C. Trent - Talking with Bill James: Part 1

[OnBaseMachine]

Interesting stuff from C. Trent and James. Later in the article James talks about Barry Larkin and why he should be in the Hall of Fame.

CTR: What about Janish do you like?

BJ: Defense. He's going to be a guy that probably doesn't hit .260, but I don't think he's going to make a lot of outs, either. I think he'll be all right in the strike zone. I think he's going to be one of the best defensive shortstops in the next couple of years.

CTR: A lot of people, myself included, weren't completely sold on the Cabreara signing because of Janish's defens.e

BJ: I'm certain the Reds have good reason for what they're doing, but yes, I do think Janish is a player who has a good future in front of him, given the opportunity to play.

Full article:
http://cnati.com/spring-training-201...part-1-001559/

[TheNext44]

Thanks OBM. That's a great interview. Very insightful.

What I found most interesting was James' view on chemstry and leadership skills. Not what I would have expected.

And this quote was very great too.

CTR: Is our understanding of the game - and I see where so many people are trying to understand the game in new ways - do we understand the game any more than we did in 1906?

BJ: No. We don't. Absolutely not. Our knowledge is much larger and our ignorance is much larger. Is one larger relative than the other?

[redsmetz]

I agree it's good stuff. I especially liked this interchange:

BJ: First of all, we have our B.S., too. You can say it's the same problem with saying you want to be sure to have - what was that guy the Red Sox had that outfielder that was crazy guy?

CTR: Milton Bradley wasn't a Red Sox?

BJ: Before Milton Bradley.

CTR: (To Hal McCoy, passing by) crazy outfielder for the Red Sox?

HM: Jimmy Piersall?

BJ: Let's say Jimmy Piersall. OK, that's a good example. It's great to say you want Jimmy Piersall because he's great for your clubhouse.

[blumj]

I'm guessing the original thought was Carl Everett.

[lollipopcurve]

CTrent is on fire.

Great stuff from Bill James, as usual.

[MikeS21]

Hey, did you catch what Bill James had to say about Dusty working his pitchers too hard?

It's the same thing with a manager. It's the same with Dusty and saying he works his pitchers too hard. But show me the clear, definitive evidence that that's true, I don't see. Maybe it's true, but I don't see it.

[redhawkfish]

Thanks for posting this. It was indeed a good read. I was particularly interested in his comments on Janish. I have never been a Janish fan at all, but because of James' comments, I will give Janish more of a look!

[reds1869]

Great stuff, thanks for posting!

[RedsManRick]

James is always an interesting read. For all the theoretics of the new wave of sabermetricians, James' practical approach can be a fun alternative. And his humility is always refreshing.

[OnBaseMachine]

Part 2 is now up on C. Trent's website.

CTR: And then there's Joey Votto.

BJ: Yeah, he's been very good. I didn't really see him coming at all, did you?

CTR: You know, I'd heard of him and heard he was going to be pretty good, but didn't know he was going to be this good. He was all of a sudden really, really good.

BJ: I remember seeing him in spring training a couple of years ago and he was better than the guys who were going to be on the team.

CTR: What about Juan Francisco? Here's a guy who strikes out a ton, doesn't walk, but hits for a decent average. That doesn't seem to be a recipe for success, or at least so far in the history of the game.

BJ: There are always those odd cases of guys who can do that, I'm not saying he has to be Vladimir Guerrero, but Vladimir and Roberto Clemente could do that.

read the rest here:
http://cnati.com/spring-training-201...part-2-001571/

[lollipopcurve]

For all the theoretics of the new wave of sabermetricians, James' practical approach can be a fun alternative.

He keeps it real.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by RedsManRick

James is always an interesting read. For all the theoretics of the new wave of sabermetricians, James' practical approach can be a fun alternative. And his humility is always refreshing.

He's a also a very good writer which certainly helps a lot.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

He keeps it real.

Any statistic the meaning of which can be expressed in understandable terms in a common English sentence is always to be preferred, other things being equal, to one which cannot.

Bill James