Welcome to another episode of "The O.C.," in which Los Angeles Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia are not getting along. That's the word on the street from Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports, who has details about Scioscia's coaching staff openly defying Dipoto's front office -- with slugger Albert Pujols siding with the coaches and against management with a "pointed rebuke."
It actually sounds kind of dramatic -- though you have to wonder how often this kind of thing happens and we don't hear about it. Perhaps not frequently, but more than once a year on more than just one team? There are a lot of egos in place on these teams. Anyway, here's what Rosenthal alleges that nobody will back up on the record:
Dipoto, according to sources, believes that the coaches too often rely on “feel” while teams such as the AL West-leading Astros are at the forefront of incorporating data. The coaches, in turn, seemingly do not trust the information they are given, and either are not willing or able to translate it for the players.
And to that end:
• Dipoto met with Scioscia and his coaching staff on Friday, and the exchange turned contentious when the GM asked the coaches to better communicate to the players scouting reports and statistical information provided by the front office.• In a separate meeting with the players, coaches and Scioscia on Sunday, Dipoto informed the players that they would now be given the information directly by the front office; they then could decide whether or not to use it.
That meeting, Scioscia told reporters, “was just scouting information, scouting reports ... We’re just getting reports to guys a little bit differently than we had before."
• Pujols challenged Dipoto during that second gathering, saying that the coaches are working as hard to prepare the players as they did last season, but that the roster is not as strong as it was a year ago.
The scouting information relates to, Rosenthal's sources say, details such as defensive shifting, along with how to pitch hitters in specific counts and locations (which also could relate to shifting.) Shifting has been en vogue in recent seasons, particularly since the start of 2014. It has shown to be useful in some cases, though it's disputed as to how much. Rosenthal goes on to note that, while the Angels don't shift a lot when compared with shifting kings like the Houston Astros, they have rated well (better than the Astros) in defensive efficiency -- the rate at which balls in play are converted into outs.
So we have two issues at work here: One, deciding which side knows better in terms of how to coach the roster -- the coaches or the front office. Two, when "resistance" becomes insubordination. Shouldn't the coaching staff just do what the front office says? That's how it probably works in most places, but when the Angels have Mike Scioscia in his 16th season and clothed in immense power, and then well-paid slugger Albert Pujols backing him and the coaches up, it gets complicated.
Scioscia and Dipoto's relationship has been uneasy for years, particularly after the Angels fired coach Mickey Hatcher in 2012. Scioscia and Dipoto seemed to get along better in 2014 when the Angels won 98 games. These days, they're closer to mediocre, hence -- tension and rift.
It's all kind of fascinating, or would be, if it weren't a mitigating factor in the Angels appearing to underperform. There's a lot of money and emotion put into these baseball teams, and gross insubordination by the coaching staff tends to foster an environment where egos come first and winning comes second. Owner Arte Moreno probably has to act on this. Until now, he's simply told Scioscia and Diptoto to keep working together -- or whatever you call it -- because he's not firing either.
