Former Red Sox Prospect Murdered. Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson (and former Red Sox prospect) was found dead yesterday on a residential street in a Phoenix suburb after he was shot and apparently run over. Stenson had been playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. (Coverage from the Cincinnati Enquirer and Post and the Dayton Daily News.) A man driving Stenson's vehicle was apprehended two hours later and is being questioned. ...
Terry Francona was interviewed yesterday. The managerial search may last into mid-December. ... The Yankees are interested in Todd Walker (Soriano's range must be even worse than I thought). ... The Hot Hand: (1) Players and teams go on streaks; (2) Announcers and fans often assume some kind of special psychological or physical state on the part of the athletes, such as being "in the zone"; (3) Even random processes with inanimate objects (coin-flipping) can yield occasional long steaks; and (4) hot hand research seeks to determine whether sports streaks are more pronounced than what might occur by chance.
Cowards. When they agreed to spend $87,000,000,000 on the US's continued occupation of Iraq, the Senate decided they didn't want to be held individually accountable, so they went with a voice vote rather than have their votes placed on the record (as they usually do). The Democrats are chronically spineless, unable to oppose the Bush administration on anything without apologizing for their disagreement right afterwards. Don't they realize by now that they'll be tarred with the "unpatriotic" brush no matter what they do, so why not actually be an opposition party? I'm one of millions and millions of Americans waiting for that. It's also clear that (despite claims of continued success) the Republicans don't believe things are so rosy in Iraq either. If they did, they'd jump at the chance to show how they're "supporting our troops." Instead, the voice vote is clear proof that the "progress" reports are lies and no one wants his or her name shackled to this growing disaster. This is, quite simply, an abdication of political responsibility of historical proportions.
The New York Times reports that Iraq apparently tried to negotiate a last-minute deal to avert war last March. Iraq said it "no longer had weapons of mass destruction, and they offered to allow American troops and experts to conduct a search. ... [T]he Iraqis also offered to hand over a man accused of being involved in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 who was being held in Baghdad ... [and] pledged to hold elections." A White House spokesman said the US had "exhausted every legitimate and credible opportunity to resolve this peacefully with Iraq." ... TPM looks for the "ripple": why this story now? ... Awhile back, Time reported that during the same month as the alleged Iraq offer, Bush told a group of Senators meeting with Condoleezza Rice: "Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out." [also here]
November 6, 2003
November 5, 2003
Oakland A's bench coach Terry Francona will be interviewed today. Bud Black is no longer a candidate. ... It looks like Pettitte will file for free agency.
Some questions for the next Red Sox manager:
Question #1: Who is the ideal leadoff man?
A) The fastest guy on the team.
B) The centerfielder.
C) A real good bunter.
D) The guy with the higest OBP.
Question #4: Where do you bat your best all-around hitter?
A) Eighth.
B) Second except when Todd Walker plays, then I bat him eighth.
C) I keep him on the bench until Hillenbrand is traded, then I bat him eighth.
D) First, second or third, as long as he gets a lot of at bats.
Question #5: How would you define the ideal closer?
A) The guy with the best fastball.
B) It depends on the matchup.
C) If a righty is hitting, a lefty, if a lefty is hitting, a righty.
D) Brandon Lyon.
Police Blotter: Friday's preliminary hearing for two Yankees accused of assaulting a Fenway Park groundskeeper will be open to the public. ... Red Sox team physician William J. Morgan has pleaded not guilty to drunken-driving charges.
Some questions for the next Red Sox manager:
Question #1: Who is the ideal leadoff man?
A) The fastest guy on the team.
B) The centerfielder.
C) A real good bunter.
D) The guy with the higest OBP.
Question #4: Where do you bat your best all-around hitter?
A) Eighth.
B) Second except when Todd Walker plays, then I bat him eighth.
C) I keep him on the bench until Hillenbrand is traded, then I bat him eighth.
D) First, second or third, as long as he gets a lot of at bats.
Question #5: How would you define the ideal closer?
A) The guy with the best fastball.
B) It depends on the matchup.
C) If a righty is hitting, a lefty, if a lefty is hitting, a righty.
D) Brandon Lyon.
Police Blotter: Friday's preliminary hearing for two Yankees accused of assaulting a Fenway Park groundskeeper will be open to the public. ... Red Sox team physician William J. Morgan has pleaded not guilty to drunken-driving charges.
USAToday reported this morning that the FBI is "fairly confident" it has identified an al-Qaeda operative who was supposed to be the "20th hijacker" on 9/11, but "had to leave" the US shortly before the attacks. Three law enforcement officials are now denying the report, with one saying "I'm not aware of anyone who has been identified as the 20th hijacker." Hmmm, has this guy heard of Zacarias Moussaoui? FBI Director Mueller might also disagree with that statement, since he himself fingered Ramsi Binalshib was the 20th hijacker.
The final version of the $87 billion spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan is missing provisions the Senate had passed to penalize war profiteers who defraud American taxpayers. Some representatives are making a little bit of noise.
Seymour Hersh: "Last month, the Blade, a mid-sized family-owned newspaper published in Toledo, Ohio, devoted fifteen pages over four days to an exhaustive expose of an elite Army unit, known as the Tiger Force, that spun out of control during the Vietnam War. ... From May through November of 1967 ... the Tiger Force ... murdered hundreds of noncombatant men, women, and children. ... Soldiers collected ears as souvenirs, along with a few scalps and gold teeth. In early 1971, the Blade wrote, these events became known to Army investigators ... But no one was charged, and in 1975 the investigation was quietly shut down. ..."
Where The Wounded Go: Since the combat in Iraq began, the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, has treated more than 7,700 US personnel, including combat casualties, serious non-combat injuries and disease. Time: "While the Air Force has flown 1,513 battle casualties from the Iraqi theater, 9,341 have been flown out for other health reasons, including mental stress."
Confirmation: The president has not attended the funeral of any American soldiers killed in action, White House officials say."
The final version of the $87 billion spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan is missing provisions the Senate had passed to penalize war profiteers who defraud American taxpayers. Some representatives are making a little bit of noise.
Seymour Hersh: "Last month, the Blade, a mid-sized family-owned newspaper published in Toledo, Ohio, devoted fifteen pages over four days to an exhaustive expose of an elite Army unit, known as the Tiger Force, that spun out of control during the Vietnam War. ... From May through November of 1967 ... the Tiger Force ... murdered hundreds of noncombatant men, women, and children. ... Soldiers collected ears as souvenirs, along with a few scalps and gold teeth. In early 1971, the Blade wrote, these events became known to Army investigators ... But no one was charged, and in 1975 the investigation was quietly shut down. ..."
Where The Wounded Go: Since the combat in Iraq began, the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, has treated more than 7,700 US personnel, including combat casualties, serious non-combat injuries and disease. Time: "While the Air Force has flown 1,513 battle casualties from the Iraqi theater, 9,341 have been flown out for other health reasons, including mental stress."
Confirmation: The president has not attended the funeral of any American soldiers killed in action, White House officials say."
November 4, 2003
Tuesday. Former Red Sox shortstop Glenn Hoffman was interviewed yesterday by the Red Sox. Afterwards he spoke with the media, but didn't say all that much (though he was there when Pedro first saw snow). Bruce Allen reads Tony Massarotti (and maybe Bob Ryan) and asks: "Is it just me, or is this the media making themselves the story again? It's like Massarotti is taking pride in the fact that he perceives that the Red Sox are putting their candidates in front of the microphones to assess how they deal with the vaunted Boston Press." No Bruce, it isn't just you. Who really cares what Hoffman said to the media yesterday? I'm far more curious about what went on behind closed doors for nearly 8 hours. P.S. The media never seemed to care much when Grady spouted cliches.
