How could management fix woebegone Angels?

The standings spoke for themselves, but the Angels’ management wanted you to know they had comprehended the lesson.

- BILL SHAIKIN COLUMNIST

“Obviously, we're not doing it the right way,” team president John Carpino told reporters five years ago. “We're not winning games. So something is not right in our organization.”

That was after the 2020 season, and after five consecutive losing seasons. The Angels since have endured another five consecutive losing seasons.

The general managers have changed, and so have the managers. The only constants in this run: Carpino and owner Arte Moreno.

I wanted to ask both men to share with fans what the Angels have determined about what was not right in their organization and how they have been going about trying to fix it. Neither man was available for an interview, ateam spokesman said.

The standings continue to speak for themselves. The Angels finished in last place last season, with the worst record in team history. They sank into last place again this season, the first time in 50 years the Angels finished in last place in consecutive years.

Moreno, 79, explored selling the team three years ago but is not expected to do so this winter, according to people familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak publicly.

He might be better served, some of those people said, to wait out the collective bargaining negotiations set to start next year and see if owners can push through a salary cap, which league executives believe would increase franchise values — thats, sale prices.

When Carpino spoke about “somethings not right in our organization,” he did so in discussing the dismissal of Billy Eppler as general manager. In Eppler’s five years, the Angels posted a .469 winning percentage and finished a combined 110 games out of first place.

“It was a business decision,” Carpino said of Eppler’s firing.

“And we're in the business of winning baseball games, and we just didn’t win enough over the five-year period.”