While he hasn’t been with the Los Angeles Angels for long, the Locked-on Angels crew firmly believes that Johnny Washington should be relieved of his duties. This Angels team is 26-31, a record that puts them in fourth place in the AL West. They’ve lost six of their last seven, only putting up 14 runs in those seven games. Consistency is a glaring issue with the Angels, as this comes after an eight-game winning streak from May 16-23.
MLB Insiders on Why Johnny Washington Needs to Go
Even though they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers roughly two weeks ago, the Angels quickly went back to their old selves. In that eight-game winning streak, they never scored less than four runs, scoring six twice, seven twice, ten twice, and even as high as 11 runs against the reigning World Series Champions. Since that streak ended, they’ve averaged just two runs per game.
No matter what, it’s clear that Johnny Washington is a firm believer in his strategy: “My process isn’t a problem; it’s just a slump.” Slumps happen in baseball; there’s no doubt about it. When this team was 25-25, things seemed on the rise, and there was a chance for them to compete for the division title. There’s still plenty of time in the season, but if Washington doesn’t address any of the team’s issues, it’ll do nothing but lose.
Locked-on host Jon Frisch broke down Washington’s quotes from an interview he did with The Athletic: “Here’s what he’s saying, this is a swing first team. They’re seeking one pitch in the at-bat to do something with; they’re not trying to walk. He thinks his process is a good one, and he thinks that they just need to stay the course and keep up with the plan.”
His co-host, Mike Frisch, added, “That’s been the biggest problem with Johnny Washington. Everything is at birds-eye view, and he’s had that himself. I get having a vision, I get having a philosophy, but the thing that we’ve talked about often is there doesn’t seem to be a unique perspective or approach to individual hitters.”
The two then discussed Brett Boone, a long-time player turned coach.
“Brett Boone getting hired by the Texas Rangers. One of the things he talked about was a unique perspective. He wants to get to know these guys and then help them find their personal approach,” Frisch said.
It’s clear that if Washington isn’t fired, the two are just asking him to approach things differently. No one is hitting above .300 on this Angels team, with the closest being Nolan Schanuel. He’s hitting .276 and has the third most at-bats on the team (192). It’s clear this team is missing Mike Trout, as Jorge Soler (195 at-bats) is hitting just .226, while team-leading Taylor Ward (217 at-bats) is hitting an abysmal .221.