Angels' Master Tactician Has Plan to Prevent Panic, Too
The most secure and powerful member of the Los Angeles Angels ran onto the field once in Friday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. He chugged from the third-base dugout to first base to argue an umpire’s call. He did not win the argument, so he returned to the dugout, returned to trying to make the Angels better.
Mike Scioscia is a hulking manager with thinning hair, and he is also the stern face of the Angels. When baseball executives discuss how the Angels have been so strong for so long, Scioscia is often mentioned before any players. In some ways, Scioscia is the equivalent of the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, minus the hits, the runs and the dates with Minka Kelly.
After the reliable Angels made three errors and another startling miscue in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees in the opener of the American League Championship Series, Scioscia gave a brief and purposeful speech. Torii Hunter said Scioscia told the Angels, “That’s why we play seven” games, which was Scioscia’s way of ditching the disheartening loss and pushing the emphasis to Game 2.
“Mike is so positive,” Hunter said. “That’s why I like him. I love him, actually.”
Arte Moreno, the Angels’ owner, loves Scioscia and loves having him as a manager, too. Nine months ago, Scioscia signed a 10-year contract extension to manage the Angels through the 2018 season. Scioscia, who became manager in 2000 after one losing year as a minor league manager, has an option that allows him to leave after 2015. That seems unlikely.
Because Scioscia won the franchise’s only World Series title in 2002 and has snared five division titles in the last six seasons, he has a contract that could keep him managing the Angels until Jon and Kate’s sextuplets are 14 years old. That means that Scioscia could be tied to the Angels for one year more than Alex Rodriguez is tied to the Yankees. It also means he has the strongest job security in baseball. He is a former Dodgers catcher who has evolved into a Walter Alston wannabe. Alston signed 23 one-year contracts to manage the Dodgers.
“That’s really unbelievable,” Hunter said of Scioscia. “It shows you what kind of coach, manager and person he is. He’s respected all around.”
Scioscia shares the cover of the Angels media guide with three players, but he is positioned front and center. In the biographies of executives in the guide, Moreno and Tony Reagins, the general manager, appear before Scioscia. But if the Angels were listing people based on who has the most impact on decisions, Scioscia would dominate Page 1.
When Reagins, who is in his second season as G.M., discusses players, he cites whether they fit into the Angels’ system. That system has been designed and sustained by Scioscia, whose teams are smart, aggressive and disciplined. Scioscia, an excellent tactician, wants his club to push the action and do the things that probably flustered him when he was crouching behind the plate.
“He doesn’t any put pressure on you, but if you make mental mistakes, he can’t handle that,” Hunter said. “The physical mistakes, you can’t do anything about that. He just wants you to go out and play your game.”
As Scioscia prepared the Angels for another chilly night at Yankee Stadium, he wanted them to forget how sloppy they had been and remind them of how smooth they could be. The Angels made 85 errors this season, the lowest total in franchise history. But the Angels, a frenetic team that is supposed to rattle opponents, looked unnerved Friday night.
While Scioscia answered questions about how Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins failed to catch a pop-up that landed between them, he did it without criticizing them. Scioscia said, “These guys are not going to be robots,” while acknowledging that they made an unsightly miscue. Before Saturday’s game, Scioscia repeatedly said that he expected the Angels to play better. Joe Girardi, the Yankees’ manager, is signed through 2010 and might not still be employed if his team had missed the postseason. When Girardi spoke about Scioscia, who has the longest tenure of any A.L. manager, he called him “the face” of the Angels.
“That’s an ugly look,” Scioscia said.
Then Scioscia emphasized that the Angels were not “a one-man deal” and that he was privileged to work with talented people in a solid organization. Scioscia cited players like Tim Salmon, Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson, John Lackey and Hunter, who have been or could be considered the face of the Angels, and said the focus should be on “the guys on the field.”
Jose Molina, who started at catcher for the Yankees on Saturday night, played with the Angels under Scioscia for six and a half years. Molina predicted what Scioscia would tell the Angels after their messy loss.
“Hey, there’s no panic,” Molina said. “He’ll just say, ‘Let’s go and get them in Game 2.’ That’s the way he’ll be.”
That is the way he was, the way Scioscia will probably be until 2018.
