Brad Ausmus Named Angels Skip

[IEAngelsfan]

49 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

 

He stuttered when he said The Los Angeles Angels.  Was he going to say some other team?

[ten ocho recon scout]

58 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

 

"I dont care what happened yesterday."

Prepare for AW.Com to remember a pitchout you did or did not call for 2 years ago, amigo. 

[ukyah]

i just came upon a really cool piece of information about ausmus that i thought i would share.

Though Ausmus was not drafted until the 47th round of the 1987 draft, he played in MLB longer than any of the 1,150 players drafted ahead of him did.

 

[UndertheHalo]

33 minutes ago, True Grich said:

@Jeff Fletcher can you tell us which; if any, current players attended today's press conference?

Middleton and JC Ramirez. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

46 minutes ago, ukyah said:

i just came upon a really cool piece of information about ausmus that i thought i would share.

Though Ausmus was not drafted until the 47th round of the 1987 draft, he played in MLB longer than any of the 1,150 players drafted ahead of him did.

 

That is pretty cool. 

Ive always wondered how much more the mental is than the physical. How many ecksteins make it because they work their ass off, and how many total talents never pass A ball because they dont want to put in the work.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, True Grich said:

@Jeff Fletcher can you tell us which; if any, current players attended today's press conference?

JC Ramírez and Keynan Middleton were the only ones I saw. 

[disarcina]

this decision was made when Ausmus was hired as special assistant to the GM.

He has been the 'manager in waiting' since his hiring as a special assistant.

Ausmus has spent the 2018 season sitting next to Eppler in the cushy club controlled stadium suite behind the plate with Arte there as well from time to time.

He discussed his moves vs. Scioscia's moves with Eppler all season long.

Some of us (certainly this long time poster) said back when Ausmus joined the organization that he was the 'manager in waiting'-- the only question was - when?

If 2018 had gone better -- and it should have -- remember the optimism coming into the season? then Sosh would have been given a one or two year extension.

I am pretty sure Sosh was informed about mid-July if not sooner -- that he wasn't coming back and the nature of how his departure would be scripted was up to him,

Leave 'on his own accord'  OR be terminated right after the season.

[disarcina]

I like Ausmus.

I like this choice.

I commented on that when he was hired as 'the manager in waiting' and I still feel that way.

I know a lot of posters here didn't like his track record from Detroit.

I remember Ausmus from his playing days as a team leader/ catcher with San Diego, Houston and Detroit.

By the time he signed on with the Dodgers at the end of his career he was almost pretty much a player-coach.

[disarcina]

On 10/21/2018 at 11:33 AM, ten ocho recon scout said:

 

 

[disarcina]

can we root for both teams to lose ?

[JarsOfClay]

19 hours ago, mtangelsfan said:

By the way, does anyone actually believe that Ausmus has the final say on whether Pujols plays a lot or not this season?

He should have 100% final say.

Why would he take the job if the Angels are just setting him up to fail by forcing him to play Pujols?

[mulwin444]

11 hours ago, disarcina said:

Leave 'on his own accord'  OR be terminated right after the season.

His contract was up...over...finished.  He was a "free agent" after the season.

I mean, they could have signed him to an extension and terminated him right away for shits and giggles but that just feels like overkill.

[T.G.]

I listened to the press conference on the radio and Ausmus said all the right things.  I expected as much.  I suspected he would be the next manager early on - but Jeff Fletcher sort of convinced me that it could be someone like Josh Paul.  I'm just hoping for the best; having no real idea how Ausmus will perform.  On the surface of things, he seems intelligent, well spoken and genuinely excited to be the manager (how could he not?).  I like the fact that he has a comprehensive view of the organization and spent so much time diving into every level. 

I also appreciated the way he talked about Scioscia and how he expressed his gratitude for the way Scioscia welcomed him and allowed him to be a part of spring training and such...

Eppler has done an amazing job on many levels.  The way he was able to integrate Ausmus into the team in a way that Dipoto could never do with Servais was interesting.  Eppler's leadership skills seem to be pretty good.  He was patient with the process and waited out Scioscia's contract in a way that didn't ruffle any feathers.  The way he navigated the waters was impressive. 

The tone of the press conference made it clear to me they really have moved as far away from Scioscia's style as possible.  They didn't have to say it in so many words - but so much seem inferred in they things they are going to do.  Also - it was almost as if they were subtly saying to Pujols - you're role is about to change drastically. 

It will be an interesting off season and an interesting season ahead.  I'm keeping an open mind and I"m just hopeful it all works out.

[Bobster7587]

I'm indifferent on choosing Ausmus. Not super excited about it, or upset by it. We'll see what happens and I wish him the best. Glad to get a new face in the dugout for the first time in my adult life.

Also - The photoshopping of all the different Ausmus photos made my day. Bravo sir. Tad Ausmus is amazing!

[mtangelsfan]

1 hour ago, JarsOfClay said:

He should have 100% final say.

Why would he take the job if the Angels are just setting him up to fail by forcing him to play Pujols?

I'm sure it was thoroughly discussed during the interviewing process.  Brad will be doing on the field what Eppler wants him to do on the field.  

[Stradling]

19 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Strad Ausmus!!

Please photoshop me into this picture and it will have my full blessing.  

[Stradling]

16 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

"I dont care what happened yesterday."