Red Sox team doctor William J. Morgan was arrested for drunken driving over the weekend after state police spotted his swerving Mercedes Benz on a Worcester highway and found bottles of red wine in his car. Morgan, 50, operated on Nomar's right wrist in 2001. ... Aaron Gleeman takes a long look at the free agent market. ... Redbird Nation muses on misery: "Each year 29 teams go home unhappy and one gets to enjoy it all for about five minutes before the speculation begins about whether they can do it again. Misery? Fans need misery. Misery begets hope. Hope generates interest, interest turns to obsession, and obsession turns to ecstasy on those rare moments when it all goes your way. Here's hoping we'll know what that is again, next year." ... Houston traded closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia, which means (in the eyes of many people) the Astros are planning to make a bid for Yankee free agent Andy Pettitte. As much as I can't see Pettitte pitching for any other team, the bidding war, if there is one, could be interesting, especially if it drains cash away from other Yankee pursuits (like Vlad). ... Discussions about Red Sox 2004 payroll and the managerial search. ... And while there is no such thing as curses, if there was, it would be the Yankees who are cursed, not the Red Sox.
IYI*: I'm currently reading Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon" and wishing (at page 330) that there was much more about code-making and -breaking. Other new books in my house: Stephenson's "Quicksilver," Daniel Ellsberg's "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" and David Foster Wallace's "Everything & More: A Compact History of Infinity" (more here and here).
* - if you're interested.
Red Sox team doctor William J. Morgan was arrested for drunken driving over the weekend after state police spotted his swerving Mercedes Benz on a Worcester highway and found bottles of red wine in his car. Morgan, 50, operated on Nomar's right wrist in 2001. ... Aaron Gleeman takes a long look at the free agent market. ... Redbird Nation muses on misery: "Each year 29 teams go home unhappy and one gets to enjoy it all for about five minutes before the speculation begins about whether they can do it again. Misery? Fans need misery. Misery begets hope. Hope generates interest, interest turns to obsession, and obsession turns to ecstasy on those rare moments when it all goes your way. Here's hoping we'll know what that is again, next year." ... Houston traded closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia, which means (in the eyes of many people) the Astros are planning to make a bid for Yankee free agent Andy Pettitte. As much as I can't see Pettitte pitching for any other team, the bidding war, if there is one, could be interesting, especially if it drains cash away from other Yankee pursuits (like Vlad). ... Discussions about Red Sox 2004 payroll and the managerial search. ... And while there is no such thing as curses, if there was, it would be the Yankees who are cursed, not the Red Sox.
IYI*: I'm currently reading Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon" and wishing (at page 330) that there was much more about code-making and -breaking. Other new books in my house: Stephenson's "Quicksilver," Daniel Ellsberg's "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" and David Foster Wallace's "Everything & More: A Compact History of Infinity" (more here and here).
* - if you're interested.
November 3, 2003
Leading Off. Glenn Hoffman is the first interviewee in the Red Sox search for a new manager. Theo: "We're going to try to do more than the typical interview situation in which the guy sits across from you at a desk and answers questions you fire at him. You're not hiring someone to perform well in an interview. You're hiring someone to manage a ball club. ... You don't want to push it too far. You don't want to scare anyone away by having an interview that's too off the wall. But it is fair to be creative and try to simulate group dynamics in the interview process . . . and at least get close to game situations so you can see how he handles quick decision-making with a lot of factors involved."
The House That Dewey Built looks at the Red Sox arbitration cases. ... One of my favorite Baseball Reference pages is this one: progressive leaders -- all-time, single-season and active -- for various stats. For example, Guy Hecker held the single-season record for fewest hits and walks allowed per 9 innings from 1882 to 1999 (6.923); Pedro Martinez set a new record in 2000 (6.636). Also, the 2003 player stats are up.
The Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian notes that the Boeing B-29 was "the largest and most technologically advanced airplane for its time" but omits any mention that the World War II plane carried the first atomic bomb and dropped it on Hiroshima. David Nasaw, a cultural historian at the City University of New York Graduate Center: "You wouldn't display a slave ship solely as a model of technological advancement. It would be offensive not to put it in context." ... Smithsonian Tour Guide: "Here we have this World War II plane. What? Why this one? Uh, we can't say. It's a nice plane, though, huh?" ... Xymphora is on fire this morning.
New York Times Magazine: "It is becoming painfully clear that the American plan (if it can even be dignified with the name) for dealing with postwar Iraq was flawed in its conception and ineptly carried out. At the very least, the bulk of the evidence suggests that what was probably bound to be a difficult aftermath to the war was made far more difficult by blinkered vision and overoptimistic assumptions ... Despite administration claims, it is simply not true that no one could have predicted the chaos that ensued after the fall of Saddam Hussein. ... What went wrong is that the voices of Iraq experts, of the State Department almost in its entirety and, indeed, of important segments of the uniformed military were ignored. ... [T]he fact that it may be turning into a quagmire is not a result of fate, but rather (as quagmires usually are) a result of poor planning and wishful thinking." ... Today's Language Lesson: Out: "Body Bags"; In: "Transfer Tubes"
The Bush administration denied (after six months) California's emergency request for $430 million to clear dead trees from fire-prone areas of Southern California only hours before wildfires roared out of control in what has become the largest fire disaster in the state's history. Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs): "We knew this disaster was going to happen with certainty. It was only a matter of when, and we were trying to beat the clock with removing the dead trees." ... Last week, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said the Clinton and other past administrations ignored evidence of growing terrorist threats, although she neglected to say what the Bush administration had done did in 2001. Blogger Atrios did a Nexus search of all major American newspapers and found no articles -- not even one -- mentioning Bush and al-Qaeda from January 20, 2001 to September 10, 2001.
The House That Dewey Built looks at the Red Sox arbitration cases. ... One of my favorite Baseball Reference pages is this one: progressive leaders -- all-time, single-season and active -- for various stats. For example, Guy Hecker held the single-season record for fewest hits and walks allowed per 9 innings from 1882 to 1999 (6.923); Pedro Martinez set a new record in 2000 (6.636). Also, the 2003 player stats are up.
The Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian notes that the Boeing B-29 was "the largest and most technologically advanced airplane for its time" but omits any mention that the World War II plane carried the first atomic bomb and dropped it on Hiroshima. David Nasaw, a cultural historian at the City University of New York Graduate Center: "You wouldn't display a slave ship solely as a model of technological advancement. It would be offensive not to put it in context." ... Smithsonian Tour Guide: "Here we have this World War II plane. What? Why this one? Uh, we can't say. It's a nice plane, though, huh?" ... Xymphora is on fire this morning.
