Q&A with new GM Jerry Dipoto
http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/angels/post/_/id/4135/qa-with-new-gm-jerry-dipoto
Jerry Dipoto was named senior vice president and general manager of the Los
Angeles Angels on Oct. 29, replacing Tony Reagins after the Angels missed the
postseason for the second consecutive year.
Dipoto, 43, spent the last six years as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ vice
president of player development and scouting. He pitched in the majors for
seven years, and his front-office experience includes scouting for the Boston
Red Sox and serving as director of player personnel for the Colorado Rockies.
I sat down with Dipoto to talk about his offseason plans and to hear his
blueprint for the Angels.
Bowden: You were interim GM of the Diamondbacks in 2010 and made a couple of
significant trades [Dan Haren to the Angels for a package including Joe
Saunders and highly regarded prospect Tyler Skaggs; Edwin Jackson to the
Chicago White Sox for pitcher Daniel Hudson]. How disappointed were you that
you didn’t get that job?
Dipoto: I expected there would be other good candidates and, of course, I was
disappointed but I also understood. However, I also was given an opportunity
to work and learn from Kevin Towers, who taught me the value of a group of
players that have a common goal and that the makeup and character of the
players had be the anchor and the most important trait of a player even
before their physical ability, scouting reports or statistical analysis.
Bowden: Who were some of your other baseball mentors besides Towers?
Dipoto: I was blessed with a long list of baseball executives that I learned
from. Josh Byrnes, who’s now the GM of the Padres; Bob Gebhart, who I played
for as well as worked with; John Hart, who I also played for and studied; Dan
O’Dowd, the GM of the Rockies who I worked with really from ages 21 to 40;
Theo Epstein briefly. Each of them taught me a different angle and I learned
from all of them. Other baseball influences include Bobby Valentine, Dallas
Green, Roland Hemond, the late Bill LaJoie and Jim Fregosi.
Bowden: Do you think it is an advantage that you played in the major leagues?
Dipoto: There are a lot of smart people in baseball, some that played the
game and some that didn’t, so I’m not sure that matters in terms of
success. However, I do think it gives me credibility when I talk to players
and the fact that I’ve walked in their shoes. It allows me empathy to
understand how tough a game it is to play.
Bowden: Going into spring training will the Angels’ outfield be Torii Hunter
in right field, Peter Bourjos in center field and Mike Trout in left field?
Dipoto: Right now it’s Hunter in right field, Bourjos in center field and
Vernon Wells in left field. Trout will need to play his way onto the team. I
know one thing, he’s going to play every day, and if it’s not in the major
leagues then it will be in our farm system. Wells deserves a chance to bounce
back. Throughout his career he has a history of bouncing back the year after
he’s had a down year. Wells needs to be protected. That being said, we’ll
play the best three outfielders on opening day, and if Mike Trout is one of
those three, we won’t hold him back.
Bowden: Can you give us an update on Kendrys Morales and whether he will be
ready to impact the club at first base or DH in 2012?
Dipoto: Morales is a work in progress. We will know more in January. It’s
uncertain how his health is going to play out.
Bowden: Morales is arbitration eligible, will you tender him a contract given
the health concerns?
Dipoto: In all likelihood we will tender him.
Bowden: Mike Scioscia used a platoon behind the plate with Hank Conger, Jeff
Mathis and Bobby Wilson in 2011. How do you see the catching position for
2012?
Dipoto: We are going to continue to try and sort it out. Catching, as you
know, is a tough position to fill, and we will continue to search for more
depth of major league-caliber catchers.
Bowden: Hank Conger hasn’t been given a chance to be the everyday catcher
despite many baseball people feeling that he could be the long-term answer.
Are you going to give him a chance?
Dipoto: Conger needs to get out on the field and play with nicks and bruises.
He can hit from the left side and is a good offensive catcher. Defensively,
when he gets in a rhythm, he shows he can do it. He deserves a chance to play
every day and get the reps to find out what he can accomplish. It’s also
understandable why Mike Scioscia has rotated the catchers, especially when
you get such a special defensive player like Jeff Mathis. However, I want to
upgrade our offense and ability to get on base, and this is one of multiple
positions where we have to find a way to improve our OBP.
