SHOCKER: Angels TAKE A CHANCE on Rookie Manager Kurt Suzuki | Will The Halos’ GAMBLE Pay Off?

SHOCKER: Angels TAKE A CHANCE on Rookie Manager Kurt Suzuki | Will The Halos’ GAMBLE Pay Off?

Kurt Suzuki will be the new angels manager in 2026. You are Locked On Angels, your daily Los Angeles Angels podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Thanks for making Locked on Angels your first listen of the day. So Kurt is hired, but why does it feel like this is the most angel move ever? We’re going to discuss that. Plus, if catchers make really good managers, does that mean that Kurt will be a really good manager? Because the last manager we had that was a catcher was really good, right? And what’s the baseball media saying about this move? We’ll share and then we’re going to respond to it. Before we get there, we want to thank our sponsor, FanDuel. Right now, new customers like you can bet $5 and if your bet wins, you’re going to get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app today. Thanks for being here for this episode of Locked on Angels, where it’s your team every day. You’ve got the Fresh Brothers here with you, aka the Super Halo Bros. My name is John and that’s my brother Mike and my name is Mike and that’s my brother John. Hey, we’ve been here for four years talking Angels baseball with you every single Monday through Friday. I can’t even begin to count how many episodes that is, but we appreciate you being here for each and every one of them. Make sure you’re subscribed and stay tuned through the offseason because the drama never stops for us sickos who love this team. Mike Curt Suzuki is our new manager, isn’t he? Yeah. After the news that Albert and Tori were not going to be the next manager, you and I threw a fit on yesterday’s show. And then Tuesday, we got a report that Kurt Suzuki will manage this team in 2026. Angels made it official later that day on Tuesday, and they announced a press conference for today at 1:15. We’re going to recap and share our thoughts on that press conference on tomorrow’s show show. But first, uh, let’s talk about Kurt, John. He is uh uh a guy that played for the Angels. He was also somebody that was an intriguing candidate for a lot of teams, including the Giants. Now, just a refresher, he had a 16-year career, grew up in Hawaii. He played college baseball just down the street from Anaheim Stadium at Cal State Fullerton. And then during his career, he played for five different teams. was a one-time all-star selection in 2014 with the Minnesota Twins, won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019, and then he finished with a career 255 batting average, a 702 OPS, 143 home runs, 730 RBI’s and over 1,400 hits. Played his final season of baseball with the Angels in 2022, then retired and moved into the front office with the Angels. Been there for about three years as an assistant to Perry Manassian. John Kurt Suzuki spoke on AM830 with Roger Lodge and there was a lot of transcribing that happened when he was on there. Uh Trent Rush summarized a lot of it on X. Do you want to talk about what he posted? Transcribing you mean transcribing because what Trent did there? Kurt Suzuki said he knows how every hitter is different and that they will be coached to have the best approach for the individual to play as a team. I’m gonna get back to that later because that’s everything I needed to hear. Yep. He also emphasized putting a premium on team effort and preparation. Says he’s going to surround himself with great people around him. Very good coaches and baseball minds. Says he doesn’t have an ego about that. We will work together for the best possible outcome for the Angels. I will make mistakes, but I will learn from them and I won’t make the same mistake twice. Suzuki has already begun the process of putting a coaching staff together, but he said we’re nowhere near a finished product. He says that he feels like he will make a great team with Angels GM Perry Manassian because while they don’t agree on everything, they have great baseball conversations. As a catcher, he felt toward the end of his career, he wanted to help the young players. He felt excited to build a clubhouse culture with a goal of one day winning a World Series as a manager. He said, “The Angels will be attention to detail. They will play baseball the right way and they will be coached well. We will be well prepared every single day to go out there and give it 100%.” That’s what fans deserve. He added that he had a great relationship with Perry. Again, don’t agree on everything, but they are able to learn, excuse me, they are able to learn from one another and believe that they will be a great team. Mike, your initial thoughts when you saw the announcement, aka me texting you uh that Kurt Suzuki was officially hired. How did you feel? Yeah, first thought was really okay. I mean, that was literally what came out of my mouth. And uh I work with Locked on Everyday or Cope who’s been on the show with us and he after you texted me, we’re in a we were in a staff meeting and and he holds up his phone in the middle of the staff meeting and I was like, “Yeah, John, just text me.” And I was leading I was leading the meeting. Um and so we were completely