nine outrageous foods being sold this year, and find out what a hotdog has to do with an egg roll.

Go hungry: In addition to attention-grabbing new items, vendors will be serving a wide range of fair favorites. Read more on grubbing at the fair here.

Music in the air: There are the nightly concerts at The Hangar and Pacific Amphitheatre. Tickets to those shows include admission to the fair.

OC Fair 2023: Concerts coming to The Hangar this summer and how to get tickets

OC Fair 2023: What’s coming to Pacific Amphitheatre and how to get tickets

​ Orange County Register 

The Manson ‘family’: A look at key players and victims in the cult leader’s killings

• July 12, 2023

By ROBERT JABLON and JOHN ROGERS

LOS ANGELES – In 1969, Charles Manson dispatched a group of disaffected young followers on a two-night killing rampage that terrorized Los Angeles. The killings remain etched in the American consciousness.

On Tuesday, Leslie Van Houten was released after spending more than 50 years in prison for two of those murders. She’s the only one of Manson’s followers who participated in the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders to go free.

Members of the Manson “family” arrived at the Hollywood Hills home of Sharon Tate on Aug. 8, 1969, where they stabbed, beat and shot to death the young actress and her friends — celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski. As they made their way to the house, they encountered a teenager, Steven Parent, who had been visiting an acquaintance at the estate’s guesthouse, and shot him to death.

RELATED: Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after 53 years

The next night, Manson led a handful of followers, including Van Houten, to the home of wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. Manson tied up the couple and left the others to kill them.

Manson and his followers also killed two others — musician Gary Hinman and Hollywood stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea — in separate, unrelated attacks

In the decades since, some of Manson’s followers have died while others remain behind bars.

THE KILLERS

— Charles Manson was a petty criminal who had been in and out of jail since childhood when he reinvented himself in the late 1960s as a guru-philosopher. He targeted teenage runaways and other lost souls, particularly attractive young women he used and bartered to others for sex.

He sent them out to butcher LA’s rich and famous in what prosecutors said was a bid to trigger a race war — an idea they say he got from a twisted reading of the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter.”

Decades after his conviction, Manson would continue to taunt prosecutors, parole agents and others, sometimes denying any role in the killings and other times boasting of them. He told a 2012 parole hearing: “I have put five people in the grave. I am a very dangerous man.”

He died in 2017 after spending nearly 50 years in prison. He was 83.

— Susan Atkins, convicted of the Tate, LaBianca and Hinman murders, was a teenage runaway working as a topless dancer in a San Francisco bar when she met Manson in 1967.

The Tate-LaBianca murders went unsolved for months until Atkins, who was in jail on unrelated charges, boasted to a cellmate about her involvement.

At trial, she testified she was “stoned on acid” and didn’t know how many times she stabbed Tate as the actress begged for her life. Atkins, who became a born-again Christian in prison and denounced Manson, tearfully recounted that confrontation during a parole hearing years later.

She died in prison of cancer in 2009. She was 61.

— Leslie Van Houten, a former high school cheerleader and homecoming princess, saw her life spiral out of control at 14 following her parents’ divorce.

She turned to drugs and became pregnant but said her mother forced her to abort the fetus and bury it in the family’s backyard.

Van Houten met Manson at an old movie ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles where he had established his so-called “family” of followers.

She didn’t take part in the Tate killings but accompanied Manson and others to the LaBianca home the next night. She has described holding down Rosemary LaBianca with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed LaBianca dozens of times. Then, ordered by Manson follower Charles “Tex” Watson to “do something,” she said she picked up a knife and stabbed the woman more than a dozen times.

Van Houten, 71, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in counseling while in prison and led several prison programs to help rehabilitate fellow inmates. She was repeatedly recommended for parole, but two governors — first Jerry Brown and then Gavin Newsom — blocked her release.

However, she was finally freed after Newsom announced last week that he wouldn’t pursue efforts to keep her behind bars.

— Patricia Krenwinkel was a 19-year-old secretary when she met Manson at a party. She left everything behind three days later to follow him, believing they had a budding romantic relationship.

After he became abusive and bartered her for sex, she said she twice tried to leave him but followers brought her back, kept a close watch on her and kept her high on drugs.

