The Angels’ disastrous season just took an unexpected turn. As if being the last-place team in MLB and 14.0 games behind the final American League Wild Card spot wasn’t enough, they have now shown the door to three members of their coaching staff. While many might have expected some drastic measures given their performance, the timing of the moves has raised plenty of eyebrows. And one former MLB player couldn’t hide his disbelief.

“I played for Mike Maddux. He was a pitching coach in Texas. He’s awesome. He knows his stuff,” A.J. Pierzynski exclaimed with his hands on his head, as per Foul Territory on X. “He’s as prepared as any pitching coach I’ve ever been around. So to blame him, especially almost in September, is ludicrous to me.”

The Angels fired their pitching coach, Mike Maddux, on Tuesday, who had a 24-season coaching career. Assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dom Chiti also lost their jobs alongside him. Interim general manager John Mozeliak felt that the team wasn’t using its technology and analytics satisfactorily. Hence, such a decision followed. But what makes the move so unusual is that the team has only 43 games remaining in the regular season. That’s why Pierzynski fails to understand the reasoning behind the move. 

“I’ve known Dom Chidi since I was in high school,” the 2x All-Star added. “He’s been with multiple organizations as a bullpen coach. He knows his stuff. Doesn’t make sense why they’re doing this.”

He even mentioned how the young Angels pitchers could have learned from these two experienced coaches and how they could have had a significant impact on their development. Erik Kratz felt the same way and chimed in after Pierzynski.

“I’ll tell you exactly what it is. How much money were they making? Time to get rid of them,” he offered his blunt assessment on the podcast. “They didn’t perform magic. So they got rid of them.”

The Angels’ pitching staff has recorded a 4.49 ERA (24th in the league), and they have allowed 512 walks, which is the highest in MLB this season. Their overall records are also equally poor. They are 46-74, at the bottom of the AL West and also last in MLB. And with a -93 run differential, there’s hardly anything to justify. 

This is likely to be the 12th straight season they would fail to reach the playoffs, with LA’s last World Series championship coming in 2002. 

But Mozeliak said that his decision was not based on a single thing that stood out. Rather, it was the overall picture that forced his hand, and he intends to “use all the different tools” that other pitching staffs use today. 

“I think there was becoming some level of frustration with the inconsistency of that, and so ultimately that’s when we started thinking about, ‘Do we need to make a change?’” the interim general manager added. “I do feel like we have a lot of great resources that we could be taking [greater] advantage of.”

Meanwhile, the Angels have named Tim Leveque as their interim pitching coach. The Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki termed him a smart guy, and the club will continue the remaining games under his coaching. However, the former MLB players aren’t over how the front office treated the veteran coaches.