Life is rarely a happy experience for teams playing out the string in September, and that’s definitely the case for the Los Angeles Angels. They’ve basically fallen apart after hanging around just under the .500 mark for most of the year, and interim manager Ray Montgomery hasn’t exactly impressed after taking over for manager Ron Washington due to Washington's health issues.
The pitching has been especially sketchy, so it was probably only a matter of time before one of the starters went off in frustration. Specifically, that would be right hander Yusei Kikuchi, who expressed his displeasure with Montgomery after being removed in the sixth inning of his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers despite having given up just two runs.
“All year I’ve been grinding for the team,” Kikuchi said to Evan Roberts of Halo Hangout. "So in that spot, I wanted to be trusted a little bit more and I felt like I wasn’t trusted in that moment.
Angels fans have already been unhappy with Montgomery for some of his in-game decisions, but the interim manager certainly didn’t sound pleased about being called out.
“I said, ‘if I’d have taken you out of the game and you weren’t upset, I would be more concerned about that than being removed from the game, which you felt like you should have stayed in,’” Montgomery said in front of Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register. “We had a conversation about it. He certainly understands where I was coming from. Those decisions can be questioned all the time.”
In Montgomery’s defense, he probably felt that Kikuchi was gassed. Kikuchi’s pitch count ended up at 92, so the question was whether he should have been given the opportunity to finish the sixth.
Kikuchi certainly had reason to be distressed. Giving up the ball to the Halos bullpen has been the equivalent of waving the white flag lately, and there are very few effective options other than closer Kenley Jansen.
DH Mike Trout’s 400th homer against the Colorado Rockies helped spackle over the negative story, but it will be interesting to see what happens going forward. Montgomery has been lauded for his communication skills, but he hasn’t been able to keep the Angels on track since taking over for Washington. Meanwhile, former Angels star Albert Pujols is waiting in the wings.
As for Kikuchi, he’s under contract for two more years at just over $21 million each, and while he’s had a tough year to date, fans have been clearly choosing his perspective over that of Montgomery.