Bill Stoneman steps down
October 16, 2007
UPDATE: In the comments, this post has evolved into a discussion of sorts between me, Ben and Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports. Check it out in the comments. And feel free to add your own thoughts if you have them.
Angels’ general manager Bill Stoneman is reportedly going to step down today.
Angel fans knew this was going to come in the near future, Stoneman is 62. But I certainly didn’t expect it to happen now.
Stoneman never got the attention some of the other top general managers got, but he certainly was one of the better GMs in baseball. Since Stoneman was hired as GM in 2000, the Angels went on their best era in franchise history — four playoff appearances and a World Series title in eight innings.
Stoneman was often criticized for not pulling the trigger on a major deal that would give the Angels a big bat. But look at what Stoneman did do:
His teams always had depth on the bench.
His teams always had depth in the pitching rotation.
His teams always had depth in the bullpen.
His teams always had a good farm system.
If a general manager’s one weakness is he won’t make a trade, I’ll take it. Not making trades also means that he won’t make any bad trades that ruin the organization long term.
As for the new general manager, Tony Reagins, I know very little about him despite being a big Angels fan for many years. I had heard of him being in the organization (he’s their director of player development), but know nothing else.
Despite of my lack of insight about him, I’m happy about the promotion. The Angels as a franchise are doing very well, with both current success and a farm system for the future. When things are going well, hire someone from within — the Angels’ roster doesn’t need major changes, just minor additions.
I wish Stoneman the best in his new role of consultant (which is probably semi-retirement). He was a great general manager and will be missed by Angel fans.
Gilbert
Ben
October 16, 2007 at 3:27 am
I think the amount of Stoneman bashing by Angels fans over the years has been absolutely unreal. It just shows you how uneducated and bad Angels fans actually are.
Stoneman not only made some outstanding, below market-value signings (Escobar, Vladdy) but he always was able to get creative with his bullpens. He found Donnelly and Shields out of nowhere and pulled the trigger on Percival at the right time.
Also, the depth that we had was largely because Stoneman didn’t give in and make stupid trades that Angels fans demanded we make. In fact, Stoneman made a masterful trade getting Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis for Jose Guillen (who made more money combined than Rivera and Izturis when the deal was made).
In my opinion, Stoneman’s biggest flaw wasn’t his inability to “get another bat,” but rather, his inability to cut losses within his farm system. His ridiculous attachment to Chris Bootcheck was the reason he cut Bobby Jenks, who closed out the Angels in the ALCS the next year en route to a ChiSox World Series title. I do give him credit, however, for parting with fan favorites Eckstein and Erstad in order to make the team better.
Also, the Colon and Matthews signings were mistakes, although, he was able to get a little value for both (Matthews’ defense and Colon’s Cy Young year).
Nonetheless, he deserves plenty of credit for the Angels success the past few years. He has one of the more unique approaches to the job in the game and I think the Angels will miss him.
October 16, 2007 at 4:47 am
Given the time when Colon was signed (before the pitching marketed exploded), it was fine value. One of Stoneman’s biggest faults, for which I still have not forgiven him, was letting Bengie walk, and handing the job to Mathis. That set the Angels back two years, and potentially more upcoming. Having Bengie in there would’ve disguised the lack of extra bats.
Also, he failed to deal Ervin Santana when other clubs found him appealing — they could’ve gotten a lot for him last year. I’m pleased though that he hung onto Kotchman, Kendrick, and Wood, and he has done a good job building the bullpen. It’s also been under-reported, and overlooked, that Stoneman indeed pulled the trigger on a deal for Tejada last year, but Angelos stepped in and killed it after it had already been made.
All in all, with full support from Moreno’s pocketbook, Stoneman could have stepped up last year and signed one of either Carlos Lee or Alfonso Soriano, and he should have. Additionally, I would’ve been much more happy had Stoneman held off on Matthews last winter (using Figgy/Willits in CF for the meantime), and used that money to lock up a better CF such as Torii, Cameron, or Andruw, considering we all knew they’d all be available this offseason.
I think Stoneman did some good things, and did some bad things. In the end, the Angels needed someone in charge who has more imagination, so this was the right move.
October 16, 2007 at 12:45 pm
The Angels
did go after Soriano and offered him 7 years, $115 million. I can’t fault them for not matching the 8 years, $136 million the Cubs offered him. That’s a lot of money.
Carlos Lee got 6 years, $100 million from the Astros. That’s a lot of money to beat too. (The market was crazy last year, remember?)
They also went after Paul Konerko too the year before, who chose to stay in Chicago. And as you said, Stoneman had a Tejada deal done.
Losing Bengie Molina was a loss, but I think you’re overrating his offense. He put up OBPs of .319 and .298 the last two years, that’s not exactly good. (Napoli had .360 and .351 last two years with about as much power.)
I completely agree that Stoneman should’ve dealt Santana earlier, and agree somewhat on Matthews deal (I’d love to have Torii Hunter, but not
Andruw Jones, considering how badly he did this year).
Stoneman could’ve done better, but he did a pretty good job.
October 16, 2007 at 4:49 pm
If they had that type of offer on the table for Soriano, they should’ve been able to go after Lee as well. It’s too bad they couldn’t pry Konerko loose; he would’ve been a good fit. As far as Bengie goes — with his speed on the basepaths — or lack thereof — I think walks is the last thing you want him to take. Same thing with Napoli.
And when they have weak hitters behind them in the lineup like Adam Kennedy, I’d rather have the better hitters swing away. Plus, Napoli’s BA has been extremely low. Bengie’s OBP may have been low, but he’s designed to knock runners in, not set the table. And he had always had great RBI numbers despite his few at-bats.
October 16, 2007 at 5:18 pm
You’re right … I didn’t consider that what they offered Soriano was more than what Lee got. As a general rule though, I’m not a big fan of giving really long contracts to anyone, no matter how good they are (how many six, seven or eight year deals have actually worked out for any team?).
As for Bengie, I don’t care how slow he is, if he walks and gets on base, that’s fewer outs he makes, and more longer innings (ideally, they wouldn’t have weak hitters in the lineup like Adam Kennedy to worry about). That being said, I’d still rather have Bengie than Napoli starting, but I don’t think it’s that big of a difference.
October 16, 2007 at 8:38 pm
I was ok with letting Molina go. Nothing against him, but Napoli is almost as good for a lot less money.
I agree with Larry about Matthews though. Willits/Figgins would’ve been just as effective and saved a lot of money, but I guess the logic was that if there was money to be spent and you can’t get your first and second options, might as well improve your team with the third.
I don’t know that Matthews improves the team a whole lot though and if Rivera can come back strong next year, I think it will be an even more regrettable move.
All in all though, I really thought Stoneman did a good job as GM. And I still haven’t given up on Santana. I still think we have to give that more time before we determine if it was a mistake to hang onto him. I was actually appalled by the proposal for Tejada…I know a lot of Angels fans were rooting for that, but that’s tying up a lot of money into a declining veteran, especially one who plays the same position as Orlando Cabrera.