Ken Rosenthal made the most cryptic of tweets this morning...
Expectation among some around #Angels is that both Scioscia and Dipoto will return. Owner Arte Moreno is only one who actually knows.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 1, 2013
Many well-sourced reporters are speculating that neither manager Mike Scioscia nor general manager Jerry Dipoto will lose their jobs after an underwhelming 2013 season.
Ken Rosenthal dashes the illusion that there has been some reason to confirm this. He says that Arte Moreno has not given any information to anyone.
What this tweet is saying goes well beyond the 140 characters present. A little history: Ken Rosenthal was the first reporter to mention Arte's pursuit of Albert Pujols and the first to break that signing as news. A few other instances over the years leads most Angels watchers to the belief that he has a source higher up in the organization that any of the local paywalls, blogs or even the team's MLB-affiliated reporters.
When Ken Rosenthal tweets that only Arte knows it indicates that all the other reports we have read that nothing is going to happen are based on the hunches of other people in the Angels organization. These folks are sources for other members of the media. These hunches are informed enough to source for a tweet or a short report.
None of these sources knew about the Pujols deal. When Ken Rosenthal tweets about the Angels, he is not tweeting from any of these sources. Ken seems to have a higher source within the organization.
Is Ken Rosenthal's source Arte Moreno himself? We know Arte prefers the national media to the local media. Ken raises money for many veterans groups with his bow-tie schtick and Arte, a veteran himself, is a big supporter of similar causes. The diminutive Rosenthal might make the 5'9" Moreno fell like a "big man" in a land of so many oversized jocks. Was a mid-season skewering of Arte and the failure of his management style on a CBS web affiliate a counter to the FOX-affiliation of Rosenthal/Moreno? Lots of speculation here but some building blocks... piece together the Legos and there has to be something separating Rosenthal from the other sourced reporters.
It could be any or all of these of reasons, but I am starting to wonder if the little man is directly connected to the big man. Regardless, when Rosenthal tweets about Arte and the Angels, disregard anything else you read or hear. He is the best source out there - 140 characters from Ken tops 140 posts around the Halosphere when it comes to breaking news.
Can you check in the Mike Trout contract, Ken?
And so when Ken says that only Arte knows, we can take that as fact. This would mean that he isn't sharing anything with anyone. Has he not made up his mind? Is he struggling with a conflict over what he knows in his head versus what he feels in his heart? Loyal to a fault and with that loyalty returned, is Arte's silence actually an agony of indecision?
It might be a few more days as Arte ruminates and prays... at least as what I can surmise in one tweet from up on high.