Buzzkill: Salt Lake Bees own PCL’s worst record

The Salt Lake Bees' 2015 season has been a successful failure.

With six weeks remaining, Salt Lake owns the worst record in the Pacific Coast League. If things don't improve, these Bees could finish with the franchise's worst record in two decades.

The good news?

Salt Lake has admirably performed the No. 1 job of any Triple-A affiliate. The Bees have helped the parent Los Angeles Angels emerge — once again — as a legitimate contender in the American League.

"The focus is always going to be on the big league club," said Salt Lake manager Dave Anderson. "If they win, then that's good for the organization."

Bees general manager Marc Amicone agrees.

"Historically, we've been successful here," he said. "That makes this [season] more difficult. But our role is to help the major league club. … We do whatever we can to keep them rolling. Whether it's getting them a player on the spur of the moment for one game or sending them a player for the rest of the season, that's why we're here."

It hasn't been easy, however.

Not for Anderson.

Not for Amicone.

Not for the players who remain in Salt Lake.

"Everyone on this team is competitive," said catcher Jett Bandy. "They wouldn't be here if they weren't. We all want to win in everything we do, whether it's pingpong or cards or playing chess. That's the toughest thing about this. Nobody likes losing."

So, what happened? Why do the Bees find themselves languishing 20 games below .500, through Saturday night?

"There can be a lot of excuses," Anderson said, "but the bottom line is, we haven't played very well. We've made mistakes in crucial parts of the game that have really hurt us. Pitching-wise, we've struggled to get the third out in innings. That's something we've struggled with hard. … In my mind, a lot of nights, we just haven't played well in crucial parts of the game."

Circumstances haven't helped, either.

The Bees opened the season with an eight-game road trip. They went 1-7, including losses in 18 and 11 innings that wreaked havoc on the pitching staff.

When the Bees returned home, they were greeted with a month of cold, wet, progress-hampering weather. They quickly lost three more games, falling to 1-10.

"There were a lot of issues we had early in the season with weather, the lack of time on the field and changes in personnel," Anderson said. "A combination of things hurt us. But I think the biggest thing was not getting on the field [enough] and getting our work in."

The Angels started calling, too.

During a two-week stretch in late April, the Bees endured 22 roster moves. Players went up. Players came down. Players headed to the disabled list.

It hasn't stopped, either.

So far, the Bees have made 102 roster moves. Eighteen players have spent time in Salt Lake and Los Angeles. Top prospects including first baseman C.J. Cron, catcher Carlos Perez, left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney and 22-year-old relief pitcher Trevor Gott have gone up and probably aren't coming back.

The continuity issue has contributed to the Bees' 12-19 record in one-run games. They own a 3-7 record in extra innings. The pitching staff, which has been hit hard by player transactions and injury, owns a PCL-worst 5.57 earned run average.

"That's always been the challenge at Triple-A, not only for us but for everyone," Anderson said. "Teams that stay together for an extended period of time seem to do well. But, again, the No. 1 reason we're here is to supply the big league club with players and help those players be ready when they're called up."

From a financial and marketing aspect, the Bees' disappointing win-loss record hasn't impacted the franchise, according to Amicone. Salt Lake's average attendance is 6,015 fans per game, which ranks ninth in the 16-team PCL.

"Obviously everybody likes to win," Amicone said. "That's why you keep score. But in terms of business, what we do is all about the game experience. From that standpoint, we provide fun and good entertainment value, which doesn't hinge on winning. Our fans can have a great time at the ballpark, win or lose."

Of course, winning is preferable.

"It's very important," Anderson said. "Winning is a big part of player development. Players that win in the minor leagues and develop winning attitudes will win at the major league level."

luhm@sltrib.com Twitter: @sluhm