Joe Maddon: How do you rate him in his first year as manager?

[Chuck]

I have to say that I'm very disappointed in him as a manager of the Angels and concerned about him as manager going forward. I was talking to a respected member and friend from here yesterday and he told me that Maddon's actions are essentially going to lead to getting Billy Eppler fired. 

Pros: In terms of keeping the clubhouse loose and building a solid culture he's top notch. He's a great players coach. He also has experience in the postseason and getting two different teams there. That is saying something. I also like how Maddon is not afraid to promote a prospect and bench a veteran

Cons: Maddon has had many questionable moves with regards to the bullpen, pitching staff, lineup configurations and defensive alignments. If you've watched most of the games this year Victor Rojas has questioned several of his moves on the air. These decisions have negatively affected the Angels in the standings. He also seems to fail to call plays where a bunt or hit and run are in order and then there's this....

The last two days in using Matt Thaiss at 2B and LF for the first time in his minor league & major league career in what are must win games in this short season was the tipping point for me. There were a few guys who could have been promoted from LB to step right in after Barreto was sent to the IL. They've played 2B and SS for the majority of their careers. While I didn't think Thaiss could be any worse than La Stella there, boy was I dead wrong. Defense matters! 

While I will grade him with a D now due to it being his first year with new personnel, if the Angels fail to make the playoffs next year or don't have a winning season at the very least, he gets an F. 

I didn't think it could get worse than Brad Ausmus but it has and that's a shame because I was super stoked when Joe Maddon signed with the Angels to become our manager.

Here's hoping he changes my mind and he gets an A after a full 162 game season next year.

You can come back to this thread and change your vote at the end of the season, but place your grades for how you think he's done to this point for now. 

[Stradling]

I’ll take Scioscia managing the team over Maddon.  But I do think myself and others are doing him a disservice judging him in a season like this. 

[kevinb]

I voted D for the simple fact that this team isn't as good as I thought they would be. Do I think he is the reason for the poor year? No not entirely. Do I think he's made some very questionable decisions that probably has cost them some games? Yes absolutely. I agree with Strad I think Mike S is still the best manager this team has had, say what you will about Mike, lasagna etc, but he always always always got more out of this team than the talent level hands down. Whatever the pythag standings had us at it always seemed that this team overachieved. The last couple years he was here the team just wasn't very good, but his management style always played well. I miss Mike and if he wanted to return to coaching, I would welcome him back to the Angels with open arms. 

[Jay]

For years we heard what a genius Maddon is and how Scioscia sucks.

That was annoying as hell.

 

 

[Dtwncbad]

I rate Maddon as “not a problem”

[Stradling]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

For years we heard what a genius Maddon is and how Scioscia sucks.

That was annoying as hell.

 

 

And flat out wrong

[Chuck]

6 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

I rate Maddon as “not a problem”

That's not an option. 

[tdawg87]

D.

No he should not be fired, but his decisions have cost us more than they have helped. 

He gets a pass because of this weird season but he doesn't next year.

[Inside Pitch]

He's made me long for the success Moose Stubing had as an interim manager.

[Duren, Duren]

Expectations and reputation did matter in his hiring. He has failed to justify that faith so far, but this weird season shouldn't be used against him the way a normal season would.

Still, I gave him a D mostly because of his unorthodox tinkering with the lineup and in game  moves. In this short season, every inning of every game was important. Too often he lost focus and began experimenting like they were pre-season games. 

Anyways, hopefully what he has learned will translate into a better next year.

[VariousCrap]

What we are seeing is that the issue was never Sosh and it isn't Maddon now.

The problem is the lack of offensive talent (with only a few exceptions) and the terrible pitching.

Overall, the team sucks and the young talent that comes up sucks at the Major League level too.

[Angels in 2030]

I went with 'D' because i wanted to grade him to-date.  But in reality it's probably "incomplete" due to such a small sample size.  So far though, that sample isn't so good.

[Jay]

15 minutes ago, Duren, Duren said:

In this short season, every inning of every game was important.

Yep, sometimes it does seem as if Maddon needs to be reminded that the games count.

Still, I gave him a C.

Maybe that's generous.

 

[nate]

It is actually not even a half season, it is 1/3 of a season.

Super incomplete.

[Claude]

‘A’  for accepting the Managers job at a Place for Mom.

[Stradling]

Cuz of that one old guy we have. 

[Justin]

Upton and Ohtani below the Mendoza line. Ohtani can't pitch yet again. Simmons and Fletcher missing significant time (more significant than usual because of the abbreviated season). Teheran, Buttrey, and Robles looking awful... I can't be too harsh. 

But there's nothing on the field that I can point to and say "I like that." To the contrary, there are many things I can point to and say "I don't like that." 

I have zero idea what goes on in the clubhouse, so maybe he has strengths about which I do not know. I loved what TDawg wrote: Maddon gets a pass this season but not next.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I wanted to give him an F but that wouldn't be fair to Ausmus, who deserves to sit alone with his F, and also because this is a weird season and so I'll give him a pass for some of the early season tinkering.

[Chuck]

@RendZone your vote is a troll vote. 

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

@RendZone your vote is a troll vote. 

Well it makes sense.  It’s very on brand. 

[Inside Pitch]

A whole lot of meh.

I gave him an incomplete because of the weirdness of 2020, but he's been very much the guy he's always been. Moves for the sake of moves, almost compulsively so.  The only people who are shocked by anything he's done are people who bought into the Maddon Mythology and didn't actually watch him manage.  

His decision making and the team's preparation has left a lot to be desired.

[Chuck]

3 hours ago, nate said:

It is actually not even a half season, it is 1/3 of a season.

Super incomplete.

Come back and vote later. This thread ain't going nowhere. 

[Chuck]

6 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

A whole lot of meh.

I gave him an incomplete because of the weirdness of 2020, but he's been very much the guy he's always been. Moves for the sake of moves, almost compulsively so.  The only people who are shocked by anything he's done are people who bought into the Maddon Mythology and didn't actually watch him manage.  

His decision making and the team's preparation has left a lot to be desired.

[failos]

My impression is that he's too chill, which might not be ideal for this team. I obviously don't know what goes down in the clubhouse, so that's just my impression--but Maddon's history of success speaks for itself. I'd personally rather see Sosh as manager, but Maddon is definitely choice #2 for me.

[Angel Oracle]

6 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's made me long for the success Moose Stubing had as an interim manager.

He was a better college basketball referee (Big West and other western leagues), although a friend who refereed HS ball coined the phrase “Three steps left, three steps right” for him.