Stories from the major league's front offices have been dominated by Joe Torre's decision to decline the offer proposed by the New York Yankees, a decision that will most likely result in Torre not returning to the league in pinstripes. However, a more important change recently took place in the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim front office. Behind Torre’s shadow, Bill Stoneman (pictured to the left), the now former General Manager (GM) of the Angels, stepped down and gave way to Tony Reagins, who started as an intern in 1992 and has now worked his way up to the GM position with Stoneman becoming a Senior Advisor to the Angels' owner, Arte Moreno. The Angels have been contenders in the American League since their national championship in 2002 but have had trouble recently getting over the hump. This has not been due to a lack of pitching (which may be the best in the league), or an emptied farm system (the Angels are littered with young talent), but rather to a lack of offense, particularly a “big bat” if the average fan is asked. These same fans have asked for change come the trade deadline each season and maybe Reagins will bring it with him this year. However, I would bet on more of the same when it comes to the Angels' mentality at the trade deadline , which just happens to be the right decision for the franchise.When the news first broke about Stoneman stepping down, the overall consensus showed that the fans were overjoyed. This is illustrated best by the title of an article by Larry Brown called “Angel Fans Everywhere, Raise a Pint." He shares the same view as many Angel fans do about Stoneman; he is a coward, he never makes the right move, and he invests too much in the undeveloped young talent. Ironically an in depth look at Stoneman’s actions prove that these are the very things that have made the Angels a successful organization. To bring hard evidence to the case, just look at Stoneman’s resume. We can easily start at the top with the only World Series appearance and victory (the celebration is pictured here) in the franchise’s hist
ory coming with Stoneman at the helm. He was the one that kept highly touted minor leaguers John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez in the organization at the time when many teams were asking for their services. Those two players also played a key role in the World Series and have turned into all stars. Stoneman also handled the signing of superstar Vladimir Guerrero. The signing and extension both for Guerrero, even in the eyes of Larry Brown, “was easily one of the best free agent steals in the past decade” especially because Guerrero won the American League MVP award that year. There are also many other examples, such as the re-signing of Kelvim Escobar when little was known about him, and the release of fan favorite David Eckstien, which lead to the free agent signing of the significantly better Orlando Cabrera. As far as the young players that Stoneman was stingy with come the trade deadline are concerned, even Brown says, "Sometimes the moves you don’t make are the ones that are better for the club because of what was not lost."This is the man many Angles fans are happy has stepped down from a position in which he built a winning franchise. Maybe now the Angel fans will get their wish and give up the next Lackey and Rodriguez for that big bat. As an Angels fan, I hope not. Stoneman knew when the right time was to make the big trade and spend the money without damaging the nucleus of a successful team. What many of the fans are overlooking is that Reagins has been trained and will be advised by Stoneman still. If they think that Reagins will bring about a front office 180 when the trade deadline comes, they are sadly mistaken. Their false hope is not a bad thing though. They will be happy that the young talent is there when everything is said and done. Years of contention and success are ahead without a gamble for a one-year splurge.
The Angles were poised to win a championship this year if you asked most professional analysts come playoff time, but slumped in the ALDS. This, however, was with a core of young, undeveloped talent that is only going to get better and a pitching staff that will be solid for years to come. Bill Stoneman did fine, in fact, he did exceptionally well with what he was given to make the team a contender. To be judgmental of his actions is foolish. Most fans would have been happy with a GM who provided a team that could begin each season with a legitimate chance to win it all. Now is the time when we should be thanking Stoneman for what he has accomplished, not “raising our glasses” to his departure.
1 comment:
Well done on the post. Your angle towards the management changes within the Angels organization is very straightforward and seemingly unbiased. You do a good job of presenting background information in order to inform a less knowledgeable reader, but also delve into the more inner-workings of specific deals that spark the interests of more in-depth sports analysts. Your argument that Stoneman was the right man for the job is a very valid assertion, and I could not agree with you more. The ability of a General Manager to take a limited budget and create a perennial contender is a highly underrated trait in today’s sports world. However, I feel that the thing you did the best was stay away from the media hype and bandwagoning that has been going on recently. It seems that the popular thing to do these days is when a manager or GM steps down for the entire fan base to feel some sense of relief as if they never did anything right for the team. It feels as if the majority of Angels fans have done this because he didn’t get, as you said, the “one big bat.” For the longest time, it has always been known that pitching and defense wins championships, as was seen in 2002 when they won the World Series on the right arm of John Lackey. Stoneman was a great fit for the organization, and I think that you present this idea very well. You make a good case that he should be respected and thanked by Angels fans across the board for setting them up for a very bright future full of very exciting and promising prospects.
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