Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
Haven't read the entire thread, but this one sums up my feelings. This is not business as usual for the Reds. It indicates that Castellini wants to win very soon. Dusty isn't the type you hire to build for 2015.
Smart people learn from their mistakes. Dusty has managed in the big leagues for many years and I think he's a smart person who will avoid some of his mistakes. Krivsky is very protective of his young players and I'm sure this point has been made to Dusty.
I've wanted a name manager for a long time because the Reds often hire guys who, it seems, are "just happy to be there." So I can't complain about hiring Dusty.
I like the message Castellini is sending here. No more "business as usual." Hope Cast, Kriv, and Dusty now produce some good results.
I fail to see the hyperbole in this:
The traditional approach can work just like the wishbone offense can in college football. More and more though, the traditional approach in baseball is being made ineffective by innovation. Can the traditional approach work? Sure. Will it have the greatest chance of working, IMHO, nope. BTW, when was the last time the Airforce academy made a bowl game?it seems clearer that the Reds are more apt to chase a more traditional approach which at least IMHO, is full of inefficiencies that many smart clubs have recognized and begun to exploit expertly.
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
Innovation? MLB is back to post WWII baseball--big markets buying whomever they want and using the rest of the league for the minors, a few upstarts every year, the powers saying its fair, station to station offensive dominated baseball, with a pitching era correction in the offing now that the steroids scandal is full blown. You can already see some speed and D styles starting to surface again. Expect the International Draft to be the next "balance" solution in the same way that the reverse order draft came about in the 60s. Oh, and one of the cruddiest eras for the Reds, with an exciting offense, a slugger, and no pitching.
Not everyone has to do exactly as you would have them do. Plus, if they all did the same thing, it would create new blind spots (which Billy Beane would only be too happy to exploit).
Can the traditional approach work? Golly, I don't know. Ask the Cardinals, Tigers, White Sox, Astros, Marlins, Angels, Giants and D-Backs, all of whom have made the World Series this century with a significant traditional bent (though some have blended traditional with new school because the world isn't black and white). Ask the Braves and Twins if the traditional approach can net you any results.
From 1997-2004, the Giants had eight straight winning campaigns, three division titles, a wild card and a World Series appearance. They averaged 92.25 wins a year during that stretch. Dusty Baker was their manager seven of those eight seasons. Can it work? Good Lord.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
This is a chicken/egg debate. Are they good because they've been in place together that long or are they in place together that long because they're good? I tend to think its the latter and that the former doesn't make being good automatic.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Interesting quote from Aaron Harang on the hiring.
"I think he's definitely going to get a change of attitude and get the players to play for him."
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
Interesting, from the normally quiet Harang.Interesting quote from Aaron Harang on the hiring.
"I think he's definitely going to get a change of attitude and get the players to play for him."
School's out. What did you expect?
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
I see I now have an "official" email from the Reds. Here's the photo, folks:
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
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