Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Commissioner Meets with Owners Discusses Baseball Post Season

Jeff Summers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:11:43 -0500

The O’Hare Hilton in Chicago is once a bustling Mecca of baseball decision-making this week as owners of the 30 baseball franchises meet with the Commissioner and members of the MLB front office. These meetings come just a week after the General Managers met here.

While not formally on the agenda, owners are planning to speak about the length of the post season and what baseball may be able to do to shorten the play-offs. There will also be informal discussions on the use of instant replay and whether to expand the types of calls that can be reviewed.

The 2009 playoffs were a showcase of how far technology had come. Each play on the diamond seemed to be played and replayed from every angle. The broadcasters and hometown fans brought into question each decision by the umpiring crew.

While none of the wrong calls made by the umpires had a significant impact on the outcome of any of the playoff races, they did raise the question of how much should the game officials rely on technology and instant replay?

Currently replay is used for boundary calls and home runs. These seem appropriate as they could have a significant impact and both the umpires and the teams want to get the calls right. Going beyond that and implementing more cases where instant replay should be used is a of questionable benefit.

Granted you would have the correct calls being made but you would do so at the detriment to the flow of the game. Each time the umpires have to use instant replay means play is stopped. The game’s flow and momentum is disrupted by the constant stoppage of play.

A team could be coming back gaining momentum putting runners on base. If instant replay is suddenly called upon, that stoppage could disrupt the momentum swing perhaps killing a rally.

What if a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter and suddenly in the midst of that play is halted so that the umpires could review a close play at first or whether an outfielder really caught a flyball? The pitcher is left standing on the mound waiting for play to resume.

While I applaud that technology is now at a point where it is possible to see the play from every imaginable angle I would prefer to leave the decisions to the umpires. During these playoffs there were numerous occasions when the umpiring crew came together and got the calls right without the delay of instant replay.

The length of the playoffs is something that I hope Bud Selig and the owners are able to fix. There is too much time being taken for the three rounds of playoffs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia complained about it during the American League Championship Series.

Taking nine days to play a six-game series is ridiculous. On route to winning their 27th World Championship the New York Yankees won 15 games but it took them 31 days to do it. It should never take a month to get through the playoffs even if all series went to their maximum.

Over the course of the regular season baseball players play every day many going two weeks without a day off. Once the playoffs start it seems like every other day is an off day.

Part of this has to do with television and making sure the games align with prime viewing without impacting other programming. There are also off-days inserted as a precaution in case of inclement weather.

With the playoffs now reaching into November the weather becomes more of a factor so there may not be a way around some buffering but baseball post season is quickly becoming on par with the NBA playoffs that seem to stretch longer than the regular season.

For the good of baseball this needs to be tightened up. Baseball should not stretch into November. It is possible to end the season in October without shortening any of the series. It is just up to MLB to get more creative in planning their off days.

No official word came out on either of these issues during the owners meetings but baseball is actively working on them and hopes to make some sort of recommendation to the owners at their next scheduled meeting January 13-14 in Paradise Valley, AZ or by Spring Training at the latest.

Despite these issues baseball continues to bask in the warmth of a resurgence. Attendance, while down, was not as bad as they could be in these economic times and fans continue to come to the ballparks in large numbers. Hopefully with a little tweaking baseball will continue its success.

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Los Angeles Angels' Mike Scioscia Wins AL Manager of the Year Award

Adam Bernacchio — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:39:47 -0500

For the second time since 2002, the man New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman called the “Bill Belichick of our sport” won the American League Manager of the Year award.

Of course, that statement was made before Belichick’s meltdown on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. I am not going to talk about that fourth and two call because the media has shoved that call down our throats the last three days.

What I am going to talk about is how the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim’s Mike Scioscia won his second Manager of the Year award. Scioscia received 15 out of 28 first-place votes to win the award.

The Minnesota Twins’ Ron Gardenhire and the New York Yankees’ Joe Girardi came in second and third, respectfully.

Even though Scioscia probably had his best team in 2008, he did his best managerial job in 2009.

Not only did the Angels overcome a rash of injuries to their pitching staff early in the season, but Scioscia held that team together during the Nick Adenhart tragedy and guided them to their sixth postseason appearance in the last 10 years.

