OC Register: Angels GM Perry Minasian takes responsibility for struggling squad

[AngelsWin.com]

BALTIMORE — From the moment he was hired as the Angels’ general manager in November of 2020, Perry Minasian has made no secret of the fact that he put the top priority on acquiring pitching.

Now, as he has watched the 2022 Angels sink under the weight of an underperforming offense, he acknowledges they also needed more bats.

“Yeah, I think you always look back and say ‘I wish I added this, and I wish I added that,’” Minasian said on Sunday. “I think it’s human nature to go back and look in the rearview mirror and see what you could have done differently. The rotation was a huge priority for us. If you asked anybody who watched the club last year what our No. 1 need was, I think the word pitching would have been front and center, probably multiple times before the word hitting came up.”

Unfortunately for Minasian, the Angels are showing they desperately needed both. Although he spent $55 million of the 2022 payroll on deals for pitchers Noah Syndergaard, Michael Lorenzen, Aaron Loup, Ryan Tepera and Archie Bradley, the lack of offensive depth has been a significant issue.

Injuries to third baseman Anthony Rendon and infielder David Fletcher – who put the ball in play, at a minimum – and prolonged slumps for Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh, Brandon Marsh and Max Stassi have left the Angels as a strikeout-riddled, offensively-challenged mess.

“We had some individual performances that have been stellar but one through nine as a whole, we haven’t swung the bats well,” Minasian said.

The collective failure of so many hitters has prompted questions about the accountability of hitting coaches Jeremy Reed, John Mallee and Paul Sorrento. Minasian declined to answer specifically about the coaches, saying it was “unfair,” but he did take personal accountability for the players producing those results.

“There’s no individual person I’m putting blame on,” Minasian said. “I’m in charge of building the club and these are the players I’ve given the staff to work with.”

Minasian said he doesn’t believe there is any organizational, overarching reason for the struggles of the hitters.

“I think it’s individual,” he said. “Nobody has the same swing. Nobody’s the same size. Guys do it differently. Some guys are aggressive. Some guys aren’t. It just depends on the player and their style. I think it’s more individually based.”

The team’s major league strikeout total could be viewed as a philosophical issue for the team about the approach, but Minasian believes it’s more a factor of the players who are getting the chances.

“You have contact hitters who don’t strike out who are not in the lineup,” Minasian said. “We were planning on having Fletcher and Rendon and (Matt) Duffy. You take those guys off the roster and put in other guys that don’t have the contact skills and the strikeouts are going to significantly increase.”

Minasian also said that power hitters like Trout, Ohtani and Walsh are naturally going to strike out.

“Very few guys with power don’t strike out,” Minasian said. “That’s the elite of the elite. That being said, I think our strikeouts can improve. The quality of the at-bats and situational hitting, in general, can improve.”

The poor hitting has also put pressure on the pitching, and the Angels’ bullpen that Minasian rebuilt over the winter has not delivered. Iglesias, Tepera and Loup have all struggled at different times.

Minasian defended their performances, saying that their underlying numbers suggest they will still perform well over the course of the season.

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“All three guys are professionals and they know what they’re doing,” Minasian said. “They know how to maneuver through lineups, and I expect them to be really good the rest of the season.”

In the short term, Minasian has some decisions to make in advance of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

He would not comment on any specific players or his plans, as far as whether the Angels would buy or sell or some combination.

“We’re still too far out to make decisions, as far as concrete decisions, but I’m realistic too,” Minasian said. “We’re not in the position we were a month and a half ago, but there’s still time to go before we have to make a concrete decision to go one way or another.

“I think you look at everything. Buy. Sell. Long term. We might be in a bad spot, but there might be a long-term buy, where we trade prospects for a guy with control. I don’t think you shut anything out.”

View the full article

[eligrba]

Minasian’s summary.

[UndertheHalo]

Well.  He’s eating shit and that’s his job when shit goes off the rails.  Better then trying to deflect the blame I guess.  Pretty bad still Perry!