New York Times Magazine: "It is becoming painfully clear that the American plan (if it can even be dignified with the name) for dealing with postwar Iraq was flawed in its conception and ineptly carried out. At the very least, the bulk of the evidence suggests that what was probably bound to be a difficult aftermath to the war was made far more difficult by blinkered vision and overoptimistic assumptions ... Despite administration claims, it is simply not true that no one could have predicted the chaos that ensued after the fall of Saddam Hussein. ... What went wrong is that the voices of Iraq experts, of the State Department almost in its entirety and, indeed, of important segments of the uniformed military were ignored. ... [T]he fact that it may be turning into a quagmire is not a result of fate, but rather (as quagmires usually are) a result of poor planning and wishful thinking." ... Today's Language Lesson: Out: "Body Bags"; In: "Transfer Tubes"
The Bush administration denied (after six months) California's emergency request for $430 million to clear dead trees from fire-prone areas of Southern California only hours before wildfires roared out of control in what has become the largest fire disaster in the state's history. Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs): "We knew this disaster was going to happen with certainty. It was only a matter of when, and we were trying to beat the clock with removing the dead trees." ... Last week, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said the Clinton and other past administrations ignored evidence of growing terrorist threats, although she neglected to say what the Bush administration had done did in 2001. Blogger Atrios did a Nexus search of all major American newspapers and found no articles -- not even one -- mentioning Bush and al-Qaeda from January 20, 2001 to September 10, 2001.
November 2, 2003
Sunday. Tony Massarotti claims the Red Sox may pay as much as $10 million of Ramirez's salary to get him out of Boston (Sean McAdam has written nearly the same thing). That is insane. There are plenty of teams who would love Manny's production at half price, but there is no way in hell that Boston will allow that to happen. The Red Sox may move Ramirez if an advantageous deal presents itself, but I have a feeling Manny will be Ft. Myers in February. Which is a good thing, because the man is an offensive beast:
Elsewhere: Art Davidson pushes Willie Randolph for manager ... Robert Chabot has written an angry lament -- "Too Long on the Mound (Some Last Words for Grady Little)" -- the opening verse of which reads: "From the Berkshires to Boston, there's a low dyin' sound/Grady left Pedro too long on the mound." ... Bruce Markusen looks at "Yankees Circa 2004"; Larry Mahnken is doing the same, one position at a time.
Lawrence Rocca of the Newark Star-Ledger nails Gump's deficiencies perfectly: "[H]e was a strategic blockhead who trusted his cotton-farmer instincts more than hard statistical data. ... There has been an attempt in some quarters to portray the Red Sox front office as wanting their next manager to be Bill James with a computer in the dugout, which is just stupid media pandering ... Little barely knew basic head-to-head pitcher-hitter matchup numbers. ... To believe the Red Sox fired Little because of that one non-move in Game 7 is absurd. That one non-move was merely the most obvious and damaging example of his anti-intellectual style of managing. ... As for the idea that Little was responsible for the Red Sox's great clubhouse chemistry ... he was the same manager when that room was a snake pit in 2002 ... It turns out Little's dumb act -- complete with Forrest Gump voice -- wasn't an act after all."
Year Ag Tm G AVG OBP SLG OPS LG OPSThe Eagle-Tribune has filed a petition to have the November 7 hearing on whether to issue misdemeanor assault and battery charges against Jeff Nelson and Karim Garcia open to the public. Clerk magistrate hearings are almost always closed to protect the identities of the parties, but as Peter Caruso, the newspaper's attorney, said: "In this particular case, the parties' identities are known to over 30 million people. ... The day after the incident, Jeff Nelson sat in the dugout and told his side of the story. So by no means, should this hearing be done in secrecy."
1999 27 CLE 147 .333 .442 .663 1.105 .798
2000 28 CLE 118 .351 .457 .697 1.154 .800
2001 29 BOS 142 .306 .405 .609 1.014 .766
2002 30 BOS 120 .349 .450 .647 1.097 .750
2003 31 BOS 154 .325 .427 .587 1.014 ??
Elsewhere: Art Davidson pushes Willie Randolph for manager ... Robert Chabot has written an angry lament -- "Too Long on the Mound (Some Last Words for Grady Little)" -- the opening verse of which reads: "From the Berkshires to Boston, there's a low dyin' sound/Grady left Pedro too long on the mound." ... Bruce Markusen looks at "Yankees Circa 2004"; Larry Mahnken is doing the same, one position at a time.
Lawrence Rocca of the Newark Star-Ledger nails Gump's deficiencies perfectly: "[H]e was a strategic blockhead who trusted his cotton-farmer instincts more than hard statistical data. ... There has been an attempt in some quarters to portray the Red Sox front office as wanting their next manager to be Bill James with a computer in the dugout, which is just stupid media pandering ... Little barely knew basic head-to-head pitcher-hitter matchup numbers. ... To believe the Red Sox fired Little because of that one non-move in Game 7 is absurd. That one non-move was merely the most obvious and damaging example of his anti-intellectual style of managing. ... As for the idea that Little was responsible for the Red Sox's great clubhouse chemistry ... he was the same manager when that room was a snake pit in 2002 ... It turns out Little's dumb act -- complete with Forrest Gump voice -- wasn't an act after all."
November 1, 2003
Saturday. The Red Sox will interview Dodgers third base coach Glenn Hoffman on Monday and Angels pitching coach Bud Black later next week. ... Gordon Edes writes "Ramirez probably has about as much chance of being the Red Sox' Opening Day left fielder on April 5 as Grady Little has of being manager." Hmmm, does that mean he'll be the DH? ... The idea of Texas trading A-Rod anywhere looks less likely.
According to the Globe, the Red Sox "appear adamantly opposed to shouldering a portion of" Ramirez's salary if he plays elsewhere. That is good news. I figured management wasn't insane enough to consider paying Manny x millions while he's putting up Hall of Fame numbers somewhere else (and possibly against the Red Sox), but it's always nice to know for sure. ... Also, someone at SoSH posted this quote: "I've asked them to trade me away from Boston many times this summer. I don't like the town, I don't like the people, and the newspapermen have been on my back all year." (Ted Williams, 1940 (which was his 2nd season)
According to the Globe, the Red Sox "appear adamantly opposed to shouldering a portion of" Ramirez's salary if he plays elsewhere. That is good news. I figured management wasn't insane enough to consider paying Manny x millions while he's putting up Hall of Fame numbers somewhere else (and possibly against the Red Sox), but it's always nice to know for sure. ... Also, someone at SoSH posted this quote: "I've asked them to trade me away from Boston many times this summer. I don't like the town, I don't like the people, and the newspapermen have been on my back all year." (Ted Williams, 1940 (which was his 2nd season)
October 31, 2003
Manny Clears Waivers. After spending 48 hours on irrevocable waivers, Ramirez remains the property of the Red Sox. MLB; AP. ... The team did not release a statement, but owner John Henry posted here at 3:02 pm: "We know sometimes it's very difficult having faith in management, especially when information is limited ... Hang in there, the offseason has barely begun."
Countdown. Jeff Moorad (Manny's agent) said he and Ramirez were caught somewhat by surprise by the irrevocable waivers decision, although Moorad did say he's been "holding steady talks with the Red Sox front office for several months." There have also been reports (Gammons and Shaughnessy) that Manny asked the Red Sox to explore a trade (ideally to the Yankees) or putting him on waivers. Perhaps it was the "irrevocable" part that surprised them. Moorad: "He'll be just fine if he's back in Boston next season. He always expressed a desire to play for the Yankees, and in a strange twist of fate, the Red Sox certainly gave him an opportunity to make that happen, although it seems unlikely to me it will. You certainly can't fault the Red Sox for creating a mechanism for that opportunity to come about."
