Touch 'Em All: Angels owner Moreno supports manager Scioscia
Before Wednesday night's home game against the Royals, the high-spending Angels were sporting the AL's worst record (15-24, second to the awful Astros). But that's not bothering owner Arte Moreno enough to want to dump manager Mike Scioscia.
Before Wednesday night's home game against the Royals, the high-spending Angels were sporting the AL's worst record (15-24, second to the awful Astros). But that's not bothering owner Arte Moreno enough to want to dump manager Mike Scioscia.
In an interview Wednesday with FoxSports.com, Moreno said his skipper was safe.
"Mike has zero problems, OK?" he said. "This is his 14th year. . . . He's a good person in the community, a very good baseball guy."
The Angels' problems are about performance, Moreno said.
"If everybody on the team was hitting .300, and the pitchers were undefeated, and all our relievers had done a good job and we'd made no errors, we wouldn't be in this conversation."
No kidding. But the Angels are not hitting or pitching or relieving. That's why they're in danger of missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year.
Price's problems
Turns out Rays ace David Price has been dealing with a lot on the way to a 1-4 record this season.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has been struggling with severe allergies, possibly made worse by the Rays' new injector system used to wash team uniforms.
The lefthander underwent an allergy test Tuesday and was given nasal spray and eye drops to help him manage the rashes and blurred vision he has lived with for months.
He said different chemicals found in his clothing and towels irritated his skin and eyes to the point where he has had to step off the mound at times because he couldn't see the catcher's signs.
"When I put the eye drops in on the way to the field, it wasn't blurry anymore, so that was good," Price said. "Hopefully, it'll get better."
Hopefully. He gave up four runs in 21/3 innings and was charged with the loss in the Rays' 9-2 pounding by the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Collins sort-of sorry
Mets manager Terry Collins apologized in a fashion Wednesday, a day after criticizing New York fans who thought he hadn't defended one of his players.
On Tuesday, Collins said that he wasn't accountable to fans who have "absolutely no idea what goes on," and that he had no issue with the Pirates' plunking Jordany Valdespin for taking too much time to admire his home run.
On Wednesday, Collins said he regretted his choice of words.
He complimented Mets fans for knowing the game and said he understood the added attention his losing Mets is getting. They lost again on Wednesday - their sixth straight.
- Wire reports