completely distracted, but when you’re the boss, you can do whatever you want. So that was my first reaction was, “Okay, really?” And here’s here’s where I land with this, John. After hearing Kurt talk a little bit, uh after hearing some of the baseball media people talk about him, and we’ll share that in the third segment today, uh my my appreciation, my gratitude for this, it grew a bit because he seems to be highly respected. He seems to really have the attention of the players. He is really honored in a lot of baseball minds. A lot of people have said, “Man, this is a really good move. a really great decision. Archie Bradley, who pitched for the Angels when uh Kurt Suzuki was playing for the Angels, said jokingly, “Hey, I’m ready to be the pitching coach if you want me to be the pitch coach.” Um, but he said, “This was a beautiful, wonderful move by the Angels. Here’s uh here’s my my ultimate thought, John. Curt Suzuki is not going to get in the way of Perry Manasian and Arty Marino.” Correct. It’s going to be Arty, Perry, and Kurt. Yeah. with Tori and with Albert. It would have been Arty, Albert or Tori and Perry Manosian. So Suzuki is not going to get in the way. He is going to follow the lead of Perry Manosian. He mentioned twice that he has a good relationship. They don’t agree on everything. I think that wasn’t unintentional. I think it intentional. I think that a lot of what happened over the last 12 days or so with Albert and potentially with Tori, a lot of that had to do with Perry Manasian saying, I just don’t think that I’m going to be able to build a competitive team with these managers because I think those guys saw the roster and went, this is not going to be a team that’s going to win. We need to do a lot of things. And Perry may have said, “Well, we’ve got this budget to do a lot of things and here’s maybe a strategy that I want to do these things under this financial budget, this these constraints.” And I think maybe Arty may have spoke into that as well. And that’s why those guys aren’t here. I think Kurt Suzuki, he’s not a yes man, but I think Kurt Suzuki would say, “Yeah, give me what you got. Clay, Play-Doh, let me mold it. Let me shape it. Let me work on it.” But I think that what they got with Kurt Suzuki is a uh a simpler version, maybe a a B version of Mike Sosa, not an A version of Mike SOA. I’m ready for Kurt Suzuki to prove me wrong, but it feels like this was a middle of the card in the deck. It’s not a king, a queen, or a jack. And it’s not a one, two, or a three. It’s like a it’s like a eight, a nine, right? They pulled it out of the middle of the deck. The problem with that, John, is the angels have been in the middle of the deck for the last 10 years. All of their decisions have been meh decisions and all of their stats have been meh stats. They’ve been neutral. They’ve been in the middle. They’ve been Switzerland. And that’s what this decision feels like. I’m ready to be proved wrong. But my posture this season is going to be this. Lean back, fold my arms, and go. What do you got? Because they haven’t shown me anything. And this move, Kurt Suzuki seems like a great guy, but this move doesn’t say we went and got the best guy that’s going to lead our team into the future. It’s going to help these young guys develop, going to find a way to win. This doesn’t say that to me at all. I’m intrigued by the press conference today and what will be said there because like I said yesterday, John, I think that we’re going to get a lot of high hopes and high expectations. I just don’t know if this is the move that puts us over the top, that pushes us over the edge. Yeah, my initial reaction was I don’t hate it. It’s not something I’m like, “Oh gosh, give me a break.” But you kind of spoke to this a little bit, Mike. It’s an angel’s move in the sense that didn’t cost him a lot. We don’t know the terms of the of the years yet. Can’t imagine it’s a a huge commitment, right? It’s a firsttime manager who, to be fair, Tori and Ples were also going to be firsttime managers. There’s a little more cache, I think, with those two than there is with Kurt Suzuki. Cache up the yin-yang, man. And you said it, he’s not going to be somebody who gets in the way of what Perry Manosian wants to do. Now, there’s two things from what he said that stick out to me. It’s the Perry and I don’t agree on everything. And it’s also the every hitter is different and will need to be coached to have the best approach for the individual to play as a team. That means Bryce Teodosio is not trying to be Mike Trout, right? That means Oswald PZA, hopefully he’s not an everyday guy, but um that means he’s not going to be trying to hit like Taylor Ward, right? And that’s the issue with this team. You have nine Mike Trouts, you have nine Taylor Wards of different skill sets who can’t all do that, but we’re trying to make them do that anyway. And that’s the issue with this team. They have all been coached with a one-sizefits-all approach. So, for Suzuki to say every hitter is different and they’re going to be coached to have the best approach that fits their bill, that’s encouraging to me. And I think I’m with you in the sense that the more I hear from Kurt, the better I feel about it. But again, my initial