Gordon Edes runs through the few teams that would claim Manny -- Yankees, Orioles, Mets, Dodgers, Atlanta, Phillies, White Sox, Cubs, Angels -- and rules them all out. ... Three Sox players talk. Millar: "Manny is a great player, but if he doesn't want to pull on the same rope as the rest of his teammates, then, you know what, he can go somewhere where he can be happy. We continually hear he's not happy in Boston." ... Burkett: "The guy is one of the greatest hitters in the game. The only problem is, it seems the days of the $20 million contract could be gone for a while. I still find it odd they're willing to give him up for nothing." ... Ortiz: "He always came out and said, 'I want to be traded.' I never asked him what his reasons were. But one thing I'll never understand as long as I'm in Boston is why people criticize the players so much."
There is some disagreement about Manny and his feelings about Boston. Bob Hohler says Ramirez takes media and fan criticism personally (contrary to the oft-peddled image of Space Cadet Manny) and "high-ranking team sources have said he privately complains far more than they would have imagined." Yet Steve Mandl, his high school baseball coach, said: "You'd think that if he ends up back in Boston next season, a thing like this would bother him, but he's not like the rest of us. He doesn't get hurt feelings because he doesn't care that much. If he has a place to go and a game to play in, that's all that matters to Manny." Moorad agrees, and has previously dismissed reports of any unhappiness, yet Ortiz, Ramirez's closest friend on the team, says Manny "always" wanted to be traded.
The New York Post claims "Boston sources" are saying the Red Sox would like to swing a three-way trade that would bring Alex Rodriguez to Fenway and send Nomar Garciaparra to an unidentified (West Coast?) third team. The Rangers would acquire Casey Fossum and other players from the team that gets Nomar. The Post adds: "The Red Sox are fed up with both Garciaparra and Ramirez." ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram also reports that the Rangers and Red Sox have spoken about a possible deal. One source said any talk of Texas trading Rodriguez was "very premature" and another source estimated the possibility of a trade at about "20 percent." One possible deal would be Garciaparra and prospects for Rodriguez. ... One Rangers official commented privately that he expects Rodriguez to be playing for another team next season.
New York coverage of Manny: Times, Daily News (and here), Post (and here) and Newsday (and here). ... Also, the Los Angeles Times.
Michael Gee writes in the Herald: "The Red Sox' decision to put Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers is an idea that tests the boundaries of weird. It strongly suggests the Boston franchise has cast planning to the wind and blindly is flailing about in the aftermath of a difficult defeat." ... Gee is either disingenious or he's trying to fuel resentment against the Red Sox front office, because if he bothered to read any other coverage, including his own paper, he would understand exactly what's going on. Tim Daloisio elaborates: "I find it hard to believe that the Red Sox front office does not have detailed decision trees mapped out on the walls of their offices in Fenway Park with every possible scenario and outcome mapped out. Given that the most likely scenario after having placed Manny on waivers was that he would clear them, one can only hope that this is exactly what the Red Sox wanted to happen, setting off a chain of events that they have mapped out on the ideal branch of their decision tree."
Throughout this whole discussion, the issue of "payroll flexibility" has been paramount. Henry/Lucchino/Epstein believe that not having to pay Ramirez approximately $20 million a season for the next five years would free up money to get players who would presumably add more overall production to the team. Bill Reynolds writes that Manny's contract "hurts the club's ability to go out in the free-agent market and make the team better. ... robbing management of flexibility, negatively impacting their ability to be creative." Clearly, having that money would give Boston more wiggle room, but that only makes sense if H/L/E is set on not increasing the current payroll, now at about $100 million.
With increased revenues from the park, why wouldn't the team be willing to increase its payroll to $120-125 million? If H/L/E are not comfortable paying Ramirez for the rest of his contract (2004-08), then they have to move him now before his skills decline, because when his batting production drops, he's going to be no good to anyone. And various comments in the past week or so bear this out. Lucchino told a Boston radio station "One of the biggest mistakes you can make in management is to fall in love with your veterans" and Theo has mentioned how huge contracts can hamstring a franchise.
Putting Ramirez on waivers shows that they are willing to lose the slugger if it means ridding themselves of 100% of the contract, but because that's not likely to happen, if H/L/E try to trade Ramirez, they'll have to eat a decent portion of his salary. There may be teams that would like Ramirez at $12 million and they are waiting until the deadline passes and then they can approach Boston about a deal. The Red Sox won't know how much they'll have to absorb until the upper-tier free agents have been signed this winter, though the waiver move has established that free-agent salaries will not approach $20 million. Of course, if Boston waits until January and if (for example) they signed Guerrero, they'd likely be at a bigger disadvantage than they are now.
Other stuff: David Heuschkel on Byung-Hyun Kim: "Given that Epstein had his eyes on Kim for a long time, it's doubtful the Red Sox would give up on him ... A team official described the results of a recent MRI on Kim's shoulder as clean. His ego healed the day Grady Little was fired. Kim, who wasn't happy in the bullpen and was in the manager's doghouse, might be the only player on the team who wasn't disappointed to see Little go." I fully expect Kim (who is still only 24) in the starting rotation next season. ... Jim Baker of ESPN notes that Davey Johnson would be "a good candidate for the Red Sox [because] he is one of the first managers to embrace statistical analysis as a helpful tool in running a ballclub. (One of the more amusing things in baseball in the mid-'80s was reading old school writers expressing their outrage at the presence of computers and computer printouts in the dugout. Of course, Earl Weaver had been carrying his famous three-by-five cards with player stats and tendencies on them for years and the only difference between them and a computer printout was the means by which they were generated.)
Gordon Edes runs through the few teams that would claim Manny -- Yankees, Orioles, Mets, Dodgers, Atlanta, Phillies, White Sox, Cubs, Angels -- and rules them all out. ... Three Sox players talk. Millar: "Manny is a great player, but if he doesn't want to pull on the same rope as the rest of his teammates, then, you know what, he can go somewhere where he can be happy. We continually hear he's not happy in Boston." ... Burkett: "The guy is one of the greatest hitters in the game. The only problem is, it seems the days of the $20 million contract could be gone for a while. I still find it odd they're willing to give him up for nothing." ... Ortiz: "He always came out and said, 'I want to be traded.' I never asked him what his reasons were. But one thing I'll never understand as long as I'm in Boston is why people criticize the players so much."
There is some disagreement about Manny and his feelings about Boston. Bob Hohler says Ramirez takes media and fan criticism personally (contrary to the oft-peddled image of Space Cadet Manny) and "high-ranking team sources have said he privately complains far more than they would have imagined." Yet Steve Mandl, his high school baseball coach, said: "You'd think that if he ends up back in Boston next season, a thing like this would bother him, but he's not like the rest of us. He doesn't get hurt feelings because he doesn't care that much. If he has a place to go and a game to play in, that's all that matters to Manny." Moorad agrees, and has previously dismissed reports of any unhappiness, yet Ortiz, Ramirez's closest friend on the team, says Manny "always" wanted to be traded.
The New York Post claims "Boston sources" are saying the Red Sox would like to swing a three-way trade that would bring Alex Rodriguez to Fenway and send Nomar Garciaparra to an unidentified (West Coast?) third team. The Rangers would acquire Casey Fossum and other players from the team that gets Nomar. The Post adds: "The Red Sox are fed up with both Garciaparra and Ramirez." ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram also reports that the Rangers and Red Sox have spoken about a possible deal. One source said any talk of Texas trading Rodriguez was "very premature" and another source estimated the possibility of a trade at about "20 percent." One possible deal would be Garciaparra and prospects for Rodriguez. ... One Rangers official commented privately that he expects Rodriguez to be playing for another team next season.
New York coverage of Manny: Times, Daily News (and here), Post (and here) and Newsday (and here). ... Also, the Los Angeles Times.