Prepare for AW.Com to remember a pitchout you did or did not call for 2 years ago, amigo. 

I’m still mad at him for hitting .105 against the Cardinals in the 2004 NLCS.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Please photoshop me into this picture and it will have my full blessing.  

Done and done my friend.

[Stradling]

6 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Done and done my friend.

Dead to me

[arch stanton]

If you had photoshopped him to the left of Ausmus it would have had my full blessing 

[Stradling]

3 hours ago, JarsOfClay said:

He should have 100% final say.

Why would he take the job if the Angels are just setting him up to fail by forcing him to play Pujols?

Scioscia after 19 years didn’t have final say.  That isn’t how things are done.  I have 7 managers, 35 assistant managers and 7 different locations, and I have 30 plus years of experience.  I don’t have total final say in some of the things I oversee.  It is called real life.

[stormngt]

22 hours ago, Sean-Regan said:

If you learned to read, what I said was that Cozart and Calhoun might be better at this point. Since were talking about a hypothetical lineup, obviously we’re not comparing career numbers, which you are well aware of. Pujols is old and regressing. Cozart and Calhoun both have an actual legitimate shot at putting up better numbers than Albert. Both are miles ahead defensively. But keep it up with the straw men: you can pretend you’re winning, anyway. 

OPS 

2011  Cozart 811   Pujols 906

2012  Cozart 687   Pujols 859  Calhoun 457

2013  Cozart 665    Pujols 767  Calhoun 808

2014  Cozart 569    Pujols 790  Calhoun 776

2015  Cozart 769   Pujols  787  Calhoun 731

2016  Cozart 732    Pujols 780  Calhoun 786

2017 Cozart 933   Pujols 672  Calhoun 725

2018 Cozart 658   Pujols 700  Calhoun 652

 

Looking at the numbers:  Pujols had a better offensive season than Cozart in 6 out of the last 7 seasons and both are over 30 and regressing

Pujols had a better offensive season than Calhoun 3 out of the last 6 seasons.  2016 there was a .001 pt separation so  basically a tie.  

So let me be clear so we can just shut this debate down

Neither Calhoun nor Cozart have proven to be better hitters than  Pujols during either of their careers.  I guess since Calhoun is younger we can still hope 700+ OPS.  However, Pujols has only been under 700 once in last seven years.  Estimating an continue regression of Pujols and hoping Kole jumps back to high 700s again than maybe.  I don't have that confidence.  Hell most on this board would love to see Calhoun traded.

Pujols is not longer an impact hitter.  We just haven't had five better hitters on the team when he has been in the lineup. Who know how anyone is hitting next year? 

[Taylor]

I'm grateful that @ten ocho recon scout hasn't created Unclad Ausmus.

[Angel Oracle]

Based on those numbers, Calhoun has truly regressed (aside from 2016, and a big 3 months in 2018 wiped out by a wretched April/May/September).

Cozart, on the other hand, actually improved his numbers from 2015-2017 over what they were in 2012-2014.   2018 does seem like an outlier, but it hasn't been a general trend of decreased numbers like with Calhoun.   Granted, Cozart played in a hitter's park in Cincy. 

[Pancake Bear]

27 minutes ago, stormngt said:

OPS 

2011  Cozart 811   Pujols 906

2012  Cozart 687   Pujols 859  Calhoun 457

2013  Cozart 665    Pujols 767  Calhoun 808

2014  Cozart 569    Pujols 790  Calhoun 776

2015  Cozart 769   Pujols  787  Calhoun 731

2016  Cozart 732    Pujols 780  Calhoun 786

2017 Cozart 933   Pujols 672  Calhoun 725

2018 Cozart 658   Pujols 700  Calhoun 652

 

Looking at the numbers:  Pujols had a better offensive season than Cozart in 6 out of the last 7 seasons and both are over 30 and regressing

Pujols had a better offensive season than Calhoun 3 out of the last 6 seasons.  2016 there was a .001 pt separation so  basically a tie.  

So let me be clear so we can just shut this debate down

Neither Calhoun nor Cozart have proven to be better hitters than  Pujols during either of their careers.  I guess since Calhoun is younger we can still hope 700+ OPS.  However, Pujols has only been under 700 once in last seven years.  Estimating an continue regression of Pujols and hoping Kole jumps back to high 700s again than maybe.  I don't have that confidence.  Hell most on this board would love to see Calhoun traded.

Pujols is not longer an impact hitter.  We just haven't had five better hitters on the team when he has been in the lineup. Who know how anyone is hitting next year? 

Calhoun was a better hitter than Pujols 3/4 years excluding the most recent one. Cozart was not better any of those except for 2017, in which he was significantly better than Pujols. Could be somewhat park related. 

Point is, my initial point is still correct: Both might be better than Pujols in 2019 based on recent history (which is why I didn’t include either in the ‘clearly better’ category, or anyone else in the ‘might be’ zone because they have the best argument for being better in 2019).

Arguing based on career numbers or *only* the last year (when both Cozart and Calhoun had a massive down year) is disingenuous. We can quibble whether Cozart is closer to 2017 numbers than 2018 or whether Calhoun is regression faster than Pujols, but it is a legitimate point: Both of them have a reasonable probability of being better than Pujols in 2019. To argue otherwise is just wrong.