She testified at a 2016 parole hearing that she repeatedly stabbed Folger, then stabbed Leno LaBianca in the abdomen the following night and wrote “Helter Skelter,” ’Rise” and “Death to Pigs” on the walls with his blood.

Krenwinkel, 75, remains in prison. Krenwinkel contends she is a changed person but was denied parole more than a dozen times. She was finally recommended for parole last year but Newsom reversed the decision.

— Charles “Tex” Watson was a college dropout from Texas when he arrived in California in 1967 seeking “satisfaction through drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll,” as he explains on his website.

He recalled meeting Manson at the house of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson after seeing Wilson hitchhiking and giving him a ride home.

Watson, 77, led the killers to the Tate estate, shot to death Parent as he was attempting to leave and took part in the killings that night and the next at the LaBianca home.

He became a born-again Christian in prison and formed a prison ministry in 1980 that he continues to lead. Watson, who has authored or co-authored several books while in prison, maintains he has changed and is no longer a danger to anyone. He has repeatedly been denied parole.

THE VICTIMS

— Sharon Tate, 26, was a model and rising film star after her breakout role in the 1966 film “Valley of the Dolls.” She was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she was attacked, and she pleaded with her killers to spare her unborn son.

Tate’s mother, Doris, became an advocate for victims’ rights in California and was instrumental in a 1982 law that allows family members to testify about their losses at trials and parole hearings.

Her younger sister, Debra, also dedicated her life to victims’ rights and testified at countless parole hearings for the killers, demanding they never be released.

Tate’s husband, director Roman Polanski, was out of the country the night of the killings and has said it took him years to recover from the grief of losing his wife and baby.

— Jay Sebring, a hairdresser to Hollywood’s stars, was Tate’s former boyfriend and also begged the killers to spare her unborn child. He was shot, kicked in the face and stabbed multiple times.

Sebring had transformed the male haircare industry after graduating from beauty school in Los Angeles, and his clients included Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. He founded Sebring International in 1967 to market hair products and to franchise his salons internationally.

— Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger had dined with Tate and Sebring earlier that night.

The 32-year-old Frykowski was a friend of Polanski’s from Poland and an aspiring screenwriter. An autopsy found he was stabbed more than 50 times and shot twice.

His 25-year-old girlfriend was the heir to the Folger coffee fortune. She managed to escape the house but was tackled on the front lawn and stabbed 28 times.

— Steven Parent, a recent high school graduate planning to attend college in the fall, had dropped by a guest house on the property to visit the estate’s 19-year-old caretaker, a casual acquaintance named William Garretson. He was leaving the property when Watson confronted him at the front gate and shot him to death.Garretson, who was briefly taken into custody, returned to his native Ohio soon after the killings. Except for his testimony during the murder trial, he rarely spoke publicly about that night. He died of cancer in 2016.

— Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, who owned a chain of Los Angeles grocery stores, had no connection to Sharon Tate or her glamorous friends.

Their home was chosen at random by Manson, who tied them up and then, before leaving, ordered his followers to kill them. Among the weapons used was a chrome-plated bayonet.

OTHER PROMINENT PLAYERS

— Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, 74, a Manson “family” member who was not implicated in the Tate-LaBianca murders, was sentenced to prison for pointing a handgun at President Gerald Ford in 1975. Since her release in 2009, she has lived quietly in upstate New York.

— Linda Kasabian, the trial’s key witness, was granted immunity from prosecution. She had accompanied the killers to the Tate house but was posted outside as a lookout. In that position she said she saw some of the killings.

The next night she remained in a car outside the LaBianca house as Manson tied up the victims, then left with him as the others stayed to kill them.

The 20-year-old moved in with the “family” a few weeks before the killings and fled immediately after. She turned herself in to authorities after the others were arrested. Kasabian later changed her name and lived out of sight for decades. She died on Jan. 21 in Tacoma, Washington. She was 73.

— Bruce Davis, 80, was convicted of taking part in the Hinman and Shea murders but was not involved in the Tate-LaBianca killings.

He testified at his 2014 parole hearing that he attacked Shea with a knife and held a gun on Hinman while Manson cut Hinman’s face with a sword. “I wanted to be Charlie’s favorite guy,” he said. Parole panels have repeatedly recommended his release, but governors have blocked it.