[UndertheHalo]

I mean he went out and got pitching and most of Angels land was calling for exactly that.  Most people thought he didn’t do enough in the pitching department.  Very few people raised much issue with the line up situation.  Obviously it’s not just about Rendon but losing his presence in the line up absolutely killed the team.  You can draw a direct line from his exit to what we have now.  Can’t be that dependent on 2 or 3 guys.  Can’t bank on a bunch of rookies and guys who have other wise never performed as major league regulars in their lives.  Making guys better has never been on the calling card for the organization under Arte Moreno.  They don’t do it! And yet, every year for the last decade they’re banking on that.  So alright.  Perry is eating shit on this.  But it’s not really about Perry.  He’s just being a meat shield.  Hopefully Arte sends him a nice Panettone this Christmas.  Maybe after he shit cans him.  

Edited July 11, 2022 by UndertheHalo

[Slegnaac]

Loup, Tepera and Iglesias....

Great to know that Minasian expects them to be Really Good the rest of the season. 

No need to try and upgrade the bullpen. 

[fan_since79]

"I expect them to be really good the rest of the season."

There's optimism, and then there's delusion. Yeah, just like that, we're gonna get really good. I suppose it could happen...

[Slegnaac]

Minasian was counting on Marsh and Adell being MLB level Outfielders along with Taylor Ward.

He let Upton go and started the season with just 4 Outfielders on the 40 man roster.  Then when it was obvious that Adell wasn't ready and Ward got injured, they were force to put infielders in the Outfield.  Who can forget the Extra Inning win with Suzuki at first and Walsh in Right field?  Next there was the scrambled to get a warm body with OF experience.  That blew up as well.

This is the season that Angels fans had been looking foward to for years.  It was suppose to be The Season. 

Maybe next year.

 

[TroutCron]

Arte, hire a damn President who. knows Baseball instead of your billboard guys. Let that person rebuild the organization. He (or she) gets to hire their own people to fill out the rest of the Front Office positions. The President then makes the budget for payroll limits and player acquisition. He gets to the establish his own structure for the whole organization. He can establish an ‘Angels way to play’ complete with new, better psid instructors and Managers for the Minor League players. 
 

Mostly though, trust the President that you hire and stay out of the way. 

[khouse]

The team was playing confidently until the sweep by Texas this past May where, it seems, they completely lost the early season mojo/belief in themselves/their abilities that they had & were playing with. Which then lead to the 14-game losing streak & the firing of Maddon which, by the looks of things, has demoralized this team & has all but crushed their competitive spirit. So now, similar to Maddon, who was more "moonbeams & rainbows" than an intelligent manager...now Minasian wants the team to, again, embrace the healing powers of "good vibes"...is that right?

[halomatt]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

...But it’s not really about Perry.  He’s just being a meat shield.  Hopefully Arte sends him a nice Panettone this Christmas.  Maybe after he shit cans him.  

Ummm...

[PattyD22]

What’s he supposed to say?  Just like Trout did earlier this week, I mean seriously?

He has to own it, as did Trout.  This is not breaking news.  Both are the face of the organization.  This is much ado about nothing.  Results are what, we as fans want.

Blah, blah….
 

Edited July 11, 2022 by PattyD22

[T.G.]

I still blame AJ

[Angelsfan1984]

Historical performances suggests the bullpen isn’t this bad. 
 

it’s like everyone decided to suck ass after 40 games. It’s bizarre. 

[tdawg87]

[AngelsLakersFan]

4 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

I mean he went out and got pitching and most of Angels land was calling for exactly that.  Most people thought he didn’t do enough in the pitching department.  Very few people raised much issue with the line up situation.  Obviously it’s not just about Rendon but losing his presence in the line up absolutely killed the team.  You can draw a direct line from his exit to what we have now.  Can’t be that dependent on 2 or 3 guys.  Can’t bank on a bunch of rookies and guys who have other wise never performed as major league regulars in their lives.  Making guys better has never been on the calling card for the organization under Arte Moreno.  They don’t do it! And yet, every year for the last decade they’re banking on that.  So alright.  Perry is eating shit on this.  But it’s not really about Perry.  He’s just being a meat shield.  Hopefully Arte sends him a nice Panettone this Christmas.  Maybe after he shit cans him.  