reaction was I don’t hate it. Yeah. But I have to imagine, Mike, that when he says, Perry and I don’t agree on everything. Well, we have five years of data that we shared on the show that says Perry Menosian emphasizes slug. He emphasizes power. and he emphasizes, you know, exit velocity and launch angle, all like it’s it’s a power team. Every person that’s been hired to do the hitting coach role has been that kind of hitting coach. And you go back to Jeremy Reid. He wasn’t like that before Perry got here. Perry got here. Jeremy Reid tried to change the approach to fit Perry’s bill. It didn’t work. And so I think between those two things of Kurt saying every hitter is going to profile differently and I’m going to play to their advantages and then say I don’t agree with everything Perry does. I think am I making a wrong connection there? I think it kind of puts, you know, the hand in the other hand for a nice little handshake in terms of the kinds of things they agree and disagree on. And I think Kurt is going to be that attention to detail guy. But you’re right, it’s a it’s a middle-of the deck thing. It’s an easy pick. He’s been in the front office. He’s uh not gonna be butting heads with Ari Marino. He’s not going to have any sway like we thought a Pooh Holo or a Tory Hunter might in the vein of Mike Soa. And I know Brad Osmus was a catcher and he was our last manager. Everybody in the whole freaking world told me that. I know. But we’re talking about Mike Sa, the greatest man manager in Angels history. Not Brad Osmus, right? Who’s a bench coach somewhere in New York. So yes, I understand that. He was here for a year and I tried to block that out of my memory, but thanks for bringing up that trauma. So, all that to say, having a catcher as a manager intrigues me. So, I guess I’m with you. It’s a sit back, show me what you got. I’m intrigued. Yeah. And so far, what he has said is interesting. Mike, you mentioned what people are saying about him across baseball, and we’ll get into the deeper comments there, but feels a lot like what people said about Ron Washington. Yeah. when he got hired for the Angels. So, that’s just kind of I’m taking the good with the bad here. Is that fair? That’s very fair. I I would say this. Here’s here’s what’s going to help me to know how serious of a move this is. I want to see the years and the and the number. I want to see uh how many years they gave him and the the contract they gave him. John, if it’s two years, they’re not serious. No. If it’s two years in an option, still not serious. If it’s 3 years, I would go that’s more than they’ve given anybody else. However, I don’t think that they’re serious. I think four years says they’re serious. The other thing that will tell me if they’re serious, John, is if he retains any of the coaches or gets his new coaching staff. Now, I’m not going to fight him if he brings Barry in right back. Now, I know our everydayers are probably flipping out about that. I get that. I think Barry out of the coaches was the best of the worst. Right. Right. Would I like them to get somebody else? Yes, but I’m not gonna fight him if he brings that guy back. But if he brings back a Bo Porter or an EY or any anybody in the bullpen, Johnny Washington, done. Yes. Done. That that means that you’re not serious. That tells me that nothing’s going to change. That tells me you’re giving us a lot of nonsense and a lot of talk. So Kurt, don’t talk to me. Show me in the decisions that you’re about to make for our favorite team. Yeah. It’s going to come down to the decisions that Kurt makes will say a lot about how much autonomy he has and what he wants to do with this team. Because yeah, if he emphasizes the fact that every hitter is different, profiles different, should be approaching the at bat differently, but then you bring back a Johnny Washington, you need a new hitting coach, you’re not serious. Yeah, you’re not serious. Or you bring someone in like him. Yeah. As well, thanks for making Lockdown Angels your first listen of the day. Coming up, catchers making good managers. Well, we’re going to dive into that and tell you why we think so in just a minute. A lot of us can’t name all of our financial accounts, let alone what the amount of money or what they’re worth is in there, like 401ks and savings and investments. It’s all easy to to lose track of, and that’s why you need Monarch. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life all together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. 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That’s code locked on mob for $50 in lineup after your first $5 play. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. This is the Locked on Podcast Network. We’re at your team every day. Thanks for making Locked on Angels your first listen of the day. Hey, check us out wherever you get podcast. Make sure that you like, you comment, and you subscribe on YouTube. That way when we go live or when we post a show, you’re going to get alerted. And there’s so much information out there right now for the Angels. Even though they’re not playing, they are the most drama-filled, newsfilled team in the off season, even while the world World Series is happening. And so, you want to be a part of that, you need to know. And this is the best place to find all your Angels information. John, the first responses to this move, Kurt Suzuki getting hired, it’s been kind of mixed. I would say maybe more positive than negative. And you mentioned it in the first segment. And one of the more positive responses was the last time that we had a catcher outside of Brad Osmus as a manager, it worked really well for us. Of course, they’re talking about Mike SOA, but John, is Kurt gonna be Mike Sosa? And and and how do we know? Yeah, it really comes down to what who is coaching staff is going to be Mike. And you know, SOA had his guys, right? Mike Butcher and those guys and and he was loyal to those guys and he was pretty ticked off, you know, when when Butcher was let go. And so Sosa certainly had a loyalty to his coaching staff. Uh but at the same time, I think that this conversation begins and ends with who is Kurt going to pick and who is he able to pick? Is it going to be a lot of firsttime guys? It might be considering we’re not exactly in a position to shell out money for coaching. So, well, I shouldn’t say that. They are in a position to do that. They just don’t and they won’t, right? They’re unwilling to do that. So, I think we got to lead with that conversation of what’s his coaching staff going to look like because that’s going to answer a lot of our questions. It’s going to answer the kind of person that he is. Now, I think it’s significant that he is a catcher because there have been other catchers who have become firsttime managers in recent history. First of all, Steven Vote who was a bullpen coach and a quality assurance coordinator in the bullpen. Uh he retired from the A’s in 2022. Remember he had that great game against oh the Angels in his final game. Uh he spent a season in Seattle’s bullpen as the coach, but then he went on to manage for the Cleveland Guardians. Got AL manager of the year in his first year. Mhm. Led them to back-to-back division titles and they, you know, they were they were dead in the water this season. Yeah. They were way behind the Tigers. What do they do? They take first place in the Central, Mike. just incredible run. And so that’s encouraging to me. The other guy I think of is David Ross, managed the Cubs and uh two winning seasons and four years as manager, obviously a World Series champion. He stuck around for a little bit, then he retired and then he got hired after Joe Madden was let go. And so they’ve had some success there. Um and so again, like there’s just uh I think they mentioned Dan Wilson from the Mariners who just took them the furthest they’ve ever been in the playoffs and then they lost. Sorry guys. uh also a catcher, right? So, there’s a level of detail that I think catchers get into and that kind of leads into our question. Why do catchers make good managers? And is Kurt Suzuki going to follow that narrative? What are your thoughts on that? Catchers make good managers because they’re already managing the game because they’re calling they’re calling the shots. Now, I know a lot of that can come from the bullpin um um from the dugout now when they’re calling pitching and and and those things, but I think in this case, this move might be a great move for the Angels because Kurt seemed to be able to handle a pitching staff when he was a catcher in the major leagues. And so, that’s why they make good managers is they’re calling games. They’re making sure that the infield’s set up. They’re they’re doing all of those things outside of what the pitcher is doing on the mound. They’re the most active on the field. Here’s where I think it’s it’s going to be a win for Kurt Suzuki if he gets the coaches to your point that will will coach according to his strategy. The reason why Mike Soa was really good is he had Mickey Hatcher as a hitting coach and Mickey Hatcher was not a hey let’s hit it over the wall coach. Mickey Hatcher was a let’s make contact kind of coach and you saw that with the players that the Angels had. Eric Ibar, Sean Figgins, even Troy Gloss, who was a home run hitter, was somebody that was always prioritizing contact. He even said that in the Angels 2002 World Series DVD. Uh he said when he got up in a big moment in game seven, he said, “I was just trying to make contact. I was trying to hit a fly ball or something on the ground to move the runner over.” That’s the mentality that this team needs to have offensively. So, they need a hitting coach that’s going to do that because I would assume that’s what Kurt Suzuki is going to bring. In fact, it seems like most of baseball is moving back into that category again because when you watch the pre and postgame show after each of the uh LCS games, NLCS and ALCS, you can see what A-Rod and Derek Jeter and some of those guys are saying. They’re like, man, home runs and strikeouts, like that’s not going to be the thing that wins the game for you. It’s going to be contact. But they and they literally changed the rules in the league, Mike, to emphasize that. They got rid of the shift and they made the bases bigger. Mhm. And so the Angels continue to do the, you know, chicks did the dig the long ball thing way too late. Like it’s it’s 2025. When did we change the shift