Accountability?

[Ron Madden]

This is from Lance McAlister 700WLW

Accountability

“Accountability” is such a buzz word with fans.
I assume because it’s easy to say it’s lacking when they have no idea how/what form it comes in.

Each time I ask if fans want a player benched, it’s only the ‘bad’ player they want benched.

So what do you want “accountability” to look like?
Public scolding by Bell?

Nose pressed again locker in corner?

Paycheck withheld?

What do you want Bell to do to show you accountability?

[mth123]

This is from Lance McAlister 700WLW

Accountability

It's ridiculous. Every time a guy strikes out or makes an error or throws a fat one over the plate to get crushed, the first thing people do is blame the hitting coach, the pitching coach or the Manager. Sometimes players fail and some who suck fail frequently. No amount of Coaching is going to keep a guy who sucks from sucking. It's up to Krall to provide better alternatives. The ones this team has are injured and many are guys who don't belong in the big leagues. Look at how many guys have an On Base percentage below .300. It's well over half the team including guys on the injured list and in the minors that they've already tried.

Here is the list:

Hurtubise .297
France .294
Espinal .289
Fairchild .289
Candelario .279
Benson .277
Martini .272
Maile .266
Capel .250
CES .220
Marte .217
Rios .200
Slater .190
Ford .177
Dunn .150
Thompson .111
Jordan .091
Soto .000
Yang .000

They have to piece together an offense out of who is healthy and available from India, EDLC, Fraley, Stephenson, Steer and Friedl and even Fraley, Stephenson, Steer and Friedl are barely acceptable as bottom of the order guys with OBPs below .330 yet most of the time are hitting in the 3 through 6 spots in the line-up every day because there just aren't quality alternatives. To make it worse, Fraley is only usable against RHP and has missed a lot of time with injury and family issues and Stephenson needs to frequently sit because he's a Catcher. McLain will help when he's fully healthy. I seriously doubt that CES will and I'm more optimistic about Marte but still pretty skeptical. BTW, 4 of the 5 most expensive position players on the roster are on that list, Candy, France, Maile and Espinal.

It's not the hitting coach or the Manager. It's not a lack of a team leader to hold people accountable (though that might help in other areas). It's not lack of having a player's only meeting or a kangaroo court. It's simply a lack of quality personnel.

[BCubb2003]

I think it’s possible to express urgency without throwing anyone under the team bus. That’s what Larkin was trying to do. I’m not against Bell, but he does sound passive at times. “We couldn’t get anything going,” doesn’t covey any urgency. “How we’re playing is unacceptable,” would be better. “We’re erratic on offense, sweeping the Cardinals and playing like we have against the Royals, averaging 6 runs a game against the Cardinals and 1 a game against the Royals. We need to figure it out, look at lineups, matchups, everything.”

[mth123]

I think it’s possible to express urgency without throwing anyone under the team bus. That’s what Larkin was trying to do. I’m not against Bell, but he does sound passive at times. “We couldn’t get anything going,” doesn’t covey any urgency. “How we’re playing is unacceptable,” would be better. “We’re erratic on offense, sweeping the Cardinals and playing like we have against the Royals, averaging 6 runs a game against the Cardinals and 1 a game against the Royals. We need to figure it out, look at lineups, matchups, everything.”

They are erratic on offense because they don't get on base enough. When they hit HRs they score runs. When it's because it's a pitcher having a bad day, some of the guys who struggle to get on base actually get on in front of those HR and they score in bunches and win blow-outs. It's why the pythag looks good but the record doesn't come close to it. They win blowouts when the opposition's pitcher doesn't have it, but don't get on base enough to score enough against pitchers who are having a decent day so they lose a lot a close games.

[BCubb2003]

They are erratic on offense because they don't get on base enough. When they hit HRs they score runs. When it's because it's a pitcher having a bad day, some of the guys who struggle to get on base actually get on in front of those HR and they score in bunches and win blow-outs. It's why the pythag looks good but the record doesn't come close to it. They win blowouts when the opposition's pitcher doesn't have it, but don't get on base enough to score enough against pitchers who are having a decent day so they lose a lot a close games.

Yes, and Bell should say so, or maybe Krall should do the postgame interviews.

[mth123]

Yes, and Bell should say so, or maybe Krall should do the postgame interviews.

I think expecting a candid evaluation in a televised press conference after the game is unrealistic. You're going to get cliche's, coach speak and maybe a few generalities about injuries and who was/is available and who wasn't. Those are TV shows to help the ratings of the broadcast not a place to get any meaningful information or analysis.

[LiferJim]

1. Admit when your wrong, without making excuses
2. Whether it’s the best player on the team or the worst, sit their butt down for a bit, when they continually make the same mental mistakes
3. Don’t reward bad play with more playing time, at the expense of the team
4. Stop telling the media “we play the game the right way”, when clearly you don’t. Something along the lines of, we’ve got a lot of areas we need to improve upon, would sound a whole lot better.
5. If a player can’t hit above the Mendoza line for a prolonged period, send his butt to triple A, where he belongs. You’re not doing the player or your team any favors by watching him flail away, with a terrible hitting approach

I understand Bell doesn’t make every call and he probably talks with the front office often, about lots of things. I also think given his pedigree, his opinions are taken into consideration, even in regards to players being traded for or roster configuration. Does that mean he gets to completely choose his team, absolutely not, but I think we would be naive to believe he has no say in anything.


