TEMPE, Ariz. -- Former Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto, who now holds the same job with the division-rival Mariners, admitted in an interview with MLB Network Radio that "there were times where it was very difficult to do the job that I was asked to do because I was caught in between perhaps two different dynamics" while in Anaheim.
"And I would say the same of them," Dipoto continued on Friday. "I had some different ideas that maybe they weren't as comfortable with. And therefore we end up where we are four years from now."
Dipoto's comments were in no way a surprise and weren't necessarily inflammatory, but it marked his strongest public reference to the communication breakdown he experienced while spending the last four years as the Angels' GM. In Scott Servais, previously one of Dipoto's assistant GMs, Dipoto believes he has a manager "who I do see eye-to-eye with." 
"Fair or unfair, that was not always the case with Mike [Scioscia]," Dipoto said. "And Scott, we talk about it, we cut it up on the floor, we'll introduce it to coaches and scouts and, at the end of the day, I think that's healthy. And healthy disagreement is a good thing, and sometimes in Anaheim, as you saw played out nationally multiple times over the four years, it wasn't quite as healthy."
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Dipoto credited Arte Moreno for being an owner "who never spared any expense in throwing as much money at a roster as he could." He also praised Scioscia, saying he's "very likely to wind up in the Hall of Fame."
Scioscia didn't elaborate much.
"I can only speak for myself," he said when asked to respond to Dipoto's comments. "There are certainly times that you're not going to agree on everything. There were times when the communication was there, maybe times where it wasn't what it could've been. But I'm not looking back."
Dipoto and Scioscia constantly bumped heads over the last four years, partly over the implementation of advanced analytics but largely over influence and power. Scioscia and Servais also didn't get along. And over time, the communication broke down, prompting Dipoto's abrupt resignation on July 1 of last season.
Dipoto and Scioscia haven't talked since, but Scioscia said he doesn't necessarily seek closure.
"It's his opinion," Scioscia said of Dipoto's comments. "I'm not going to speak to it. I just speak for myself. And just speaking for myself, I will say that every one of us worked hard to move forward. I think the fact of us integrating analytics, which we always have, was important to us in some of the improvements we made, particularly on the defensive side. I think Jerry had some impact on that. At times we had good communication; at times maybe it wasn't what it should've been."
Worth noting
• Vladimir Guerrero, Scot Shields, Chuck Finley, Bobby Grich, Buck Rodgers and Shigetoshi Hasegawa will attend Spring Training as guest instructors. They'll each come in for up to a week at a time until March 5.
• Non-roster catcher Juan Graterol remains in Venezuela due to ongoing visa issues. Graterol, signed to a Minor League contract in the offseason, is the only pitcher or catcher who has yet to report.
• Angels owner Arte Moreno declined to comment on stadium negotiations with the city of Anaheim. The two sides have been at an impasse ever since the Angels ended negotiations over the framework of a prior deal in September 2014.