rule? Like three years ago, the bigger bags like two years ago. Pitch clock. We’re speeding up the game, right? We’re going to have the challenge system in place next year. All that stuff is in favor of working good at bats and knowing the strike zone and going the other way, right? It’s it’s all in favor of that sort of style of baseball, but once ahead, once again, I should say, the Angels are behind the eight-ball on that kind of stuff. Yeah, absolutely. And that’s where I think Kurt Suzuki needs to have a coaching staff that comes in and represents well his strategy and that’s why I think he will be a good manager if he gets the right coaching staff. Again, folding my arms, sitting back, watching what he does. But catchers are good managers because they call they call the game. It’ll be interesting to see Kurt Suzuki’s influence on Logan O’Hap because that that dude needs a reset and so get rid of all those guys that have been messing with him this year and just let Kurt work with him as the manager. And if he’s calling the game from the dugout, that perhaps could be better for Logan O’H. And they’re going to have the challenge system. So they’re not necessarily going to need the hey, I stole a strike here and I stole a strike here because you could just challenge that if it’s a really bad call. So, I think what Logan can do is work on his form, work on how he’s standing there, work on his pop time. Those are things I think that Kurt Suzuki could really help him with. And then if Kurt’s calling the game, Logan can get into the vibe of, oh, this is why he called a slider instead of a curveball right here. That I think could be really beneficial for his baseball IQ as he grows this next season. Yeah. So again, the reason why catchers make good managers is because they manage the game already and they have been their entire career. The fact is is that he he’s done this his entire career as a catcher. That’s all he ever did as a catcher, right? And he’s been part of some pretty good clubs along the way as well, including that 2019 Nationals World Series winning team. Somebody mentioned, uh, hey, what’s Kendrick doing? Maybe get him to be hitting coach. I’d take that. I’d take that in a heartbeat. Right. That’s interesting. Didn’t Didn’t our buddy David run into him in in Arizona? Yes. A couple months ago. Yeah. Like Walmart. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. He’s out shopping getting some Dr. Pepper. Kendrick, get get out here to Anaheim. We need you out here. But again, Mike, I I don’t hate it. I don’t hate the move. I do like that he’s a catcher. I do like what he said so far, but I’m going to sit back and wait, and that’s really all we can do. Now, maybe we can feel a little bit more assured with some of the things that people have had to say about Kurt Suzuki across baseball. We’ll get into that in just a minute. We’re in the middle of the NFL season and FanDuel has an offer that you can’t miss. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. So, pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love FanDuel and it helps you. It helps you play in so many different ways. You can build parlays, player props, you can even have live lines in the middle of a game. Whether you’re a casual fan or you love diving into stats, FanDuel is perfect for you. So visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. And today’s show is brought to you by our friends at Rouette. Gentlemen, let’s be real. Making excuses doesn’t solve anything. 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John and I are going to read some of their thoughts and then we’re going to rapidfire respond. John, let me start with Ken Rosenthal. he was on foul territory and he said one of Suzuki’s biggest challenges will be working with Arty Marino who’s committed to his own way and he added that he can’t count on this being a success in regards to hiring Kurt and it leading to wins on the field. Your thoughts? Yeah. Uh he’s right and anybody who takes this job has to deal with the obstruction that is Ry Marino and he is certainly committed but he’s committed to the Ry Marino way and not the angel way. So I don’t disagree with Ken Rosenthal and I think the rest of baseball understands this Angel situation. So, if Kurt comes and goes and he ends up somewhere else and doesn’t uh last with the Angels for whatever reason, I don’t think people are going to discount Kurt Suzuki rather and know exactly what kind of situation he’s dealing with in Anaheim. Mike, uh, our friend Swilly Sports over at Johnboy, uh, big Angels fan, of course, she said, “Let me be clear, the organization will not make genuine full steps forward until Ry Marino sells the team. I’ve always been very vocal about that, but I like this choice. He’s young, has some time to make an impression, and obtain experience as a manager.” Your thoughts? Love, love what she said. She’s not dumb. She’s a brilliant baseball mind and a brilliant fan. I think that she’s uh at least encouraged me with these thoughts because he is young and he has a good mind, can make a good impression and what a time for him to gain experience as a manager is with a young team that potentially is ready, hungry, willing to do anything they can to