Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki As Manager!

Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki As Manager!

Welcome to Talking Halos. This is Derek Capala with my co-host, my partners in crime, Jared Tims, Nate Green, and we are here to discuss the big news. Kurt Suzuki, the new manager of the Angels. That’s the big news. I wasn’t sure what we were talking about. Well, that’s the big news for us. I mean, is that sarcasm? I was kidding. It was You just messed with me a little bit. Well, at last podcast you weren’t here, Nate gave a horrible, horrible intro, so we had to redo it again. And uh so I figured we know have a little fun with it. Nate, do you hear that beeping sound? That’s the sound of him just back in the bus right over you. Yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s very typical. What else do you expect from him? Um yeah, it’s it’s really And it wasn’t even a bad intro last time. He just didn’t like that I said it’s going good, you know? Like I just wanted more enthusiasm out of him. Okay, Angel’s got a new manager. We got to get a little enthusiasm going here. A lot of people are going to watch this one. It’s just how it works. Okay. So, hold on a minute. Since inevitably we’re going to have some other things to talk about relating to it. Let’s just go with the first things first here. Nate, what are your first impressions of it? Man, you’re making me go first. It would have been awesome. I’ll go first if you want. Jared go first so I I don’t look like the bad guy, but um I I thought it was a headscratching move, honestly. Um, I I know uh Kurt is very tight with a lot of the Angels higher-ups with with Perry and with Arty and things like that. He’s been part of the or the last couple years. I know that. But I think that you had an opportunity to get uh a guy who has been in the dugout this last year and it looked like they were playing a little bit better in that series with having a terrible roster at that time as well. And I’m pointing to Tory Hunter when he was in the dugout the last couple weeks or last talking I thought you talking about bringing Ray Montgomery back. No, no, no, no. Absolutely not. Uh, but Tori was in the dugout for the uh twin twin series late in the year, I believe, and they they played well in that series with an awful awful roster. And I don’t know, I just think that he brings a little bit of of uh leadership to that to that clubhouse that we could use. I think he brings a little bit of um of knowledge as well to to some of these young guys that he could help out. And I think that he just brings passion, which um would have been nice to have out of a manager. I mean, the last guy that we really thought about like this would have been I guess some people were were that hyped up with Joe Madden when it came to like, oh, he’s going to be this enthusiastic guy and he knows his stuff, things like that. But, um, no, I I think that there were other guys that made more sense and Kurt Suzuki, you know, it’s great that he got the job, but not my first choice or my second, if that’s fair. Sure. Um, Kurt Suzuki is a very good baseball mind. Um, SoCal native. Good. Good to see that as well. Cal State Fullerton. First Hawaiian uh first Hawaiian manager in all of baseball, which is cool. Um, I What kind of opinion do you want? Do you want Do you want my opinion on Curtis? Do you want my opinion on everything? The opinion on the hiring. Okay. We’re going to get into everything else, but those two I don’t I don’t think a manager ma matters that much, especially in the Angels organization. I think that um a manager can only do can only do so much. We saw that with Ray. We’ve saw we saw that with Ron. We saw that with uh Phil. We saw that with any manager. Joe Joe Madden, I think, is a very good manager. Um and he can only do so much with what the Angels were able to put on the field. So, um I don’t think that Kurt Suzuki is going to play a huge role. I like the name. Um, he’s a great baseball mind. There’s a reason why he was in professional baseball for so long. Um, he’s a catcher as well, which I I love catchers as managers. I I mean, even dating back the social era, I think a catcher as a manager just understands the game a little bit better than anybody else. Like Albert Ples would have been great, but I mean, Albert Puhol doesn’t see the whole field. He played first base, he dhed. He’s a great baseball mind, but um, it is what it is. Tory Hunter, another one, great baseball mind, like played the game extremely well, played the game hard how you want your players to play. Um, he didn’t see the whole field. He wasn’t the he wasn’t the conductor of the game. As weird as that sounds like, I don’t know if I want to call it conductor, but he wasn’t the guy sitting there calling everything, seeing everything as as it goes. So, as far as Kurt Suzuki goes, I like Kurt Suzuki. I think he’s a great baseball mind. Um, I’m extremely excited to see the coaching staff that he that he brings in. if he does bring in a certain coaching staff. Um I think that he is going to have a decent relationship with Perry Manhason