Dec. 13--Billy Eppler rose through the New York Yankees front office as the reign of tempestuous owner George Steinbrenner wound down. He was no stranger to the clash of egos, personalities and opinions that can often strain an organization.
So he wasn't about to be intimidated by the turmoil that preceded him in Anaheim when he took the Angels general manager job in early October.
Jerry Dipoto resigned as GM on July 1 amid renewed friction with Manager Mike Scioscia, a dispute many characterized as a "power struggle" between an analytics-minded executive and a rigid old-school manager.
Three months later, with Scioscia the clear victor and still firmly in place as baseball's longest-tenured field boss, Eppler stepped into the fray with no fear or trepidation. His approach wasn't to "fix" something that was broken. It was to be himself.
"Walking in the door, it's a clean slate, so I wanted to see how people work, how people think," Eppler said last week at the winter meetings. "I wanted our relationship to be really transparent, where we lay all the cards out on the table and have that kind of dialogue together. . . .
"If there's anything that people are carrying with them [from the previous regime], it's not something I need to be involved with. I don't need to play therapist or counselor."
Those are the roles owner Arte Moreno and team President John Carpino played when Dipoto and Scioscia clashed, first over the GM's firing of hitting coach Mickey Hatcher in May 2012 and later over Scioscia's resistance to conveying to the players scouting and statistical information provided by the front office.
There were other disputes between Scioscia and Dipoto, often over roster composition, and Scioscia and former assistant GM Scott Servais didn't always agree on how minor league players should be developed.
When rumors persisted at the end of 2012 that Scioscia, Dipoto or both would be fired, Moreno resolved the tension by retaining both and essentially forcing them to work together.
They seemed to work out their differences in 2014, when the Angels had a major league-best 98-64 record, but the relationship deteriorated this summer to the point where it was beyond repair. Dipoto is now Seattle's GM, and Servais is the Mariners' manager.
Scioscia and Eppler appear to have the beginnings of a more harmonious relationship. The two have spoken in person or by phone -- usually during Eppler's long morning commute from Laguna Beach to Anaheim -- almost every day since Eppler got the job, and a mutual respect seems to be developing.
"He's so easy to talk to -- he's a great communicator," Scioscia said of Eppler. "He's one of those guys who has that 25th hour in the day. I don't know where he gets his time and energy.
