You don't have Mickey Hatcher to kick around any more

Say what you will about Mickey Hatcher; but know this, a good man lost his job yesterday.  His detractors were many and they were loud and they were harsh. Whether or not Hatcher was deserving of such criticism is up for debate –but the consensus among Angel nation is pretty clear – he almost certainly had to go.

While a great many Angel fans are dancing in the street today; I have a different view.  I want to remember the man for the way he carried himself.  Despite the constant criticism, Mickey Hatcher never appeared angry, frustrated or even defensive.  He always seemed to be smiling and positive.  He certainly showed more class than many of his detractors.

Hatcher’s dismissal raises a boat load of questions and there is certainly no shortage of speculation in around baseball right now.  How will this move impact Mike Scioscia’s authority?  Why now?  Did this come down from Arte Moreno himself or is this Jerry Dipoto sending a message to the players and coaches that there is indeed a new man in charge and he’s not messing around?

I am in no position to judge whether or not Mickey Hatcher was a good hitting coach.  Is there even such a thing?  I know about as much about hitting as I do piloting a space ship.  I do know that the Angels have had an approach and philosophy that was all about being aggressive and making the effort to put the ball in play. 

It’s a style that I have loved to watch; and yet – it has appeared to me that so many things; maybe too many things had to always go right for the Angels offense to be successful.  I also know that Mickey Hatcher got his marching orders from Mike Scioscia and the Angels’ approach wasn’t necessarily Hatcher’s – it was most definitely Scioscia’s.

It’s a new day and it will be interesting to see how things unfold from here.  All eyes will be on Scioscia to see how he responds to all of this.  This can’t be easy.  Clearly he and Hatcher are close and have been through a great many things together.  I won’t blame him if he’s a little on edge, all things considered.

A lot of people are going to make this all about him and I believe that will make him uncomfortable.  People are going to talk about his contract that runs through 2018 (although he can opt out after 2015).  The focus and the scrutiny are going to be more intense.  Scioscia doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy, who likes having the focus on him,

Think about this – whenever the Angels are part of a national broadcast and there is an interview of a manager in the dugout – you don’t see Scioscia on camera.  He has always put his coaches in the position to answer the questions that are being asked.

Scioscia never makes it about himself.  When Nick Adenhart died and reporters asked over and over again about how the team was handling things – Scioscia always said “it’s not about us – it’s about Nick’s family and doing what we can to help them.”

When you know that about Scioscia it makes this situation all the more interesting.

On XM radio’s Power Alley this morning – Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette spent the first half hour of their show talking about the whole thing and Duquette said it’s clear to him that for the first time ever – Mike Scioscia is on the clock. 

Wow. 

I say “wow” because Duquette is probably right.  How did it come to this?  All the good will that was developed from 2002 through 2009 is gone.  Again, it’s a new day.

Baseball may be America’s favorite pastime; but the blame game is probably a close second.  Lots of fingers are being pointed these days in Anaheim and there is unrest and frustration the likes of which I have never seen.

Angel fans have gone from the highest of highs with the announcement of Albert Pujols coming to  Anaheim to the lowest of lows with each and every time the Angels get shut out (8 times now).  Something had to give and unfortunately for Mickey Hatcher – it was his job.

I am curious as I’m sure most of you are about how Scioscia is taking this, but I also know that we aren’t likely to ever know.  I imagine the world is a little bit of a lonelier place for him right now and that he is searching within himself for answers. 

And then t here’s Jerry Dipoto.  Since his arrival the team has shipped off long time Scioscia favorite Jeff Mathis to Toronto, acquired a high on base percentage type of hitter in Mathis’ replacement – Chris Iannetta; demoted Jordan Walden; shipped Kevin Jepsen to AAA; released Bobby Abreu, promoted Mike Trout and put him at the top of the order, and fired Mickey Hatcher.  Dipoto also signed Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, LaTroy Hawkins and acquired Ernesto Frieri.

And let’s not forget that Dipoto totally cleaned house in the front office.  There is no question what-so-ever as to who is in charge and whose will is being exerted in Anaheim.

