Breaking: Eppard and Picciolo let go - Scioscia and Dipoto staying

[Sully151]

Turning a new leaf AO?

More like Turning the page.

[tennischmp]

What don't you understand about Rodney sucking before he was an Angel and while he was an Angel? Were you on here saying that Rodney should be given more innings when he was pitching for the Angels? Of course not, because he sucked. He hasn't been great this year, he has basically been Frieri. Last year he had a dream season, those things happen? Should we now say that the pitching coach for Tampa now sucks because Rodney isn't doing what he did last year? Oh and I am in favor of replacing Butcher, but using Rodney as an example is complete bullshit, as is Santana as an example.

Maybe the Detroit pitching coach sucked too? He was fired after Rodney left

[Docwaukee]

AO just seems calm, but he's still trying to find parts of his brain after his head exploded earlier today. 

 

all he found was his frontal lobe which allows for reason and intellect while his brain stem got lodged in the DVD player in the next room over and he's still looking for it. 

[jshep]

Pretty unrelated, but I just realized that even "regressed from a crazy 2012" 2013 Fernando Rodney would have been the team's 2nd best reliever. And then I threw up in my mouth.

 

I long for the days when this team can actually develop a relief arm worth a damn(and not give it away).

Edited October 9, 2013 by jshep

[Angel Oracle]

Still pissed that Butcher is still here and kind of puzzled with Eppard's dismissal, but getting Joyner and Bogar in here wouldn't be too bad.

I'm hoping that this is Scioscia's and Butcher's ABSOLUTE LAST chance in 2014.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Angel Oracle

[disarcina]

As a prior post said..........welcome back Mickey Hatcher..........

 

OK -- the 2013 season, the issue is pitching -- so we fire the batting coach and the bench coach............and the pitching coach stays?

 

Good move, front office.......

[Brandon]

Pretty unrelated, but I just realized that even "regressed from a crazy 2012" 2013 Fernando Rodney would have been the team's 2nd best reliever. And then I threw up in my mouth.

I long for the days when this team can actually develop a relief arm worth a damn(and not give it away).

Wasn't that just a couple years ago with Shields?

[Angel Oracle]

Pretty unrelated, but I just realized that even "regressed from a crazy 2012" 2013 Fernando Rodney would have been the team's 2nd best reliever. And then I threw up in my mouth.

I long for the days when this team can actually develop a relief arm worth a damn(and not give it away).

For sure, Darren O'Day nods head in approval.

Pissed that Berg may be rule 5'd.

[Angel Oracle]

Wasn't that just a couple years ago with Shields?

Shields was first promoted waaay back in the early 2000s. After he, K-Rod, and Donkey were all promoted by 2002, we haven't produced many relievers since then who have truly succeeded. It's ironic that the most successful reliever produced by this org over the past 6 years hasn't been here since the late 2000s (O'Day).

[ettin]

Boy, the annual spring training meeting with Tim Mead is gonna be a hoot next year.

 

In a separate tweet, Alden Gonzalez passed on that Tim Mead has cancelled the annual spring training meeting.

[fan_since79]

I would like to see Don Baylor as the next hitting coach.

 

Or manager.

[disarcina]

the Spring Training meeting this year will be held in Salt Lake City..........go Bees.

[jshep]

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Vernon Wells on becoming the Angels' new hitting coach.

 

(I also considered going with Jeff Mathis)

[Docwaukee]

That's a very biased analysis. It can easily be said that Blanton and Hanson underachieved, since they both had ERA's significantly higher than the year before. 

of course it's biased.  it's my opinion. 

 

Hanson had a 5.69era in the second half of 2012.  He was clearly damaged good. 

Blanton just plain sucks.  His peripherals as a starter were a bit worse than previous years, but not much.  Easily accounted for by his switch to the AL where he didn't get to skip two batters every time through the lineup. 

 

Sure, they COULD have been the same or better, but what was more likely?  Something was wrong with Hanson, so the braves gave up on him for a middle reliever or him returning to form?  Blanton was actually going to benefit from OF defense or his switch to the AL was going to make him worse? 

