Orange County Register

 14 Comments

• Randy says:

  November 28, 2009 at 3:22 pm

  Honestly, who cares? Just put the player there that is slugging really well, and don;t make a big deal out of it. If Morales is on fire, let him clean up, or Hunter, or even Maicer if that’s the case. I don;t believe that the “clean up spot” should belong to any individual, rather it should be hit by the person who is slugging the best at that time or against that opposing pitcher, or whatever.

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  • mGONZO2u says:

    November 30, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    Randy,

    Its unfortunate that such a simplistic, common sense, oft used thought such as yours about the clean up spot is entirely wasted on SCOCSIA who insists on constantly changing his line-up and thus creates little consistency and then when someone slumps, he leans on that player to fix himself and doesn’t bench them (um, yeah, that would be VLAD).

    You suck SCOSCIA, I don’t care how many joker Angel fans you fool. Being everyones favorite guy means squat to this 42 year long Angel fan. Winning the weak ALW consistently has been achieved by mgmt providing the players necessary to do the minimum (win the ALW). Time and again you as a the manager have been unable to raise your team up to achieve higher goals than ALW champs.

    Put it this way, even great HOF coaches from other sports have been run out of town after the common 10 year wall is hit when they can not produce CHAMPIONSHIPS. If PAT RILEY wasn’t good enough to stay on as LAL coach with multiple championships under his belt, then you sir, are on thin ice. AT LEAST YOU SHOULD BE!

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• Randy says:

  November 28, 2009 at 3:23 pm

  PS: nothing against you Earl - you are my favorite columnist here.

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  • mGONZO2u says:

    November 30, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    EARL is a SCOSCIA apologist.

    Booo to him and all those like him.

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    • Earl Bloom, staff writer says:

      December 1, 2009 at 10:00 am

      That’s S-C-I-O-S-C-I-A by the way.

      Typing in all caps is also considered shouting on the Internet.

      Apparently, those who voted Mike Scioscia as 2009 AL Manager of the Year are also his apologists, as must be Arte Moreno, who extended Scioscia’s contract through 2018.

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      • mGONZO2u says:

        December 1, 2009 at 7:51 pm

        Now you’re Miss Manners of internet etiquette? SOSIA, SOCIA, SOOSHA, I don’t give a rats @$$. Like I said very clearly the first time, I don’t care about those that he has fooled. BFD that he is micro manages enuf to win games with the excellent talent provided to him by an ownership I approve of (except their blind faith to their team manager). Beyond 2002 (when the team was red hot), the team manager has failed time and again to achieve more than the basics as the skipper of this ship. He’s way over rated and I can assure you, I am not the only Angel fan that believes what I am typing (just ask some fans over in the RF MVP section for confirmation). Big whoop, personal awards for the Manager. Winning the weak ALW with such a talented roster is such the difficult task. WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS are the only thing that matters. Its not my fault the bar has been raised around my Angels. Its also not my fault so many people just don’t get it that the manager that tightens up in the clutch passes along that tenseness to his players.

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        • J-Dizzle says:

          December 2, 2009 at 1:22 am

          I’m sensing nothing but hate and idiocy here from ya. Scioscia has done an excellent job with the Angels and it’s always been reflective of such with his achievements and accolades. There is a reason the Angels have won as many games as they have and have always challenged in the playoffs. You can’t expect a team just to up and win a World Series with so many other great teams out there. Boston in recent years has had our number, but then again they’ve had a superior lineup. They’ve had great pitching and even better hitting. Hell, this year one can argue that a pitch here and a couple of calls there and the Angels should have been in the World Series. Seemed more like the Yankees were given the reigns to the World Series due to the economy and the opening of their new stadium. Thing is though, in order to win, you need good pitching and some hitting. Vlad has shown an unwillingness to be a more patient hitter and always sticks with what succeeds and that’s hitting the way he does (not practical for the playoffs). The others have made some mental on field errors and there isn’t much Scioscia can do about that. He can’t just keep yanking players because one is struggling and throw another in there and expect him to perform, especially when its a player who isn’t as good. He can’t make the hitters hit any better, pitch better or catch better. All he can do is prepare them as best he can and hope the results pan out. If you noticed though, even Joe Girardi was micro-managing in the playoffs. Hell, all managers micro-manage in the playoffs. Every pitch, ever hit, every steal, ever everything matters in the playoffs. Blame Chone Figgins for choking in the playoffs. Blame Torii Hunter for not hitting, blame Bobby Abreu for not being able to make contact. Guys who are VERY reliable hitters this year who choked. It happens. Get over it.

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• Creeps says:

  November 28, 2009 at 3:35 pm

  So WHERE is Guerrero going?

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• Maria says:

  November 29, 2009 at 11:20 am

  Bit of passive agressiveness there Randy…just be happy if the team can bring in someone that can hit HRs.

  Vladdy G…he loves that Texas stadium. But could he hit there consistently???

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• matt says:

  November 29, 2009 at 5:21 pm

  my projected 2010 lineup -

  Aybar SS
  Abreu DH
  Hunter CF
  Bay LF
  Morales 1B
  Rivera RF
  Kendrick 2B
  Napoli C
  Wood 3B

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• j cromet says:

  December 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

  Matt, with your addition of Bay and Wood, Napoli should become the DH; besides, Mathis has been a better defensive catcher than Napoli this past two seasons…

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  • Carlos says:

    December 2, 2009 at 9:06 am

    In your scenario, Rivera is left on the bench, leaving us with a pretty bad defensive outfield, and Jeff Mathis gets 400-500 ab’s, putting a permanent sink hole in our line up. I think Matt had it right, except I seriously doubt we sign Bay.

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    • J-Dizzle says:

      December 2, 2009 at 4:29 pm

      I’d much rather have Abreu out in LF while Bay is the DH. Bay can’t play defense period. At least Abreu has some speed and can cover more ground. You’ll never accuse him of making spectacular diving catches but at least he’ll do a better job of it. Would be better served re-signing Vlad to a low base high incentive deal based around games played, number of at bats, batting average as well as home runs and RBI’s… with the biggest incentives being games and AB’s. Vlad proved he can still hit, his health is the real issue. Maybe throw something in if he limited his strike outs and double plays. Make him a bit more selective in his approach.

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      • Earl Bloom, staff writer says:

        December 3, 2009 at 1:51 pm

        J-Diz, you can’t sign a contract with incentives for batting average, home runs or RBIs.

        Legal incentives are for appearances (games, IP and PA), individual awards, and for relievers, the games finished category. Innings pitched and at-bats are often used to automatically activate option years.

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