Scioscia playing Hamilton is inexcusable

[mrwicked]

A lot of smack talk against the #7 hitter.

What about the showings of #2-3-4? Other than Pujols awesome RBI today they have been ghosts.

[Adios]

Well I just thought that this would be the right thread to introduce my new screen name

[mp170.6]

I understand the situation completely. If Mike was to sit everyone that is failing we would have only three hitters maybe.

I'll ask you this, at your job do you need your boss to tell you to be ready to work? Mike has made mistakes, but this is players sucking ass more than Mike making bad decisions.

 

This isn't an isolated 2014 phenomenon.  It's been going on since 2004 with a completely different crop of players.  The Angels look terrible in playoff games -- if they get there at all -- and the one common denominator is Mike Scioscia.  I wouldn't fire Mike Scioscia for going nowhere in 2014, but for all of these failures combined. 

 

And like I said, if your employees sucked ass year after year, would In-N-Out tolerate that from you?  I don't think so. 

[Stradling]

No but once again what are you suppose to do in the playoffs, create a whole new roster, one that didn't win you 98 games?

[Stradling]

I couldn't care less if they fire Mike, but this series is about players under performing, as well as poor decisions. But there is zero guarantee Kole gets a hit if he isn't asked to bunt.

[LAAFANofLA]

LOL @ #7 hitter

[AngelArcher]

Hamilton is a cancer to this team. They played just as good or better without him all season. So what should Scioscia do come playoff time with a Hamilton who hasn't seen game action for an extended period? That's right, start him and reintroduce the cancer.

[mp170.6]

No but once again what are you suppose to do in the playoffs, create a whole new roster, one that didn't win you 98 games?

 

Scioscia is being paid $5 million a season to get the most out of his roster and win games.  How he makes that happen is up to him, but it's no different than the challenge given to the 29 other managers every season.

 

If Ned Yost can get his team fired up, so can Scioscia if he knew what he was doing in the playoffs.  Evidently, he has no clue anymore. 

[fan_since79]

I couldn't care less if they fire Mike, but this series is about players under performing, as well as poor decisions. But there is zero guarantee Kole gets a hit if he isn't asked to bunt.

 

There's a 90% chance of a fastball near or over the plate in that situation and Calhoun is a good fastball hitter.

 

The chance for a successful bunt by a guy who never bunts?? And against a pitcher throwing 98 mph heat? A lot less than 90%.

Edited October 4, 2014 by fan_since79

[joeywings]

Hamilton is a cancer to this team. They played just as good or better without him all season. So what should Scioscia do come playoff time with a Hamilton who hasn't seen game action for an extended period? That's right, start him and reintroduce the cancer.

LOL.

Sosh is the only who doesn't see it that way.

Nice hustle by Hambone on that double-play . lol

I feel for Cowgil b/c being on the bench made him way too aggressive. Like he's begging for a start .

[eligrba]

Bobby Cox is a HOF manager and has a longer record of playoff failures than Scioscia.  Sometimes shit happens to the same person......I know.....

[joeywings]

There's a 90% chance of a fastball near or over that plate in that situation and Calhoun is a good fastball hitter.

 

The chance for a successful bunt by a guy who never bunts?? And against a pitcher throwing 98 mph heat? A lot less than 90%.

At 3-1, if you are the pitcher, you'd pay the other manager to call for the bunt .

That's how stupid that was..

[mp170.6]

Bobby Cox is a HOF manager and has a longer record of playoff failures than Scioscia.  Sometimes shit happens to the same person......I know.....

 

Bobby Cox also has a longer record of playoff success. 

[Angelfish]

I agree it was a bad call, but you're paying the guy 20 million plus and he's been a lethal hitter before I can see why you'd play him over the other options available.

 

Just a bad situation for all involved. I worked with a guy last year who had worked with the Rangers in 2012. He said they tried everything to get him to take pitches the second half of the season but he just wouldn't listen. Called him a head case, and this was before Hamilton's awful year last year.

 

He got off to such a great start this year, then hurt himself with that idiotic slide into first. Since then he's been 2013 Josh all over again.

[fan_since79]

Talk about head case, Hamilton said after he got his thumb torn up that he might do the same thing again given the opportunity.

 

Didn't he also break his arm a few years ago diving head first into home plate?

Edited October 4, 2014 by fan_since79

[tennischmp]

No but once again what are you suppose to do in the playoffs, create a whole new roster, one that didn't win you 98 games?

The managers job is to put the team in the best position to win starting with putting the best players on the roster and fielding the line up with the best players. Scioscia has done neither. Then it is his job to jump start the team if the offense isn't working by pinch hitting or pinch running or thinking outside the box. He has done none of that.

[Stradling]

The managers job is to put the team in the best position to win starting with putting the best players on the roster and fielding the line up with the best players. Scioscia has done neither. Then it is his job to jump start the team if the offense isn't working by pinch hitting or pinch running or thinking outside the box. He has done none of that.

Yep, like I said Mike should have put up the clutch hit sign more often instead of the fail miserably sign. Not sure why he didn't.

[70runner]

Yep, like I said Mike should have put up the clutch hit sign more often instead of the fail miserably sign. Not sure why he didn't.