— Steve “Clem” Grogan, 71, once a ranch hand at the old movie ranch where Manson had located his followers, was sentenced to life in prison for taking part in Shea’s murder. In 1977 he told authorities where Shea’s body was buried.

Grogan was paroled in 1985 and moved to northern California.

John Rogers retired from The Associated Press in 2021.

Charles Manson — the cult and the killings

Newsom denies parole for Manson Family follower Bruce Davis
She says she’s Charles Manson’s sister and wants to control his estate
Man who claims to be Charles Manson’s grandson doesn’t have to take DNA test in battle over killer’s estate
How did 3 young women become involved in the Manson Family murders, asks new film
Charles Manson stirred bitter memories, fascination long after his cult’s murderous rampage in LA

​ Orange County Register 

Angels face long odds to reach playoffs after midseason slide

• July 12, 2023

ANAHEIM — Phil Nevin is already imagining how the Angels will look back on all of this.

“You talk about winning a World Series or getting to the playoffs, everyone talks about a defining moment,” the Angels manager said. “This may be ours. I don’t know. We got into the break with what looks like seven of our nine starters not in the lineup, we can look back at this point and say, ‘We weathered the storm. We got through it. We got hot at the right time and we’re playing in October.’”

The injury-ravaged Angels face a difficult – but not impossible – task to reach that goal.

A 1-9 stretch just before the All-Star break quickly turned their season from promising to disappointing.

The Angels are 45-46, in fourth place in the American League West. They are seven games behind the first-place Texas Rangers.

In the wild card standings, the Angels are fifth in the race for the third and final wild card spot, five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. A five-game deficit with 71 to play doesn’t seem so daunting, but the fact that they also need to leapfrog the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners makes it much more difficult.

If the teams ahead of them simply play at their current pace or worse, the Angels would need 90 victories to pass the Blue Jays, who are on pace for 89. That would require the Angels to go 45-26. They haven’t had a 71-game stretch with at least that many victories since 2014, the last time they made the playoffs.

And, of course, it’s likely that at least one of the teams ahead of the Angels will play better the rest of the way, raising the bar even more.

FanGraphs gives the Angels a 10.8% chance to make the playoffs. Baseball-Reference puts their chances at 4.0%.

With the odds stacked against them, each loss in one of the 16 games between now and the Aug. 1 trade deadline will intensify the discussion about whether the Angels should trade Shohei Ohtani, who is set to be a free agent after the season.

General Manager Perry Minasian explained the organization’s position with regard to Ohtani as “pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at,” but that was on June 21, when the Angels were 41-34 and sitting in the third wild card spot, ahead of the Houston Astros.

Even though their playoff chances now seem remote, the Angels are still believed to prefer to hold on to Ohtani to increase their chances of re-signing him.

The best thing they could do toward that end would be to win some games, making good on Nevin’s suggestion that their current adversity might be something they reflect on in a champagne-soaked clubhouse in a few months.

A couple of players currently on the Angels’ roster own rings that offer some reason for hope.

Relievers Jacob Webb and Tucker Davidson were up and down with the 2021 Atlanta Braves, who won the World Series after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a midseason injury and being under .500 at the All-Star break.

“We just kept believing,” Webb said. “The biggest thing was we never gave up hope and we knew that every guy in the clubhouse, we all have a job to do. You’ve got to take care of your job and when your time comes, your opportunity comes.”

The Braves were 44-44 when they lost Acuña, who tore his ACL on July 10, just about the same position the Angels were in when Mike Trout broke his hamate bone. While Acuña was done for the season, Trout is expected back.

“Right when we lost Acuña, the whole clubhouse was kind of in shock,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose last year with the Braves was in 2021. “The next day we played the Marlins and Pablo Lopez struck out the first nine of us all in a row.”

The Braves lost that final game before the All-Star break, and they caught their breath before returning in the second half. GM Alex Anthopoulos then added Joc Pederson in a trade. Freeman said that sent a message to the clubhouse.

“It’s not about who you bring in, it’s just that someone comes in,” Freeman said. “Instead of cashing in the season when we lost Acuña, (Anthopoulos) starts bringing guys in, and it’s like ‘OK, we’re still gonna go for this thing.’”

