Angels' tense atmosphere nearly included Pujols, Hunter fight in 2012

[Ohtaniland]

Let's play the game of change the manager's name an see how the article reads.

 

 

Ok, know the names are changed it is obvious Scioscia doesn't know how to manage.

 

We should get LaRussa in the off season.

 

Well done!

[angelinkc]

I did my part. I saw Tony and his wife at STL airport in July. Told him he would look good in my Angels hat next year. He laughed and his wife said no he wouldn't.

[tdawg87]

His wife knows what's up.

[Taylor]

Being "clutch" or not "clutch" is a false assertion with little, if any, predictive value.

Yes, let's destroy Torii Hunter's image any way we can because he is no longer an Angel. Awesome.

 

Let's destroy Albert Pujols's image because he didn't hit well this season.

[Jikkle]

Seems like people might have missed this part of the article

 

Following that team meeting last August, the Angels finished the season on a 27-14 roll that nearly carried them into the playoffs in spite of everything. From the raw emotions came highly constructive results, one source calling it one of the best team meetings he's ever been a part of.

 

Among those constructive changes, sources say, was that Pujols, who had trouble accepting early last year that some of the Angels' veterans didn't need his guidance, was a terrific teammate the rest of the season.

 

So despite the near fight it was a positive for the team as they were able to blow off some steam and come to a better understanding of each other.  It doesn't sound like Pujols was a bad clubhouse but just had trouble fitting in at first.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The strategy didn’t sit well with Pujols, who was visibly upset over the decision and smashed two trays of gum in the dugout to show his frustration.

 

You know it's getting really serious when gum starts getting smashed.

[notherhalo]

"let the baseball people make the baseball decisions"

[CaliAngel]

Torii was such a good leader in the clubhouse during his tenure, and made such a difference in this teams performance, don't forget that he led us to the playoffs the last 3 years he was here.

 

Oh, wait.

[Mark68]

You have to admire Moreno's passion, but he's clearly out of control. He's like Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban, and Al Davis, only without the success of any of them.

 

The contracts to Pujols, Hamilton, and Scioscia have really put the team in a bind. It should become immediately apparent to any GM who works under Moreno that if he doesn't see things Scioscia's way, it's the highway.

Other than Cuban, where have the successes been in the last twenty years (or in Davis' case, the last twenty years of his life)?

[mp170.6]

Torii was such a good leader in the clubhouse during his tenure, and made such a difference in this teams performance, don't forget that he led us to the playoffs the last 3 years he was here.

 

Oh, wait.

 

I think people assume too much based on the smile on Torii's face.  No, really.  They see this happy, friendly looking guy and automatically equate that to being a leader. 

[Brandon Wing]

Soooooooo...

 

Let me get this straight.

 

Author writes something negative (allegedly) about a negative situation...    LIES!  BLASPHEMY!  INSTIGATOR!  AVACADO!  ARSONIST!

 

Author writes something positive when we're in a positive situation...  

 

PULITZER!

 

It's the hypocrisy that actually lends credibility to the other side.

Bingo.

[Taylor]

People need to stop saying things like, "So-and-so led the team to the playoffs." In baseball, there is never one single player who is the reason a team makes or doesn't make the playoffs. Statements like, "The Angels made the playoffs the first year Torii was here, but they haven't made the playoffs since they signed Pujols" makes me shake my head. One player doesn't make the difference.

[Toby Ziegler]

Other than Cuban, where have the successes been in the last twenty years (or in Davis' case, the last twenty years of his life)?

 

The point is they've had a great deal of success before. The Raiders made it to five Super Bowls under Davis' tenure and they won three of them. Jones has taken the Cowboys to the promised land three times as well.

 

Moreno has experienced zero success.

[AngelsLongBall]

Dare I say that I agree with Austin. The Angels are a train wreck so journalists are finding ways to throw gas on the fire. This happened in 2012 and now it's coming out. I find the timing a bit suspect. Last year, along with this season, has been filled with frustration. I bet there were more flare ups in the clubhouse besides this one. But nobody would care if Macier tried to throw a punch at Iannetta.

Maicier would've blown out his hammy if he threw a punch

[ten ocho recon scout]

Last winter, many key members of the baseball operations department wanted to make more of an effort to re-sign Zack Greinke, but it was Moreno who steered them to free agent Josh Hamilton.