because he was a special assistant to the GM. So he’s been close with Perry. I don’t know what that in includes what he what he did with Perry, but special assistant to GM. So he had to had some input over the past, you know, um couple of years since he’s retired. Um and I think that this helps Logan Oppo. I think this helps Travis Darno in the long run because Kurt Zuki was a good defensive catcher as well and I think that he can bring a little bit a little bit of that to uh to to the plate as well. Um beyond that I I don’t know what what to make of it. You know, he’s never had a track record. I think right now he’s coaching 12 12U baseball. Um but again, great baseball mind. There’s a reason why he was in the league for 16 years. Um is he a Hall of Famer? No. Is he the biggest name? No. Putts in seats? No. But I think that, you know, it’s it’s it’s a good hire from a name perspective, but there’s no track record there, so I don’t know how he’s going to be. When was he a good defensive catcher? I think he’s been a decent defensive catcher his entire career. Yeah. Negative 87 defensive run save, negative 50 framing value. Yeah, it’s it’s pretty good. Yeah, it’s about what we have now, actually. I I’d say there’s different intangibles when it comes to a catcher as well. I think his game calling is is is there’s not a stat for game calling, but I think the Angels have a bad time at at game calling. Um pitch calling in. That’s what Travis Darno was supposed to come in to do, though. I think I I think Well, you are correct. Um I think that you know the um mental side of the game. I I I just think that again I mean there’s a reason why he was in this game in Major League Baseball for 16 years. Um you know, as as a catcher. He’s a great mind. He’s a good clubhouse guy. He understands the game. Um, I just I again at the end of the day I don’t I don’t think that a manager, especially in this organization, has very much to do with winning or losing. Oh, wow. I I think the story is more about who they didn’t hire than who they did hire. I mean, unfortunately, it shouldn’t be the case. Kurt Zuka doesn’t deserve that. I but you know hearing the kind the whispers and and reading some what was going on with poo holes and in terms of what he wanted for the job and then of course Tory Hunter isn’t that much of a different personality in terms of what he would want. So I’m guessing a lot of the same divisions were there. He realized that the Angels were probably getting their third choice all along. And that’s not a really good a good feel for me as a baseball guy to know that hey third choice he might be fine as a manager. He probably does know the game. I do like catchers more often as managers but I mean with no track record you don’t know. But to me, there’s one thing that we keep talking about over and over again. And we, you know, Nate, you and I have both kind of been on this side of the fence. And then Jared, you kind of in the middle, but you know, Perry Man, Perry’s Perry, to me, he should be done at this point. Like he’s failed. And so now you’ve kind of doubled down on the Masian regime by bringing in his guy to be the manager. and you’re just kind of it’s like putting an old tape and saying repeat. That’s what we’re doing here. I think Kurt Suzuki’s been set up for failure. And that’s not in anything to do with him, but unless the Angels change their way of thinking overall in terms of roster, building in terms of organization, which they have shown an unwillingness to do, it’s just more of the same. I think Pooh Holes or even Tory Hunter had a better chance of shaking things up there or forcing the ch to do that over Curt Suzuki and they weren’t the guys who were hired. So that’s where we are. I I I will say this, I don’t think this is a permanent hire by any means. I think uh I mean I think that if I was to give it percentages, I’d say this is and Nate, you can correct me if I 25% permanian. Like I think there was some agreement. I think it was clo I think it was more than that but I’m not going to say it’s like Perry 60 RD4 like I’m not at that point but but I do think it’s higher than 20%. Because I do think that Perry has a good relationship with him as well and wanted this was like the compromise for Perry I think of like hey you’re not going to really going to you’re not going to get a full say in this but we’re not going to choose cool holes and we’re not going to choose Tory Hunter because that would be 100% an already hired. So, how about we meet in the middle? We both like Kurt. We’ll make him the manager. And maybe it’s 6040 already or 50/50, but it it’s way closer to 50 than it is, you know, 20, but it’s not anywhere near where Perry has more say in this. Yeah, that that’s where I’m at. I I I’m going to I will I’ll say that I think it’s 25% Perry. Um I think that Perry, you know, likes Ron. I think that Perry likes uh not Ron, but I think Perry likes Kurt. Um I do. I mean, it’s hard not to like Kurt Suzuki. I just mentioned it um you know, on my little rant there. It’s hard not to like Kurt Suzuki, but I think that there were other managers that that Perry would