What Scioscia has done is build a “system” in Anaheim–which is very hard to do in baseball. Every player in the Angels’ organization–from rookie ball to the major leagues–plays the game the way Scioscia wants them to play.

A player is going to play the game a certain way and if not, they won’t be around for too long.

Tony LaRussa has built a similar system in St. Louis.

Building a “system” or an “organizational philosophy” is much easier to do in the NBA, NFL, or even the NHL because it is more of a team game and players are drafted more on whether or not they fit the team’s style of player rather than because they have the most talent.

Scioscia has taken talented players and has molded them into the players he wants and ultimately, has made them better players. Very hard to do in baseball.

In terms of the voting, I was a little surprised that Texas Rangers’ Ron Washington didn’t finish higher. The Rangers weren’t expected to compete for a playoff spot in 2009 and Washington had that team in contention all the way till the last couple of weeks of the season.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Mike Scioscia's Emotional Season Ends with Manager of the Year Honors

Johnathan Kroncke — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:08:53 -0500

Mike Scioscia added one more piece to his incredible 2009 season: He is your American League Manager of the Year.

A more appropriate choice there never was.

In a rollicking, emotional season filled with tragedy and triumph, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won 97 games and another divisional crown, thanks in large part to their sound-minded skipper.

Scioscia's award-winning fate was sealed on Sept. 28, when his Angels clinched their franchise record third consecutive AL West division title.

They would go on to sweep the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the New York Yankees in a tough battle for the AL Championship.

But by that point, any postseason accomplishments were just the icing on the cake of a truly improbable season.

Few managers, if any, have had to face the trials and tribulations Scioscia was confronted with this season.

Fewer still could persevere.

Scioscia and the Angels began the 2009 season already two steps behind their competition when staff ace John Lackey and former All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana both landed on the disabled list in spring training, delaying their mound debuts for over a month.

Co-ace Kelvim Escobar, once considered an Opening Day replacement for Lackey, suffered setbacks in his recovery from shoulder surgery and was relegated to the bench yet again.

But the worst was still to come.

Barely three days into the season, and just hours after tossing six shutout innings in the best start of his big league career, rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver.

The car he was traveling in was struck in the middle of an intersection. Two were dead on scene. Adenhart died a few hours later after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

His death shook the baseball fraternity as teams gathered all over the country to watch the news coverage and mourn one of their own.

For the Angels, the pain would last deep into the middle of the season.

By June 11, they were playing listless, uninspired baseball. A .500 record to their name and looking far worse, they languished in second place, five games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.

That is, until Scioscia took his team to task.

Threatening to send veterans to the minor leagues and start rookies in their place, he led the Angels out of their two-month funk and inspired a campaign to play for Adenhart, rather than without him.

Suddenly, the Angels were working together as a team, believing they could overcome any adversity as they marched in lockstep behind Scioscia.

The Angels went on to set franchise records in a number of categories, including come-from-behind victories, as well as a Major League record for the most players with 50 or more RBI (11).

But being an effective manager has as much to do with crisis management as it does dealing with various personalities in unpredictable situations—and there was no shortage of those for the Angels.

Unshakable though, Scioscia's steady hand kept his team focused and motivated, particularly when the Angels were battling with the Rangers for control of the AL West.

In late June, center fielder Torii Hunter and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero each suffered injuries that put them on the sidelines for over a month.

This was the second DL stint for Guerrero, and it looked like the Angels might lose their edge in the division with their big sluggers on the mend.

Fortunately, new sluggers took their place.

Scioscia's careful guidance and faith in his players allowed Kendry Morales to have perhaps the most surprising year of any player in the Majors, filling the void at first base left by Mark Teixeira and leading his team in both home runs (34) and RBI (108).

At no point in the season was his impact felt as greatly, or needed as much, as in the absence of Hunter and Guerrero.

Bobby Abreu, a veteran to the game but a newcomer to the team, also factored in huge during that time, and indeed throughout the season.

He seemed to do as much coaching of the hitters as Mickey Hatcher, but it was his breezy acquisition of Scioscia's run-and-gun style of play that helped the Angels reach the postseason.