For those who want to blame Dipoto.

I don't know how much I believe that. I think hamilton was plan b after knowing grienke was out of the budget.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Maicier would've blown out his hammy if he threw a punch

Iannetta wouldn't swing, but would simply walk away.

[SoWhat]

Moreno is definetly making it hard to stay an Angels fan

[Stradling]

Arte is making it hard to be an Angel fan? Haha. I completely understood pitching needs going into the off season but I can't blame them for having a ceiling as it relates to Greinke. Everyone on this board felt he was over paid. Greinke himself at his press conference said it came down to money. Seeing what the Dodgers have done with these contracts is there any way the Angels could have won that bidding war? So they went to plan B, sign a power hitting left handed bat for less money and less years. Sadly, that player hasn't performed. People complain and make it sound like the Angels only had one need (pitching) but they have lacked power from the left side for quite awhile now. Just ask AO, this is something they needed.

[Ohtaniland]

Arte is making it hard to be an Angel fan? Haha. I completely understood pitching needs going into the off season but I can't blame them for having a ceiling as it relates to Greinke. Everyone on this board felt he was over paid. Greinke himself at his press conference said it came down to money. Seeing what the Dodgers have done with these contracts is there any way the Angels could have won that bidding war? So they went to plan B, sign a power hitting left handed bat for less money and less years. Sadly, that player hasn't performed. People complain and make it sound like the Angels only had one need (pitching) but they have lacked power from the left side for quite awhile now. Just ask AO, this is something they needed.

They should have signed Ibanez.

[Stradling]

I know that is said in jest because we know that Ibanez is the exact opposite of what this team needs. He is having an amazing offensive year, but he can't field, throw or run. That being said he is a very good story this year. He would have been a great under the radar type move at the trade deadline this year for a contender.

[Ohtaniland]

Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. I think that also happened in 2001. Let's hope with a few careful maneuvers in the offseason our 2014 will be like our 2002.

[jshep]

Arte is making it hard to be an Angel fan? Haha. I completely understood pitching needs going into the off season but I can't blame them for having a ceiling as it relates to Greinke. Everyone on this board felt he was over paid. Greinke himself at his press conference said it came down to money. Seeing what the Dodgers have done with these contracts is there any way the Angels could have won that bidding war? So they went to plan B, sign a power hitting left handed bat for less money and less years. Sadly, that player hasn't performed. People complain and make it sound like the Angels only had one need (pitching) but they have lacked power from the left side for quite awhile now. Just ask AO, this is something they needed.

 

Of course part of the criticism here is of the very fact that this team's response to losing the bidding for Greinke was spending 125 million dollars on a player(whether that was Dipoto's call or Arte's or both, or maybe the Rally Monkey's) who didn't do anything to address what was clearly the team's biggest weakness, and instead added to what already looked to be the team's strength.

 

Obviously the fact that he's performed this poorly makes it look worse, but Hamilton was a luxury, not a need.

[Stradling]

You can call it a luxury but I think it was more about balance, protection for Pujols and extending the line up. All of which were good things. Going into this season we were all happy offensively thinking we would have one weak hitter in Peter. That all changed when Albert and Hamilton didn't perform. I expect they will be much better than this next season.

[Ohtaniland]

Plan B was that with a lineup that included Trout, Trumbo, Pujols and Hamilton you wouldn't need a bullpen. That didn't work.

[Splint7438]

I for one felt that our bullpen would be fine because of our lineup. Yeah..... That didn't really work out. There is no easy fix to turn this club around because there are so many things wrong with it. The one big thing that we may be able to influence is the health of the team. If we can be fit going into the season and stay that way we can improve a great deal just by putting our everyday lineup out there. Our fundamentals were really lacking this year after being very solid defensively for years. Plus we need to have something to play for. This team doesn't seem to have a goal. One game at a time and not getting high or low seems like a great idea but it hasn't been working for last four years. Baseball is a funny game and we could roll out 80% of the same roster out there again next year and win 90+ games. We just need some repairs and maintenance not a whole new car.

Greinke was going to the biggest money no matter what. Josh was a second choice but was definitely an area we needed improvement. If healthy this team can bounc back and be very competitive. We have three different players in Josh, Albert and Trout that have been arguably the best player in baseball at some point in their career. I know the talent is on this team. We just need the right mindset and a common goal.