have preferred over all three of these C candidates. Um I think all three of these candidates that we’ve heard the most about are 100% Arty Arty choices. Um Kurt Suzuki is a friend of Arty Mareno. Um, Albert Albert Puh Holse friend of Arty Mareno and Tory Hunter a big name I would assume friend of friend friend of Arty Marino as as well. Um, one thing I do want to want to kind of put put the put to the side here is like the political side of stuff. I don’t like to get into the politics. I don’t like to do any of that. Um, I I I don’t think that that had much to do with it. I know that you know Angels fans may say um and you know you might get the picture of Kurt Suzuki being hugged by Donald Trump and you know it is what it is. I don’t I I’m going to say that there is no way that there’s anything to do with with that other than them being friends because of that. Um so I’m just going to I just want to put that that to that to rest right now. Um uh because I mean there’s going to be jokes made 100% like I’ve already texted them, you know, make the angels great again, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Like that’s going to be a slogan 110%. Um but all that being said that that’s not the reason why this hire happened. If you want to say that he was friends with Arty, absolutely. But it’s not because of the political side of stuff. Um, with the one thing I will say, and I was hoping this I’ve said this quite a few times with Albert Pooh was that Albert Puhol and even Tory Hunter a little bit, I wouldn’t say as much as Albert Pooh, they would have had a little bit more pool with Arty Moreno. I don’t think Kurt has that pool with Arty. Um, and I’m not saying that Arty would have or I’m not saying that Puhol or Tori or even Kurt’s going to say, “Hey, like go spend more money it and such like that cuz Arty spends money.” I think we’re all in agreement here. I think a lot of people know that Arty spends money and and we can point at Fairman maybe not spending it the right way. Um, or you know, Arty Moreno spending not spending it the right way on big contracts and such like that. We we can point at that that all day. Um, I think that Albert Puhol or Tory Hunter and maybe even Kurt Suzuki might pull this a little bit more. Um, I don’t think it’s going to be the case because Arty Moreno just proved that he doesn’t care about winning because he didn’t want to spend money on hiring quote unquote the bigger name, the better manager, whatever you want to say. Like, he just he just proved it. Um, I I think that Albert and Tori would have had just just a little bit more pool on the baseball side of things, which would have been which would have been very nice. And I think that’s one of the reasons why at the end of the day they didn’t get hired or they didn’t want to get hired um was be because they weren’t going to have as much say in this organization which has been happening for for years now. This isn’t something new. I mean um so I think that that’s part of it. I do think the money had a little bit to do with it. I already mentioned I don’t think that Arty wanted to shell out the money for an Albert Puhol Tory Hunter. I think he was okay with you know putting the money where it was for for Kurt Suzuki who’s already in the organization. Um, but that was my hope with Albert and even Tori was that they would have a little bit of pool on the baseball side of things and said, “Hey, you know, this is a better business, better baseball move for this organization if we do this instead of the way we’re doing it now. You know, if we’re developing, if we’re putting more money here, you know, if we’re doing this, that, and another.” Um, you know, might have had a little bit more say with with uh Arty. So, I don’t know. Um, at the end of the day, I’m fine with Kurt. It’s a good name. Um, but I I would have liked to have seen maybe a little bit more pool with Arty, but we’ll see. You never know. You never know. I I I don’t think he’s going to have any pool. And I think the other two had enough name recognition to where they could have really challenged some things in the roation more. If that’s the case, is to me it’s it’s no offense to Kurt and I hate to be the Debbie Downer of it, but I don’t see how this is good if we’re looking to try and see things turned around. And that’s the troublesome part for me. That’s the part that I struggle with. