The July 2nd, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including almost exclusive reaction to Jerry Dipoto’s resignation…
The Story: Bill Stoneman has been named interim GM after Jerry Dipoto officially resigned yesterday.
The Monkey Says: The idea of dusting off the 71-year old Stoneman seems like a joke, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with it. Stoneman is a guy who has been in the position before, but also has no apparent desire to keep the position after this season. That makes him an ideal candidate to be the GM during this shitstorm. It prevents someone like Matt Klentak, who might eventually get the job, from getting thrown to the wolves. At the same time, the front office remains intact and Klentak and the others can continue executing Dipoto’s plans while Stoneman simply becomes a more hands on advisor. Supposedly Klentak has a good relationship with Scioscia, so if he can ascend to the position and not overhaul the front office, that would be the best thing for the team in the long-term.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto comments on his departure, calling it a personal decision.
The Monkey Says: Jerry says all the PC things here. He just believed that he was no longer able to be as effective as he wants. There are rumors that he put his house on the market a few weeks ago, so it is possible that this decision was one he’s been contemplating for awhile.
The Story: Mike Scioscia insists Dipoto’s resignation had nothing to do with egos and took exception to be called anti-analytical.
The Monkey Says: You can tell that all of this criticism is really getting to Scioscia. He knows he’s being blamed for this and he doesn’t want the blood on his hands.
The Story: Mike Scioscia won the battle, but are the Angels better off?
The Monkey Says: Despite what Scioscia claims, this report only furthers the narrative that Scioscia’s staff was not as cooperative in terms of utilizing the scouting reports and analysis the front office was passing along. It also places a sharp focus on just how much power Scioscia has now accumulated and whether any manager should ever have that much power.
The Story: Rico Brogna opens up about the rift between Scioscia and Dipoto.
The Monkey Says: Brogna admits he was basically the focal point of the latest dispute. It was his job to be the liaison between the front office and clubhouse and it wasn’t working. Scioscia can deny all he wants, but Brogna is the smoking gun. He’s also probably going to very quietly get fired for openly leaking this story, but the team has to be careful in how they go about it as it would be a bad look for them to fire a guy who just beat cancer.
The Story: Mike Scioscia and Angels players insist the front office changes won’t be a distraction.
The Monkey Says: All the players said the right things and generally seemed surprised to learn that the situation hot gotten so bad so quickly. I guess that’s a good thing.
The Story: Dipoto’s departure only proves that Scioscia is the unquestioned ruler of the Angels.
The Monkey Says: This story got a lot of run because of the first portion about how Scioscia doesn’t like Nerf hoops and loud music in the dugout. Frankly, I don’t see anything wrong with a manager controlling the clubhouse. That’s his job. Sure, he’s being puritanical about things, but it has always been his style to run a professional clubhouse and not loosey goosey frat house atmosphere. Lots of managers are the same way.
The Story: Arte Moreno let Dipoto walk by siding with Scioscia.
The Monkey Says: No batch of reaction links would be complete without a Plaschke hot take.
The Story: Grading Jerry Dipoto’s most significant moves.
The Monkey Says: It is mostly positive, but man, when he missed, he REALLY missed.
The Story: When quitting is better than being fired.
The Monkey Says: The speculation is that by resigning, Dipoto might’ve actually earned more respect around baseball by showing he isn’t going to put up with a dysfunctional power structure.
The Story: Mike Morin was activated from the DL with Cam Bedrosian optioned to the minors.
The Monkey Says: Morin should help, but it might be a bit before Scioscia fully trusts him again.
The Story: Mike Scioscia hopes Josh Hamilton will finally thank his former teammates for their support.
The Monkey Says: Nice to see that in spite of all that was happening yesterday that Scioscia still had some lingering animosity leftover for Hamilton.
The Story: Jered Weaver threw another bullpen session and looks to be two to three weeks from being activated.
The Monkey Says: With Heaney pitching so well, the team is in no rush to bring the struggling Weaver back and create an awkward decision for themselves.
The Story: A look inside the numbers of Albert Pujols’ incredible month of June.
The Monkey Says: I’m not totally sure what it means that he’s doing so much better on balls up in the zone, but it can’t be a bad thing.
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