The Angels General Manager

[jshep]

I'm not going to speculate on the motives of it, but platooning Calhoun and Cowgill is pretty odd.

 

And considering that seems like the type of decision a team's manager/coaching staff would generally make...

[Jay]

looking forward to another season of Jerry's Kids

[Lifetime]

Look at this thread for your example.  8 pages of saying most of this isn't Dipoto's fault.

Is most of this Dipoto's fault?

[wopphil]

I think he failed miserably to upgrade the bullpen this last offseason.  He brought in one dependable arm (Burnett), who ironically hasn't been dependable, and he shipped away a dependable arm to get Hanson.  It therefore is no surprise that our bullpen is only slightly improved, if at all, over last year. 

 

I think his attempts to upgrade the rotation were far better, even though they ultimately failed too.  The Vargas trade was good, and I fully expected Blanton to be a capable 4/5 guy.

 

I have no opinion regarding Hamilton because I think that was Arte's call.

 

Locking up Ianetta, Aybar, and Kendrick were all great moves, IMO. 

 

I agree that this offseason is going to be very telling for Jerry.  He is going to have to be extremely creative, and probably won't have a lot of cash to work with. 

[mtangelsfan]

It's the team he put together.

 

So, yes.

[bloodbrother]

The pitching is on Dipoto. He failed miserably in addressing/fixing both the SP and the bullpen this past offseason. I don't see him getting canned after this year, but this upcoming offseason should be make or break time for him. He seems to be doing more harm than good with each passing move he makes. The Blanton signing alone should shake any fans confidence in this guy

 

As far as Scioscia goes, I've tired of his style over the years. I don't think he's a bad manager, but I don't think he's as good as he was earlier in his career here. All in all, I just think it's time for both sides to move on and start fresh

[Inside Pitch]

Hey, don't go knocking over these straw men people spend so much time building.

 

 

You'd have to wade through three miles of BS blaming other people to just get close to those straw men.

 

IMO, there is plenty of blame to go around.  JD, MS, possibly Arte.

[jshep]

You'd have to wade through three miles of BS blaming other people to just get close to those straw men.

 

IMO, there is plenty of blame to go around.  JD, MS, possibly Arte.

 

I agree.

 

I just think the "Why are people giving Jerry a free pass?" sentiment is much more prevalent around here than people actually giving Jerry a free pass.

[Inside Pitch]

I'm not going to speculate on the motives of it, but platooning Calhoun and Cowgill is pretty odd.

 

And considering that seems like the type of decision a team's manager/coaching staff would generally make...

 

I think the people arguing that now is the time to play Calhoun to see what he's capable of are correct.   That they aren't yet makes no sense to me.  Whoever is making that call, needs to get kicked in the balls.

[Lifetime]

It's the team he put together.

 

So, yes.

so it's his fault? Wow OK. That kind of extreme position is just as silly as someone who would give him a free pass on everything.

[Lhalo]

I agree as well. The whole org. is screwed up in one way or another. I just lean toward getting rid of Scioscia before Dipoto.

[Inside Pitch]

Is most of this Dipoto's fault?

 

 

I'd argue that a lot of is is Murphy's Law and thus Murphy is the true culprit.

[mtangelsfan]

It's because I keep hearing Arte being and Sosh being blamed but not so much Jerry.  Am I using hyperbole?  Probably.

[Lifetime]

I think the people arguing that now is the time to play Calhoun to see what he's capable of are correct.   That they aren't yet makes no sense to me.  Whoever is making that call, needs to get kicked in the balls.

and in the end, why does it really matter? Is it going to thwart Calhoun's career if he doesn't play every day? Is it going to stall the Angels future if he doesn't play every day?

 

and like I said previously, there may be reasons we are not aware of (in fact likely there is) why certain players are getting playing time right now over others.

[Lifetime]

It's because I keep hearing Arte being and Sosh being blamed but not so much Jerry.  Am I using hyperbole?  Probably.

Again, there's plenty of blame to go around. I don't think anyone is giving Dipoto a free pass. He has gotten plenty of criticism on this board. It pails in comparison with Scioscia's criticisms, but there's plenty.

[bloodbrother]

You'd have to wade through three miles of BS blaming other people to just get close to those straw men.

 

IMO, there is plenty of blame to go around.  JD, MS, possibly Arte.

 

Agreed. It takes more than one person for a team to end up like this(massive payroll with poor results and a bad farm system)

[mtangelsfan]

As far as the cowgill/calhoun thing goes I still don't see how, if Dipoto really believes Calhoun should be playing, that it isn't Dipoto's fault.

 

As a boss, if one of my employees does the exact opposite of what I tell them, they would get one chance to correct that and then get fired.

