Minasian Offers A Lame Excuse For Bad Bullpen Performance So Far In Latest Comments

Minasian Offers A Lame Excuse For Bad Bullpen Performance So Far In Latest Comments

Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian surfaced this weekend to offer his take on the state of the team so far, and as usual the GM offered some thoughts that bordered on being from an alternate reality.

Minasian did acknowledge that it’s been a challenge for the Angels lately, especially with the bullpen blowing leads in one game after another. But the GM believes in manager Kurt Suzuki and the coaching staff, and he thinks things will take a turn for the better.

There is a number that supports this possibility, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The Angels are 13-22 so far, but they’ve only been outscored by 15 runs for the season. That suggests there are some close games that could be won with a real bullpen, but the Angels don’t have one of those right now.

“Bullpens go through ups and downs just like lineups, just like rotations, just like anything else,” Minasian said. “For me, the biggest thing is the group and how we respond and how we play and if our guys are prepared. We’ve been in a majority of our games. Those are signs to me that we're maturing and growing as a group and our best baseball is in front of us. There's no doubt about that.”

There is doubt about whether Minasian will actually be around to see this if it actually happens. He’s a lame-duck GM on an expiring contract, and Minasian was responsible for putting together the arson squad that’s currently imitating a bullpen, signing one retread reliever after another during the offseason. Several were in their thirties with significant injury histories, so the result has been a constant parade of pitchers to the injured list, some for extended stretches.

Minasian is engaged in a campaign to save his job, so he talked up Suzuki and the offense as bright spots to date. Most of the GM’s comments were disingenuous, to say the least, but that’s how Minasian rolls most of the time.

“I don't look at one certain thing,” Minasian said of the offense, which is powerful but strikeout-prone. “To me, it's overall production. Everybody gets production in different ways and score runs in different ways. So where we lack in one area, we might be really good in other areas, like walks. Our offense up to this point has been a top 10 offense in baseball. If you told me right now we'll finish in the top 10 in offense at the end of the year, I'd feel pretty good about it.”