Reagins Struck Out In The FA Market. Did Scioscia Breathe a Quiet Sigh of Relief?
by angelslogic on Jan 16, 2011 8:14 PM PST
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Signing Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford would have made Mike Scioscia ecstatic, right? Maybe, but let’s take a look at the other side of the managerial coin.
For most of Scioscia’s tenure, the Angels have been a scrappy team whose success has stemmed from superior pitching (keep the opponents run total manageable), adherence to a small-ball philosophy (running first-to-third, timely sacrifice bunts, successful hit-and-run plays), and good old-fashioned quality game management. The “big fly” has played second fiddle to “manufacturing runs” in the baseball world that is Sciosciaball.
If Tony Reagins had found a way to sign Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford, purveyors of the game would have put the Angels at the top of the World Series-contenders heap. The East Coast machine would no longer have considered the Angels to be a Yankees stepchild. Angels fans in general, and the HH community in particular, would have set their sights on a 100-win season, and Arte Moreno would rightfully be expecting a World Series ring for the millions of dollars he dropped.
Now, put yourself in Mike Scioscia’s cleats. You are dealt a proverbial royal straight flush: solid hitting, solid fielding, and solid pitching. Expectations are sky high (infinity and beyond!) from the fans and the team owner. Are you feeling the pressure yet? If you are Mike Scioscia, the answer is a definitive “yes.”
But Sosh is a master “tweaker”; he prides himself in making good players great, and strives to have his team perform at a “higher level.” If you are blessed with the best, where do you go from there? Your opportunities to exert your managerial finesse all but disappear; your strategizing denigrates to merely playing the big boys and hoping they perform.
I think Mike Scioscia is much more comfortable with an underdog team because it gives him a chance to utilize his managerial skills. There is pressure to win, but the expectations are realistic and attainable. How much success can a manager be expected to achieve with such raw talent as Wood, Bourjos, and Callaspo?
Maybe, just maybe, Scioscia heaved a sigh of relief a few weeks ago when Adrian Beltre became the second major free agent that the team failed to sign. Sosh avoided being stuck in a pressure cooker with no relief valve.
This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.
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That's a big "maybe."
While you have a worthy point that Scioscia would love to exert his managerial skills on an underdog team, what manager wouldn’t want to work with the best? Some burden that would be. Scioscia does take pride in getting the most out of what he’s got, but he would relish the opportunity to show that he can perform under the spotlight, which he can.
by moralesforpresident on Jan 16, 2011 8:23 PM PST reply actions
After much thought and deliberation.....
Naaahhh!
This is the space where you write a clever quote or something like that.
by sheisalovelyladyandmyapologiestoher on Jan 16, 2011 9:43 PM PST reply actions
Nope
Crawford plays the sort of game Scioscia treasures. Beltre (as a single FA signing) would be the sort of hard-nosed veteran Scioscia values, and by himself wouldn’t have made the Angels the favorite anyway.
"I can't tell people what to think or not to think. Their perceptions are their perceptions. We just feel we've taken a step forward. At the end of the day, we have to play 162 games. Once that happens then we'll be able to evaluate the offseason moves."~Tony Reagins, on the Angels' offseason
by George Kaplan on Jan 16, 2011 9:54 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
So basically you're saying
Scioscia would rather have a shitty team so it would make him look better if the Angels had success in 2011 than a good team that actually could contend for a WS on paper?
I think that is a bunch of bullshit and that Scioscia would have loved to have Crawford and Beltre, just like pretty much any other manager in baseball.
"F it, let's pitch." - Ervin Santana
by Chzburger Jones on Jan 16, 2011 10:00 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I agree, if given the choice Sosh would have swooped them up in a nanosecond.
But, I also feel that not signing them brought with it a little angst reduction.
A wise man does not need advice and a fool won't take it.
by angelslogic on Jan 16, 2011 10:15 PM PST up reply actions
The furthest thing from Scioscia's mind right now is
“oh thank God we didn’t make our team significantly better, because now I have an excuse to suck!”
by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jan 17, 2011 2:43 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
We all have comfort zones.
I merely posed a question, and then proferred an answer, as to whether Scioscia is glad he didn’t have to step out of his.
A wise man does not need advice and a fool won't take it.
Rec'd.
You basically said what I was trying to say, but much more concisely and effectively.
"F it, let's pitch." - Ervin Santana
by Chzburger Jones on Jan 17, 2011 3:08 AM PST reply actions
No, the FO just talked too much and had no idea what it was doing.
The idea that Scioscia would rather have an “underdog” team that he has to tweak in order to win is like saying you’d rather cruise along the beach in a beat up Pinto instead of a Lamborghini because the former reduces the expectations on you to get laid.
The Lambo maximizes your chances; and if you don’t want to maximize your chances, then you shouldn’t be playing the game.
Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.