Scioscia's Angels have made postseason appearances six times in his decade of service, three of those leading to berths in the AL Championship Series, and once leading them all the way to the organization's only World Series title.

The Angels have become a powerhouse in the AL West and a perennial contender in the American League since Scioscia took over in 2000.

Prior to his reign, the team had only been to the playoffs three times in nearly 40 years and had never reached the World Series. Their past mediocrity has only been matched by their current success, and it can all be attributed to Scioscia.

His name has become synonymous with present-day greats like Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox and may one day be honored among the best of all time.

Mike Scioscia's ascent from the darkest depths of tragedy to the heavenly resolution of a fifth divisional title in six years is one for the ages.

The Angels suffered through death, absorbed multiple injuries, used no less than 14 different starting pitchers, and still came away with a dominating season.

Manager of the Year is the least Scioscia's accomplishments deserve.

The only question now is, who can compete with him for Manager of the Decade?

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It's Time for the LA Angels To Say Goodbye To Chone Figgins

Steve Waverly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:20:25 -0500

You know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” Well, that’s how I felt about the LA Angels' lineup the last few years.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that they are such perennial contenders, and the victory over the Boston Red Sox in the 2009 playoffs was fantastic. But the way they played against the New York Yankees brought back bitter memories of disappointment, and quite frankly, I’m tired of seeing the Angels look undermanned in the playoffs year after year.

They need to make changes, and I would start at third base.

I know, I know, Chone Figgins had a great regular season. No one was more impressed than me with his patience at the plate and his on base percentage. But Figgins has a history of disappearing in the playoffs, and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue. He has fumbled away opportunities both in the field and at the plate when put in maximum pressure situations, and it’s time to go.

The Angels need more variety in the lineup, instead of players that seem like clones of each other.

Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis. All nice ball players, but all the same.

They have speed, and can get on base. But to score with them, the Angels need at least two hits, maybe more. It’s fine in the regular season when they face average pitchers on a regular basis, but in the playoffs, against the best, it requires too many things to go right and only one thing to go wrong.

Even when they beat Boston this year, they didn’t do much at the plate. In their first two victories, they scored all of their runs in one or two innings.

All of which brings us to the person who should replace Figgins. No surprise, it’s Brandon Wood. If he tanks, he tanks. But after all these years of expectations, after all the years of him tearing up the minor leagues, I would hate to see him sent to another team without ever knowing what he can really do.

It’s time to put him to the test.

With their present make-up, there’s no reason to think the Angels will get back to the World Series. They are turning into the Atlanta Braves of the American League. You’re always on the date, but you never get the girl.

Given a full season without the pressure of being benched or sent down, Brandon Wood could turn out to be like Kendry Morales. And how great would that be to have authentic power hitters at both corner positions?

Figgins was supposed to be a stop-gap measure at third anyway, just until Wood was ready. Then Chone played hard, worked hard, and made himself into an everyday player. Good for him. He’ll get his big contract somewhere, and Wood had time to develop.

But now it’s time to set things straight. And quite frankly, if Wood doesn’t pan out, you can always put Izturis at third, let Howie play second base every day like he should, and you wouldn’t miss a beat.

As much as I love the personality of this present Angels team—great guys all of them—I don’t want to have a National League style team trying to out-run the power teams of the American League anymore.

Snap and crackle is fine, but only if you have a little pop.

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Granderson Stealing Spotlight from Angels' Needs: Pitching, Catching

Johnathan Kroncke — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:45:58 -0500

Baseball's hot stove season is finally in full swing, and rumors are flying out of the ballparks of every contender in both leagues.

From the Big A, reports are swirling in left field, where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim may make a significant upgrade with the potential acquisition of Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers.

In return, the Tigers are looking for a package that could include Brandon Wood, Maicer Izturis, Chris Pettit, and Jose Arredondo.

As Jim Rome would probably say, this deal seems like “the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind.”

Replaceable infielders, minor league prospects, and an unproven reliever for one of the most electrifying outfielders in the American League? Where does Tony Reagins sign?

Granderson adds speed to the outfield and power to the lineup, and the Angels can finally put their log-jammed minor league system to good use.

