Ridiculous in-game Ron Washington gaffe made the Angels look completely incompetent

As the once-promising Angels' season spirals out of control, manager Ron Washington has put himself at the center of the collapse. April 30th's stunning gaffe against the division rival Seattle Mariners takes the cake as not only the latest, but perhaps the most inexcusable of his missteps this season.

The Angels started the bottom of the eighth in an unorthodox and highly illegal way: with two pitchers on the mound to start the frame. Righty Ryan Johnson trotted out from the dugout intent on starting his second inning of work, while lefty Jake Eder strode in from the bullpen with left-handed hitter J.P. Crawford at the plate.

Per MLB rules, Johnson then had to face a minimum of one batter, the lefty Crawford, before Eder could take over, completely negating the advantage that Washington was trying to exploit.

Washington, 73, is the oldest manager in baseball. He started his baseball career nearly fifty years ago, and is renown for his knowledge of defensive fundamentals as well as his ability to rally and lead a team. However, as this season has unfolded, one has to wonder if the times have passed Washington by.

Ron Washington's latest blunder in the Angels-Mariners game is a sign the veteran manager has lost his edge

Washington entered the season on the hot seat, with some pundits believing the manager wasn't long for the job even after the Halos got off to a hot start to the year. He earned no grace with mercurial owner Arte Moreno for presiding over a franchise-worst 63-99 campaign last season, and his contract is set to expire at the end of the year.

However, rather than coaching like a man fighting for his job, Washington has looked more like an old man yelling at a cloud, focusing on things such as a clubhouse cellphone ban instituted during spring training.

Just days ago, he spit out a doozy, lamenting the abundance of data and analytics as a reason his young hitters are struggling and longing for simpler times when players just trusted their gut.

Perhaps a better explanation for the team's offensive struggles is the coaching staff's inability to synthesize that data and create a game plan for their hitters in order to be successful. Through 29 games, the Angels rank dead last in walk rate at 6.2% and second to last in strikeout rate at 26.6%, showing how easily they're fooled by opposing pitchers.

The two-pitcher misstep would be hilarious if it weren't so sad, and just the latest in a long string of questionable decisions such as sending Ryan Johnson out for a second inning of work on opening day in his first professional appearance, promptly getting lit up and putting a winnable game out of reach, or continually batting backup catcher Travis d'Arnaud fifth, despite him posting a wRC+ of 3 (yes, folks, thats 97% below league-average) on the season.

Washington has deservedly earned a lot of respect around the league for his lengthy and distinguished career. However, it's clear that he's lost his edge and the game has passed him by. The longer he remains employed by the Angels, the longer it will be until the team returns to playing consistent, competitive baseball.

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