I mean, this outcome is no surprise given where this team was on day one of spring training.

[Docwaukee]

6 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

“We had some individual performances that have been stellar but one through nine as a whole, we haven’t swung the bats well,” Minasian said.

A shame that no one could see this coming.  

[full circle]

Minauseating. 

[eligrba]

5 hours ago, full circle said:

Minauseating. 

[Jay]

13 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

“There’s no individual person I’m putting blame on,” Minasian said. “I’m in charge of building the club and these are the players I’ve given the staff to work with.”

*cough* Maddon

 

[Angelsjunky]

He's right - he should take responsibility. As the GM, it is his job to provide the manager and coaching staff with players to field - both in terms of quality and quantity. Whatever input Maddon had or meddling Arte did, the buck still stops with the GM in that regard.

Meaning, even if Maddon said, "I want Loup and Tepera and that Wade kid - he's a real player," it is still on Minasian to accurately assess said players, and be willing to say no, if the assessment yields different results than Maddon's rune-stones.

And Minasian is basically admitting that he fucked up with the lineup depth - that he didn't accurately assess the situation. I'm glad he can admit his error, but the key is whether he learned his lesson or not.

The bottom line is that we still haven't seen anything from him that says, "This guy knows what he's doing." It certainly looked that way two months ago, but the proof is in the pudding and the pudding turned rather quickly and drastically.

 

[Angel Oracle]

46 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

He's right - he should take responsibility. As the GM, it is his job to provide the manager and coaching staff with players to field - both in terms of quality and quantity. Whatever input Maddon had or meddling Arte did, the buck still stops with the GM in that regard.

Meaning, even if Maddon said, "I want Loup and Tepera and that Wade kid - he's a real player," it is still on Minasian to accurately assess said players, and be willing to say no, if the assessment yields different results than Maddon's rune-stones.

And Minasian is basically admitting that he fucked up with the lineup depth - that he didn't accurately assess the situation. I'm glad he can admit his error, but the key is whether he learned his lesson or not.

The bottom line is that we still haven't seen anything from him that says, "This guy knows what he's doing." It certainly looked that way two months ago, but the proof is in the pudding and the pudding turned rather quickly and drastically.

 

Minasian, Tamin, and Watson will have had two years by the end of the season to assess the organization and what players out there are the right ones to add.

There are no more excuses this upcoming off-season.   Must do a much better job at acquisitions.

And of course, do a solid job at finding a new manager who brings in the right coaches.

[Dtwncbad]

I was among those that were not satisfied with the rotation going into the season.  No issue with getting Syndergaard, but I didn’t want him to be the only significant acquisition.  It seemed like it would have made sense to also get another upper half of the rotation starter.   THAT was the failure of the front office in my opinion.

Rendon and Fletcher getting hurt really damaged the team.  I know Rendon has had injury issues but it sure looked like he was going to finally have a “normal” season.

Most fans expected Marsh and Adell to take significant steps forward to be productive spots in the batting order.  Many were adamant about not trading them for pitching for this exact reason.

Anyway, it appeared to me that the Angels could have been pretty competitive this year (even with a black hole offensively at SS) and probably a need for another really good starter.  I had hoped the team would be in it at the trade deadline and then chasing a Luis Castillo or Montas for the stretch.

Instead, Syndergaard has been OK not great, Rendon and Fletcher both get hurt, and Adell and Marsh are let downs creating more holes in the lineup.

I feel like the Angels have had a mess of bad luck here.

I know everyone wants to blame somebody.  I totally get that.  But (today at least) I am just processing this terrible season as a plan that wasn’t really all that terrible but just went sideways.

Yes I wanted more high end starting pitching and I wanted a shortstop that could hit.  But given the Rendon and Fletcher injuries and the lack of development in Marsh and Adell, that still would have been four punches to the face of the lineup that would have been hard to overcome.

Basically the rotation still needs one more really good starter, but the offense is just flaccid outside of Trout and Ohtani.

Can I really sit here and expect that Minasian was supposed to NOT have a plan that had Rendon at third and Fletcher starting?  Can I really blame Minasian for choosing to hold on to Marsh and Adell instead of trading one or both? (I was fine trading Marsh for pitching but that doesn’t mean keeping him was “wrong” as it was also quite defendable to choose to keep him.)

