08/11/26 05:59:00
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08/11 17:58 CDT MLB-worst Angels fire pitching coach Mike Maddux, 2 assistants
in staff shake-up
MLB-worst Angels fire pitching coach Mike Maddux, 2 assistants in staff shake-up
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) --- The Los Angeles Angels fired pitching coach Mike
Maddux and two of his assistants on Tuesday after interim general manager John
Mozeliak determined the team wasn't making sufficient use of the technology and
analytics available to its pitchers.
Mozeliak also fired bullpen coach Dom Chiti and assistant pitching coach Darryl
Scott in a shake-up of first-year manager Kurt Suzuki's staff with just 43
games remaining for the Angels, who have the majors' worst record at 45-74.
While Mozeliak said that "no one thing just stood out" in his decision to fire
Maddux, he prominently cited his desire for the Angels to "use all the
different tools that you see a lot of pitchers use today."
"I think there was becoming some level of frustration with the inconsistency of
that, and so ultimately that's when we started thinking about, ?Do we need to
make a change?'" Mozeliak said. "I do feel like we have a lot of great
resources that we could be taking (greater) advantage of."
The dismissals were the latest shake-up in a tumultuous year for the Angels,
who fired general manager Perry Minasian in late June. Los Angeles is headed
toward its 11th consecutive losing season and 12th straight non-playoff season,
both the longest active droughts in the majors, under much-criticized owner
Arte Moreno.
Mozeliak, the longtime St. Louis Cardinals general manager, agreed to take over
baseball operations for Moreno on a temporary basis after Minasian's firing,
and he has endeavored to modernize the Halos' long-struggling organization.
Mozeliak said the Angels have technology and information on par with the rest
of the majors, and he's confident it is being used properly by Suzuki's
offensive staff --- but the pitching operation needed an urgent overhaul.
"There's so many more resources out there that really every team in baseball is
utilizing, so (we're) just making sure that the Angels are up to speed with
that and leveraging this," Mozeliak said. "I know our research and development
team upstairs, they're providing a lot of useful things that I think we can be
taking advantage of. And then moving forward ... what can we do to make this a
state-of-the-art place for player growth? What you don't want to do is have
players outsourcing those types of things. You want it to be the internal
model, and hopefully we can accomplish that."
Maddux, who turns 65 later this month, didn't last one full season with the
Angels after leaving the Texas Rangers last winter. The former major leaguer is
widely respected in the game after 24 seasons as a pitching coach, and he
played a significant role in the Rangers' success during their 2023 World
Series title.
But in Anaheim, Maddux presided over a staff that has posted the majors'
seventh-worst ERA at 4.51 and an MLB-high 508 walks.
Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, whose 1.10 WHIP is the 14th-best in the
majors, said "everybody is surprised" by the firings.
"I mean, if we have it, might as well use it, right?," said Detmers, who
evaluates his biomechanics in every bullpen session and consults with his
personal coaches during the season. "I'm not saying we didn't use it all the
time, but there's definitely times where we could have used it. In my eyes,
it's only going to make you better."
Tim Leveque was appointed Los Angeles' interim pitching coach, and Michael
Wuertz will be the club's interim bullpen coach. Leveque was the pitching coach
at the Angels' Double-A Rocket City affiliate after working in the Cardinals
organization during Mozeliak's tenure.
"He's a smart guy who really understands where the game is at, and I think
he'll be a good resource for (Suzuki)," Mozeliak said of Leveque.
Suzuki is on a one-year contract in his first major league managerial job.
Mozeliak said he won't make any additional changes before the end of the season
in seven weeks.
"I appreciated everything that they did," Suzuki said of the fired coaches.
"They worked hard. They prepared. At the end of the day, Mo and I felt like the
path moving forward in these last 43 games ... we felt like this was the best
way."
Chiti was in his first season as the bullpen coach after rejoining the Angels
organization in late 2023. Scott also was in his first season with the Angels
after several years with the Colorado Rockies.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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