Michael Gee writes in the Herald: "The Red Sox' decision to put Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers is an idea that tests the boundaries of weird. It strongly suggests the Boston franchise has cast planning to the wind and blindly is flailing about in the aftermath of a difficult defeat." ... Gee is either disingenious or he's trying to fuel resentment against the Red Sox front office, because if he bothered to read any other coverage, including his own paper, he would understand exactly what's going on. Tim Daloisio elaborates: "I find it hard to believe that the Red Sox front office does not have detailed decision trees mapped out on the walls of their offices in Fenway Park with every possible scenario and outcome mapped out. Given that the most likely scenario after having placed Manny on waivers was that he would clear them, one can only hope that this is exactly what the Red Sox wanted to happen, setting off a chain of events that they have mapped out on the ideal branch of their decision tree."
Throughout this whole discussion, the issue of "payroll flexibility" has been paramount. Henry/Lucchino/Epstein believe that not having to pay Ramirez approximately $20 million a season for the next five years would free up money to get players who would presumably add more overall production to the team. Bill Reynolds writes that Manny's contract "hurts the club's ability to go out in the free-agent market and make the team better. ... robbing management of flexibility, negatively impacting their ability to be creative." Clearly, having that money would give Boston more wiggle room, but that only makes sense if H/L/E is set on not increasing the current payroll, now at about $100 million.
With increased revenues from the park, why wouldn't the team be willing to increase its payroll to $120-125 million? If H/L/E are not comfortable paying Ramirez for the rest of his contract (2004-08), then they have to move him now before his skills decline, because when his batting production drops, he's going to be no good to anyone. And various comments in the past week or so bear this out. Lucchino told a Boston radio station "One of the biggest mistakes you can make in management is to fall in love with your veterans" and Theo has mentioned how huge contracts can hamstring a franchise.
Putting Ramirez on waivers shows that they are willing to lose the slugger if it means ridding themselves of 100% of the contract, but because that's not likely to happen, if H/L/E try to trade Ramirez, they'll have to eat a decent portion of his salary. There may be teams that would like Ramirez at $12 million and they are waiting until the deadline passes and then they can approach Boston about a deal. The Red Sox won't know how much they'll have to absorb until the upper-tier free agents have been signed this winter, though the waiver move has established that free-agent salaries will not approach $20 million. Of course, if Boston waits until January and if (for example) they signed Guerrero, they'd likely be at a bigger disadvantage than they are now.
Other stuff: David Heuschkel on Byung-Hyun Kim: "Given that Epstein had his eyes on Kim for a long time, it's doubtful the Red Sox would give up on him ... A team official described the results of a recent MRI on Kim's shoulder as clean. His ego healed the day Grady Little was fired. Kim, who wasn't happy in the bullpen and was in the manager's doghouse, might be the only player on the team who wasn't disappointed to see Little go." I fully expect Kim (who is still only 24) in the starting rotation next season. ... Jim Baker of ESPN notes that Davey Johnson would be "a good candidate for the Red Sox [because] he is one of the first managers to embrace statistical analysis as a helpful tool in running a ballclub. (One of the more amusing things in baseball in the mid-'80s was reading old school writers expressing their outrage at the presence of computers and computer printouts in the dugout. Of course, Earl Weaver had been carrying his famous three-by-five cards with player stats and tendencies on them for years and the only difference between them and a computer printout was the means by which they were generated.)
October 30, 2003
Pack Rats. Homer and Langley Collyer lived in a four-story brownstone on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 128th Street in Harlem for much of the 1930's and 40's. According to Franz Lidz: "The elderly Collyers were well-to-do sons of a prominent Manhattan gynecologist and an opera singer. Homer had been Phi Beta Kappa at Columbia, where he earned his degree in admiralty law. Langley was a pianist who had performed at Carnegie Hall. The brothers had moved to Harlem in 1909 when they were in their 20's and the neighborhood was a fashionable, and white, suburb of Manhattan. They became more and more reclusive as the neighborhood went shabby on them, booby-trapping their home with midnight street pickings and turning it into a sealed fortress of ephemera, 180 tons of it by the end." ... Last year, I did some preliminary research centering on March 1947, when city authorities began emptying out the house following reports of the death of one of the brothers, with the idea of possibly writing a book. But Lidz has already done that; "Ghosty Men: The Strange but True Story of the Collyer Brothers, New York's Greatest Hoarders" has just been published.
Yankees Not Interested. An industry source told Gordon Edes of the Globe that the Yankees have "absolutely no interest whatsoever'' in picking up Ramirez off waivers. Teams have until 2 p.m. Friday to make a claim; other teams said to have an interest include the Dodgers, Tampa Bay, Baltimore and the Mets. ... Buster Olney reports the same thing. But why is Manny listed as the Diamondbacks 3B?
Mannyball. What I think the Red Sox are thinking is similar to what Billy Beane tried to do when Jason Giambi left Oakland as a free agent after 2001. Moneyball gets into it on page 141:
"The A's front office realized right away, of course, that they couldn't replace Jason Giambi with another first baseman just like him. There wasn't another first baseman just like him and if there were they couldn't have afforded him and in any case that's not how they thought about the holes they had to fill. 'The important thing is not to recreate the individual,' Billy Beane would later say. 'The important thing is to recreate the aggregate.' He coudn't and wouldn't find another Jason Giambi; but he could find the pieces of Giambi he could least afford to be without, and buy them for a tiny fraction of the cost of Giambi himself."
Like replacing Giambi, replacing Manny would have little to do with foot speed and fielding ability. What Boston would have to replace is the OBP and SLG. Or, I suppose, improve the pitching staff to such a degree that the amount of offense needed to be replaced would be less. That could be done by getting 2-3 players with less-than-household names for less than $20 million. ... I still don't like this idea -- it's a huge gamble (signing any free agents is aways off; teams are forbidden to talk to anyone until mid-November) and I want Manny to stay in Boston -- but it does make a certain amount of sense from a financial standpoint.
And, from the main SoSH discussion:
12:43 pm: "Supposedly word out of [New York sports radio station] WFAN is that George has given the orders to claim Manny, stay tuned."
"The A's front office realized right away, of course, that they couldn't replace Jason Giambi with another first baseman just like him. There wasn't another first baseman just like him and if there were they couldn't have afforded him and in any case that's not how they thought about the holes they had to fill. 'The important thing is not to recreate the individual,' Billy Beane would later say. 'The important thing is to recreate the aggregate.' He coudn't and wouldn't find another Jason Giambi; but he could find the pieces of Giambi he could least afford to be without, and buy them for a tiny fraction of the cost of Giambi himself."
Like replacing Giambi, replacing Manny would have little to do with foot speed and fielding ability. What Boston would have to replace is the OBP and SLG. Or, I suppose, improve the pitching staff to such a degree that the amount of offense needed to be replaced would be less. That could be done by getting 2-3 players with less-than-household names for less than $20 million. ... I still don't like this idea -- it's a huge gamble (signing any free agents is aways off; teams are forbidden to talk to anyone until mid-November) and I want Manny to stay in Boston -- but it does make a certain amount of sense from a financial standpoint.
And, from the main SoSH discussion:
12:43 pm: "Supposedly word out of [New York sports radio station] WFAN is that George has given the orders to claim Manny, stay tuned."