While I don't believe it's that black and white
I can jibe with what your slinging. This team really seems to believe one in the hand is better than two in the bush, even if that one in the hand happens to be Mathis, Callaspo, Willits or the mighty Q. Any of those players could have been non-tendered at some point over the last few seasons and replaced with cheaper (yet likely more talented) players. They also like their coaches to have been brought up through the organization, never hiring anyone that wasn’t with them before. Just look at how they absolutely had to get Butcher back in the fold from Tampa. And of course there was the Reagins promotion, when there were experienced GM’s with solid track records up for the taking at the time.
I would almost call it a certain arrogance, that they would rather have their people that they developed and haven’t been corrupted by other, inferior organizations. It seems as if they’re fueled by doing things that most in the industry would roundly criticize.
Basically I read this as questioning Scioscia's testicular fortitude
Reggie Willits: The non-tender candidate of my dreams.
Scioscia's tendencies on offense
Times in 11 seasons that Scioscia offenses finished 1st in the AL:
SB attempts: 5 times
AVG: 3 times
SB: 3 times
CS: 3 times
Fewest Ks: 3 times
Hits: 2 times
Fewest GIDP: 2 times
SLG: 1 time
HBP: 1 time
Sac flies: 1 time
Sac hits: 1 time
Times that Scioscia offenses finished last:
HBP: 2 times
Walks: 1 time
Times that Sosh offenses finished top-5
CS: 10 times
SB: 8 times
SB attempts: 8 times
Fewest Ks: 7 times
Sac hits: 7 times
Fewest GIDP: 6 times
AVGs: 5 times
Hits: 5 times
Sac flies: 5 times
Runs: 3 times
OBP: 3 times
3B: 3 times
HBP: 3 times
OPS+: 2 times
SLG: 2 times
2B: 2 times
HR: 1 time
Walks: NEVER
Times Sosh offenses finished in bottom 5
HR: 7 times
Walks: 5 times
2B: 5 times
HBP: 5 times
Runs: 4 times
OPS+: 4 times
Hits: 4 times
Sac flies: 4 times
OBP: 3 times
SLG: 3 times
AVG: 2 times
3B: 2 times
Most GIDP: 1 time
Most Ks: 1 time
Sac hits: 1 time
As I try to decipher these stats, I see a mixed bag of results
with some confirmation of small-ball and run manufacturing (5 of eleven years first in stolen base attempts, 7 of eleven years top 5 in sac hits, for example). Is that your take?
A wise man does not need advice and a fool won't take it.
by angelslogic on Jan 17, 2011 11:46 AM PST up reply actions
Generally speaking, more than anything else, he's a contact/baserunning guy
He inherited a take & rake offense and almost immediately shed walks and strikeouts and homers while jacking up the SBs and first-to-thirds. That strategy worked great only when the team hit .280 or more (‘02, ’07, ’09); produced middling results in the .270s (’05-06), and made us all sad-faced any lower than that (’01, ’03, ’08, ’10).
Though the general characterization is true, the trend lines are interesting. 2009-10 saw increases in strikeouts and power, decreases in both stolen bases and effectiveness thereof. He used to be a genius at avoiding the double play; now he’s just average. He bunts a little less than in his first half-decade, even with a team that has Erick Aybar and Reggie Willits.
To your original point, Crawford is totally Sothesque in approach, and Beltre’s not that far off, either (he strikes out only about 100 times a year, and doesn’t draw a ton of walks).
Man
That was a well written piece. Shit, Coach would have been in a situation comparable to a lot of professional head coaches throughout the years (i.e. Ozzie Guillen), that weight has to be a burden. I think that Soth will do what he does best and we will surprise a lot of experts.
Imagine…
Borjous .297 45 SB
Callaspo .303 11HR 67 RBI
Abreu .290 22HR 80RBI 22 SB
Morales .285 37HR 124RBI
Napoli .270 36 HR 108RBI
Hunter .285 27HR 91RBI
Kendrick .315 14HR 86RBI 40 2B
Mathis .240 8HR 51RBI
Aybar .300 30 SB 15 3B
I’m already hyped about this upcoming year.
Gimme a cigarette
by tmat on Jan 17, 2011 10:25 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd for pure lunacy.
NOT MY QUINNY!!!!
by halofan4life on Jan 17, 2011 10:31 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
44 home run catching duo!
YES WE CAN
by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jan 18, 2011 2:41 AM PST up reply actions
Mathis hitting nearly 50 points higher than his career average is my favorite
by Balls and Strikes on Jan 18, 2011 7:45 PM PST up reply actions
LOL at Napoli getting over 100 RBIs.
Nobody is getting 100 RBIs in this OBP-deprived lineup.
"F it, let's pitch." - Ervin Santana
by Chzburger Jones on Jan 18, 2011 8:29 PM PST up reply actions
Soth wants to win
And BUY the hype of Soth when he played behind the plate.
Leave Ben Weber in? Bring in Washburn to face Ortiz? Bat Izturis third? The Aybar squeeze play? We tend to remember the lost gambles at the expense of the many tactical victories that kept the machinery running over the last decade.
He’s not afraid to fight with whatever he’s got in the pantry.
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