Tied for the American League’s worst record, Anaheim’s experiment with the first-year skipper falters as internal frustrations and looming trade deadline fires signals a total organizational reset.
The Los Angeles Angels are almost certainly not going to snap their playoff drought this season.
Unless a miracle comeback takes place in the second half of the season, it will be another frustrating season in Anaheim.
The Angels parted ways with their GM and are not having any success with first-year manager Kurt Suzuki.
The Angels gave Suzuki a one-year contract, and with questions swirling about the future of the franchise, it made sense.
At the All-Star break, the Angels have a 38-59 record, tied for the worst in the American League with the Kansas City Royals.
And, all signs point to Suzuki being let go after the season, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today added more fuel to that fire.
"Suzuki, another manager with zero experience before agreeing to a one-year contract to manage the Los Angeles Angels, has yet to make a difference. No one is saying the Angels are his fault by any means, and folks believe that he has a chance to be a good manager in the future, but it’s unlikely he’ll get that chance with the Angels," Nightengale wrote.
The Angels are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, meaning there will be a lot of new faces in Anaheim once August 3 passes.
Reid Detmers is one name drawing interest, and Jose Soriano, Mike Trout and others might be players teams call about, although both figure to remain in Anaheim a little longer.
That won't help Suzuki's case of getting another look as the manager in Anaheim, but he also hasn't done much this year to show he deserves another go-around.
As Nightengale said, some expect Suzuki to be a good manager in the future, and he will almost certainly be a candidate for other jobs next year or the year after.
Suzuki has also raised eyebrows with some surprising quotes, including him saying to look at "the positives."
For a team this far below .500, there aren't many positives at all, and sometimes accountability needs to be taken.
On that same breath, the Angels didn't do a great job in the offseason of putting together a playoff-caliber roster, and that has shown as much at this time.
What they do next season remains to be seen, and maybe they go hire a veteran coach, but it sure doesn't seem like Suzuki will be sticking around another season in Southern California.