Manny. Reports in the New York Times, Herald, Globe, Projo, Courant and MLB. ... Peter Gammons: "Ramirez talked to the club at the end of the season and expressed that while he likes the Red Sox and Boston, he wouldn't mind seeing what there was in a trade, with his home (New York) an enticing option." ... Rob Neyer lays out his reasons why the Yankees would not (and probably will not) grab Ramirez.
While there is not much to do but wait until the waiver deadline of midnight Friday, there is plenty of discussion here and here and here and here and here. ... Earlier this morning, Art Martone posted this: "It's patently obvious -- and I'm saying this in the absolute knowledge that this is true -- that the view held of Manny Ramirez in the executive suite (and the clubhouse) is very different than the view held of Manny Ramirez by most of the fans. When "throatgate" occured in late August/early September, many media outlets -- including ours -- reported that this incident was merely the tip of a very large Ramirez iceburg. [And we don't pretend to know all, or even most, of what went on ... we heard, and were told, enough to believe that it was true.]"
Ramirez has five years and $104 million remaining on his contract. He is scheduled to earn $20.5 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, $19 million in 2006, $18 million in 2007 and $20 million in 2008. His club options for 2009 and 2010 are each worth $20 million.
I was in shock last night, but now I realize I have to take a deep breath and wait and see. No one from the Red Sox (or Manny himself) have offered any comment at all, and what the Red Sox roster looks like on April 1 is more important than what it looks like on November 1. I would hate to lose Ramirez as a hitter, but I also understand what the Red Sox are trying to do (or hope to do). None of their moves to date have given me reason to doubt their desire to win a championship. They have not done anything impulsive or without thinking through the implications within the American League; the possible fallout with the fans is a distant concern. So while it wasn't the best timing (on the same day tickets prices are raised and Elias named Ramirez as the second best player in baseball in 2003), I'll reserve comment until the deadline has passed. One thing is for sure -- this got Gump off the sports pages in a hurry! ... The Red Sox also announced a tentative schedule for 2004.
While there is not much to do but wait until the waiver deadline of midnight Friday, there is plenty of discussion here and here and here and here and here. ... Earlier this morning, Art Martone posted this: "It's patently obvious -- and I'm saying this in the absolute knowledge that this is true -- that the view held of Manny Ramirez in the executive suite (and the clubhouse) is very different than the view held of Manny Ramirez by most of the fans. When "throatgate" occured in late August/early September, many media outlets -- including ours -- reported that this incident was merely the tip of a very large Ramirez iceburg. [And we don't pretend to know all, or even most, of what went on ... we heard, and were told, enough to believe that it was true.]"
Ramirez has five years and $104 million remaining on his contract. He is scheduled to earn $20.5 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, $19 million in 2006, $18 million in 2007 and $20 million in 2008. His club options for 2009 and 2010 are each worth $20 million.
I was in shock last night, but now I realize I have to take a deep breath and wait and see. No one from the Red Sox (or Manny himself) have offered any comment at all, and what the Red Sox roster looks like on April 1 is more important than what it looks like on November 1. I would hate to lose Ramirez as a hitter, but I also understand what the Red Sox are trying to do (or hope to do). None of their moves to date have given me reason to doubt their desire to win a championship. They have not done anything impulsive or without thinking through the implications within the American League; the possible fallout with the fans is a distant concern. So while it wasn't the best timing (on the same day tickets prices are raised and Elias named Ramirez as the second best player in baseball in 2003), I'll reserve comment until the deadline has passed. One thing is for sure -- this got Gump off the sports pages in a hurry! ... The Red Sox also announced a tentative schedule for 2004.
October 29, 2003
Manny Update. From Art Martone (at 12:10 am): "According to Curry, the Yankees are having internal discussions as to whether or not they should claim Ramirez. Curry also quotes several unnamed major league executives who are puzzled by the move, other than to say the Sox must be extremely anxious to get out from under Ramirez' contract. Sean McAdam's story should be posted on projo.com in about an hour. We've only spoken briefly and I'm not sure how much of what he told me is on the record. (Which is to say, I'm unsure about how much of what he was told is on the record.) But it *is* true, and the Sox are willing to let Ramirez go if someone claims him. (And, just to make it absolutely clear, if no one claims him then Ramirez stays with the Sox. They could, theoretically, release him, but dumping the contract is one of the reasons behind all this then releasing him makes zero sense.)" ... Right now at projo, there is a photo caption (under a photo that is not Manny) that reads: "Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez has worn out his welcome with Boston management, who are eager to dump his salary to use for other free-agent talent."
Red Sox Place Manny Ramirez On Irrevocable Waivers. At 10:35 this evening, Art Martone, the sports editor of the Providence Journal, posted this to Sons of Sam Horn: "The New York Times just moved a story, by Jack Curry, that says the Red Sox have placed Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers. ... What it means -- if the story's true -- is that if another team claims him before Friday, they own him, contract and all. If no one claims him, the Sox still retain him. But irrevocable means that the Sox can't pull him back if someone claims him. They're not doing this to gauge trade interest, in other words; they're doing it, apparently, to get out from under the contract." Fifteen minutes later, Art posted that the story was accurate. ... I'm in shock. There are few teams which have the $$ to claim Manny and one of them lost the World Series to Florida.
Gordon Edes Chat Notes. The Boston Globe writer held a live chat Wednesday at Sons of Sam Horn after answering questions submitted beforehand (transcript). Some of his comments:
"Grady insists that there was a consensus in the dugout prior to his [Pedro's] going to the mound in the eighth. ... I am told on very good authority that Dave Wallace's input was to remind Grady to have Embree ready for Matsui if the eighth inning got that far. And Jason Varitek insisted that he expected Pedro to take the hill in the eighth. ... I spoke with one person who was [in the clubhouse] immediately after the game who said it was the most devastated clubhouse he had ever seen. Grady cleared the clubhouse of all but his players and coaches and talked to them for a few minutes ... When we got in there, the place was still dead silent, with Tim Wakefield crying in one corner and Pedro slumped at his seat, dead eyes staring blankly ahead of him. It was tough. ...
"You got to figure they'll look at Millwood and Ponson ... explore trade possibilities for Javier Vazquez, and maybe take another run at Freddy Garcia. But I think they also have great interest in some of the Dodgers' young pitching, especially Edwin Jackson. ... I'd be shocked if Walker is retained. ... [Luis] Castillo would seem to be a likely object of their affections, though one Sox player with NL experience told me he thought Castillo was too soft for this market. ... If the Sox can't get the second baseman they want, they'd move Mueller to second and go after a third baseman. John Henry loves Mike Lowell ...
"They're prepared to let Pedro walk after next season. They'll make him an offer, but it will be short in years and dough, and he'll move on. They will make every effort to sign Garciaparra ... Varitek to me is the heart of this club; they'll keep him through next season ... They'll make an offer to Lowe, but for short years, and risk losing him at the end of next season. Nixon is the puzzle, for me. He had a great year, his trade value may never be higher, and they may think it's easier to replace a corner OF. ... From what I've heard about Dierker, he was even more casual about pregame preparation than Grady. ... Joe Madden intrigues me [as possible manager], Scioscia's bench coach, minor league manager, stats savvy, personable. Personally, I'd get a kick out of bringing in Whitey [Herzog] for a year, with Hoffman as a bench coach, groomed to be his successor. My No. 1 choice, probably would be Leyland, but i think he's too happy coaching his kid."