Freeman, who knows Minasian from their days together in Atlanta, said the Angels’ acquisitions of Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar could be similar to the 2021 Braves’ deals for Pederson, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario.

“No one ever thought we’d be able to do what we did without Ronald, but somehow we came together as a unit real fast,” Freeman said. “I think it was pretty clear once Alex made that first Joc move, we were still going for this thing.”

The Braves, who won 88 games to overtake the New York Mets for the division title that season, were certainly the exception though.

Of the 238 teams to make the playoffs in a full season since the wild card era began in 1995 – excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season – just 11 made it after being under .500 at the All-Star break.

That doesn’t stop the Angels from believing they can do it. This is just the second year that there have been six available playoff spots in each league, instead of just four or five.

The Angels can also cling to the hope that they will get a boost from the return of some of their injured players. Shortstop Zach Neto, second baseman Brandon Drury and third baseman Anthony Rendon are all likely to come back shortly after the break ends. Trout and catcher Logan O’Hoppe could be back next month.

The Angels also still have most of the key pieces from a rotation that ranked sixth in the majors in ERA last season. At the moment they are 21st, suggesting significant room for improvement.

Positive spin is all the Angels have to fuel their belief that they can turn this season around.

“Just keep going, taking it one day at a time,” outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “I’ve said it a million times, even despite the injuries that we’ve sustained, we’ve got a good group in here still. I think that we’re a team that can compete with anybody.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels midseason report: Clock is ticking to turn things around

• July 12, 2023

FIRST-HALF REVIEW

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Angels (45-46) have been consistently inconsistent, at times getting by because of their offense and at times with their pitching. There have only been rare moments when both were clicking at once. Hopes were high during a late June stretch when they won 11 of 14 games to reach eight games over .500. At that point, they were in a playoff position. After that, though, they finished the first half in a tailspin, losing nine of 10. Lately, they’ve been decimated by injuries, with center fielder Mike Trout, third baseman Anthony Rendon, infielder Brandon Drury, shortstop Zach Neto and infielder Gio Urshela all getting placed on the injured list in the past month. Outfielder Jo Adell is also hurt, but not yet on the injured list. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe has been out since April.

SECOND-HALF PREVIEW

KEYS TO SUCCESS: Shohei Ohtani, of course, has had a sensational season, both at the plate and on the mound. Beyond him, though, most of the Angels have actually failed to live up to expectations, either because of injuries or poor performance. Players like outfielder Mickey Moniak and catchers Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach have all played well enough to cover some of the holes. The Angels have also made deals to acquire infielders Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas, veterans who are better than the type of fringe major leaguers the Angels have relied on as replacements in the past. They could get Neto, Rendon and Drury back in the first week after the All-Star break. Trout could be back by mid- to late August, and O’Hoppe could be back by the end of August.

BIGGEST CONCERN: The Angels’ pitchers have mostly been healthy, and they still haven’t performed. They rank 21st in the majors with a 4.42 ERA, including a major league-worst 7.73 ERA during their 1-9 stretch to finish the first half. They need left-handers Patrick Sandoval (4.41), Reid Detmers (4.31) and Tyler Anderson (5.25) to pitch better. All have been worse than in 2022.

TRADE POSSIBILITIES: The Angels are not expected to trade Ohtani, even if they slip farther out of contention, because they want to try to re-sign him in the winter. If they do continue their free fall, though, they could move players like outfielder Hunter Renfroe or left-handed reliever Matt Moore, who are both free agents at the end of the season. If they are still within striking distance of the playoffs in a couple of weeks and decide to add, they could use a hitter to pick up some of the production lost by the injuries. They have enough holes and enough versatile players that they could fit someone who plays any position.

SCHEDULE HURDLES: The Angels’ first two series after the break are at home against the Houston Astros (50-41) and New York Yankees (49-42), two of the teams they are chasing for a wild card berth. After that, it gets slightly easier with series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (41-49) at home and the Detroit Tigers (39-50) on the road. They then travel to face the Toronto Blue Jays (50-41), another team they are chasing. The series against the Astros, Yankees and Blue Jays are even more important because the tie-breaker for a playoff spot is head-to-head record. The Angels are 2-5 against the Astros with six games left. They are 1-2 against both the Yankees and Blue Jays, with three games left against each.

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