Suzuki was an excellent contact hitter in his mlb playing days. Perhaps he can teach the Angels batters to put bat on ball.
TL: DR (too long, don’t read): Sadly, Suzuki will not be able to teach these Angels hitters.
They are all entrenched in their habits – be it Trout, Ward, Rengifo, or O’hoppe.
I don’t see Neto, Moore, Adell or Teodosio (or even Kyren Paris) changing their swing habits any time soon.
The one player who can consistently put the ball in play is Schanuel; but, if he’s going to try to increase his power stats, then he’ll be striking out more.
And, what’s even worse, Michael Conforto / Nick Castellanos / DJ LaMahieu are all available. Given management’s tendency to sign aging veterans with declining stats (Tim Anderson, Lamont Wade Jr.), these players could be on the Angels next year, and they certainly aren’t going to change their swing habits in order to put the bat on the ball.
Albert and Torii know the players suck, so they probably asked for better players and to have better coaches. Suzuki is just Perry’s lapdog. That being said, Suzuki knows the game and will know how to manage a big league club. But he’s not going to inspire anybody or draw free agents. So he’s impact will be very minimal. Pujols would probably suck but at least draw free agents and signees in the Dominican market. But Suzuki is just blah. He’s gone if they sell the team.
Back in the day, Sosh was thought to be smart until he wasn’t We now know that it wasn’t Sosh who failed, it was the owner. If you don’t have the horses to pull the wagon, the wagon ain’t gonna move to the starting line. Why would anyone think the if the Angels hired the most expensive manager who is thought to be the smartest and the best that that would change anything. Last season to many things went right for 4 months and many thought we could have a shot at the playoffs. Our starting pitchers didn’t miss many starts, meaning no injuries. We had a closer that was very good. Our SS and 1B batted 1 & 2 in the order and improved from the year before. Adell and Ward broke out with career years, Trouty played over 100 games and hit a few HRs. Do you believe it was the managers who pulled that off? Fate and luck were with this team with no real great roster moves.
Kurt was a darn good choice for this crappie assignment; he is well respected by those that played with him, he knows the game as a catcher who was top notch as a player and defensive guy behind the plate. The team will regress I think unless some more big breakout seasons are about to happen, and they could.
Go Angels.
“….If you don’t have the horses to pull the wagon, the wagon ain’t gonna move to the starting line…..”
And that, right there, is why 2026 season will be bad.
The lineup right now is: Neto, Schanuel, Trout, O’Hoppe, Moore/Rengifo, Ward, Soler
3B, CF are up for grabs.
Same horses in 2026, as in 2025.
We could sign All-Stars at 3B and at CF, and we’re still not going to the playoffs.
Because our pitching staff is not good. And, at best, our hitters are, perhaps, slightly average.
See fellas, here’s a life lesson for all of us:
Hang around the big guy long enough you may end up with a high profile dead-end job.
When will Ray Montgomery be named Bench Coach?
He took the bench coach job in Bakersfield on the girls’ softball team at the “Y”.
Not what I would consider a move-the-needle hire as Perry was discussing. But then again field manager is a fairly meaningless hire.
Yeah, giving someone no tools to do a job means you’re window dressing, or just lipstick on the Halos organization.
Suzuki as a manager must be good for at least .005 WAR
So, there is a story floating around that the workout gym has no A/C, players talk to each other about places to stay away and shy from, we are a mentioned team. Stadium deal=no. Lawsuit=yep. Yes man General Manager=You bet. President and his VP’s clueless? Now that’s a given. Owner hanging on for taking all the money before he leaves? =You betcha. The wheels have fallen off this train.
I am happy that Kurt has the job, for since he left as a player, I had hoped that he would become a coach here and work with O’Hoppe. This combo may work out well.
The Angels are 1 of 9 teams in the MLB that spends more than 50% of their revenue on payroll.
Not exactly the best strategy for penny pinching if that’s what he’s being accused of, eh?
Arte still has a warehouse full of Thunder sticks to move…..
Arte spends, but does he spend wisely? That’s always been the problem.
There’s always been money for Vernon Wells, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, and Anthony Rendon.
But then there’s firing all the scouts in 2020, renting the anti gravity treadmill for Pujols rather than buying it, minor leaguers living in cars, and shutting down the DR facility for years.
Let’s not forget Gary Matthews Jr. $50 million for 5 years and a combined –0.05 WAR. lolz I say! lolz
Rendon thanks Arte for his generosity.