Mike Scioscia’s fingerprints are all over the organization.  His philosophy and style of play has been infused at every level.  He has been the face of the organization for many years now.  When you think about the Oakland A’s – Billy Beane immediately comes to mind.  When you think about Red Sox recent run – you associate it with Theo Epstein.  For the Rangers – the face is Nolan Ryan.  In most cases – the face of an organization isn’t the manager, unlike in Anaheim.

Jerry Dipoto clearly has a plan and he’s definitely on a mission.  He too has a philosophy and it appears that it is direct conflict with the way Scioscia approaches the game.

Can the two co-exist?  I’m not sure.

The public perception of Scioscia is that he is stubborn and unwavering.  Whether or not that’s true to who he really is remains to be seen.  If true – his tenure in Anaheim may be in peril.  Something has to give and if it comes to that it will be a sad day because I believe Scioscia is the best thing that has ever happened to the Angels, period.

At the end of the day we all want the same thing – we want the Angels to be back on top – not only in the west, but in all of baseball.  The expectations are high and they should be. 

The most disappointing thing about all of this is that instead of talking about how well the Angels are playing; we are focused on all the things that have made this season a disaster so far.  That’s incredibly sad.  It was supposed to be like this.

The organization is experiencing growing pains and we should emphasize the word “pain” for sure.

In closing, I wish Mickey Hatcher well.  I will always appreciate his enthusiasm and happy-go-lucky nature.  I admired the way he handled adversity.  We should all be so classy.

Making sense of it all

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Angels under the ownership of Arte Moreno is that they always find ways to surprise me. This was never truer than when Tony Reagins resigned last week as the team’s general manager.

It was a move that most Angels fans wanted in the worst way and yet those same folks (including me) probably doubted it would happen in the near future. So when the news first hit the internet, I had to do a double take. And when I realized my eyes weren’t deceiving me – I threw both fists up in the air and let out a “Yes!” I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the day.

Reagins seems like a nice guy. I mean he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would kick his dog after a bad day at the office and even though I didn’t care much for some of the moves he made or didn’t make; I couldn’t say that I actually disliked the man per say.

Granted, I didn’t really want him to continue on as the Angels’ GM, but I had kind of accepted the idea that he would.

Now, I don’t know Reagins and I’ve never had more than a three or four sentence conversation with him; so I’m really in no position to judge the man’s character, but I will say that he did project a certain image that I didn’t care a great deal about.

It appeared to me that there was a certain arrogance about him. I wouldn’t say he was “cocky” per say, but more along the lines of an arrogance born out of naivety. There were times when I thought he’s either really not that bright or just plain arrogant. The whole Carl Crawford debacle made that more evident than ever (I blogged about it: HERE)

That whole episode made it virtually impossible for a lot of people to ever take him seriously again. He seemed over-matched and again – arrogant; almost defiant in his own failures. And let’s be honest – he failed at monumental levels. He failed like Jeff Mathis failed as a hitter. Just saying.

So here we are; the Angels are in search of a general manager and speculation is rampant. As soon as the news hit the fan; names like Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman and Billy Beane were being thrown about as if they were the only names Angels fans had ever heard.

Personally, I believe all of those names are pipe dreams and in the case of Billy Beane it’s even laughable, if you ask me.

What’s even more laughable is the popular opinion that Mike Scioscia calls all the shots and that whoever the GM is or will be – will be taking their orders from him.

Really?

While I do find it believable that Scioscia has a tremendous amount of input regarding personnel issues; I can’t fathom a scenario where he would actually perform the duties of a GM from behind the scenes. Think about it.

If the Angels really wanted to Scioscia to take on the responsibilities of a general manager – they’d most likely come right out and say it. I don’t see any reason to try and hide something like that what-so-ever.

Do I believe the GM seeks the blessings of Scioscia? You bet. I would be that’s true (seeking out the opinions and blessings of managers) in most cases throughout major league baseball. That only makes sense (unless you’re Sandy Alderson or Billy Beane), who are notorious for enforcing their will).

All of this feeds into the idea that someone like Theo Epstein could never co-exist with Scioscia. While I don’t believe for a second that Epstein is leaving Boston (where he grew up cheering for the Red Sox) to come to the left coast; I will say that having Scioscia as the manager would probably be the least of his worries.

