Halo & Goodbye : Lachemann Steps Out, McNamara In--for Now

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

Unable to cope with the mounting losses and unsure how to jump-start a club many expected to contend for the American League West title, Lachemann 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.”

Reading from a prepared statement, Lachemann also said:

“I feel the only way to improve our situation is to change the existing atmosphere. 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 for the remainder of the season but said he has no interest in managing beyond that point. This will be McNamara’s second stint as the club’s manager. He also managed in 1983 and ’84.

The Angels 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, Marcel’s older brother, were retained.

The timing of the changes in the coaching staff were a surprise, but a club source said Angel President Tony Tavares was particularly displeased with the performance of Hernandez as pitching coach.

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 coach third. 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 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 with the Oakland Athletics in 1970 and hired him as Angel pitching coach in 1984, has been enlisted to jolt the club from its doldrums.

The Angels are eight games below .500 and 10 1/2 behind first-place Texas in the AL West.

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

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

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

“The first I heard of this was last Thursday evening,” McNamara said. “[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 begun but doesn’t figure to intensify until after the season ends. Possible candidates include former major league manager Jim Lefebvre; Lachemann’s brother, Rene, fired by Florida at the All-Star break; and Don Long, manager of the Angels’ triple-A affiliate at Vancouver.

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 to ‘92, often seemed uncomfortable as a manager. He was occasionally overmatched by more experienced 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 title last year squarely on Lachemann’s shoulders, citing his 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.”

Said Tavares: “If everyone took a modicum of the responsibility he takes, we’d be a better ballclub. It’s sad that Lach took a bullet for the lack of performance by the entire organization. I was never disappointed with Marcel’s effort, but I’ve been terribly disappointed with the collective effort of the players.”

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 AL, had other troubles.

They missed the punch provided by leadoff hitter Tony Phillips, who signed with the Chicago White Sox last winter. They also have been hampered by injuries to center fielder Jim Edmonds and starting pitcher Mark Langston.

Plus, there has been the ongoing battle to solve left-hander Jim Abbott’s problems. Abbott lost his major league-leading 14th game Sunday at Toronto.

Lachemann refused to lean on any of those circumstances for excuses. Instead, he said:

“Part of this game is making adjustments. 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 the spring-training expectations might have been too high, Lachemann said, “In order to achieve something, you have to have high expectations.”

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Angels by the Numbers

Number of Angel managers in their 36-year history: 16

Number of Angel Managers in the last 10 years: 6

Number of Angel managers with a .500 or above record: 3

Teams that have changed managers more than Angels in the last 10 years: 2

Angels’ all-time winning percentage

Number of seasons Angels have had winning record in last 10 years: 3

Angels pennants and World Series victories: 0