In this case, the problem is that he DIDN'T stick to his role-playing. Why was Quinlan still in the game after Vlad hit the homer? Kotchman's Defense > Q's defense, always. In a tight game, you need your best D on the field. Mike used to make defensive switches for Q with out a second thought once the lefties were out of the game.

I'm a big Q fan, and I have to say I was stumped as to why Q was still in the game.

???

I do agree that Kotch should be playing every day.  His defense alone is worth a run on most nights.

I wouldn't switch Shields and Speier.  It's just a chink in the armor, if you demoted him to the seventh inning, that would only play more with his psyche.

1.  Kotch can hit lefties and righties.  He is not a platoon player.  He's the Angel's future all-star gold-glove 1st basemen.  Sorry Q, but Kotchman has earned the right to play, everyday.
2.  Shields can stay in the 8th inning, I have no problem with that.  HOWEVER, when he is off his game, it's usually clear within 4-8 pitches.  He almost NEVER recovers after a first few elevated pitches.  With that the case, if he's off his game, Scoscia, for fuck's sake, get somebody else in to pitch, and be quick about it.  

CASEY KOTCHMAN IS NOT A PLATOON PLAYER.  HE STARTS EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I DON'T CARE IF THE PITCHER THROWS WITH HIS LEFT FOOT.  KOTCHMAN IS BATTING.

The guy is .299 against righties, .304 against lefties.  There isn't a reason in the world to bench him against lefties.  Robb Quinlan is not good enough to take at-bats from Casey, and Casey is not low enough on the totem pole to have at-bats taken from him.

PLAY.
THE.
MAN.

Yes, I think Mike needs to move a little faster in replacing Wildman Lackey & Evil Shields. But it IS his managing that got us to our current 1st place.

It's up to the guys to maintain their standard of play.  HIT the ball, CATCH the ball etc etc. You can lead the horse, yada yada yada.

Yes, I think Mike's made bad decisions for PH and defensive positions. Hindsight's 20/20

There are two approaches I think. One is more short-term focussed and the other is more long-term focussed.

If you bat your slumping #2 hitting in the #9 spot, then you're putting him in a situation where you're telling him and the rest of the world that he's not valued as much. If you continue to keep him at #2, then you're saying that you think he will come out of the slump at anytime, hopefully immediately.

90% of the game is half mental.

I've noticed that Phil Jackson does the same type of thing when he doesn't call a timeout when most other teams would. Calling a timeout I think can give the opposing team momentum whereas not calling a timeout makes the opposing team somewhat confused. They're waiting for Phil to call a timeout because they're on a roll but he doesn't. He's sending a message to HIS team that he doesn't need to do anything, you guys can't resolve the issue ON YOUR OWN.

The other part of the theory I think, as it pertains to pitching, is that for the main guys, they can prepare themselves because they know they'll have a shot. If Shields goes down, he can mentally prepare himself for the next shot without worrying about whether he'll get it.

If I screw up at work, the first thing I want to do is fix it. The last thing I want to happen is not to be given a chance to fix it. And if my boss says to me don't worry about screwing up, I KNOW you'll make it right, that gives me incredible enthusiasm to do just that.

I grit my teeth and yell just as much as the next guy when Mr. Scot is pitching with his "Shields Down" - and yes, those 5??? blown holds stay with me - just like Frankie's 3 blown saves. Does that mean the Angels need a new set-up guy and closer? No. It just means that no one is perfect and the Halos wasted yet another strong pitching performance by a starter.

Now when itcomes to Soch and his stubborn streak - yeah, I second-guess a lot. But his players love him and they've won a whole lot more in the past 8-9 years than before that. This is my way of saying that we have to take the good with the bad and find some REAL issue facing the team - i.e. What's up with the rodents at the park?