LA Dodgers & Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Scioscia got a new deal Friday to manage the Los Angeles Angels through the 2009 season.

Scioscia guided the Angels to a 95-67 record and their second straight AL West division title this year.

 

 

His previous contract extension, announced in 2003, signed Scioscia through 2007 with a club option for 2008. The new deal for Scioscia, who became the Angels' manager in November 1999, includes a team option for 2010.

Scioscia approached general manager Bill Stoneman and offered to extend his commitment to the team.

 

 

"I've got the best position in baseball if you want to manage," he said. "All my interest was to stay here with the Angels, and I'm very, very happy."

 

 

Both Scioscia and Stoneman said the Dodgers' search for a GM had no influence on locking up Scioscia.

 

 

"This is just really the culmination of myself wanting to offer a longer commitment," said Scioscia, who represented himself in talks. "I love it here."

 

 

Stoneman added, "It says a bunch about the stability of the organization. It makes it that much easier attracting free agent players."

 

The 46-year-old former major league catcher has a 520-452 record with the Angels. Scioscia has taken the team to postseason appearances in three of the last four seasons, winning the 2002 World Series.

 

 

Scioscia is the only Angels manager with three playoff appearances and tied the late Gene Mauch with two division titles.

 

 

The Angels have averaged a franchise-best 86.7 wins per season under Scioscia, whose 520 career wins are second-most in club history. Before joining the Angels, Scioscia managed the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque and spent one season as the Dodgers' bench coach.

 

 

He spent 15 seasons in the majors with the Dodgers, San Diego and Texas, and was part of the Dodgers' World Series championship team in 1988.

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Angels pitching coach Bud Black told the Dodgers on Tuesday he is not interested in being a candidate for their vacant managerial job.

Angels executive Tim Mead confirmed that new Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti called Angels GM Bill Stoneman to ask permission to interview Black.

"They went through the formality and followed protocol," Mead said. "Ned called and asked for permission and Bill gave it to him."

However, Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said Black declined the opportunity, as he has with other past jobs, because he didn't want to have to move his family from the San Diego area.

The 48-year-old Black was hired as the Angels' pitching coach in November 1999. He pitched in the majors for 15 seasons and had a 121-116 record with a 3.84 ERA before retiring in 1995.

Black, who has never managed, spent the 1996, 1997 and 1999 seasons as an assistant to the GM for the Cleveland Indians. He was the pitching coach for the Indians' Triple-A farm club in Buffalo in 1998.

The Dodgers are also interested in speaking to two other candidates currently under contract with other teams. They are waiting to hear back from the general manager of one of the clubs, and received informal permission to speak to the other candidate, who they will not identify until formal permission is granted.

Colletti, assistant GM Kim Ng, vice president of scouting and player development Roy Smith and director of amateur scouting Logan White met with former big league manager Jim Fregosi for about three hours during the weekend in Tampa, Fla. Colletti was there to attend the wedding of his former boss, San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean.

Colletti, Sabean's assistant the past nine years, was introduced last Wednesday as the Dodgers' GM, and said his first priority was to hire a manager. The team has been without one since parting ways with Jim Tracy on Oct. 3 -- the day after the season ended.

The Dodgers had a 71-91 record last season -- one year after winning the NL West with a 93-69 mark. Paul DePodesta was nearing the end of a managerial search when he was abruptly fired as GM on Oct. 29.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Ned Colletti as their general manager Tuesday to replace the fired Paul DePodesta.

Colletti has been an assistant GM with the rival San Francisco Giants since 1997. He beat out Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng, who was trying to become the first woman in major league history to be hired as a GM.

The Dodgers called a news conference for Wednesday to introduce Colletti in his new job.

Ng and Colletti were thought to be the only candidates to interview for the job. Former Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians GM John Hart withdrew Monday as a candidate.

Dodgers spokeswoman Camille Johnston confirmed the hiring of Colletti, who has served under Giants general manager Brian Sabean for the past nine years.

The 50-year-old Colletti is considered a good negotiator and communicator, attributes owner Frank McCourt said he wanted in a GM after firing DePodesta on Oct. 29.

DePodesta was let go after less than two years on the job. He succeeded Dan Evans and signed a five-year contract in February 2004, shortly after McCourt purchased the team from News Corp.

The Dodgers are the only team in the majors without a manager. McCourt said at the time of DePodesta's firing that the search to replace Jim Tracy would be on hold until after a GM was picked.

Tracy and the team parted ways in October, and he was hired to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Dodgers went 71-91 last season, their worst record since 1992 and second-poorest since the franchise moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958. They won the NL West championship in 2004 with a 93-69 record.

Colletti, who began his career in public relations for the Chicago Cubs in 1982, eventually became involved in the baseball operations side of the business. He represented the Cubs in arbitration hearings and negotiated contracts.

Among the deals he put together were contracts for Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Greg Maddux.

Working under Sabean with the Giants, Colletti again was heavily involved in player negotiations, including working out a contract for Barry Bonds.

During Colletti's years in San Francisco, the Giants won division titles in 1997, 2000 and 2003, and were the NL champions in 2002.

Ng and Roy Smith, the Dodgers' vice president of player development, represented the club at the recent major league general managers' meetings in Indian Wells, Calif.

Ng, who turns 37 on Thursday, was the New York Yankees' assistant general manager for four years before taking the Dodgers' job in December 2001. She also has worked for the Chicago White Sox and the American League.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ned Colletti, hired as the Los Angeles Dodgers' general manager earlier this week, is planning to meet with Jim Fregosi and Terry Collins to discuss the team's vacant managerial position.

Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch confirmed Friday that Colletti would meet with Fregosi and Collins in Tampa, Fla., where he'll attend the wedding of San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean, his former boss.

Colletti worked for the Giants for 11 years -- the last nine as Sabean's assistant -- before being hired by the Dodgers on Tuesday to succeed Paul DePodesta.

The Los Angeles Times first reported that Colletti would meet with Fregosi and Collins. Those meetings are expected to take place this weekend.

Fregosi, 63, managed the then-California Angels from 1978-81, the Chicago White Sox from 1986-88, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1991-96, and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999-2000. His 1993 Philadelphia team reached the World Series before losing to the Blue Jays.

Collins, 56, managed the Houston Astros from 1994-96 and the Angels from 1997-99. Collins, the Dodgers' director of minor league operations, was considered the leading contender for the team's managerial job before DePodesta was abruptly fired Oct. 29 when the search was thought to be in its final stages.

Other potential candidates for the Dodgers' managerial job could be Lou Piniella, former manager of the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and former Dodgers' pitching ace Orel Hershiser, the Texas Rangers' pitching coach since 2003.

Rawitch also confirmed that assistant GM Kim Ng and vice president Roy Smith would travel to Florida for the meetings. There hasn't been an official announcement concerning the status of Ng or Smith since the hiring of Colletti, but indications are both will remain with the Dodgers.

Ng, who lost out to Colletti for the GM job, has three years remaining on her contract with the Dodgers, as does Smith.

Colletti said at a news conference Wednesday that the Dodgers' next manager should be a "great leader" who is a well-rounded and can communicate with him, and with the spectrum of players from 22-year-olds to 38-year-olds. He said managerial experience was preferred, but not absolutely necessary.

The Dodgers parted company with manager Jim Tracy on Oct. 3 -- a day after the season ended. They are the only major league team without a manager. Tracy, who managed the Dodgers for five years, has since been hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Dodgers haven't advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since they were World Series champions in 1988. They won the NL West title in 2004, but went 71-91 last season -- their second-poorest record since they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.