To live and die with a golden right arm

As far as Shohei Ohtani is concerned, I'm bracing for the worst after hearing the latest injury news - now I'm wondering if the Angels tried to manage his workload because he was the shiny new toy or whether his right arm was working on borrowed time.

The story about the player and his performance has been fascinating - but the worst case scenario that Ohtani needs Tommy John surgery and won't finish this season and will not pitch for a significant part of 2019.

As a collector, I believed in the talent, so I went 'all in' to secure at least one nice card off the bat - which was his 2018 Topps Heritage Action variation card [#17].

I don't know how it all plays out now, but I'd gotten when I pulled his 2017 Bowman Mega Box card - I tried grabbing his 2018 Topps Now issues and his 2018 Living Set card.

I couldn't afford any of his pack pulled autographs - but was interested in looking for some MLB licensed pack pulled cards to supplant the Topps Now issues I've bought.

Losing Garrett Richards

I cringe as I imagine the lack of starting pitching options available to the Angels after losing Richards Wednesday night - while I'm hoping the beat goes on, it's going to be a wild ride watching the 2014 Angels try to win the American League West and/or get into the playoffs through the wild card without their ace.

Richards doesn't look to be back this year, so I just hope he can bounce back and be an effective pitcher at some point - maybe it's just me, but with the fragility of pitchers' careers, sometimes the guys on the mound just don't make it back.

Curtis Granderson

It sucks when a player like Granderson has to miss a considerable amount of time because of an injury - he's always been a pretty accomodating autograph signer when as a whole, MLB players are conditioned to say 'no' or be typically oblivious towards autographs collectors of any sort [once they reach the majors and gain some sort of prominence].

When the New York Yankees played the Angels in 2012, Granderson arrived fairly late [maybe around 4:30 p.m.] for a player getting to the stadium - he came through the Home Plate Gate and unlike a teammate like A-Rod [who isn't afraid of ignoring crowds even if he has to walk through them], Granderson must have stood and signed autographs for about 20 minutes.

I could see ballpark security was getting a little worried but Granderson was a champ about signing most of the things people put in his face - fast forward to now and it is too bad a classy player like him has to sit on the bench for the next three months or so.

Featured card: 2010 Bowman Throwbacks Kendry Morales #BT 69

I picked up the Los Angeles Angels [Torii Hunter / Hideki Matsui / Kendry Morales] cards from the 2010 Bowman Throwbacks set because I still familiar with the 1992 Bowman set as one from a 'nine or 10 years ago,' though it has actually been 18 years since its release - I like the novelty of the reprinted card designs because there is a 'what-if' quality to them, even the cards themselves are anachronistic and some of the details on the original cards may not actually be mimicked on the insert cards.

When I overheard a couple of Angels fans [I'll assume] telling former Halo Adam Kennedy [during batting practice before the Washington Nationals / San Diego Padres game in San Diego on Saturday] - how Morales got injured after hitting a walk-off grand slam, I was in disbelief. The biggest news for this fan on Saturday wasn't Roy Halladay's perfecto, but the Halos losing their 'bully' in the middle of their lineup with light tower power from both sides of the plate.

Morales is probably close to as done for the regular season - who knows how he will bounce back if somewhat healthy enough to make a return this year.

In 2009, the Angels had to deal with Nick Adenhart's passing - but losing a guy for a chunk of the season because of an apparent walk-off celebration adds insult to injury and is a blow to a team looking for some consistency.

Maybe the real question is how are the Halos going to be able to get production from first base with the possible options they have available - will the Angels trade for a first baseman who can hit with some pop or is the organization content to 'fill in the blank' at first base with someone within the farm system or perhaps someone currently on the Angels.