"Grady insists that there was a consensus in the dugout prior to his [Pedro's] going to the mound in the eighth. ... I am told on very good authority that Dave Wallace's input was to remind Grady to have Embree ready for Matsui if the eighth inning got that far. And Jason Varitek insisted that he expected Pedro to take the hill in the eighth. ... I spoke with one person who was [in the clubhouse] immediately after the game who said it was the most devastated clubhouse he had ever seen. Grady cleared the clubhouse of all but his players and coaches and talked to them for a few minutes ... When we got in there, the place was still dead silent, with Tim Wakefield crying in one corner and Pedro slumped at his seat, dead eyes staring blankly ahead of him. It was tough. ...
"You got to figure they'll look at Millwood and Ponson ... explore trade possibilities for Javier Vazquez, and maybe take another run at Freddy Garcia. But I think they also have great interest in some of the Dodgers' young pitching, especially Edwin Jackson. ... I'd be shocked if Walker is retained. ... [Luis] Castillo would seem to be a likely object of their affections, though one Sox player with NL experience told me he thought Castillo was too soft for this market. ... If the Sox can't get the second baseman they want, they'd move Mueller to second and go after a third baseman. John Henry loves Mike Lowell ...
"They're prepared to let Pedro walk after next season. They'll make him an offer, but it will be short in years and dough, and he'll move on. They will make every effort to sign Garciaparra ... Varitek to me is the heart of this club; they'll keep him through next season ... They'll make an offer to Lowe, but for short years, and risk losing him at the end of next season. Nixon is the puzzle, for me. He had a great year, his trade value may never be higher, and they may think it's easier to replace a corner OF. ... From what I've heard about Dierker, he was even more casual about pregame preparation than Grady. ... Joe Madden intrigues me [as possible manager], Scioscia's bench coach, minor league manager, stats savvy, personable. Personally, I'd get a kick out of bringing in Whitey [Herzog] for a year, with Hoffman as a bench coach, groomed to be his successor. My No. 1 choice, probably would be Leyland, but i think he's too happy coaching his kid."
If You Read Only One Grady Article ... John Tomase has written what is by far the best summation of Grady's management style, his perceived faults and why he is currently unemployed (and probably will remain unemployed if this article gets any circulation at all).
Both David Heuschkel and Michael Silverman mention Glenn Hoffman (Sox attempted to interview him before hiring Little in 2002), Bud Black (Angels pitching coach), Terry Francona (A's bench coach and former Phillies manager) as three strong candidates. Rico Brogna on Francona: "He's a very personable guy. I think at the beginning, he might even tell you he was a little too player friendly to win over the players. ... He will do statistical analysis. But I think he has such a good feel for the game because of his playing days. He can do a little of everything. He's a tireless worker. His work ethic is phenomenal." Joe Maddon, the Angels' computer-savvy bench coach, is "absolutely" interested in the Red Sox vacancy. "If computers were available when Branch Rickey was alive, he'd have made them popular 50 years ago. ... We take advantage of technology in every other facet of life and we're going to disdain it in sports? I don't get that." ... Silverman notes that "Little remains a possibility for the Yankees' bench coach job, replacing Don Zimmer as manager Joe Torre's right-hand man." I can't tell if he's serious. Can't Gump replace Torre instead? Please?
Hot Stove Logs: Alfonso Soriano for Carlos Beltran? The White Sox say goodbye to Bartolo Colon. ... BlogWatch: Lucchino's comments to WEEI. ... Bronx Banter has several good links and Aaron Gleeman is always worth reading. ... Does God really help Andy Pettitte win baseball games? ... Patriotism at the Ballpark.
From two Boston Herald pay columns:
Howard Bryant: "[T]he biggest reason the fun of 2003 has dissipated is that Sox principal owner John Henry clearly did not enjoy this 95-win journey, and the postscript to the season now contains a revisionist element of the summer. Henry wanted Little out, unhappy with his methods and his lack of reliance on data, and became convinced the team was winning despite the on-field decisions of the manager. When Pedro Martinez was lauded for his gutsy 128-pitch win against Tampa in late September, Henry was furious that his manager would gas his pitcher to beat a 99-loss team. Henry said Martinez would be spent for his next start in Cleveland, and that was Grady's fault. Even when Martinez pitched well against the Indians, Henry could not be mollified, for this was another example of a season's worth of Little costing his team a chance to win today, and more importantly with Martinez, tomorrow. Sources say Henry is now convinced that the high, late-season pitch counts may have weakened Martinez in the postseason. ... the braintrust is still fuming over the June, Jim Thome game in Philadelphia ..."Memo to Braintrust: Me too.
Steve Buckley quotes Rick Burleson (who has managed for 8 years in the Reds minor league system): "[T]hey want a guy who has old-school values, who wants to take advantage of the new technology. I would love to be able to walk into my office and see all that information on my desk every day. Anybody would want to take advantage of all the information that's available now. I have always been very comfortable with the baseball climate in Boston. In a funny way, I was almost glad the Red Sox lost in the playoffs. Because for a long time now I've had this dream that I'm going to be the manager who helps lead the Red Sox to the World Series championship Boston has been looking for for a long time. How great it would be to be that guy."
What Century is this? Nick Cafardo of the Globe asked Cleveland coach Joel Skinner about managing in Boston; after noting the Sox are looking for a "new-breed" type of skipper, Cafardo writes: "Asked if he uses tools such as scouting reports and statistics in his decision-making, Skinner said, 'Sure. It's very important, but there are many tools you use as a manager depending on the situation.'" ... Are scouting reports now thought of as a tool used by new-breed stat geeks? This reminds me of Tony Cloninger proudly telling the media he had no idea how to turn a computer on or off.
Six months ago, George W. Bush spoke on an aircraft carrier deck under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished"; now he claims the White House had nothing to do with the sign. "The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff -- they weren't that ingenious, by the way." (WH) A few hours later, the White House admitted there was a link.
I can't blame Bush for wanting to distance himself from such a stupid stunt (and his flyboy outfit was as silly as Dukakis poking his head out of that tank). This lie has the feel of a child's refusal to take responsibility for anything, however trivial it might be. The best summary of the White House's theatrics was in the New York Times. The entire article is worth reading -- how White House aides spent days on the carrier blocking out camera angles, how they timed the speech so Bush would be cast in a golden evening glow, how crew members wore coordinated shirt colors behind Bush and how the carrier was positioned so the San Diego coastline would not be visible on camera -- but I'll snip one sentence: "White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea ..." The Washington Post agreed: "Aides say the slogan was chosen in part to mark a presidential turn toward domestic affairs as his campaign for reelection approaches."
The Air Force Times: "The White House communications office, well known for the care it takes with the backdrops at Bush speeches, created the 'Mission Accomplished' banner in the same style as banners the president uses in other appearances, including one just a week before the carrier appearance in Canton, Ohio. That banner, with the same soft, brush-stroked American flag in the background and the identical typeface, read: 'Jobs and Growth.' The AFT also provided two pictures:
Both David Heuschkel and Michael Silverman mention Glenn Hoffman (Sox attempted to interview him before hiring Little in 2002), Bud Black (Angels pitching coach), Terry Francona (A's bench coach and former Phillies manager) as three strong candidates. Rico Brogna on Francona: "He's a very personable guy. I think at the beginning, he might even tell you he was a little too player friendly to win over the players. ... He will do statistical analysis. But I think he has such a good feel for the game because of his playing days. He can do a little of everything. He's a tireless worker. His work ethic is phenomenal." Joe Maddon, the Angels' computer-savvy bench coach, is "absolutely" interested in the Red Sox vacancy. "If computers were available when Branch Rickey was alive, he'd have made them popular 50 years ago. ... We take advantage of technology in every other facet of life and we're going to disdain it in sports? I don't get that." ... Silverman notes that "Little remains a possibility for the Yankees' bench coach job, replacing Don Zimmer as manager Joe Torre's right-hand man." I can't tell if he's serious. Can't Gump replace Torre instead? Please?