So the season is a bust.  Shit happens.  I am not really sure this is much more than “shit happens” versus “fire the GM” or “tear it down and rebuild.”

And that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize how annoying it is to lose or how frustrating it can be to have this length of time sucking, “wasting the Trout years” and so on.

The biggest blow to me is the two Crown Jewels of the farm system (Adell and Marsh) not only didn’t deliver here, they probably have very compromised trade value now.  THAT sucks.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Dtwncbad

[Mark PT]

39 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

I was among those that were not satisfied with the rotation going into the season.  No issue with getting Syndergaard, but I didn’t want him to be the only significant acquisition.  It seemed like it would have made sense to also get another upper half of the rotation starter.   THAT was the failure of the front office in my opinion.

Rendon and Fletcher getting hurt really damaged the team.  I know Rendon has had injury issues but it sure looked like he was going to finally have a “normal” season.

Most fans expected Marsh and Adell to take significant steps forward to be productive spots in the batting order.  Many were adamant about not trading them for pitching for this exact reason.

Anyway, it appeared to me that the Angels could have been pretty competitive this year (even with a black hole offensively at SS) and probably a need for another really good starter.  I had hoped the team would be in it at the trade deadline and then chasing a Luis Castillo or Montas for the stretch.

Instead, Syndergaard has been OK not great, Rendon and Fletcher both get hurt, and Adell and Marsh are let downs creating more holes in the lineup.

I feel like the Angels have had a mess of bad luck here.

I know everyone wants to blame somebody.  I totally get that.  But (today at least) I am just processing this terrible season as a plan that wasn’t really all that terrible but just went sideways.

Yes I wanted more high end starting pitching and I wanted a shortstop that could hit.  But given the Rendon and Fletcher injuries and the lack of development in Marsh and Adell, that still would have been four punches to the face of the lineup that would have been hard to overcome.

Basically the rotation still needs one more really good starter, but the offense is just flaccid outside of Trout and Ohtani.

Can I really sit here and expect that Minasian was supposed to NOT have a plan that had Rendon at third and Fletcher starting?  Can I really blame Minasian for choosing to hold on to Marsh and Adell instead of trading one or both? (I was fine trading Marsh for pitching but that doesn’t mean keeping him was “wrong” as it was also quite defendable to choose to keep him.)

So the season is a bust.  Shit happens.  I am not really sure this is much more than “shit happens” versus “fire the GM” or “tear it down and rebuild.”

And that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize how annoying it is to lose or how frustrating it can be to have this length of time sucking, “wasting the Trout years” and so on.

The biggest blow to me is the two Crown Jewels of the farm system (Adell and Marsh) not only didn’t deliver here, they probably have very compromised trade value now.  THAT sucks.

Agree with all you said but I'd add that the bullpen cant get anyone out. I think that out of all the losing they have done this year, at least 1/2 has been due to bullpen. Loup and Tepera, who both have been good for 2-3 years in a row, now suck.

[Dtwncbad]

3 minutes ago, Mark PT said:

Agree with all you said but I'd add that the bullpen cant get anyone out. I think that out of all the losing they have done this year, at least 1/2 has been due to bullpen. Loup and Tepera, who both have been good for 2-3 years in a row, now suck.

I don’t disagree but bullpens are just weird and a crapshoot so often.  I think a lot of a bullpens success is shuffling and changing pieces until something works.

If a team is hitting and getting good starting pitching, I think it is a lot easier to “get lucky” in putting together a passable bullpen compared to what the Angels look like now.

I would LOVE to have a team that just needs some bullpen help.  You can make deals for bullpen arms much more easily than you can fix huge holes in the offensive lineup or acquire an impact starter.

[Jason]

8 minutes ago, Mark PT said:

Agree with all you said but I'd add that the bullpen cant get anyone out. I think that out of all the losing they have done this year, at least 1/2 has been due to bullpen. Loup and Tepera, who both have been good for 2-3 years in a row, now suck.

They are carrying on the Angels bullpen traditions