6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

I read with no surprise, sadly, that the Angels had just barely missed the postseason (old news), and that Jerry Dipoto resigned after years of arguing with Mike Scioscia (even older news) to be replaced, temporarily, with Bill Stoneman, GM emeritus, returning to that role. So when former also-ran and Yankee front office product Billy Eppler won the job, it took me a bit to realize something fairly important: Eppler is now the fifth general manager the Angels have had in the Arte Moreno era (fourth if you count Stoneman's two terms as one). You think the Gene Autry era was tumultuous, what with its loud personalities and poor decision-making skills? The worst they managed was three GMs in as many years, from 1991 through 1993. Arte's got a problem, and whether it's in the mirror, or the field manager having too much power, or both, the echoes of the old, bad teams from the early 1990's are impossible to ignore.

Labels: angels, front office

The New York Times uncorked a doozy today when they broke the story that the FBI is investigating the St. Louis Cardinals for hacking into the Astros' network and stealing proprietary player data.

The Astros hired Mr. Luhnow as general manager in December 2011, and he quickly began applying his unconventional approach to running a baseball team. In an exploration of the team’s radical transformation, Bloomberg Business called it “a project unlike anything baseball has seen before.”

Under Mr. Luhnow, the Astros have accomplished a striking turnaround; they are in first place in the American League West division. But in 2013, before their revival at the major league level, their internal deliberations about statistics and players were compromised, law enforcement officials said.

The intrusion did not appear to be sophisticated, the law enforcement officials said. When Mr. Luhnow was with the Cardinals, the organization built a computer network, called Redbird, to house all of their baseball operations information — including scouting reports and player personnel information. After leaving to join the Astros, and bringing some front-office personnel with him from the Cardinals, Houston created a similar program known as Ground Control.

Which suggests that Luhnow and others in the Houston front office didn't bother to change their passwords from their time at St. Louis. It also suggests that the Cardinals store their passwords in plaintext, which, why?

Fangraphs has a fine piece on the legal ramifications:

The primary law implicated by the Cardinals’ alleged hacking would appear to be the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The CFAA was originally passed back in 1984 to protect both the government and the financial industry from electronic espionage. The law was later expanded in 1996, however, to cover any unauthorized, remote access of another’s computer.
Under Section (a)(4) of the CFAA, anyone who “knowingly … accesses a protected computer without authorization” in order to “obtain[] anything of value” is subject to potential criminal liability for the hacking. Similarly, Section (a)(5)(B) of the law prohibits “intentionally access[ing] a protected computer without authorization,” should it result in any damage being inflicted on the computer’s owner.

The act provides for a five year sentence per instance of access, which could mean life imprisonment for ongoing spying. Also, the Electronic Espionage Act of 1996 makes the entire Cardinals organization possibly complicit in criminal activity, but only if the government can show high-level Cardinals knew or should have known about the matter.

But is that likely? As one of the commenters at a Facebook group observed, commissioner Rob Manfred has been pleased to use stolen evidence when it suited him; how hard can he really come down on the Cards? (Ignoring for the moment the consequence of criminal investigations, and assuming that there will be repercussions at the MLB commissioner's office.) One thing's for sure, there'll be a lot of billable hours among all parties.

Labels: astros, cardinals, front office, scams

Kevin Baxter — a byline I haven't previously seen in the Times alerts us to the Angels' hiring of new scouting director Hal Morris. Morris was the Reds' first baseman when they won the World Series in 1990, and has had front office positions previously with the Pirates and Red Sox.

“Hal brings a very special set of skills to our organization," General Manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “His abilities in the areas of player evaluation and qualitative analysis will play a major role in the program we are building here.”

Labels: angels, front office

Jerry Dipoto told him he won't be back for 2012. Circle of life and all that.

Labels: angels, firings, front office

Continuing the general changing of the guard in Anaheim, Rangers farm director Scott Servais will take over in that same role in Anaheim as the team's assistant general manager. No comment yet from the Rangers.

Updated to fix his new title, which indeed represents a step up.

Labels: angels, front office, rangers

... or, they might make you shake your head with knowing scorn having heard contrary nonsense for much of the last decade. Mike DiGiovanna in the Times covered yesterday's press conference introducing Jerry Dipoto as the Angels' new GM. The most important paragraph out of all of it:

He's a firm believer in on-base percentage (OBP) and plate discipline. "If you're not OB, you're not going to win many games," he said. He thinks "count control," from the pitching and hitting sides, is important. He loves aggressive baserunning.

I cannot stress enough how vital it is to hear this after years of attachment to a statistic that does not correlate well with offenses that actually score runs. It may yet prove ephemeral or a case of glib public relations, but at this exact moment it represents a much needed return to sanity in an organization that has lacked that on offense for a very long time.