Bowden: The Angels have been a poor OBP team in general the past few years.
Are you going to address this deficiency?
Dipoto: Yes. The changes have to start at the grassroots level in player
development. I do respect and admire the Angels’ aggressive style of play on
the bases and in the batter’s box, but going forward, we will see a shift on
the roster with players that get on base more. The question is if on-base
percentage is something a player is born with or a learned trait, and that
can be argued, but bottom line is we need to improve in that area at all
levels.
Bowden: The Angels have a solid infield but lack run production from third
base. Any interest in free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez?
Dipoto: No interest in Ramirez; that’s not the direction we want to go in. We
’re happy with Mark Trumbo at first base. Howie Kendrick finally had the
breakout season offensively at second base and showed what he’s capable of
doing at the major league level. Aybar won the gold glove at shortstop, while
Alberto Callaspo and Macier Izturis are significant infield pieces. I would
like to add a different spice to the stew. I would like to add a right-handed
hitter, and it could be a utility player or someone that could affect the way
our team gets on base. He might be a third base/DH type or player that can
play multiple positions.
Bowden: Is it safe for me to assume that you won’t be a player on Albert
Pujols or Prince Fielder?
Dipoto: Don’t assume that we have no interest in Fielder or Pujols. We don’
t want to lock the door. We are a high-revenue team, and I’m a big believer
in acquiring impact players. However, they are not our greatest need and are
not priority No. 1 on our list.
Bowden: OK, then let’s get to your priority list.
Dipoto: First we need better depth in the bullpen, especially with
right-handed impact power arms. I like [Jordan] Walden and [Scott] Downs but
would like to get them some help for closing out the last three outs of a
game.
Bowden: Do you have interest in Heath Bell, Jonathan Papelbon or the other
top closers?
Dipoto: I don’t want to get into specific names, but they would qualify as
impact arms. But we also could get other undervalued pitchers that cost
significantly less but can get the job done.
Bowden: Let’s go to your next free-agent and trade-target priority list.
Dipoto: We need to improve our on-base percentage and have better balance
with the other offensive needs of the club. We need to improve our catching,
as we talked about, hopefully with a catcher that can provide both offense
and defense. Then our next priority is a starting pitcher and inning
stabilizer to go after [Jered] Weaver, Haren and [Ervin] Santana in the
rotation.
Bowden: Do you have interest in C.J. Wilson? He has rented a place by
Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles and grew up in Manhattan Beach and would love
to pitch for the Angels.
Dipoto: Definitely, I have interest in every impact player and pitcher. It
all comes down to the right place, right time and right dollars. There are a
lot of options through trade and free agency, and we’ll explore every player
that we think can upgrade the roster. I also pride myself on finding hidden
gems and I think this free-agent class also has some good pitching depth that
we’ll be exploring.
Bowden: Some say that Mike Scioscia has final say on personnel decisions. Any
truth?
Dipoto: No truth. It has been portrayed to me directly by Arte Moreno, John
Carpino and Mike Scioscia that I have final say in personnel decisions,
pending ownership approval. Scioscia’s input, strong opinions and feedback
will be weighed significantly. … Everything is a collaboration. That being
said, Mike Scioscia has made it clear to me that he understands his role as
manager and mine as the senior VP and GM.
Bowden: Break down for us your philosophy and blueprint of building a world
championship club for the Angels?
Dipoto: I think, like all 30 clubs, that pitching is paramount to success. My
personal philosophy is that to structure a championship roster you have to
have a different balance of the player’s five stages of his career. The five
stages for me are: breaking-in stage, money-making stage, prime-years stage,
wind-down stage and the teaching stage. The core of championships clubs
usually comes from ages 27 to 31 during the player’s prime years. However
the supporting cast needs to come from the proper balance of all of the other
stages for a club to win. Too much or too little from a particular stage can
make it tough for a team to have the right balance to win. Of course, makeup
and character of the players and them having the same common goal is a
necessity.
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