LA Times: From the hire point, the descent can be sudden for L.A. coaches

[AngelsWin.com]

If you want to coach a major sports program in Los Angeles these days, lose your sense of pride, find your sense of humor and prepare to spend every waking hour apologizing for not being Phil Jackson.

He was once the face of college basketball, Hoosiers personified, a small-town kid who this spring brought a smile, a swagger and a national championship resume to the UCLA program.

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[bdavis621]

It may be one of the toughest jobs however Scioscia has been paid very well and hasn't produced.

[EE_]

"Welcome to the home of what has become the toughest job in sports"

LMAO. Bill "Comic Book Guy" Plashke should put down the weed.

Scioscia would have been eaten alive years ago in a more hostile region. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

He was once baseball's best manager, the steady force who brought the Angels their first and only world championship, the creator of what many now consider halo heaven.

With "was once" being the operative phrase. Men who are considered top managers generally get more out of their teams than anyone has a right to expect. They also make moves that win games. Scioscia has been handed one of the highest payrolls in baseball, yet the Angels are a mid-pack team. Whether the current roster is his "style" or not, solid managers adjust their styles to the talent on hand. People who watch this club a lot have mentioned that they seem to lack desire, that they appear to be playing out the string even though we are barely out of April. There has also been mention of possible "clubhouse issues".

 

The statement is correct about one thing: Mike Scioscia was once probably the best manager in baseball. I don't say that just because he won the club's only World Series title. He was a master at juggling the roster to get the team through periods of injuries, and also at gradually working returning players back into the lineup while minimizing the chance of re-injury. The 2002 team, who won it all, was not the most talented team in baseball. The roster was made up largely of players who no one outside of Angel fans had ever heard of, yet there was seemingly a different hero every night. The atmosphere was electric. Then came Scioscia's fixation with veterans, his inexplicable devotion to non-producing players at the expense of the team, and managerial moves that defy all logic. Some players produced and were benched in favor of others who didn't. Scioscia is also intensely devoted to coaches who make no apparent contribution to the team other than being "good in the clubhouse". He seems to hire friends rather than teachers and mentors.

 

I don't know why we have arrived at this point, but it is apparent from both his demeanor and his decisions that Mike Scioscia is not the manager he was 8-10 years ago. There are several possible explanations. Complacency brought on by the security of a long-term major money contract. Boredom with the surroundings. Anger over a diminished role in player personnel decisions. Dismissal of a favorite coach. Favorite players being dealt.

 

Whatever the reason, I have the feeling that this situation is rapidly reaching a tipping point.

[Angel Oracle]

Something changed in Scioscia. What caused it? The loss of the men who helped him a lot (Maddon and Black)?

Because it's no contest between Maddon and Picciolo, and between Black and Butcher.

New York would have eaten Scioscia alive by October 2011.

What is his dang fascination with Hacker? Because they were WS champ teammates in 1988?

[gotbeer]

There should be a warning for any Times articles linked written by Plaschke.  #fireplaschke 

[deepdrive]

With "was once" being the operative phrase. Men who are considered top managers generally get more out of their teams than anyone has a right to expect. They also make moves that win games. Scioscia has been handed one of the highest payrolls in baseball, yet the Angels are a mid-pack team. Whether the current roster is his "style" or not, solid managers adjust their styles to the talent on hand. People who watch this club a lot have mentioned that they seem to lack desire, that they appear to be playing out the string even though we are barely out of April. There has also been mention of possible "clubhouse issues".

 

The statement is correct about one thing: Mike Scioscia was once probably the best manager in baseball. I don't say that just because he won the club's only World Series title. He was a master at juggling the roster to get the team through periods of injuries, and also at gradually working returning players back into the lineup while minimizing the chance of re-injury. The 2002 team, who won it all, was not the most talented team in baseball. The roster was made up largely of players who no one outside of Angel fans had ever heard of, yet there was seemingly a different hero every night. The atmosphere was electric. Then came Scioscia's fixation with veterans, his inexplicable devotion to non-producing players at the expense of the team, and managerial moves that defy all logic. Some players produced and were benched in favor of others who didn't. Scioscia is also intensely devoted to coaches who make no apparent contribution to the team other than being "good in the clubhouse". He seems to hire friends rather than teachers and mentors.

 

I don't know why we have arrived at this point, but it is apparent from both his demeanor and his decisions that Mike Scioscia is not the manager he was 8-10 years ago. There are several possible explanations. Complacency brought on by the security of a long-term major money contract. Boredom with the surroundings. Anger over a diminished role in player personnel decisions. Dismissal of a favorite coach. Favorite players being dealt.

 

Whatever the reason, I have the feeling that this situation is rapidly reaching a tipping point.

Pretty good appraisal. Scioscia doesn't seem to have the energy he had. He comes across as if this has all grown old to him. He's become kind of stale.