Lachemann Steps Aside; McNamara Back in Job

Saying he never was pressured or persuaded to quit, Marcel Lachemann announced his resignation as manager of the Angels Tuesday.

Lachemann, unable to cope with the mounting losses and unsure how to jump-start a team many had expected to contend for the American League West title, said he stepped aside in the “best interests of the club.”

“I don’t want to be a martyr, but I believe in responsibility,” Lachemann said. “This was my decision. They [club management] fought me on this.”

Instead of contending this season, the Angels have flopped. They begin tonight’s game in last place in their American League West division, eight games below .500 and trailing first-place Texas by 10 1/2 games. The Angels have not spent one day in first place this season.

“I feel the only way to improve our situation is to change the existing atmosphere,” said Lachemann, reading from a prepared statement during an Anaheim Stadium news conference. “The most logical way to do this is for me to step aside and bring in someone with a different approach.”

John McNamara will manage the Angels the remainder of the season, but said he has no interest in doing so beyond that point. It is McNamara’s second stint with the Angels, having managed them from 1983-84.

The Angels also fired longtime first base coach Bobby Knoop, third base coach Rick Burleson and pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.

Hitting coach Rod Carew, bench coach Joe Maddon, bullpen coordinator Mick Billmeyer and catching coach Bill Lachemann, the ex-manager’s brother, were retained.

Burleson, Knoop and Hernandez will be paid for the remainder of their contracts, which run through the 1997 season, and all three will have the option of working for the organization in another capacity.

The timing of the coaching changes was a surprise, but a club source said Angel President Tony Tavares was particularly displeased by Hernandez’s performance.

Joe Coleman, a special assignment scout, takes over as pitching coach. Maddon will move from bench coach to first base coach. Eddie Rodriguez, a minor league coach, will take over at third base. Mike Couchee, the club’s roving pitching instructor, will be the new bullpen coach.

Lachemann had agonized over the Angels’ disappointing play since well before the All-Star break in early July and had several conversations about quitting with General Manager Bill Bavasi.

Bavasi at first talked Lachemann out of stepping aside, but agreed to accept his resignation after the Angels’ 1-5 trip to Detroit and Toronto last week.

“It was tearing me up,” Lachemann said of the team’s poor play. “I wasn’t comfortable taking my paycheck. When you have the authority, you have to have the responsibility.

“I was at the point where I couldn’t do anything about the frustrations permeating my whole life.”

McNamara, who was Lachemann’s manager when Lachemann pitched for the Oakland Athletics in 1970 and hired him as Angel pitching coach in 1984, has been enlisted to jolt the club from its doldrums.

“It’s a bitter day for me,” said McNamara, 64.

In addition to the Angels and A’s, McNamara also had managing stints in San Diego, Cincinnati, Boston and Cleveland. He last managed in the major leagues in 1991 with the Indians.

This was his fifth year tutoring the Angels’ minor league catchers, managers and coaches.

“The first I heard of this was last Thursday evening,” McNamara said Tuesday. “[Bavasi] called me and asked if I’d consider [managing]. . . . I did it as a favor to him and to the Autrys.”

The search for a new manager has started, but doesn’t figure to intensify until after the season. Possible candidates include former major league manager Jim Lefebvre; Lachemann’s brother, Rene, fired by Florida last month; and Don Long, manager of the Angels’ triple-A affiliate at Vancouver.

Marcel Lachemann, 55, left open the possibility of returning to the club--perhaps as pitching coach next year. Lachemann, who had no managerial experience when he was hired after Buck Rodgers was fired on May 17, 1994, said he would not like to manage again.

“The one-on-one teaching aspect is the part I like best,” Lachemann said. “You can’t do that when you’re manager. [But] I’m glad I took the job. It was a valuable experience in my life.”

Lachemann, Angel pitching coach from 1984-92, often seemed uncomfortable as manager. He was occasionally overmatched by more veteran managers when it came to late-game strategy.

At least one former player put the blame for the club’s failure to win the division last year squarely on Lachemann’s inexperience.

Squandering an 11-game lead and losing to Seattle in a one-game playoff to decide the division title seemed to be a heavy burden for Lachemann.

“He’s a perfectionist and he believed part of this was his fault,” first baseman J.T. Snow said. “I think Lach had a very tough time dealing with the experience of what we went through last year and where we are this year. And it was obviously wearing on him.”

