Fans of the Angels probably know this already, but Sam Miller, normally of the Orange County Register, but writing here for Baseball Prospectus, says the following about Mike Scioscia, the Angels' longtime manager:

Mike Scioscia isn't a stathead kind of guy. He's not as anti-stat as you might imagine -- he's extremely wary of sample-size issues, he doesn't believe in distinguishing between earned and unearned runs, and he thinks pitcher wins are a bad way of measuring starters -- but he is extremely skeptical of advanced defensive stats.

You can ignore the last clause, which I include only for completion's sake. The important part is between the em-dashes (or what I hope will render as em-dashes). A manager, a guy not named Joe Maddon (but don't forget whose bench coach Joe Maddon was), who doesn't necessarily think a 4-for-7 hitter against a particular pitcher means anything? Who is on-board the runs-per-nine train? Who, gasp, thinks wins are stupid?

The most tragic part of all this is how much A's fans, myself included, dislike Scioscia, mainly because of the A's-Angels battles over the years and the perception that he engages in gamesmanship from the dugout. I'm not a Bob Geren hater, but given my feelings that:

• Managers have very little effect on a team's overall record;

• Bob Geren is probably not as awful as everyone thinks;

• Mike Scioscia is a bad human being;

• Mike Scioscia is a smart man and a good manager;

I feel awfully conflicted about hoping that maybe Mike Scioscia might get fired and end up with the A's.