win. John, how about Roger Lodge? He said, “Halo Honks, trust me, this is a great hire. Your thoughts?” I want to hear My thoughts are I want to hear you do it in Roger’s voice. Can you do that for us? Uh, Halo Hugs, trust me, this is a great hire. How’s that? That was good. I mean, of course, he’s going to say that, right? That’s you know, if if uh, you know, Roger’s lips are moving, it’s RD Marino’s thoughts coming out of it. So, there you go. How about uh Chuck over at Angels Win, Mike? He had some uh really interesting stats. Well, information really. He said Max Scherzer publicly called Suzuki invaluable and spoke about how well they worked together in terms of pitch selection. It’s worth noting that in 2019 the world champion Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer had a much better erra when throwing to Kurt Suzuki compared to Yan Gomes. Didn’t Yan Gomes break up a no hitter on accident? Was that this year or was that last year? He he like trucked his starting pitcher and then they were just like what are you doing? So yeah, uh good stuff there about Max Scherzer and what he had to say about Kurt Suzuki. Mike, what about uh our friend and locked on Angels Hall of Famer Taylor Blake Ward? What did he say? He said Kurt Suzuki is well known, has a well-known relationship and was has really good at building relationship from his playing days, which is part of the reason why being the primary catcher for Show Otani worked for him. He said Suzuki has front office experience again last three years being assistant GM though decision-making experience will be from his playing days. I think TBW has has some good insight there and I think he’s accurate. I mean that’s the thing. A lot of this is accurate. Again it’s not woo super excited but it’s also like this wasn’t a bad decision. It feels very Ron Washingtonesque right from a couple years ago. I think what is important here is that a lot of these people and and you know Chuck Chuck obviously is an Angels fan but what he brought up what Max Scherzer had to say and also you know Swilly obviously a fan Ken Rosenthal is just a baseball guy but what what people like Taylor Blake Ward are saying is essentially like they’re not responding to oh this sucks or hey I like this it’s here’s here’s evidence for why This can be a good thing uh in one way. Yeah. Or another, right? And we need that. We absolutely need that. Mike Trout spoke on Kurt Suzuki, but it was back in 2022 when he played with the Angels and then retired. That is Kurt Suzuki. He said he’s a true professional. Got to play with him the last couple of years. I’ve never seen him mad. Always brought a smile. Always brought energy. Just an unbelievable teammate. A lot of people don’t see it because they’re not in the clubhouse, but what he brings to the clubhouse, what he means to the younger guys and the young catchers, even myself, just seeing how he handles himself and brings that energy and positivity to the ball club. You can’t teach that. And so you have Mike Trout one over. I think that that’s a good first step for Kurt Suzuki. However, I don’t think that it would be difficult for Kurt Suzuki to win Mike Trout over. I don’t think it’d be difficult for anybody to win Mike Trout over. I think Trout is a positive guy that wants this team to do well and I think what we hear from him back in 2022 he would probably reiterate in 2025. Uh Robert Murray from Fanited he’s a you know the baseball insider he often has the scoops on you know moves that are being made and what trades are teams are going to make things like that. He wrote a really great article as well. I encourage you to check it out but also had really positive things to say and that’s really what it comes down to. I mean, uh, you know, AJ Pzinski on foul territory thought it was a great move to pick Curt Suzuki and him and and Scott Brun. They all agreed like, yeah, but you got the Arty Marino factor. Uhhuh. And and that’s really what it comes down to, Mike, is that going back to our original point, this feels like a very Angel’s move because it probably didn’t cost them a lot. Probably not a big commitment. Again, we’re going to find out what that sort of commitment is. But it was almost like to me it’s you look around the room, who’s available, uh who’s who’s already working here, right? I know that’s going to be the excuse a lot of people will come up with for why Kurt Suzuki got the job. But I think we have to balance that with the fact that Kurt was probably always destined to be a manager in some form or fashion. He took some time off from traveling on the road so he could be with his kids, but it seems like he’s got the itch. And these are the kind of players that do make the best managers. So, I’m encouraged it. Of course, everybody knows it wasn’t our first pick. Um, and again, it’s a wait and see game. You just got to sit back, fold your arms, and go ahead and demonstrate for us. You got to sit back, fold your arms, wait and see. Right. Hit that microphone while you do it. I’m just kidding. Um but yeah, look, nothing’s going to be answered until we’re playing uh game one in March, right? Yeah. Yeah. And I think he’s going to be somebody that is going to have to really prove himself and what he’s going