Mike Scioscia reportedly to receive contract extension

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Yahoo.com is reporting that Manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels have agreed in principle to a contract extension through the 2012 season. Scioscia’s current deal, which is believed to pay him about $2 million a year, runs through 2009 and includes a club option for 2010.

Scioscia, 50, has guided the Angels to an 803-655 record in nine seasons and led them to their only World Series championship, in 2002. The Angels have won four of the last five American League West titles but have been eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in the division series in three of those years.

The Angels had a major-league-best 100-62 record last season but lost to the Red Sox in a division series that included Scioscia’s most controversial call of the season, a suicide squeeze play in the ninth inning of Game 4.

With the score tied, 2-2, Erick Aybar failed to make contact, Reggie Willits was tagged out in a rundown between third and home, and the Red Sox scored in the bottom of the ninth to win the series.

But Scioscia has also been praised for getting the most out of his often-limited lineups, employing an aggressive running game that relies heavily on the stolen base and players going from first to third on singles.

-- Mike DiGiovanna