Ok Cookie, payroll has been as high as 5th highest, but that’s about all. Does the front office carry the average number of employees that other clubs have? How about taking care of our minor league teams with all positions filled? Is there a shown commitment of qualified people in the ranks at the top on this team? Arturo has cut every corner of this organization that he can to take as much money as he can for himself. Putting name players on the field was just collecting baseball cards so he could bring in fans to spend $. Over 3 million folks for about 20 years. He started out for the first 7 years making money from the work that many good people put out and as he changed things he added to constant turn over in the FO to the field to the minor leagues, it was all about thinking he was the smartest man in the room. Arturo is a poor excuse of a committed sports franchise owner as he can be. The next owner will have his hands full in trying to put all the pieces together to fix this Humpty-Dumpty of a business back together again. Payroll is just a small part of running a successful team, it starts from the top with smart people, not college buddies and billboard ad selling execs.
What is the stadium deal that will see us thru to the next decade or the plans for where our AAA team will play if SLC is in the ML’s, are we going to add more scouting so our drafting can improve, more coaches and better coaching to the minor leagues, better training facilities at all levels. How about just fixing the AC in the training room. The list is endless, and Arturo is not going to change, this is the guy that pocketed most of the TV package money for himself rather than improve the franchise. Best hope is make the payment(s) in the lawsuit and then sell and get out of town back to Phoenix.
They can’t even afford to fix the air conditioning in the stadium’s weight room.
I question Arte’s business savvy (Now). He bought the team for, around $200M I believe, but can now sell the team for around $3B. I don’t see the business sense in holding onto a team just to have somewhere to go on spring days or summer nights-When he does spend he gets the shiny player, whose shine is cheap nickel plating.
The Angels had a Ford.
before but picked up a Suzuki.
7th manager in 9 years, can you name all 7? How Many were catchers?
Scoscia, Ausmus, Maddon, Nevin, Washington, Montgomery and Suzuki
3 catchers?
Phillip caught some games, 4?
sneezy
sleepy..
slouchy
….
Ok, who are the other four 😀
I’d say we had Dopey. Remember the bases loaded intentional walk?
the one that worked out?
Itchy,
Scratchy,
Shiggy,
Blanton
Just like the Suzuki Samurai, this is gonna roll well.
Well, that suspense is no longer killing me.
Kurt, Kurt
he’s our man,
if he can’t do it
noone has!!!!
Can Kurt Suzuki pitch? The Angels need to add more relievers. The draft is still months away.
so is the season
Plenty of time to sign more relievers.
It probably would have been better if the Suzuki corporation had purchased the Angels.
Arte thought process?
Sasaki + Suzuki = Ohtani
Managing the Angels is probably like the job someone has cleaning tables and washing dishes at the Golden Corral after 2 for 1 All You Can Eat days.
Good luck to you Mr. Suzuki, wish you the best.
I’ve been with the Angels through many horrible years, but this current era is especially demoralizing. Maybe we can at least adopt the foul-tempered witty cynicism of Mariners fans.
I’ve been “with” the Angels since 1966. Never was there a more than decade losing streak like now. And the light in the tunnel does appear to be another oncoming train.
Okay.
Thankful it wasn’t LyingAlbert or “I am insulted” Torii.
Don’t care
Let me know when we get a new GM and farm system director
Waiting to exhale?
This.
Status quo pick – known quantity, organizational soldier. Unlikely to move the needle in any way.
The more telling statistic: the seventh manager in nine seasons.
Could open a sprawling petting zoo with all these scapegoats!
What up Turk! Been a long time since the HH days.
Wondering…coaching staff stays intact with keeping the position in-house?
I doubt the “Wash Guys” stay, but you might see Enright and a couple other guys get salvaged.
I actually met Suzuki when he was with the A’s. I was riding Bart to Pleasanton and he was on the same train as me. He got on the train at the Embarcadero station in SF. I was living in SF at the time. I just said, “Go A’s!” instead of making a smart alec comment. I think it was 2008. My memory is cloudy during those years from rampant partying.
Had some solid WAR early on with the A’s, competent with the bat
Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki as Manager
Arte Moreno seemed intent on hiring a first time manager with ties to the Angels organization. He found one in former catcher Kurt Suzuki, who sources say has been hired for the job.
Numerous outlets are reporting the signing, including Angels beat writers Jeff Fletcher and Sam Blum.
Suzuki spent 16 seasons behind the dish at the Major League level, the last two here in Anaheim. Kurt has been a special assistant to Angels GM Perry Minasian the last three seasons.
He will continue the long list of former catchers turning skippers. It has worked out well for teams managed by Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, Bruce Bochy, Bob Melvin, and a host of other former catchers. Time will tell if Suzuki follows in their successful steps.
Suzuki’s ties to the area run even deeper than those five years. He was a standout at Cal State Fullerton earning the nickname Captain Clutch. Kurt also organized fundraisers for the lone survivor of the Nick Adenhart crash.
Update: the Angels have officially announced the hiring of Suzuki.