Perhaps we should wait until we have actual results, like a winning season, but maybe it's good to track this as we go. Walt Jocketty has had about the same amount of time or less than Wayne Krivsky and Dan O'Brien had, yet seems to have the organization in much better shape. What did he do differently? If you wanted to replicate a GM who's successful in a short amount of time for a struggling small-market team, what could you take from Jocketty's strategy so far?
What he's done the best is gather and collect the jewels from his predecessors and hide under his desk when Cast was looking to stop the losing.
That's pretty much it. Most of the heavy lifting was done. Jocketty avoided panic trades. I'd also add he avoided the temptation to dump guys with big salaries just because they have big salaries. While I think he might have traded Harang, Arroyo or Cordero if the package had been right, he did the right thing and held them when he didn't get a good offer. He also understood the value of strong veterans and the need for that kind of presence on this team, hence the Rolen acquisition.Originally Posted by westofyou
If the team is in the mix this summer, I expect guys like Alonso, Francisco, Frazier, Heisey and Wood will be on the table to add the right piece. Jocketty knows how to make those kinds of deals.
Walt is a competent GM who knows how to GM. Don't get me wrong the previous two GM's had their strengths, but they didn't see the big overall picture that Jocketty does. Obie was a very good drafter but failed at the major league level. Wayne was a very good talent adviser, but he misappropriate funds and was unable to build a competitive team.
In the last year or so Walt has shown why he has been a successful GM. He lets his draft people draft and lets his LA people concentrate on the LA market. But he knows how to close, how to get things done. The creativity in the Chapman contract is something that I don't think the previous GM's could have done. The much maligned Rolen trade looks better now that he is extended and much of his money is deferred. The why he handled Gomes was impressive and his signing of Cabrera was a nice move as well.
Jocketty will really prove what kind of GM he is over the course of this season. Does he build? Does he rid himself of some bad contracts? Does he move some prospects for good big leaugers? Jocketty has pretty much quietly build/maintained a nice baseball team and now he has the resources, as well as funds coming off the books to build a competitive team.
Yes
http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80573Arms: Head and shoulders better (article from Fay)
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Arms: Head and shoulders better
Reds insider: How crucial is good stuff? Just look at the 2005 staff
February 27, 2010
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - The Reds ended the 2005 season with the worst pitching in the National League.
The club was last in the NL in ERA, runs allowed, complete games, shutouts and saves.
Of the 19 pitchers who ended the season on the roster, 15 are out of baseball.
The starting rotation was Aaron Harang, Brandon Claussen, Eric Milton, Ramon Ortiz and Randy Keisler. Allan Simpson, Chris Booker and Jason Standridge were in the bullpen.
Five years later, pitching, and pitching depth in particular, are no longer a weakness. It's quite the contrary in fact.
"That's what going to be key for us," general manager Walt Jocketty said. "That's a strength we have that some other teams don't have."
The Reds saw signs of the improvement last year. The team ERA was 4.18 - the lowest since it was 3.98 in 1999.
And compared to 2005? The Reds finished last year seventh in the NL in ERA, eighth in runs allowed, fourth in complete games, second in shutouts and eighth in saves.
The Reds did that with a staff dotted with young arms.
Reds manager Dusty Baker has noticed the increase in live, young arms since he took over three years ago.
"Big time," Baker said. "They've had a good draft and good development of those drafts. That's where you learn you're trade and serve your apprenticeship in the minor leagues."
But the transformation goes back further than Baker's three years. And four general managers share in the credit of turning it around after years of patching things together under GM Jim Bowden.
Dan O'Brien had very good drafts in his two years at the helm and re-opened Latin America to the organization. Homer Bailey was drafted on his watch. Johnny Cueto was signed under O'Brien. O'Brien also drafted Travis Wood and Jordan Smith, two young pitchers who probably will make it to the big leagues.
Wayne Krivsky, who followed O'Brien, traded for Bronson Arroyo and Edinson Volquez and signed Francisco Cordero. Arroyo stabilized the rotation. Cordero stabilized the bullpen, and Volquez was the club's best pitcher before being derailed by elbow surgery. Krivsky also brought in Daniel Ray Herrera through a trade and got Jared Burton in the Rule 5 draft.
Brad Kullman, who served briefly as interim GM between Jim Bowden and O'Brien, made the trade for Aaron Harang.
Jocketty, the current GM, has continued to build. He added Nick Masset through trade and signed Arthur Rhodes.
His biggest move was to sign Aroldis Chapman, a 21-year-old Cuban left-hander.
Chapman has wowed people during camp.
The Reds have made a conscious effort to stock arms.
Pitchers like Mike Leake, the Reds' top draft choice last year, and Wood, last year's minor league pitcher of the year, will probably start the year in the minors but they're close to being big-league ready.
"We've got several guys," Jocketty said. "Leake, (Matt) Maloney, (Justin) Lehr, Wood on the verge of being able to pitch up here.
"We've got a lot of quality arms in the system."
You couldn't really say that in 2005.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...oulders+better
I don't think that is what Walt Jocketty and Dusty Baker have said about their predecessors in the article above.
Last edited by Spring~Fields; 03-18-2010 at 01:01 PM.
As others have stated, Walt has been able to concentrate more on the big picture. I think his close relationship with Bob, coupled with a relatively strong sense of job security has allowed him to do so. That is a luxury that his two predecessors likely did not have.
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
I think they are saying that they acquired some good arms. They aren't saying that they did a good job as GM overall.
There is a difference.
And what is the tangible and marked "differnce" without those arms and the ground work and foundation that those before them laid? Even though a winning season remains to be seen.
You could also ask what the difference would be w/o some of those wonderful contracts that were signed.
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!
Yep. For the most part, he is simply trying to complete the build process on an engine with parts accumulated by the previous mechanics while adding his own minor tweaks here and there.
Still not sure what kind of race care we're gonna end up with though. Will the engine hold up for the entire race?
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
DING! DING! DING!
Winner commentary on this one..I do not think he has done anything that Krivsky couldn't an wouldn't have done.
"Sometimes, it's not the sexiest moves that put you over the top," Krivsky said. "It's a series of transactions that help you get there."
That's a stretch.
I'll agree with the couldn't, he was a smart guy, but not so sure about the wouldn't, he really had a different overall philosophy than the one Jocketty currently has.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
There is a lot to be said for having a good collection of work, confidence in your abilities, and putting yourself at the right place at the right time. Jocketty just may have put himself in a nice position with the Reds and I think, with that said, he has the knowledge, experience and ability to turn this franchise into a winner.
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