Think about the players Epstein has acquired over the years via trades, free agency or the draft? Are there any that you think Scioscia wouldn’t want? Adrian Gonzalez? Carl Crawford? Dustin Pedroia? Jacoby Ellsbury? Anyone?

Okay, I could see Scioscia not wanting a guy like J.D. Drew who makes Garret Anderson seem like an overachiever when it comes to effort and maybe he wouldn’t exactly welcome John Lackey back with open arms, but you get the idea.

Seriously, Scioscia would embrace Epstein or anyone who could arm him with those kinds of weapons. I also believe that Epstein would in turn embrace the knowledge and wisdom of someone like Scioscia who has demonstrated the keen ability to get the most out of his players (Although, I would love to hear a conversation between the two about Jeff Mathis).

In any case, it’s all moot because I don’t believe Epstein is coming to Anaheim. Chicago? Maybe, but not Anaheim.

So who are the top candidates? I really don’t know enough names (other than the retired Pat Gillick or the Dodgers’ Logan White) to venture a real guess.

All I know is that I hope they’re on board soon so that the Angels can hit the ground running when the Post season ends and the Hot Stove Season begins.

Today's word of the day is "embarrassing"

Yesterday’s game against the Red Sox inspired me to come up with a few more words to describe the Angels’ play of late. “Embarrassing” tops the list, followed by “frustrating.” We’re talking the kind of frustration that leads to one putting their foot through the television (not that I’d actually go that far, mind you).

It was just bad.

Now I believe that at the end of the season; when the Angels have completed 162 games they will be on top in the AL West. Never-the-less, that doesn’t make watching them struggle the way they have of late any easier. Losing to the Red Sox is always awful; getting blown out by the Sox is down right demoralizing.

It’s especially demoralizing when you realize the Red Sox are trotting out guys named Darnell McDonald a career minor leaguer who’s 31 years of age. And who’s that in left field? Why it’s Bill Hall, who hit .201 last year and .225 the year before that.

Oh wait, it gets better. Hall and Adrian Beltre hadn’t homered this entire season; that is until yesterday when both went yard. The Hall homerun was especially disturbing. Mark Gubicza pointed out on the FSW broadcast that Hall was late on every pitch (fouling several off). So what does Saunders and Mike Napoli do? They throw him a change up. Yeah, that’s right – let’s throw Hall a pitch he can catch up to; after being late on the hard stuff.

Every Sox starter had at least one hit and all but Victor Martinez and Marco Scutaro had at least one RBI. Every player scored at least one run – including Jonathan Van Every who came into to pinch run. I know, Van who?

When the game was finally over, we found Joe Saunders sporting a 7.04 ERA, Matt Palmer with a 6.75 ERA, Brian Stokes with a 5.93 and Jason Bulger who actually lowered his ERA to 6.30.

How bad was Joe Saunders? Rumor has it that the Sox bat boy asked to get in the game as a pinch hitter. I'm just saying.

This game also happened to be the ESPN Monday Night game. So not only did the Angels stink – they got to stink in front of a national audience.

I kept going back and forth between the ESPN broadcast and the one on FSW. ESPN’s was actually in real time, while FSW’s had a seven second delay. So, I got to experience the nightmare twice on just about every at-bat.

In comparing the two broadcasts, I will say that ESPN puts a lot more production into their broadcasts and the picture seemed crisper to me. FSW had the better camera angle, being directly behind the pitcher, where ESPN was off the right shoulder of the pitchers.

It’s also clear that ESPN loves the Red Sox. They inserted interviews with John Lackey on at least two occasions and none that I can recall with the Angels. They also showed a clip of Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter in 2007. You also have to love (not really) the way they always show Theo Epstein in one of the luxury boxes. ESPN was really dolling out the Red Sox love yesterday.

At least I didn’t see Ben Affleck or Stephen King for a change.

This team is hard to watch right now. Hopefully, they’ll turn it around this evening when Ervin Santana takes the mound and for goodness sake, please beat the snot out of John Lackey on Wednesday before I lose my mind.