Saturday, May 23, 2020

ESPN's baseball writer says the California Angels are "an exercise in how not to act"

From Jeff Passan's lengthy summary of the prospects for Major League Baseball to resume:
Hey, got a joke for you.

Shoot.

The Los Angeles Angels.

What the Angels did this week to their baseball operations department, gutting it from top to bottom, was an exercise in how not to act during what's a treacherous time for everyone in the world.

As the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals guaranteed full pay for full-time employees through June ... as the Milwaukee Brewers promised no furloughs to their baseball-operations employees and full pay to lower-level employees for the remainder of the season ... as clubs followed the examples set by other organizations that have pledged to treat their employees with the respect and empathy owed people whose diligence and hard work built the foundations for successful organizations ... the Angels furloughed almost all of their scouts and player-development personnel.

All of it was galling. Particularly gross was how it intersects with the June 10 amateur draft. Angels scouts have been poring over video and filing amateur reports all spring. Most of them will be gone June 1. The Angels told cross-checkers that they'll stay on through the draft -- and then get furloughed less than a week later.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Here's all you need to know: Angels owner Arte Moreno, who is the ultimate decision-maker in the organization, has a reported net worth of $3.3 billion.