The Angels have lost 13 of their last 15 games, and have one of the worst records in baseball. Their current winning percentage would be the franchise's worst since 1996. For those reasons, you would expect Angels manager Mike Scioscia to be on the hot seat.
Yet that's reportedly not the case -- if anything, the temperature of Scioscia's chair seems unchanged. Here's what general manager Billy Eppler told Jon Heyman:
"I don't see any reason why Mike Scioscia would not be managing the Angels next year. He's been served a great deal of adversity, and he's managed to keep everything positive, and kept fighting. A lot of people would have approached the situation with a less positive attitude, and Mike did not. Everything's been great from that standpoint."
Eppler wasn't the only high-ranking Angels official to issue a vote of confidence, either.
Owner Arte Moreno, in his first public comments since spring, hand-waved off criticism aimed at Scioscia by saying no manager could win without pitching, per the Orange County Register. That sounds fair, but we all know the case against Scioscia -- and the Angels' reasons for keeping him -- go deeper than that.
Remember that it was Scioscia who forced Jerry Dipoto out last season. Dipoto has since taken the Mariners, a divisional foe, and guided them within striking distance of the playoffs. Scioscia's influence on roster decisions is almost certainly stronger than it was before as a result, meaning he can be held accountable for the Angels' struggles more so than the typical skipper.
Of course, the Angels -- specifically Moreno -- probably don't hold that stuff against Scioscia because they allowed the power struggle to transpire and conclude the way it did. Moving on now would all but signal that Moreno and crew erred when they allowed Dipoto to leave -- and that's not something they seem willing to do. Besides, firing Scioscia would mean paying him the $12 million remaining on his contract, which has two seasons to go.
The Angels appear hopeless -- even in the short term. But, on the bright side, at least the feller who's accountable for a lot of the mess seems to have plenty of job security.
