In the wake of Tony Reagins stepping down as Angels general manager there were reports about how manager Mike Scioscia was truly running the show, but in introducing Jerry Dipoto yesterday owner Arte Moreno said the new GM “has complete power.”
Here’s what Dipoto said about Scioscia’s influence on roster moves:
I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat wondering if I was going to get steamrolled by Mike. At no time did this become a sticking point for me. I’ve worked in this business my entire adult life, for 24 years, and what might look unusual outside the league is very common to me. I love the opinion of baseball people. I love talking to strong-minded people.
And here’s what Scioscia had to say:
Jerry will get opinions from me, sometimes strong opinions. Sometimes he’ll act on them, sometimes he won’t. That’s how we’ve worked for 12 years.
It’s interesting how the quote progression works there. The owner says the new GM “has complete power.” The new GM says he welcomes opinions from the longtime manager. And the longtime manager says he plans to give the new GM plenty of strong opinions. Not quite a disconnect, but Dipoto truly having “complete power” without any influence from Scioscia is a tough sell at this point.