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[mth123]

1. Admit when your wrong, without making excuses
2. Whether it’s the best player on the team or the worst, sit their butt down for a bit, when they continually make the same mental mistakes
3. Don’t reward bad play with more playing time, at the expense of the team
4. Stop telling the media “we play the game the right way”, when clearly you don’t. Something along the lines of, we’ve got a lot of areas we need to improve upon, would sound a whole lot better.
5. If a player can’t hit above the Mendoza line for a prolonged period, send his butt to triple A, where he belongs. You’re not doing the player any favors by watching him flail away, with a terrible hitting approach

I understand Bell doesn’t make every call and he probably talks with the front office often, about lots of things. I also think given his pedigree, his opinions are taken into consideration, even in regards to players being traded for or roster configuration. Does that mean he gets to completely choose his team, absolutely not, but I think we would be naive to believe he has no say in anything.


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Of course he has a say, but it's a secondary consideration. I'm sure if they did everything he wanted we'd have Juan Soto hitting 3rd. The biggest consideration is money and then it's up to Krall to put a team together with the money available. He's failed miserably at that. Bell makes a lot of mistakes, but if he did everything perfectly, I doubt the record would be much different than it is.

Want a better record? Get better players.

[LeatherPants]

Yes, and Bell should say so, or maybe Krall should do the postgame interviews.

Why anyone would watch these post game interviews is beyond me.

[Roy Tucker]

I’m not that enamored with Bell and if they want to replace him, that’s fine. I don’t think it matters much.

But it’s an enterprise-wide problem. I have very little faith in any company headed up by Phil Castellini. He has no qualifications to run a team besides his dad owns it. The quality of his organization and people running it is mediocre at best (compared to the competition). And with a tight budget and money poorly spent, they just aren’t competitive with the big boys. Besides the team getting sold, we might get a smattering of bright spots but not enough to connect the dots for any meaningful winning. I am not optimistic. I just see more of the same on the horizon.

[Coopdaddy67]

1. Admit when your wrong, without making excuses
2. Whether it’s the best player on the team or the worst, sit their butt down for a bit, when they continually make the same mental mistakes
3. Don’t reward bad play with more playing time, at the expense of the team
4. Stop telling the media “we play the game the right way”, when clearly you don’t. Something along the lines of, we’ve got a lot of areas we need to improve upon, would sound a whole lot better.
5. If a player can’t hit above the Mendoza line for a prolonged period, send his butt to triple A, where he belongs. You’re not doing the player any favors by watching him flail away, with a terrible hitting approach

I understand Bell doesn’t make every call and he probably talks with the front office often, about lots of things. I also think given his pedigree, his opinions are taken into consideration, even in regards to players being traded for or roster configuration. Does that mean he gets to completely choose his team, absolutely not, but I think we would be naive to believe he has no say in anything.

They aren't going to bench Elly De La Cruz because he makes a couple errors. He's their most valuable all-around player and the more innings/ABs he gets to grow, the better.

I guarantee you that Bell has little to no say in terms of roster configuration. If he did, they wouldn't have signed some of the guys they have over the years. I doubt Bell envisions a lineup on a regular basis where half the players are playing out of their natural positions. That's a GM/front office signing guys and expecting the manager to "figure it out".

[JCM11]

Accountability is for teams that are actually trying to win. This is an organization that uses the trade deadline to promote their nepotism hires, and give them contract extensions.

[LiferJim]

Of course he has a say, but it's a secondary consideration. I'm sure if they did everything he wanted we'd have Juan Soto hitting 3rd. The biggest consideration is money and then it's up to Krall to put a team together with the money available. He's failed miserably at that. Bell makes a lot of mistakes, but if he did everything perfectly, I doubt the record would be much different than it is.

Want a better record? Get better players.

I agree that Krall has failed miserably and should be replaced, but I don’t believe he’s the only problem. Apparently ownership doesn’t hold anyone accountable, including himself.


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[LiferJim]

They aren't going to bench Elly De La Cruz because he makes a couple errors. He's their most valuable all-around player and the more innings/ABs he gets to grow, the better.

I guarantee you that Bell has little to no say in terms of roster configuration. If he did, they wouldn't have signed some of the guys they have over the years. I doubt Bell envisions a lineup on a regular basis where half the players are playing out of their natural positions. That's a GM/front office signing guys and expecting the manager to "figure it out".

I never said anything about benching anyone for errors, unless you’re referring to mental errors.

I respectfully disagree about Bell having little to no say about anything, given his resume. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to adhere to the financial restraints, but I’m sure he is consulted quite often when the roster is being constructed.


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[westofyou]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/570...ounsell-teams/

Walking into the manager’s office, it’s difficult to tell whether the Chicago Cubs just won or lost. Craig Counsell goes over the key moments from the game in a matter-of-fact tone. He doesn’t bury the third baseman who made an error or rip the umpire for missing a third strike. He credits the opponent for hitting good pitches. He follows a leading question about how at least the Cubs rallied and made the other team bring in its closer. The postgame media session is over in 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

That Monday night scene at Progressive Field was typical. With Shota Imanaga on the mound and a chance to finally get back to .500, the Cubs scored eight runs and still lost a one-run game against the Cleveland Guardians. For months, Counsell has acknowledged that the Cubs put themselves in a difficult position with little margin for error, and maintained the same steady demeanor. Once the reporters leave the room, though, the manager must be stewing.

“Look, I try to do things that will help us the next day,” Counsell said. “So ‘stewing’ – I’m not sure that helps us the next day.”

Counsell chuckled to himself and continued.

“You got to move on from the results,” he said. “You move to the next day. Good or bad, that’s what the next thing to focus on is. That’s what’s going to help us moving forward. You take moments from the game that you hope you can use to teach with. But after that, it’s time to move on.

“When you let the chance slip away, it doesn’t feel good. But it doesn’t knock you down. You’re ready to go the next day.”