Second-guessing aside, Stoneman steers steady ride

For a man who has had so much practice, Bill Stoneman had a surprisingly tough time prying the cork out of the champagne bottle he clutched with both hands Sunday.

He pulled. He pushed. He turned it around, looking for an “Open Me Here” sign or other hint on how to release the contents.

As always, the Angels’ general manager was methodical and deliberate, an island of calm in a clubhouse gone happily crazy in celebration of the team’s third American League West title in four seasons and fourth playoff ticket in six seasons.

Finally, after applying the right amount of pressure in the right spots, he popped the stubborn cork -- but he didn’t indulge himself right away.

While champagne dripped from the ceiling and players gave each other beer-can shampoos, Stoneman stood off to the side and awaited a quiet moment to savor the satisfaction of a job well done.

A job he and Manager Mike Scioscia and their astute scouting and coaching staffs have pulled off in exemplary fashion yet again.

They’ve built a winning tradition by producing exciting teams that are well-schooled in fundamentals, know how to manufacture runs, and are deep in pitching and resilience.

Teams that find veterans willing to accept cameo roles, kids eager to learn their craft and elite players in their prime, creating rich harmony instead of fatal friction.

Teams whose players are willing to sacrifice for each other because they actually respect and like each other.

What a concept.

Stoneman had every right to whoop it up after the Angels closed out their home schedule by closing out the AL West, with a 7-4 victory over the Mariners. If his response was muted, it was fitting for a man who prefers subtle to bold in everything he does but has a World Series title from 2002 on his resume -- and now has a chance to win another.

“It’s nice,” Stoneman said, raising his voice to be audible above the music and shouting and whoosh of cascading beverages.

“The guys played hard all year. They certainly deserve to be where they’re at. We’re hoping to go a lot further and have three more of these. That would be nice.”

It sometimes seemed unlikely they’d get this far.

Stoneman didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, though the Angels appeared to need a big bat to supply the home run power they lacked. The eight-game division lead they held on June 24 had shrunk to one game two months later, but Stoneman and Scioscia steadfastly believed that with a prod here and a nudge there, the Angels could pull away.

And they did, regaining their confidence and a comfortable cushion after a three-game sweep of the Mariners in the waning days of August at Seattle.

“We put together what we thought was a team that could do it, in the off-season, and we went with that because nothing changed our opinion as we went through the season,” Stoneman said.

“Guys played steady, good baseball. There were never any long losing streaks. We relied on the quality of the pitching and the quality of our bench because they got a lot of play this year, because of injuries. It was a whole team effort.”

That was not lost on Angels owner Arte Moreno, who smiled as pitcher Bartolo Colon crept up behind him, removed his new AL West Champions hat, emptied a bottle of icy cold water over his head and neatly replaced the sodden cap.

To Moreno, the reason for the Angels’ success is obvious.

“It’s Mike and Bill Stoneman and the scouts and a lot of people working to make sure we bring in the right people that are going to fit and get it to the next level,” Moreno said.

He called Scioscia “the rock” on which the Angels’ success has rested. That would make Stoneman the sculptor.

“What’s great about Bill is that he communicates great,” Moreno said. “He listens to everybody. He’s very analytical.

“It’s really important that you listen to your people, and Bill’s good about that. Chemistry is really important.”

Pitcher Jered Weaver knows the value of clubhouse harmony.

“We’ve got great camaraderie here and everybody plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” he said. “It’s been a fun team.

“Everybody just feeds off each other. Everybody knows what we’re trying to accomplish here, and everybody understands what their role is on the team. Nobody will complain about anybody. You just go about your business, and we’ve done a great job this year.”

Garret Anderson, a veteran of the 2002 team, said the Angels’ well-calibrated makeup has been key to the team’s success.

“We all pull from the same end of the rope,” he said. “We definitely know we have to play together to do well.”

So they have, but their work is not finished. Before the champagne bubbles had burst and the corks picked up off the clubhouse floor, Stoneman was thinking about what comes next.

“You know we’re enjoying it today,” he said, “but tomorrow, we’re back to business.”

Their business is winning. They do it well.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.