A failed suicide squeeze in the playoffs did nothing to sour the Angels on Manager Mike Scioscia, who has agreed in principle to a lengthy contract extension that will take him through at least the 2015 season.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but General Manager Tony Reagins said that Scioscia, already the longest-tenured manager in the American League, "will be around for a long, long time."
Scioscia's current deal, which is believed to pay him about $1.75 million annually, ran through 2009 and included a club option for 2010. His new deal ensures that he will remain in Anaheim well into the next decade.
"The one thing you respect about Mike is, win or lose, he's going to be a stand-up guy," Reagins said. "He's going to do what got us to where we were able to go. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but the consistency and the commitment to do things the right way outweigh that glitch we had in the postseason."
That "glitch" was Scioscia's most controversial -- and criticized -- call of a 100-win 2008 season, a ninth-inning squeeze play against the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League division series.
With the score tied, 2-2, Erick Aybar failed to make contact on his bunt, Reggie Willits was tagged out in a rundown between third and home, and the Red Sox scored in the bottom of the ninth for a series-clinching 3-2 victory.
Reagins and Angels owner Arte Moreno didn't flinch. They began negotiations with Scioscia on an extension last spring and had a handshake deal with the manager in September. One failed play wasn't going to alter Scioscia's future with the club.
"The job he's done in nine years here has been tremendous, not only at the major-league level but in his minor-league development philosophy," Reagins said.
"This is an acknowledgment of the work he's put forth. You look around the game, and there are not many ahead of him. We like stability, knowing that Mike is going to be here for a long time."
Scioscia, 50, the longest-tenured and most successful manager in Angels history, has guided the team to an 803-655 record (.551 winning percentage) since 2000 and led the Angels to their only World Series championship in 2002.
The Angels have won four of the last five AL West titles and reached the AL championship series in 2005, but they were eliminated by Boston in the division series in 2004, 2007 and 2008.
