The Angels Have a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going on”

Post date: Oct 20, 2011 7:41:51 PM

I purposely haven't written about the shakeup in the Angels' organization because I wanted to wait until some actionable maneuvers were made. Now that there are reports of the direction that the Angels want to go as an organization, I feel more comfortable writing down my thoughts on the subject. For this entry I want to focus specifically on the resignation of Tony Reagins and the changes in the General Manager position.

According to multiple news reports the Angels are set to interview Kim Ng. Ng, is a former Assistant General Manager with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Metropolitans. If hired by the Angels she would be the first female General Manager in any major sports franchise in the United States. I strongly believe however, that the sports media is making a bigger deal of this event than it actually is. Would I love if the Angels were to hire her from a social standpoint? Sure, I would love for my beloved team to go down in history as not only having the first person of color as an owner in all of Major League Baseball but also the first female General Manager as well. The Angels would definitely go down in history as true trailblazers in professional sports.

As a fan I look at the situation from a more pragmatic point of view. Ideally I would like someone who would better fit what the Angels' organization needs. ESPN's Angels beat writer Mark Saxon argues that the Angels need to hire Ng because she is fiscally conservative and will keep the team from making a bad financial decision that may set them back for years and I would add to that may be several decades. However, I personally don't think that the Angels need a fiscal conservative as General Manager, what they really need is someone who is able to make smart decisions in order to improve the team and not necessarily save the team money.

I believe the Angels would be better served with someone with a bit more tangible experience someone like a Billy Beane; someone with a proven history, a body of work, not someone who has potential like Ng who I am sure would make a great General Manager for a team that fits her mold and that she fits with the team as well. In my opinion, the Angels are just not the right team for her talents right now. The Angels have made poor contract decisions as of late, highlighted by the questionable contract acquisition of Vernon Wells and the way they handled the contract of Gary Matthews Junior. That does not in my view equate to the need for the team to be fiscally conservative.

The Angels have also made a few more key changes in the front office, truth be told, I don't know if all these changes help the team make the playoffs next year, but one thing is unequivocally true the team is in need of change, I'm glad that the organization has been able to recognize that change is needed.

-ICE