Jerry DiPoto packed up his office after the Angels’ win over the Yankees on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between him and manager Mike Scioscia, and reports say he is likely leaving his position as the team’s GM.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that DiPoto packed up his office, but he says there is no indication of a firing or resignation:
Two sources say that #Angels GM Jerry Dipoto packed up his office and left today. Club official: “Status quo here as of now.”
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 1, 2015
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that DiPoto approached team owner Arte Moreno with an ultimatum.
One source hears Jerry DiPoto went to Arte Moreno with an ultimatum, and it backfired. Details not confirmed. #angels
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 1, 2015
Crasnick also says DiPoto is “out” as Angels GM.
Moreno was in the Angels’ clubhouse for quite some time after the game, though he did not speak with the media. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez says DiPoto could consider stepping down.
A former major league pitcher, DiPoto became the Angels’ GM after the 2011 season. There was an immediate power struggle between him and Scioscia that the GM seemed to win; in May 2012, hitting coach Mickey Hatcher became Scioscia’s first ever assistant coach to be fired. Things were so bad between them that a report after the season said one or the other had to go. The team “resolved” the situation by keeping both and forcing them to work together. The Angels struggled in 2013 after nearly every move DiPoto made flopped (think the acquisitions of Joe Blanton, Ryan Madson, and Tommy Hanson). However, the team won 98 games last season, and all seemed to be much better. The problem is that the team has been struggling this season, leading to DiPoto’s complaints with Scioscia to arise again.
Rosenthal reported Monday that DiPoto has had an issue with Scioscia and the coaching staff over the lack of use of advanced scouting/stats prepared for them by the front office.
It really is not surprising to see these issues creeping up again. The Angels should have parted ways with one or the other after the 2012 season. This is what happens when you try to force an ill-fitted relationship to work.
As I see it, there are three problems going on here, two of which will still remain regardless of who wins the GM/manager power struggle.
1) Jerry DiPoto is only an average GM. As previously mentioned, almost all of the moves he made for the 2013 season ended horribly. That’s not to say all of his moves are bad, though; his bullpen acquisitions of Huston Street, Ernesto Frieri and Joe Smith were great, and he got a nice return for Mark Trumbo. When you have as many successful moves as you do flops, that makes you just an average GM.
2) Mike Scioscia is a headstrong, old school manager who bunts, runs and doesn’t use as much advanced scouting information as he can. Some of the knocks against him are subjective and coming from DiPoto’s point of view, but these are complaints I’ve had for a while.
3) Arte Moreno screws things up big time when he meddles with the front office’s moves. He was the driving force behind the Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton signings. This is the first in four seasons with the team where Pujols is coming close to living up to his contract, and the Angels still owe him big money for another six years. The team could have kept Kendrys Morales for a fraction of the price and had much more payroll flexibility if Moreno didn’t make this deal. Then, upset over the Hamilton deal, Moreno forced DiPoto to trade the troubled outfielder for pennies on the dollar.
Both signings were ill-advised and are haunting the team. Plus, to all those people who, when Moreno overpaid for both sluggers, said “It’s not your money,” well, you have to look at the domino effect. Because of all the money they are paying Pujols and Hamilton, the Angels traded Howie Kendrick over the offseason rather than keeping him, and they missed out on other free agents who might have been provided better value. They simply are getting poor value on the signings that Moreno forced.
Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
