Rosenthal: Scioscia expected to step down at end of season

[tdawg87]

Sosh has been the manager for pretty much my entire tenure as a fan. Technically I started "following" during the early nineties but was too young to really remember much. I do clearly remember 1995 bringing the suck. But 2000 was when I started getting truly invested in how well the team was doing and knowing all the players and all that. 

When 2002 happened, I was definitely blessed. I certainly hadn't carried the burden of disappointment on my shoulders the way my dad had, and the way so many of you had, but it was still an incredibly special moment that I'll remember and cherish for the rest of my life. Scioscia was right there in the middle of it all.

In a sense, Mike Scioscia is more synonymous with the Angels than anyone, at least from my perspective. Not Percival, not Erstad, not GA, or K-Rod or Weaver. Not Salmon. Mike has been in the dugout since I was an annoying, bratty kid. He was there through the good and the bad. Though we tend to forget just how much good there truly was.

His decisions have caused so many emotions over the years. Mostly frustration. Sometimes anger. Other times complete confusion. But another one has consistently hidden in the back of my mind, and it's shame. No, not shame for Mike or for the team, but for myself. It's natural to completely overlook decisions a manager makes that ultimately help the team. In fact, we often see something good happening IN SPITE of his decisions. But the shame I've felt has been through all my years of complaining over every little decision, every lineup, every pitching change, and never did I think to correct myself when his decisions worked out. Considering his career record, I'd say he made the right decision more often than not. After all, he was the manager. Not me. There's a good reason for that.

Anyway, while I am fully on board with getting a new manager and moving on from Scioscia, I can't shake this bittersweet feeling that tightens around my chest. It's time to move on. It's time. But I will always respect Scioscia as the greatest manager in Angels history and the only manager to lead this team to a World Series ring. 

For better or worse, the dugout won't be the same without him. And neither will the Angels.

[John Taylor]

I think it's time, and it works out really well that it's the end of his contract, so he isn't being fired, or a huge shakeup, he is just stepping away after the end of his contract. Assuming the Angels let him finish out the season (He has earned it) then it looks good on both sides.

 

Meanwhile lets take a look at how Dave Roberts is feeling (especially if the Doyyers don't win the WS)

[FabulousFabregas]

[m0nkey]

What is he stepping down from if his contract expires?

[TroutBaseball]

Never keep a manager around more than 10 years.

He's a good manager and he'll do well wherever he ends up.

Girardi, Ausmus, Mattheny are all a strong "NO". Just because you know their names doesn't make them qualified.

[robblin17]

See ya! Thank God. 

[TroutBaseball]

4 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

What is he stepping down from if his contract expires?

You say "he's fired"; I say "his contract wasn't renewed". . .  Mike says "I'm stepping down".

[Amazing Larry]

14 minutes ago, Sully151 said:

I’m surprised this was made public.

Publicity stunt. 

“Hey fans I know this team sucks but come down and say goodbye to Sosh!”

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

37 minutes ago, bloodbrother said:

Think it's good for both parties but man it's gonna be weird to not see Sosh in the dugout.

If by weird you mean awesome then yea?

[FabulousFabregas]

[Glen]

I like the announcement. The season is already over, and this gives the fans a chance to say goodbye on the last game, hopefully they'll have a bobblehead for him or something.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

45 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I know some on here hate him. But hes been a staple to the org. One way or another, he's been a huge part of this organizations success, and graduation from a team no one noticed to one everyone did for a very long run.

Gonna be weird to see anyone else managing.

Staple of losing. 

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Just now, Glen said:

I like the announcement. The season is already over, and this gives the fans a chance to say goodbye on the last game, hopefully they'll have a bobblehead for him or something.

I’d like to see them do something unique.  Like a bobblestomach.  

[Amazing Larry]

Any mention of the owner stepping down soon?

[Angelsjunky]

I wonder how much of this is Scioscia just getting old and wanting to hang out by the pool eating cannolis, and how much of it is Eppler saying "Thanks for your service, but we're going a different direction...feel free to make this look like your decision." 

We'll probably never know.

[Sully151]

10 minutes ago, Lhalo said:

Publicity stunt. 

“Hey fans I know this team sucks but come down and say goodbye to Sosh!”

We have a lot of scioscia bobble head nights in our future.

[krAbs]

Toasting in epic bread.

In b4 we get a thousand "I told you so" threads as soon as the team has a hot streak next year
In b4 we get a thousand "I told you so" threads as soon as the team has a cold streak next year

Mike has been there through the entirety of my being an Angel fan. I'm not old enough to remember a time before him. A lot to love, and a lot to hate. Its almost a bummer that his contract was so long - I imagine at a certain point, the bad sticks in your memory more than the good, and even the best manager would gather some sort of taint around him over the years.

All that being said, I'm fairly confident that Eppler has known exactly who he wants to replace Scioscia since he first started as Angel GM. I'm excited to see who is picked here.

[Angelsjunky]

Just now, Lhalo said:

Any mention of the owner stepping down soon?

To be fair to Arte, he seems to have learned his lesson about meddling with baseball operations and has taken a back seat, (seemingly) giving his GM carte blanche and a pretty big payroll. He's a lot smarter than George Steinbrenner or Peter Angelos.

[ettin]

Agree with Toby, this is bittersweet. Although the on field performance has been wildly inconsistent I still think S-C-I-O-S-C-I-A is a good manager compared to everyone else in the League. He is up there with the best but all things, good and bad, come to an end and this is probably the right moment for him to move on or move into a different position within the Angels organization.

It will be interesting to see whom they target as the next GM and I trust Billy to make a good decision so it is in the right hands.

Finally for those of you happy to see him go I will go with the old cautionary, it is not always green on the other side of the hill.

Let's hope Billy picks a winner that can fill Mike's shoes on the battlefield.

Best of luck to Mike and his family no matter where they end up. Hopefully they stay within the organization. Thanks for everything Mike!

[Brian Ilten]

Sweet Baby Jesus!

[Mads28]

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

[Erstad Grit]

I'm actually bummed.  Scioscia was patient and stubborn.  More often than not this worked for good for the angels.  When it didn't it was excruciating.  Truly end of the greatest era in angels history. 

[Amazing Larry]

3 minutes ago, ettin said:

Best of luck to Mike and his family no matter where they end up. Hopefully they stay within the organization. Thanks for everything Mike!

Agreed. No matter what I think of his in-game decisions over the past few decades the man brought us our one and only championship and never brought shame to the organization. You don’t have to embrace him but you have to respect him. Thank you Mike. 

[robblin17]

Where does this rank on best days of the franchise? This loser has been holding the franchise back for awhile. 

[FabulousFabregas]

 

Hopefully the Fat Man is lying.