to do with this roster. It’d be interesting again what he does with the coaches, what they do this off season with the players. There’s a lot of factors in this and and and truthfully, if he was hired by the Giants, I think that there would probably be a bit more rahrh, we’re excited. if he was hired by another team, I think there’d be a lot of, hey, this is a really good move. There’s always going to be a lid or tempered expectations because the Arty Marino factor is always at play with the Angels. So, that might be one of the reasons why, I’m going to just speak for myself, why I’m not, you know, back flipping or jumping around or super excited, why I would lean more in the Tory Albert direction because they seem to have a bit more sway. This doesn’t feel like he’s going to have much sway. this feels like he’s going to say the same thing to uh the the media that we’ve heard the last 10 years. And that’s that’s going to be frustrating for me quite honestly. I did again like what he said yesterday. I’m I’m going to be listening to what he says today. It it’s it’s a uh scale of 1 to 10, John. Without the Arty Mareno factor, I would probably put it at like a 6.5, maybe teetering in into a seven. with Arty, I think it drops down to maybe a six or a five because that Arty Marino factor and how much influence Kurt will really have really comes into question as we head into the new season. And give me a second to rant here before we wrap up. Uh the people that say this doesn’t matter because the team on the field is not talented. Give me a break, right? Give me a break. We saw these guys take huge steps forward. I know Arty doesn’t play the game. He doesn’t bat for them, but he’s got to support them with a roster. But the people they do have were completely misused. You don’t have Logan Hoppy do what he’s done for the last seven years of his career and then just absolutely fall apart and go, “Oh, he sucks. He’s not good anymore.” No. People just don’t turn into not good anymore. It’s doing what the coaches are telling you to do. The the people who are molding and shaping this team from a coaching standpoint completely failed at their jobs. And so if Kurt Suzuki is able to get his hands in the clay, actually get these guys to hit like their profiles match rather than trying to make them all Mike Trout, then they’re going to do some good things here. And so again, I the team on the field is talented. And I think hopefully Kurt Suzuki and whatever coaching staff he puts together can unlock something in them this season. Thanks for making Locked on Angels your first listen of the day. Now for your next listen, check out Locked On MLB Game Night. You can find that show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, be sure you give us a follow on Twitter, Lockdown Angels, and connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok, Super Halo. We’d love to see you there. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe this video. Come on over to YouTube. Make sure you’re tuned in and click that subscribe button. We’re almost to 10K Yeah. subscribers, so help us out if you’re not already subscribed. Angels. Exactly. Mike, uh, what do we got on deck for tomorrow’s show? Well, the press conference is today. Yep. And depending on when you’re watching this, it may have happened or it may be happening or it might be happening soon. We’re going to take all the details. We’re going to dig into the details. We’re going to tease it out for you. We’re going to give our thoughts to you. And we would love to hear your thoughts, too. So, you can comment on today’s show about the press conference, and we can use that for tomorrow’s show. But we’re going to talk about what Kurt Suzuki talked about at the press conference today, tomorrow on Locked on Angels. All right. Looking forward to that, and we hope you’ll come back and join us. Until then, my name is John and that’s my brother Mike. And my name is Mike and that’s my brother John. All right, for the sickos who love this team and love to watch, we’ll see you back here on Thursday. Sickos is catching on and managering. Managering. That’s right.

Kurt Suzuki takes the helm as the Los Angeles Angels’ new manager for 2026! Is this former All-Star catcher the right choice to lead the Halos back to contention? The Super Halo Bros. break down Suzuki’s impressive 16-year MLB career, including his time with the Angels and World Series win. They analyze why catchers often make great managers and how Suzuki’s experience could benefit young stars like Logan O’Hoppe. The brothers also dive into baseball media reactions, exploring both the excitement and concerns surrounding this hire. Will Suzuki’s coaching approach unlock the Angels’ potential? How might his relationship with GM Perry Minasian and owner Arte Moreno shape the team’s future? Listen now to get the inside scoop on this surprising managerial choice and what it means for the Angels’ 2026 season!

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0:00 Intro: Kurt Suzuki hired as Angels manager

5:55 Suzuki won’t interfere with Moreno and Minasian

11:50 Catchers often make good MLB managers

16:17 Why Suzuki could succeed as Angels manager

31:39 Positive outlook despite Moreno factor