Was Scioscia Right? His Guess Just as Good

To all you second-guessers of Mike Scioscia, such as Plaschke, Newhan, McCarver and company:

To answer your question of why Scioscia did not bring in Troy Percival in the eighth inning of Game 1 you only have to look at Game 2, when he did bring him in during the eighth. After successfully getting out of the inning on Wednesday, Percival proceeded to get knocked around in the ninth and ended up facing the winning run for the last two batters of the game.

If you need to point fingers, look at the umpire’s blown call at first in the first inning that could have gotten the Angels off to a big inning, not at the American League manager of the year.

Roger Zuch

Tujunga

*

Do you think that Phil Jackson keeps Kobe on his “normal” rest in the playoffs when the other team is making a game-turning run? Did Gretzky take every fourth shift in the Cup finals for Edmonton? Did Jim Brown or Emmitt Smith ever come out of the fourth quarter of a playoff game to save himself for the next game? Then what exactly was Mike Scioscia thinking?

Craig Dunkin

Tujunga

*

The Angels’ playoff pitching legacy continues, although instead of Gene Mauch pulling the starting pitcher too early, Mike Scioscia left the short relievers in too long. His decision is a tough one, stemming from trying to make what he thought was the best decision at the moment, while at the same time thinking ahead concerning unknown situations that may or may not happen based only on speculated scenarios.

With that being said, why can’t Scioscia just admit he blew it? Sometimes you just have to put in your best pitcher to slam the door shut and not worry about the thought of extra innings.

In football, they say, don’t go for the tie, go for the win. That should have been the Angels’ philosophy, especially playing in the home of a strong enemy .

I guess that’s why I’m not paid the big bucks. These managers have to make decisions, and live with the fact that the outcome will be material for future baseball folklore.

Jon Umeda

Monterey Park

*

I read with great interest Doug DeCinces’ second-guessing of Mike Scioscia’s managing in Thursday’s Times. Lest anyone forget, Dougie, wasn’t it you who, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS against the Red Sox, popped out to shallow right (or more accurately, deep second)? Those of us fans with more than just a blurry recollection of Angel history know that it is you, not the unfortunate Donnie Moore, who is most to blame for the Angels’ failure to reach the World Series that year.

With that in mind, please keep your comments to yourself. It is apparent that you couldn’t even manage your own at-bats, much less someone else’s pitching staff.

Andrew M. Weiss

Studio City

*

Some advice to the Angels from a longtime Dodger fan: Try to have every game come down to a Raul Mondesi at-bat. The last clutch hit he got was on a sandlot in the Dominican Republic.

Rob Osborne

Redondo Beach

*

Troy Percival: No Mercy Percy. Now, there’s a nickname.

R.J. Johnson

North Hollywood

*

Please quit referring to the Yankee “mystique.” Any team can have that mystique for about $140 million.

Lynn Johnson

Long Beach