That strain also was obvious to McNamara, who frequently watched the club’s struggles on TV.

“I could tell by the look in his eyes that it was bothering him,” McNamara said. Asked if he believed Lachemann was too hard on himself, McNamara said, “Probably, but it’s the nature of the man.”

Tavares believed Lachemann took too much responsibility for the Angels’ disappointing play. Nevertheless, Tavares said he admires Lachemann’s integrity.

“If everyone took a modicum of the responsibility he takes, we’d be a better ballclub,” Tavares said. “Marcel just took a bullet for this organization. I was seldom, if ever, disappointed in Marcel’s effort. I have, on occasion, been disappointed in our players’ effort.”

To be sure, the club’s lackluster pitching has been the most obvious shortcoming. But the Angels, whose staff earned-run average of 5.44 is fourth-highest in the American League, had other troubles.

They missed the punch provided by leadoff hitter Tony Phillips, who signed with the Chicago White Sox in the off-season. They also have been hampered by injuries to such key players as center fielder Jim Edmonds and former All-Star pitcher Mark Langston.

Also, there has been the ongoing problems of pitcher Jim Abbott, who lost his major league-leading 14th game Sunday at Toronto.

Lachemann refused to lean on any of those circumstances for excuses.

“Part of this game is making adjustments,” he said. “I knew going into the spring we needed a new leadoff hitter. Injuries are part of the game. You ride through the tough times. I think it’s just too easy to make excuses.”

Asked if expectations might have been too high this spring, Lachemann said, “In order to achieve something, you have to have high expectations. . . . You have to get to a point where you can handle that.

“I think we have good, young, solid club.”

Angel Coverage

* FAN REACTION: Many say change was needed but that players deserve blame too. B1

* NO SURPRISE: The resignation didn’t shock the Angels, who lost to the Twins, 4-1. C1

* MIKE PENNER: Marcel Lachemann took the fall for several underachieving players. C1

* ROSS NEWHAN: Did a lack of heart among his players prompt Marcel Lachemann to resign? C1

* OTHER STORIES: C4-5

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Starting Over

Who’s out: Manager Marcel Lachemann resigns. Coaches Rick Burleson, Chuck Hernandez and Bobby Knoop are offered other jobs in the organization.

Who’s in: John McNamara, who managed the Angels in 1983-84, will finish the season. Four current coaches, including hitting instructor Rod Carew, will remain.

What went wrong

* Team blew 11-game lead in the American League West last season, finished second.

* On this date last year, Angels’ record was among best in baseball; this year they are firmly in last place.

* Several players not producing on par with 1995 performances.

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Man In the Middle

Marcel Lachemann’s winning percentage puts him in the middle of the 14 men who have managed the Angels on a full-time basis. Angel managers’ winning percentages:

Gene Mauch: .533

Doug Rader: .518

Norm Sherry: .517

Lefty Phillips: .497

Jim Fregosi: .488

Cookie Rojas: .487

Marcel Lachemann: .485*

Del Rice: .484

Dave Garcia: .476

Bill Rigney: .469

John McNamara: .466

Bob Winkles: .462

Buck Rodgers: .450

Dick Williams: .431

* Does not include three wins and one loss as interim manager in 1992

Source: Angel media guide

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Revolving Door

Managing the Angels has never been a job with lots of security. A look at the 18 men who have run the team since its inception in 1961.

Bill Rigney

1961-69

625-707

****

Lefty Phillips

1969-71

222-225

****

Del Rice

1972

75-80

****

Bob Winkles

1973-74

109-127

****

Whitey Herzog

1974

2-2

****

Dick Williams

1974-76

147-194

****

Norm Sherry

1976-77

76-71

****

Dave Garcia

1977-78

60-66

****

Jim Fregosi

1978-81

237-249

****

Gene Mauch

1981-82

122-103

****

John McNamara

1983-84

151-173

****

Gene Mauch

1985-87

257-229

****

Cookie Rojas

1988

75-79

****

Moose Stubing

1988

0-8

****

Doug Rader

1989-91

232-216

****

Buck Rodgers

1991-94

140-171

****

John Wathan*

1992

36-49

****

Marcel Lachemann*

1992

1-1

****

Bobby Knoop

1994

1-1

****

Marcel Lachemann

1994-96

163-171

Note: Served as interim managers in 1992 after Rodgers was injured in bus crash.

Source: Angel media guide