Mike Scioscia could lose his Angel wings sometime soon.
FoxSports.com is reporting that Scioscia, the Los Angeles Angels manager, is engaged in a rift with team general manager Jerry Dipoto. According to FoxSports.com, one could lose his job at season's end.
The Angels have the sixth highest payroll in Major League Baseball but also have the fourth worst record. Logic dictates that aggressive owner Arte Moreno won't maintain the status quo.
The FoxSports.com article speculates that Dipoto is in greater jeopardy. Dipoto was responsible for the acquisitions of right-handers Joe Blanton, Tommy Hanson and Ryan Madson last offseason. All three have been busts - and Madson has yet to play a game for the Angels.
Moreno asked Dipoto to sign former Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton to a five-year, $125 million contract, and underperforming Albert Pujols still has $212 million left on his contract for the next eight years.
Dipoto is under contract only through 2014, while Scioscia is signed through '18, making Dipoto the likelier target for the ax.
Scioscia, however, has managed the club for 14 years. He took the Angels to a World Series victory in 2002 and was American League Manager of the Year in 2002 and 2009. But the Angels have spent big money on free agents in recent years, and the team has not performed to expectations.
FoxSports.com reported that Scioscia, once hailed as a disciplinarian who got his teams to play aggressive and mistake-free baseball, held a team meeting last week after the Angles allowed six stolen bases in an 8-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.
The manager then conducted a special workout on fundamentals the next day. The Angels may have tuned him out.
If Dipoto is the first to leave, the pressure next season on Scioscia will be tenfold.
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