Once again you ride to Scioscia's rescue.  I believe you are the self appointed authority who once said the manager is responsible for plus/minus 3 games a season. 

 

Blaming the offensive implosion on Scioscia may seem like a stretch with this 2 game sample as you imply with the cute sign response.  However, if one considers the strategy (by Scioscia) which preceded the playoffs, perhaps a picture emerges of a team in cruise control which has been unable to abruptly restore offensive productivity (turn the switch back on).  I would argue the overall pre-playoff cruise strategy may be a bigger factor in the offensive implosion against KC than you are able to recognize through your Scioscia colored bifocals.

 

More directly, the decision to place Hamilton into 2 lineups against LHP after a couple weeks of inactivity was Scioscia.  The serious brain fart to bunt Calhoun was Scioscia.  The TWO decisions to sacrifice Aybar to put a RISP for Hamilton against LHP is also Scioscia.  The decision today not to sacrifice Iannetta (or pinch hitter) in 8th, runner on 2nd, no outs, and Calhoun/Trout to follow, was Scioscia (his best defensive catcher argument borders on comical).  He deserves a generous portion of the blame for the Angels performance. 

[joeywings]

Once again you ride to Scioscia's rescue.  I believe you are the self appointed authority who once said the manager is responsible for plus/minus 3 games a season. 

 

Blaming the offensive implosion on Scioscia may seem like a stretch with this 2 game sample as you imply with the cute sign response.  However, if one considers the strategy (by Scioscia) which preceded the playoffs, perhaps a picture emerges of a team in cruise control which has been unable to abruptly restore offensive productivity (turn the switch back on).  I would argue the overall pre-playoff cruise strategy may be a bigger factor in the offensive implosion against KC than you are able to recognize through your Scioscia colored bifocals.

 

More directly, the decision to place Hamilton into 2 lineups against LHP after a couple weeks of inactivity was Scioscia.  The serious brain fart to bunt Calhoun was Scioscia.  The TWO decisions to sacrifice Aybar to put a RISP for Hamilton against LHP is also Scioscia.  The decision today not to sacrifice Iannetta (or pinch hitter) in 8th, runner on 2nd, no outs, and Calhoun/Trout to follow, was Scioscia (his best defensive catcher argument borders on comical).  He deserves a generous portion of the blame for the Angels performance. 

Careful, you might bet labeled dumb for that .

[Stradling]

He certainly deserves blame.

[Butcher'd]

The Calhoun bunt, and Hamilton playing 2 straight games (and looking completely overmatched) are fireable offenses. 

 

He definitely should have been fired after 2012...at this point I'm beginning to resent Arte Moreno. At what point is this shit not good enough? A message needs to be sent in the worst way.

 

Scioscia's had a nice career as manager of the Halos, but it's nothing special in the grand scheme of things. 5 postseason series  in 15 years as manager is nothing that says he's gotta continue being manager. It's time for a change. He's too stubborn, and refuses to change his style that hasn't worked the last 10 years

[Stradling]

The Calhoun bunt, and Hamilton playing 2 straight games (and looking completely overmatched) are fireable offenses.

He definitely should have been fired after 2012...at this point I'm beginning to resent Arte Moreno. At what point is this shit not good enough? A message needs to be sent in the worst way.

Scioscia's had a nice career as manager of the Halos, but it's nothing special in the grand scheme of things. 5 postseason series in 15 years as manager is nothing that says he's gotta continue being manager. It's time for a change. He's too stubborn, and refuses to change his style that hasn't worked the last 10 years

Except he did change this year during the regular season. Players had shorter leashes, they bunted less, they had fewer mental errors, they had fewer defensive errors and we had a pretty consistent line up. Those are all changes or signs of improvement during a much longer sample size. Like I said before I don't care if they change managers, but if you think this offensive drought is all on Scioscia you are only fooling yourself. Edited October 4, 2014 by Stradling

[joeywings]

Except he did change this year during the regular season. Players had shorter leashes, they bunted less, they had fewer mental errors, they had fewer defensive errors and we had a pretty consistent line up. Those are all changes or signs of improvement during a much longer sample size. Like I said before I don't care if they change managers, but if you think this offensive drought is all on Scioscia you are only fooling yourself.

Right and expecting better post-season results from Sosh qualifies as insanity after this sweep.

[Butcher'd]

Except he did change this year during the regular season. Players had shorter leashes, they bunted less, they had fewer mental errors, they had fewer defensive errors and we had a pretty consistent line up. Those are all changes or signs of improvement during a much longer sample size. Like I said before I don't care if they change managers, but if you think this offensive drought is all on Scioscia you are only fooling yourself.

 

So why are we back to bunting and giving long leashes (Hamilton and Wilson) in the postseason? That's my point, Strad. He's been doing this crap in the playoffs for too many years.

 

It's obviously not all on Sosh, the last 10 (!) years are just alarming in my opinion. A decade is a long time

[joeywings]

So why are we back to bunting and giving long leashes (Hamilton and Wilson) in the postseason? That's my point, Strad. He's been doing this crap in the playoffs for too many years.

 

It's obviously not all on Sosh, the last 10 (!) years are just alarming in my opinion. A decade is a long time

We need change  like the A's.