Shouldn’t He Be in the Other Dugout?

The argument could be made that the biggest mistake during the Fox ownership years of the Dodgers, among a boatload of them, was not the Mike Piazza trade.

The argument could be made that the biggest mistake was sitting in the opponents’ dugout Friday night when the Dodgers took the field. He was wearing red (horrors!) and was an American Leaguer now (double horrors!).

Yes, Virginia, that’s Mike Scioscia managing the Angels, the same Mike Scioscia who caught more Dodger games than anybody else, 1,395; who played all 1,441 of his major league games in a Dodger uniform, who hit that game-saving homer in the playoffs in 1988 to keep the Dodgers alive for Kirk Gibson’s heroics, and who blocked the plate in ’85 against a freight train named Jack Clark, was knocked cold and still held onto the ball.

When Fox was pretending to own and operate the Dodgers, Scioscia was about to complete his various managerial internships in the Dodger chain en route to the bigs. He had been handpicked, put in his time on the lower levels, continued to bleed Dodger blue and was positioned nicely, in 1999, as the team’s triple-A manager in Albuquerque.

His seat in the third base dugout in Dodger Stadium was a given, a no-brainer. Vegas had taken him off the board. The only question was when, and how many catcher’s mitts they’d sell in the stadium gift shop.

Then Fox started doing corporate things, Scioscia’s freedom to operate the way he wanted at Albuquerque was micro-managed out of existence and the Angels, that other team down the 5 Freeway in that other county, saw the opening, swooped in and hit the jackpot.

That, of course, was six seasons, one World Series and two division titles ago. For Dodger fans, who haven’t had a sniff of anything resembling a World Series since 1988, passage of time helps, but these Inter-league freeway series remain a bad reminder.

Scioscia, for one, doesn’t buy the premise that his departure from the Dodger organization was anywhere near as big as that of Piazza.

“Piazza was huge,” Scioscia said Friday night.

It would be out of character for Scioscia to put his career on any level of importance. That’s not how he thinks, nor how he manages.

His team entered Friday night’s game at Angel Stadium in last place in the AL West. Some of the players who have consistently kept the Angels in pennant races the last few years have suddenly become inconsistent -- Chone Figgins hitting .253 to start the night Friday, Vladimir Guerrero .186 in his last 11 games, Adam Kennedy hitting .256. And Garret Anderson has a sore back.

But as the All-Star break approaches, Scioscia said there is no panic.

“We have a sense of urgency,” Scioscia said, “but only a sense of urgency that we need to play better every day.”

Scioscia’s team started the night only seven games out of the division lead, but Scioscia responds to that the same way he would if the Angels were 20 out, or 20 ahead, for that matter. He is the calm before the storm. Also during and after it. If he had been on the Titanic, Molly Brown wouldn’t have gotten the nickname. Scioscia is unsinkable.

Asked about his second-half strategy, his reply was simple. It’s the same as the first-half strategy. Get better each game.

He is not happy with the current state of the Angels, not happy that some of his best players aren’t playing their best. He said that was “uncharacteristic of this group.”

“We have had more than the normal number of ‘Look yourself in the mirror’ speeches this season,” he said.

But he also has, in no way, written off this season.

“We’re confident we can do it,” he said. “I haven’t looked at the standings in a month. I don’t need to. I know we need to play good baseball, and we aren’t. I know that, once we do, we can make up ground fast.”

Scioscia’s managerial approach is direct, but not loud and showy.

“Nobody plays with an ax over his head here,” Scioscia said.

That was echoed by team vice president Tim Mead, who said that visits to Scioscia’s doghouse are quick. “You see the head go in, then pop out the front, with the butt right behind,” he said.

Mead also said, “Scioscia is not a pitchers’ guy, or a hitters’ guy. He is a players’ guy.”

Scioscia is also an Angel now. No regrets. No glances in the rearview mirror. He said Arte Moreno’s organization has a family feel to it, much like his days under the O’Malley ownership of the Dodgers.

He said his opportunity with the Angels “remains a blessing.”

He also said that, walking into Dodger Stadium “is still a thrill.”

Bill Dwyre can be reached at bill.dwyre@latimes.com. For previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.