Labels: angels, front office, sabermetrics

Announced yesterday in a story originally broken by Ken Rosenthal, the Angels have picked Diamondbacks Assistant General Manager Jerry Dipoto to be their new GM. From the official press release, we learn his bona fides:

Upon his selection in the leadership role, Dipoto was active prior to the trading deadline, making four trades for Arizona that would eventually play a key role in the success of the 2011 Western Division Champion Diamondbacks. He acquired All-Star left-hander Joe Saunders and three other pitchers from the Angels in exchange for right-hander Dan Haren on July 25th, then later exchanged right-hander Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox for rookie pitcher Daniel Hudson along with another pitcher on July 30th. Hudson would go on to secure a spot in Arizona's rotation, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.69 ERA, while recording 70 strikeouts in 79.2 innings during his final 11 starts. He returned this season registering a 16-12 mark and a 3.49 ERA with a 169 strikeouts.

Also included in the transactions were left-handed pitching prospects Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin, both top draft selections by the Angels in 2009, and left-hander David Holmberg, ranked by Baseball Americas as the eighth-best prospect in the White Sox organization. He also moved Chris Snyder to Pittsburgh in a five-player trade and Chad Qualls to Tampa Bay for minor-league pitcher Matt Gorgen on July 31.

The Haren trade, widely ridiculed for the Diamondbacks at the time, has turned out far more even. I'm cautiously optimistic, with the hope that Dipoto has the independence of mind needed to do his job.

Labels: angels, front office

Per Mike DiGiovanna; Kim Ng is supposedly on the short list, as is Rays GM Andrew Friedman, who is expected to be a long shot. Billy Eppler, the Yankees' vice president of amateur scouting, has been called back for a second interview.

Labels: angels, front office

Seriously? Was there something he did in Flushing that justifies a repeat performance anywhere? Just say no, Arte.

Labels: angels, front office, rumors

Mark Saxon, whose work at ESPN LA I don't link to nearly enough, has a good piece on why the Angels should hire Kim Ng as their next GM:

Ng might be able to protect the Angels from themselves, to convince them not to make the one bad financial decision that could set the franchise back for years to come. If only they’d hired her earlier, maybe they wouldn’t have played last season under the crushing weight of more than $50 million in bad contract obligations.

It's my considered opinion that whoever ends up in the GM chair will have as their first order of business a staking of territory. Scioscia may have an umpty-year deal with the team, but he's not king, and a fresh set of eyes can only help. Ken Rosenthal tweeted earlier in the day that Andrew Friedman is the Angels' top choice, but one can hold out hope that Ng will make it in as a GM, if not for the Angels, then for another team.

Labels: angels, front office, rumors

Joe Posnanski can get severe logorrhea at times, but mostly he's the kind of guy I wish the Times would replace Bill Plaschke with: sensible, great writing chops, not afraid of number crunching, and honest. His piece on the Cubs' acquisition of Theo Epstein is typically understated and charming:

See, this is not about how the Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908. Everybody talks about that, but it’s deceiving. Between 1909 and 1945 the Cubs won seven pennants. They were a dominant team in the National League. It just so happened that they kept losing World Series. That was a different kind of pain.

No, the streak we’re talking about here is 66 years of not even reaching a World Series. It is the longest such streak in the history of baseball. Every single team except the Cubs that was in existence in 1946 has been to at least two World Series since — and the only team with only two pennants since World War II is the Chicago White Sox, who have probably had something rub off. The Pittsburgh Pirates have been to three. The Cleveland Indians have been to four. The Baltimore Orioles — formerly the St. Louis Browns — have been to six. Even before Theo’s so-called-jinxed Boston Red Sox had won in 2004 and 2007, they had been to four World Series since World War II. They just hadn’t won any of them.

Labels: cubs, front office

Padres blogger Woe, Doctor has a fascinating look at Buddy Black's tenure as Padres manager, as well as giving voice to a rumor I have heard elsewhere, that the Angels might be looking at him as a possible GM candidate. They could do worse, I imagine, but his prime asset is his stoicism:

“Bud Black can manage this club as long as he wants to,” Padres CEO Jeff Moorad said Wednesday. “He’s a perfect skipper for the Padres in the near term as well as the long term.”

And, while it might be speculation on his part, Tim Sullivan revealed what he believed is Black’s greatest strength – his silence:

With two years remaining on his Padres’ contract, and two more years of club options thereafter, Black already has more job security than most major league managers. Though his hiring predates both Moorad’s and Hoyer’s arrivals at PETCO Park, Black is not some holdover desperate to hang on, but a low-maintenance leader who never complains about payroll, ballpark dimensions or decisions made by his bosses.

Via Geoff Young on Twitter; some days ago, Geoff officially hung 'em up at Ducksnorts, one of the best-named blogs I know of. Geoff says he'll keep writing for BPro, and that's a good thing.

Labels: angels, front office, padres, rumors

Various and sundry on a Wednesday morn:

• T.J. Simers unloads on the McCourts, which these days is shooting fish in a barrel, but they deserves it.
• MLB withdrew a bid to have the McCourts' attorneys disqualified from bankruptcy proceedings.
• The Dodgers and MLB traded charges at yesterday's bankruptcy proceedings, the Dodgers hauling out their "MLB forced us into bankruptcy, boo hoo" schtick again, while Fox threatened not to air the last two years of Dodgers games they were contractually required to do if the Dodgers rebid their TV rights including the final year of the contract and in advance of the negotiating window.