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I know Nate, you’re probably not going to tell me I’m wrong on this. Well, what I was going to say is what D what Jared basically said without saying it is he got a yes man. like that’s that’s what it is. He he went up there and said yes. Whatever whatever they said it was yes where the other two probably pushed back a little bit and said, “Hey, with the roster we have right now, we’re not going to win. You need to make some changes. Here’s how you can make some changes.” And Kurt was probably like, “Yes.” Because that’s the only way you get this job is if you say yes. If you don’t say yes, then you’re not getting the job. I also think um I also think that Hulse and Hunter would have had a little bit more uh of a problem with Perry in the clubhouse where Kurt is probably like, “Hey, you know what? Like I was kind of with him last year. I wasn’t like there all the time, but like you know, I trust him. I believe in him. So like him in the clubhouse, like totally fine.” And I think that Pool Holen and uh Hunter would have been a little bit more like get out of here. Let me do my job. your job is to put the team on the field. My job is to win baseball games. We’ll figure out how to do it together, but stay out of my clubhouse. And so, I I think they got a yes, man. And that’s that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day is who’s going to say yes to the higher-ups. And that’s what it is. I’ll also I’ll also add this and I I want a good communicator as a manager as well, whether it’s with the media, whether it’s with his players. Like, I think it starts with the media. I know that it is an angel’s thing right now to not communicate very well with with the media, which kind of points towards bad communication in the clubhouse. So, um, that’s one thing I would look for in a manager. I’d hope that that Kirk communicates a little bit better with with the media, per se. Um, you know, given a little better updates on on certain things. He doesn’t have to be wide open. I get it. But, you know, better better better updates on maybe some injuries and such like that would be would be very nice. Um, and I think that goes in the clubhouse as well. As long as he’s a good communicator in the clubhouse um with the players, I think that’s that’s that’s a good thing, too. Hold that thought. We right back with you. I throw a word from our sponsors for audio listeners. So, here’s the thing, guys. I mean, this goes back to a podcast we had a while ago for me anyways that and it was a podcast where we talked about the lack of accountability from Perry where he didn’t take any responsibility for anything he was doing and it just seems like they’re kind of doubling down on that very same culture they built here where we’re just going to just keep going back and recycling the same things we’ve done. Nate, you made a great point. It’s a yes, man. It’s what it is. Yes, man. So, you’re not really going to have anything to challenge the system as it is. And currently, the system’s broken. We all know that. I’m sure. Listen, I think he’ll be okay in the field. I don’t think he’s going to make any There’s enough baseball knowledge in his brain to where, you know, I think he’ll be fine on the field. I think he will make solid decisions, but you’re not going to make this team a 95 win team with the roster you have, no matter how good you are at managing it. They’re just that roster is not built that way right now. And that goes back to the general manager. That goes back to your ownership team and the organization that you built. And that’s why as I’m looking at this hire, I’m happy for the guy. I got no beef with him. I hope he does well. I just don’t think I think he’s been set up for failure because it’s an organizational problem right now, not a Kurt problem. And we’re going to spend the next year or two complaining about the decisions on the field that he makes. And in the back of my mind, I’m going to think, well, the guy never had a fair shot to begin with because his support system there, the general manager ownership team, isn’t going to give him the mix that he needs to win. And that’s a problem for me. And I hate I hate being this pessimistic. Guys, when I started this podcast six years ago, I was I was convinced they were on the way back up again. I was convinced that they’re only a few steps away, that Billy Eper had the plan. And now to me, the organization is is shell of what I remember it being 15 years ago. and so far away from that optimism that’s really sad for me even talk about it. But here we are a hire that I should be I should be excited about should be but I’m not and it’s not it has nothing even to do with him. It’s just another face with a name that’ll do their bidding. Yeah, it kind of it kind of also sucks. Not that Kurt Suzuki had a legacy by any means, but I mean 16 years in the major leagues, like you you do remember him for for things and Angels fans already remember him for being a bad a bad player with the Angels. Now he’s going to more than likely fail as an Angels manager. I hope it doesn’t happen. I I really hope it doesn’t, but more than likely fail as an Angels manager. So, it’s like check and everybody’s going to hate, you know, this guy. Um, one thing I will one thing I I I will say on this too is I I I don’t hope but I do also hope that Albert and Tori go on and have successful men manurial careers somewhere else, you know, because it’s not going to happen in Anaheim unfortunately. Like it sucks. At least not right now. Maybe down the road. Um, you know, it’ll happen. You know, you bring Albert back, you bring Tory back at some point. But right now with where this this organization is, the team is, it just I don’t think it’s going to happen. And it sucks because I’ve been saying I think the window opens next year. Um, and you