The most secure and powerful member of the Los Angeles Angels ran onto the field once in Friday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. He chugged from the third-base dugout to first base to argue an umpire’s call. He did not win the argument, so he returned to the dugout, returned to trying to make the Angels better.
Mike Scioscia is a hulking manager with thinning hair, and he is also the stern face of the Angels. When baseball executives discuss how the Angels have been so strong for so long, Scioscia is often mentioned before any players. In some ways, Scioscia is the equivalent of the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, minus the hits, the runs and the dates with Minka Kelly.
After the reliable Angels made three errors and another startling miscue in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees in the opener of the American League Championship Series, Scioscia gave a brief and purposeful speech. Torii Hunter said Scioscia told the Angels, “That’s why we play seven” games, which was Scioscia’s way of ditching the disheartening loss and pushing the emphasis to Game 2.
“Mike is so positive,” Hunter said. “That’s why I like him. I love him, actually.”
Arte Moreno, the Angels’ owner, loves Scioscia and loves having him as a manager, too. Nine months ago, Scioscia signed a 10-year contract extension to manage the Angels through the 2018 season. Scioscia, who became manager in 2000 after one losing year as a minor league manager, has an option that allows him to leave after 2015. That seems unlikely.
Because Scioscia won the franchise’s only World Series title in 2002 and has snared five division titles in the last six seasons, he has a contract that could keep him managing the Angels until Jon and Kate’s sextuplets are 14 years old. That means that Scioscia could be tied to the Angels for one year more than Alex Rodriguez is tied to the Yankees. It also means he has the strongest job security in baseball. He is a former Dodgers catcher who has evolved into a Walter Alston wannabe. Alston signed 23 one-year contracts to manage the Dodgers.
“That’s really unbelievable,” Hunter said of Scioscia. “It shows you what kind of coach, manager and person he is. He’s respected all around.”
Scioscia shares the cover of the Angels media guide with three players, but he is positioned front and center. In the biographies of executives in the guide, Moreno and Tony Reagins, the general manager, appear before Scioscia. But if the Angels were listing people based on who has the most impact on decisions, Scioscia would dominate Page 1.
When Reagins, who is in his second season as G.M., discusses players, he cites whether they fit into the Angels’ system. That system has been designed and sustained by Scioscia, whose teams are smart, aggressive and disciplined. Scioscia, an excellent tactician, wants his club to push the action and do the things that probably flustered him when he was crouching behind the plate.
“He doesn’t any put pressure on you, but if you make mental mistakes, he can’t handle that,” Hunter said. “The physical mistakes, you can’t do anything about that. He just wants you to go out and play your game.”
As Scioscia prepared the Angels for another chilly night at Yankee Stadium, he wanted them to forget how sloppy they had been and remind them of how smooth they could be. The Angels made 85 errors this season, the lowest total in franchise history. But the Angels, a frenetic team that is supposed to rattle opponents, looked unnerved Friday night.
While Scioscia answered questions about how Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins failed to catch a pop-up that landed between them, he did it without criticizing them. Scioscia said, “These guys are not going to be robots,” while acknowledging that they made an unsightly miscue. Before Saturday’s game, Scioscia repeatedly said that he expected the Angels to play better. Joe Girardi, the Yankees’ manager, is signed through 2010 and might not still be employed if his team had missed the postseason. When Girardi spoke about Scioscia, who has the longest tenure of any A.L. manager, he called him “the face” of the Angels.
“That’s an ugly look,” Scioscia said.
Then Scioscia emphasized that the Angels were not “a one-man deal” and that he was privileged to work with talented people in a solid organization. Scioscia cited players like Tim Salmon, Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson, John Lackey and Hunter, who have been or could be considered the face of the Angels, and said the focus should be on “the guys on the field.”
Jose Molina, who started at catcher for the Yankees on Saturday night, played with the Angels under Scioscia for six and a half years. Molina predicted what Scioscia would tell the Angels after their messy loss.
“Hey, there’s no panic,” Molina said. “He’ll just say, ‘Let’s go and get them in Game 2.’ That’s the way he’ll be.”
That is the way he was, the way Scioscia will probably be until 2018.
Source: New York Times
