Angels News: Phil Nevin Pleased with The Consistency Through First Half of Season

The Los Angeles Angels began the season with struggles that had become all too common for the franchise.

The starting rotation had difficulty remaining consistent. The bullpen was as suspect as it had always been over the years. Combine that with injuries, and you had a team that was slowly but surely falling toward the back of the pack in a competitive division, and one that definitely didn't look like it could be anywhere near playoff contention.

Fast forward a few weeks later, and the Angels are getting healthy, their pitching is getting stronger, and they're suddenly looking very much like a team that has the ability to play postseason baseball for the first time in nine years.

They're only a half game out of a wild card spot, and manager Phil Nevin likes where things stand, per Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times.

“I think we’ve played better from Day 1 until now,” Nevin said before the game. “If you would have told me standings-wise where we’re at, I would have been very happy with ... that position because of what our schedule’s been and where we’re gonna be over the next month."

And while Nevin acknowledged that things haven't been perfect for the Halos over the course of the entire season, he's pleased with his team's performance and mindset as they've changed the course of their year.

“There’s always games you’re gonna look back at and say, ‘We should have got this one or that one.’ There’s a lot of things we need to get better at if we want to get to where we want to be or where we think we’re gonna be. But overall, the consistency’s been there. More for me is the attitude and how we’ve gone about it. I love the way this room has shaped up. It’s a group you just want to win with.” (per Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times)

For the Halos, they have a huge month coming up.

After their series against the White Sox concludes, they have series against the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, a suddenly resurgent Dodgers team, the Astros and Yankees in July in what surely will be a pivotal point in their season.

But with a team that looks like they're turning things around and a confident manager leading the charge, the Angels will head into that test with the ability to come out of it for the better on the other side of it.