 

If Calhoun is the future, why the hell doesn't Dipoto tell Sosh to get him in the lineup, or else?

[Inside Pitch]

and in the end, why does it really matter? Is it going to thwart Calhoun's career if he doesn't play every day? Is it going to stall the Angels future if he doesn't play every day?

 

and like I said previously, there may be reasons we are not aware of (in fact likely there is) why certain players are getting playing time right now over others.

 

Most of this is rhetorical.   The likely reason is they want to see both guys play.   Dipoto did trade for Cowgill and did have him in Zona, it's likely they view both as potential 4th OFers.

 

If they are looking to find their 4th OFer, then playing them both sporadically makes sense.

[Lifetime]

I think ragging on the bad farm system is over played too. Farm system strength is cyclical for teams. Teams with strong farms that finish in playoff positions for several years start to see their farm diminished as players move up or are traded. Having lower draft positions several years running since the team was finishing high, means the likelihood of maintaining farm strength is less. This isn't an Angel thing, this happens all the time. Building up the farm again doesn't happen over night. It's going to take a while.   

[nate]

As far as the cowgill/calhoun thing goes I still don't see how, if Dipoto really believes Calhoun should be playing, that it isn't Dipoto's fault.

 

As a boss, if one of my employees does the exact opposite of what I tell them, they would get one chance to correct that and then get fired.

 

If Calhoun is the future, why the hell doesn't Dipoto tell Sosh to get him in the lineup, or else?

 

Dipoto has said a few times that it isn't his job to make the lineup every day.

[Marsaka]

So, in your world, Dipoto called up Calhoun, told MS to play him and then MS said "FU, I'm going to play the guy you traded for instead" ..  is that what's happening?....

 

Funny how its Dipoto who has a loyalty to Cowgill, and not MS, but suddenly MS is just being stubborn.

 

I think the point is that scioscia doesn't seem to really have a plan.  He just platoons guys based on lefty/righty crap.  Season is over so its not like it matters who is lefty/righty just let calhoun play and let's see what he's got.  But it'll never happen becuz we have the worst manager in baseball who micromanages every single little detail in the game rather than just letting them play.

[Lifetime]

As far as the cowgill/calhoun thing goes I still don't see how, if Dipoto really believes Calhoun should be playing, that it isn't Dipoto's fault.

 

As a boss, if one of my employees does the exact opposite of what I tell them, they would get one chance to correct that and then get fired.

 

If Calhoun is the future, why the hell doesn't Dipoto tell Sosh to get him in the lineup, or else?

It's not Dipoto's job to tell Scioscia who to put on the lineup. Whether Calhoun is in his plans for the future doesn't mean he thinks Calhoun must play now. 

[Lifetime]

I think the point is that scioscia doesn't seem to really have a plan.  He just platoons guys based on lefty/righty crap.  Season is over so its not like it matters who is lefty/righty just let calhoun play and let's see what he's got.  But it'll never happen becuz we have the worst manager in baseball who micromanages every single little detail in the game rather than just letting them play.

[Marsaka]

As far as the cowgill/calhoun thing goes I still don't see how, if Dipoto really believes Calhoun should be playing, that it isn't Dipoto's fault.

 

As a boss, if one of my employees does the exact opposite of what I tell them, they would get one chance to correct that and then get fired.

 

If Calhoun is the future, why the hell doesn't Dipoto tell Sosh to get him in the lineup, or else?

 

dipoto cant fire scioscia becuz of his contract, scioscia can pretty much do whatever he wants.  

[Chuck]

How is it Jerry Dipoto's fault that:

 

Hamilton is mired in prolonged slump.

 

Madson/Burnett non-factors due to injuries.

 

Pujols played on one leg and is out for the final two months.

 

Vargas blood clot.

 

Hanson had death in family, injuries.

 

Weaver broken elbow.

 

Peter Bourjos injured, TWICE in the midst of having a great season. 

 

Joe Blanton has been the worst he has been by far at any time during his career. 

 

Mike Scioscia has made some of the worst calls from the dugout that I've seen in a long time. 

 

Is Jerry Dipoto perfect? Nope. But you can't fault him for trying to put an amazing team together. Where he could have done a better job is...

 

Kept Santana, not signed Joe Blanton.

 

Signed a sure thing closer like Rafael Soriano, then signed Madson for insurance if anything else. 

 

Not signed Josh Hamilton, kept Torii Hunter for two years. Kole Calhoun as Torii's insurance.

 

But yeah, it's easy to second guess the GM. We were all excited about Josh Hamilton. Most thought Blanton would post a 4.50 ERA and give us some quality starts, and we ALL thought Madson would be back by May the latest. Most were happy to see Santana go as well.