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not defending butcher.  I just don't know what either he or Eppard did to have an effect on the players.  Clearly, the FO and manager had a specific opinion about it. 

 

You have to admit, it takes some balls to sit down and decide that regardless of how bad the pitching performed and how well the offense performed, you can the guy at the reigns of the latter.

 

They could have knee jerked this whole thing and just ousted butcher to make the fans happy, but they didn't.  They did what they thought was best for the team in 2014.  Wright or wrong, at least they didn't just do what the fans and media felt was obvious.  They sat down and thought about it. 

 

Mike and Jerry are on the block here so it's doubtful they are just going thru the motions. 

[Docwaukee]

Seriously though, no one has attempted to speculate about one of my original questions.

 

How is it that Maddon was the brains behind the operation as bench coach yet Picciolo's influence meant nothing? 

[Amazing Larry]

Still pissed that Butcher is still here and kind of puzzled with Eppard's dismissal, but getting Joyner and Bogar in here wouldn't be too bad.

I wonder how Joyner would be managing?

[jshep]

Fair enough post, Doc.

 

Although my question would be: Should they really get credit just for not making the obvious decision?

 

I suppose we don't know for sure, and maybe there was something else at play with the decision to can Eppard, but sometimes the obvious decision is seemingly obvious for a pretty good reason.

 

I'm not particular attached to either guy that just got let go, but the fact that the organization clearly feels Butcher is more well suited for next year's coaching staff than Eppard or Picciolo was doesn't give me any particular comfort.

[jshep]

Also: I don't quite get the sudden fascination with Wally Joyner, besides the fact that he's a former Angel(which I couldn't care less about).

Edited October 9, 2013 by jshep

[Lifetime]

Fair enough pincluding

 

Although my question would be: Should they really get credit just for not making the obvious decision?

 

I suppose we don't know for sure, and maybe there was something else at play with the decision to can Eppard, but sometimes the obvious decision is seemingly obvious for a pretty good reason.

 

I'm not particular attached to either guy that just got let go, but the fact that the organization clearly feels Butcher is more well suited for next year's coaching staff than Eppard or Picciolo was doesn't give me any particular comfort.

And yet you don't know anything about their coaching (including Butcher) so your position is a bit odd. IMO

[Second Base]

I don't support this move.  However, if Wally Joyner becomes the hitting coach and Tim Bogar becomes the bench coach then I'd be whistling a different tune. 

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

I don't support this move.  However, if Wally Joyner becomes the hitting coach and Tim Bogar becomes the bench coach then I'd be whistling a different tune. 

Dino Ebell has already been named the new bench coach. 

[Tank]

16 pages . . . you guys don't disappoint.

That said, firing Picciolo and Eppard seems like answering the fan pressure to do something, anything, even though most fans will likely feel like these two weren't the ones who should've been let go.

[stevestevens]

16 pages . . . you guys don't disappoint.

That said, firing Picciolo and Eppard seems like answering the fan pressure to do something, anything, even though most fans will likely feel like these two weren't the ones who should've been let go.

Most fans do not even know who these guys are.

[Docwaukee]

Fair enough post, Doc.

 

Although my question would be: Should they really get credit just for not making the obvious decision?

 

I suppose we don't know for sure, and maybe there was something else at play with the decision to can Eppard, but sometimes the obvious decision is seemingly obvious for a pretty good reason.

 

I'm not particular attached to either guy that just got let go, but the fact that the organization clearly feels Butcher is more well suited for next year's coaching staff than Eppard or Picciolo was doesn't give me any particular comfort.

 

My comfort level is directly proportional to the degree of player talent that is assembled.  Take a look at the pitching staffs that are still playing and how those compare to ours.  We brought a knife to a gun fight, and many think that changing knife instructors is going to have an effect. 

[Angel Oracle]

Seriously though, no one has attempted to speculate about one of my original questions.

How is it that Maddon was the brains behind the operation as bench coach yet Picciolo's influence meant nothing?

Maddon had already been bench coach for several years here before Scioscia arrived, and had already developed a rep for numbers crunching (sabermetrics).

Picciolo has only been a MLB bench coach for the 3 years he was here.