Mike Scioscia Defends Mike Napoli Trade
Written by Bob Whalon, Tuesday October 25 2011
Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is defending his team's trade of catcher Mike Napoli and insisting that it was not due to a personality conflict between the two.
The Angels traded Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Vernon Wells. Toronto then turned around and traded Napoli to the Texas Rangers, where he has helped put the team one win away from their first World Series Championship.
"We did not butt heads, that's absolutely false," Scioscia said on Tuesday. "Mike had to work on stuff that didn't come naturally to him, more so than other catchers who maybe do it more naturally."
For his part, Napoli admitted that he needed to work on his game, but also said that he felt constrained by Scioscia's demanding nature.
"I always felt like I was looking over my shoulder to see if I was doing things right," Napoli said. "I had 'bad hands'. I was so worried about my setup and the mechanics all the time. I learned a lot. I learned a lot of what I do there, but playing there just wasn't much fun."
Napoli had much more fun in Texas, where he batted .320 with 30 home runs and a .1045 OPS. He only caught 61 games for the Rangers during the regular season. He did most of his damage at the plate as a designated hitter or at first base. Wells on the other hand, had the lowest on-base percentage (.248) among all qualified major league hitters while making $24 million last season.
After the season, Angels general manager Tony Reagins resigned under pressure from owner Arte Moreno. The team also fired assistant general manager Ken Forsch, its farm director and two scouts. The complete failure of the Napoli trade certainly played a part in those moves.
Even Scioscia admits that maybe the deal didn't work out for the Angels. Napoli has been the Rangers' best hitter in the World Series, with two home runs and nine RBIs in five games. "It's obvious. Mike Napoli is having an incredible run with Texas." A run that may end up with a parade in Texas.
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