need a lot of things at the moment to go right for that window to be open. I I still think the windows windows open. I think they have the pieces to do it. But, uh, they they definitely need some help. That’s that’s for sure. And may maybe I could be wrong. We could totally 100% be wrong, but it just feels like history continues to kind of repeat itself in Anaheim. Nate. Yeah. Dang, Nate. It’s just me and Derek being negative today, huh? You’re normally the negative Nate. There there’s not much more you could say, honestly. like um we’ll we’ll see what what happens when we get to the season. We’ll see kind of the roster that’s built. Um but yeah, it’s it’s really just like you you feel bad for Kurt because it’s like man that the roster that has been constructed the last 10 years has not been a a playoff roster. It hasn’t been a roster that’s been able to do anything. Um, and I I think the only thing that could change my opinion on on Kurt uh and feeling bad for him is if he just invites Perry into the clubhouse. It’s like, yeah, keep doing your thing. Like, it’s obviously been working the last couple years. Like, that’s that’s where I would be like, “Hey, you’re you’re that’s something that you can control or at least try to control.” Um, and it seems like everyone who has tried to control that has been pushed out because I mean we saw it with Joe, we’ve seen it with Ron, we’ve seen it all over. Those guys seem to be like, “Hey, this is the way I want to do things.” And hasn’t gone that way. So hopefully Kurt is able to kind of run things the way he wants to. But yeah, if he’s a yes man, then nothing’s going to change and this team is going to continue to be that. And so like I don’t know what you guys want me to say. It’s pretty pretty open what you guys said. It’s pretty easy. I just I feel I feel very numb inside about it. I And I remember when I You guys know I’m a history guy. You guys if I’ve ever anybody talks about the history of the team on the show, it’s going to be me. But I remember when he took over ownership of the team and he was dropping beer prices. He’s out there getting players, you know, and everything was he was looking like he was going to be one of the best owners in the sport, if not all American pro sports. the mess art, right? And and then as time goes on, you see him kind of with his fingers in there. And then I look years later when he hires Perry. I was excited about the hire Perry. He’s coming. He was successful under, you know, with what the Braves were doing at the time in terms of development and so on. So I thought this was a good hire. And in both cases now, it’s totally flipped its head. And you know, you’re wishing Arty would sell a team, you’re wishing Perry would have been fired and you’re wishing that everything could be just reset and it’s deflating to me because instead I’m seeing this, like I said, the words doubling down. But I remember all the good stuff. And that’s the hardest part for an older family like me is I remember the good stuff. And it’s frustrating, man. I hate to be I hate to be so depressing. We should be excited. New new manager. We should be excited and I would like to be. Chris is share your thoughts with us. Nate, closing thoughts. We we need to put a a good team around. Kurt, I I’m hoping that he brings in some good good coaches on the staff and hope that he doesn’t have, you know, a problem that we’ve seen before where it’s like, hey, we’ve already paid these guys. They have one more year on their contract. They’re going to be your staff. Good luck. Um, and hopefully we make some moves in the wintertime. There’s a there’s a lot of a lot of things that need to get done in order to make this team a a contender. I don’t even think you can call this team a pretender right now. Like, they’re not even that good. So, there’s a lot of things that need to go right. And, you know, I guess this is job one, getting the manager in there. And now job two is is going to get the coaching staff. And then job three is putting a good team on the field. So, we got job one done. Hopefully job two is is uh is not done and then job three we can we can figure out as we go along. Jared, closing thoughts. I’m just wondering what Jose Suarez is doing. Of course he is. Oh dear gosh. All right. Follow Jared on X at Jared Tims. Follow Nate at Nate Green34. Follow me at D Paul. Follow the entire team at Talking Halos. Do us a favor please. Please, for all that’s good and nully, let us know what you think about this hire. Get us at talkinghgmail.com or or send them a tweet over to or the X, whatever you want to call it now, to the Talking Halos X account. Let’s hear your thoughts. It’s not about us, it’s about you. Of course, you can always leave comments in the YouTube comment section as well, but I would love to address some of those next time. A matter of fact, I think we should do that next podcast. Let’s go ahead and read off some of the some of these responses. See how other fans are filmed besides us. In the meantime, we’re out of here. Have a great one. [Music]

Jared Tims, Nate Green, and Derek Ciapola discuss the hiring and more!