Even Stevens: Season hasn't gone as planned for 58-58 Salt Lake Bees

It almost didn't even seem fair to the other teams in the Pacific Coast League when the season began in April.

The Salt Lake Bees were undeniably talented, especially on offense.

The team was filled with Triple-A all-stars, guys with major-league experience, top prospects and a former USA Olympic star.

With the parent Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim loaded, the Bees lineup had position players who could easily be everyday starters for, say, the Washington Nationals or San Diego Padres.

Yet here it is, with less than a month remaining in the Bees' season, and it's readily apparent that the Bees aren't world-beaters after all.

In fact, Salt Lake has been the very definition of average.

Following Sunday's 11-4 win at Spring Mobile Ballpark over the Nashville Sounds, the Bees have 58 wins to go along with 58 losses.

So what happened? Why haven't the three-time defending division champion Bees been better?

Here are five factors and or theories as to why the 2009 Bees season hasn't lived up to lofty expectations:

1. Injuries — During a long, 144-game season, all teams are going to have players get hurt and miss games. The Bees, however, seem to have been particularly affected this year.

The biggest blow came when infielder Freddy Sandoval, the Angels' minor league player of the year in 2008 when he batted .335 with a franchise-record 176 hits for the Bees, went out in May with a wrist injury. Following surgery, Sandoval has yet to return, although he has just started a rehab assignment in Arizona.

Other key players who have spent considerable time on the disabled list include outfielder Chris Pettit and infielders Luis Figueroa and Matt Brown.

2. Major league promotions — Having players develop to the point of being useful to the parent club is the primary goal for Triple-A franchises. Winning, while important, is secondary.

This season, thanks in large part to injuries to the Angels, several Bees have been spent all season going back and forth between Salt Lake and Anaheim. Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Terry Evans and Bobby Wilson have all been earning frequent flier miles between the two spots.

A big problem is that when those players get called up to the Angels, they are put in reserve roles and they spend a week or two without getting regular playing time. Then when they return to Salt Lake, they're rusty.

"It's tough when guys are going up and down," said Wilson. "You're here one day and there the next and it makes it tough to get consistency in the lineup. But with the big league club getting healthy, we're getting back to full strength."

3. Season-long slumps — Brown was a Triple-A All-Star and a hero on the USA Olympic team last season. He tore up the Cactus League for the Angels in spring training, hitting better than .400.