However, there is a downside.

The deal would be a promising one, and would help fill the void left by Vladimir Guerrero at designated hitter/fourth outfielder.

But DH is not the Angels' most pressing issue, and giving up those prospects might hinder the team's ability to address greater needs on the mound and behind the plate.

John Lackey, the Angels' ace and No. 1 starter, is testing the free agent market for the first time in his career and will be asking for a sizable chunk of change.

He has expressed his interest in returning to Anaheim, but that sentiment is only as meaningful as the girth of the Angels' offer to him.

If the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, or New York Mets outbid us, even by a little, we can kiss the big Texan goodbye.

The other area the Angels should improve upon is one that was ignored all season long, but has finally hit a tipping point: catching.

Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis are each able catchers in their own ways, but both have faults that far outweigh their better qualities.

Napoli's power is dazzling but far too inconsistent, his bat going from hot to cold quicker than a muscle relaxing patch. Add to that his inaccurate throwing arm and below-average defensive abilities, and Nap is just not suited for the starting roll.

Mathis, on the other hand, has the glove to keep his job as a backup, but a career .200 batting average with little power will prevent him from ever starting for any team.

Both also strike out at an alarming rate, stranding runners on base and killing rallies dead in their tracks.

The solution? Bengie Molina.

Call me crazy if you want, but rest assured, I'm crazy like a fox.

Molina is not the sexiest free agent on the market and his return to Anaheim would be a shock. But take a closer look at his numbers and consider the impact his signing would make.

Our boy Bengie batted .265 in 2009. That's a dying quail away from Napoli's .272 average, and while the homers are a push—each belted 20—Nap drove in 26 fewer runs.

Not a surprise, considering Molina's clutch nature with men on base. He lofted a career high 11 sacrifice flies—eight more than Napoli—and had 35 fewer strikeouts despite his nearly 100 more plate appearances, meaning he puts the ball in play far more often.

A former two-time Gold Glove winner with the Angels, Molina's bulky frame would also be a welcome sight behind the plate again, blocking balls and throwing out 10 percent more base-stealers for his career than Napoli.

Short discussions and a two-year deal later, fans would be welcoming back the eldest flying Molina brother with (very) wide open arms.

With Mathis' defensive skills securing his job as backup, the move would then free up the Angels to trade Napoli, who generated interest around the non-waiver deadline this year.

And where better to send him than Toronto?

The Blue Jays have all but publicly announced that they will not be bringing Rod Barajas back and are rumored to be looking for a new starting backstop. Napoli just might be on their radar.

Now, can anyone think of any other trades the Jays might be involved in?

That's right, this is all part of another ploy to bring Roy Halladay to the Big A. And we can put together the package they need.

Napoli can take over the starting catching job for the Jays, Gary Matthews, Jr. can replace Alex Rios' speed in the outfield, Brandon Wood can fill the shortstop role vacated by Marco Scutaro, and any two pitching prospects from the Angels can replenish Toronto's minor league system.

If they are indeed looking for another starter to replace Halladay in the lineup, as some have suggested, then I'm willing to part with Ervin Santana as well.

True, his departure would create another gap in the rotation, but consider the front of that rotation: Halladay, Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, and Joe Saunders.

With that stellar starting four, the Angels could easily plug one of their remaining prospects into the No. 5 spot, or sign a lower-priced free agent.

Ben Sheets, for example, is looking to make a big comeback, but his recent injury struggles have made him a less-desirable—and thus, cheaper—candidate.

If, after all of that, the Angels have enough left over to make a play for Granderson, then by all means go get him. He is a unique talent with incredible attributes that will make him valuable for years to come.

But he should not be the team's top priority at this point.

The Angels are looking at a very precarious offseason, and right now their future could be tipped in either direction.

Wait too long and too many free agents might slip through their fingers. Act too quickly and opportunities yet to be revealed may be out of reach before they even appear.

It's easy to get caught watching those rumors fly like moonshot home runs, and I may sound like a slack-jawed fan in the bleachers. But the numbers are solid and the moves are sound.

The Angels need to understand their most pressing issues and address them while they still can.

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