JOE MADDON HAS ALREADY BEEN FIRED BY THE ANGELS
Pretty wild turn of events given that last year Joe was saying it was a career resurgence to manage a group of guys that just want to play hard. He was so dialed-in on being the guy around the Angels. I sincerely and truly believe this ripped his heart right out of his chest and he didn't see it coming. Joe's always said he'll take the Angels as far as Art will give him pitching. And right now I think its safe to say ownership failed immensely. They're in the bottom 3rd of nearly every major pitching stat. Joe isn't the one cooking fastballs down broadway.
But alas there's so much more to it. Joe has an incredible dominating presence across the entire organization. Sure it's positive, but it's intense and it' everywhere. I'm sure that runs thin when you're playing dogshit baseball, especially with this roster. They're simply too good and it seems Joe's leash ran out.
Sound familiar?
I was just bringing it up to tease it out the idea. You know, a talking point on a talk show. I didn't think the Angels were actually considering firing Joe Maddon and again that goes back to the level of influence and control he has over a club.
It's significant and it doesn't work if the team is struggling. Like I sincerely think the Angels were quicker to make this move than otherwise based on Joe's approach. I can see leadership rolling their eyes and that's largely because he made a lot of people in Chicago do the same on his way out.
Now's not the time to bury the guy though. He just lost his job and higher level - he's one of the most successful managers of my lifetime. Hall of famer? Maybe, and that's pretty fucking impressive for anybody involved in the game. As such I'll show an appropriate amount of respect and say that I think this is very unfortunate.
Same time it's way mor unfortunate that we never get to see Mike Trout in the postseason and I mean that on behalf of baseball fans everywhere. This is a borderline national emergency and I need all hands on deck. We gotta get Mike to October and if that means an early break with an All Time Legend then so be it. Whatever it takes to get Mike some meaningful at bats for the first time in a decade.
In that regard, sorry Joe. I love you as much as I love any manager I never played for. May you find peace and hopefully some time to come on the show. I'd love to pick up where we left off.
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