  Under the MLB Constitution, the league cannot strip an owner of his team without providing him a list of charges in writing, extending an opportunity for a hearing and securing the vote of three-fourths of other owners.

  "The commissioner does not have the authority to force an owner to sell," the Dodgers' filing read.

  Instead, the team claims, Selig responded to the "enormous negative publicity" of last year's divorce trial by refusing to let the Dodgers sign a new television contract with Fox, take a loan from Fox or tap into the MLB credit line.

  His lies are getting bigger and bolder over time:

  The Dodgers said it was "unlikely that Fox Sports can assert any meaningful damages" for an early sale of the television rights. In turn, Fox threatened a damages claim so high it would threaten McCourt's promise to repay all creditors in full and "render meaningless" his financial projections.

• Bryan Stow is out of the hospital for good now. Godspeed to him, and I hope Frank pays and pays for that man's misery.
• In Boston and Cubs news, it appears that Theo Epstein has a 5-year/$15M deal with the Cubs, per a report from WEEI, the Red Sox' radio broadcaster.

Labels: bryan stow, cubs, dodgers, front office, mccourts, red sox

Per ESPN LA. He was 68, and was informed with three weeks to go on his existing contract.

Update: Bill Plunkett has more in the Register, mostly being an interview with Arte Moreno on background about the exit.

"I think you want a good baseball man – or I should say baseball person because there are some qualified women out there – because you want to be able to evaluate talent," Moreno said. "You also want him to be able to manage a (minor-league) system so you have to look at someone who can evaluate how we're drafting and developing players. And you also want someone with good communication skills.

Kim Ng?

Labels: angels, firings, front office

He was the head of player development. He's the fourth key front office person to leave or be fired this month.

Labels: angels, firings, front office

Sutherland was a special assistant to the GM, and had been in that position for 12 years, while Forsch had logged 14 years in the AGM role.

Bill Dwyre on Friday recapped the consequences of the Reagins ouster. My own feeling is that they're going to bring in someone from outside, though the popular choices are not likely, i.e. Pat Gillick.

Labels: angels, firings, front office

Per the Rays broadcast. Updates as I find them.

Update: Mike DiGiovanna reports he resigned. Arte Moreno:

#Angels Arte Moreno, in release: "We remained short of our objective in winning championship. In moving forward, we felt change was needed."

Reagins will remain with the team as a special assistant.

Update 2: LAT story.

Update 3: NBC Hardball Talk's Matthew Poulliot briefly reviews Reagins' tenure as GM, and reminds us of the expensive, ineffective bullpens he constructed (<cough> Brian Fuentes <cough>) in addition to the catastrophic Wells/Napoli trade.

More at the Register, whose Bill Plunkett reminds us of the name Scott Kazmir.

Update 4: Scott Miller at CBS Sports:

Moreno got years of great publicity after the first thing he did as owner was lower stadium beer prices, but his ownership clearly is at a crossroads right now. Though he talks the talk of winning championships, he's consistently failed in the free agent market over the past several winters: Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre, among others.

Bottom line, the Angels' actions jibe with their words less and less frequently. The organization has become soulless, and disingenuous.

I'm inclined to agree. Arte's public pronouncements before this last offseason were something of an embarrassment, and I wonder if that didn't drive the suicidal pursuit of Wells.

Update 5: Mike DiGiovanna's long-form piece includes a great deal of speculative analysis (no, Billy Beane isn't coming down here), and the following meatier bit:

John Carpino, the team's president, said he and Moreno were "a little bit surprised" by the resignation of Reagins, who will remain with the club as a special assistant to team Chairman Dennis Kuhl.

"Tony and I had a long conversation [Friday] morning, and for most part, yeah, this wasn't the plan," Carpino said. "It was a collective decision, and Tony was part of the decision-making process."

Carpino said a search for Reagins' successor will begin immediately and that the next GM would probably come from outside the organization. He would like to have someone in place in November, when players can file for free agency.

Labels: angels, firings, front office

Per ESPN, though an interesting tweet from @bigleaguestew claims he was told he was fired on July 22 but stayed on to sign the draft picks. How weird is that?

I do wonder if Tony Reagins' head will be next. An expensive, bad team should be a fireable offense.

Labels: cubs, firings, front office

On a day where I'm going to be away from a computer for a good bit, it appears even the rats are starting to get off the sinking boat. Steve Soboroff has resigned as Dodgers Vice President In Charge Of Making Ridiculous Statements, or whatever his title was; probably for the best.

No kidding, there is a park in Los Angeles named after the man. I was there myself a few days ago.

Labels: dodgers, front office

Tom Schieffer is in New York representing the team at the owners' meeting, which means MLB's man on the spot is former Padres president Dick Freeman.

Said 1 team official: "It's like we have a substitute teacher."

No running with scissors, Frank.

Update: Bill Shaikin reports MLB has rescinded the appointment due to a potential conflict of interest. You think?

Labels: dodgers, front office