Hot Stove Logs: Alfonso Soriano for Carlos Beltran? The White Sox say goodbye to Bartolo Colon. ... BlogWatch: Lucchino's comments to WEEI. ... Bronx Banter has several good links and Aaron Gleeman is always worth reading. ... Does God really help Andy Pettitte win baseball games? ... Patriotism at the Ballpark.
From two Boston Herald pay columns:
Howard Bryant: "[T]he biggest reason the fun of 2003 has dissipated is that Sox principal owner John Henry clearly did not enjoy this 95-win journey, and the postscript to the season now contains a revisionist element of the summer. Henry wanted Little out, unhappy with his methods and his lack of reliance on data, and became convinced the team was winning despite the on-field decisions of the manager. When Pedro Martinez was lauded for his gutsy 128-pitch win against Tampa in late September, Henry was furious that his manager would gas his pitcher to beat a 99-loss team. Henry said Martinez would be spent for his next start in Cleveland, and that was Grady's fault. Even when Martinez pitched well against the Indians, Henry could not be mollified, for this was another example of a season's worth of Little costing his team a chance to win today, and more importantly with Martinez, tomorrow. Sources say Henry is now convinced that the high, late-season pitch counts may have weakened Martinez in the postseason. ... the braintrust is still fuming over the June, Jim Thome game in Philadelphia ..."Memo to Braintrust: Me too.
Steve Buckley quotes Rick Burleson (who has managed for 8 years in the Reds minor league system): "[T]hey want a guy who has old-school values, who wants to take advantage of the new technology. I would love to be able to walk into my office and see all that information on my desk every day. Anybody would want to take advantage of all the information that's available now. I have always been very comfortable with the baseball climate in Boston. In a funny way, I was almost glad the Red Sox lost in the playoffs. Because for a long time now I've had this dream that I'm going to be the manager who helps lead the Red Sox to the World Series championship Boston has been looking for for a long time. How great it would be to be that guy."
What Century is this? Nick Cafardo of the Globe asked Cleveland coach Joel Skinner about managing in Boston; after noting the Sox are looking for a "new-breed" type of skipper, Cafardo writes: "Asked if he uses tools such as scouting reports and statistics in his decision-making, Skinner said, 'Sure. It's very important, but there are many tools you use as a manager depending on the situation.'" ... Are scouting reports now thought of as a tool used by new-breed stat geeks? This reminds me of Tony Cloninger proudly telling the media he had no idea how to turn a computer on or off.
Six months ago, George W. Bush spoke on an aircraft carrier deck under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished"; now he claims the White House had nothing to do with the sign. "The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff -- they weren't that ingenious, by the way." (WH) A few hours later, the White House admitted there was a link.
I can't blame Bush for wanting to distance himself from such a stupid stunt (and his flyboy outfit was as silly as Dukakis poking his head out of that tank). This lie has the feel of a child's refusal to take responsibility for anything, however trivial it might be. The best summary of the White House's theatrics was in the New York Times. The entire article is worth reading -- how White House aides spent days on the carrier blocking out camera angles, how they timed the speech so Bush would be cast in a golden evening glow, how crew members wore coordinated shirt colors behind Bush and how the carrier was positioned so the San Diego coastline would not be visible on camera -- but I'll snip one sentence: "White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea ..." The Washington Post agreed: "Aides say the slogan was chosen in part to mark a presidential turn toward domestic affairs as his campaign for reelection approaches."
The Air Force Times: "The White House communications office, well known for the care it takes with the backdrops at Bush speeches, created the 'Mission Accomplished' banner in the same style as banners the president uses in other appearances, including one just a week before the carrier appearance in Canton, Ohio. That banner, with the same soft, brush-stroked American flag in the background and the identical typeface, read: 'Jobs and Growth.' The AFT also provided two pictures:
October 28, 2003
Newspeak. George W. Bush says the surge in attacks on American soliders in Iraq (up to 25-30 each day) is evidence that progress is being made. ... So the more soliders that die, the better things are going? Does that mean that if no Americans were being killed, the US would be failing? If Bush bothered to attend a serviceperson's funeral (maybe between fundraising jaunts), I'd like to see him explain his remarks to that dead soldier's parents. But "Bring 'Em On" Bush has not attended even one funeral. Finally, if more attacks and more death is progress, shouldn't the US stop trying to deter the attacks?
In last Sunday's New York Times, Philip Shenon reported that Thomas Kean, the Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, is prepared to subpoena highly-classified documents that the White House refuses to turn over to the Commission. However, the Times violates Journalism Rule #1: never bury the lead. You've got to read Shenon's entire 1,340-word article to get to this quote from Kean: "As each day goes by, we learn that this government knew a whole lot more about these terrorists before Sept. 11 than it has ever admitted." ... The requested documents include the Presidential Daily Briefings — the summary prepared each morning by the CIA — that Bush received in the weeks before the attacks. The White House refused to provide those reports to House and Senate investigators last year for their investigation of the attacks. Bush has still refused to say if the White House will comply.
One of those CIA briefings, presented to Bush in July 2001 warned that Osama bin Laden was about to launch a terrorist strike "in the coming weeks ... The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against US facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning." ... So with that warning fresh in his mind, Bush left Washington for a month-long vacation -- August 4 through September 3, which would have broken a modern record for a presidential vacation. Cheney was also on vacation for all of August. And John Ashcroft began traveling exclusively by leased jet instead of commercial airlines beginning in late July, citing a threat assessment that has still not been explained. ... In defending the Patriot Act, Republicans say: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." So what's the big deal?
At some point between April and October 2003, the White House added virtually all of the directories with "Iraq" in them to its robots.txt file, meaning that search engines would no longer list those pages in results or archive them. Among the excluded files (a list) are these:
Disallow: /president/fallatwhitehouse/iraq
Disallow: /president/fallatwhitehouse/text
Are these pretzel-related files? ... Howard Dean's blog adds: "Earlier this year, the White House revised pages on its website claiming that 'combat' was over in Iraq, changing them to say 'major combat'."
In last Sunday's New York Times, Philip Shenon reported that Thomas Kean, the Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, is prepared to subpoena highly-classified documents that the White House refuses to turn over to the Commission. However, the Times violates Journalism Rule #1: never bury the lead. You've got to read Shenon's entire 1,340-word article to get to this quote from Kean: "As each day goes by, we learn that this government knew a whole lot more about these terrorists before Sept. 11 than it has ever admitted." ... The requested documents include the Presidential Daily Briefings — the summary prepared each morning by the CIA — that Bush received in the weeks before the attacks. The White House refused to provide those reports to House and Senate investigators last year for their investigation of the attacks. Bush has still refused to say if the White House will comply.
One of those CIA briefings, presented to Bush in July 2001 warned that Osama bin Laden was about to launch a terrorist strike "in the coming weeks ... The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against US facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning." ... So with that warning fresh in his mind, Bush left Washington for a month-long vacation -- August 4 through September 3, which would have broken a modern record for a presidential vacation. Cheney was also on vacation for all of August. And John Ashcroft began traveling exclusively by leased jet instead of commercial airlines beginning in late July, citing a threat assessment that has still not been explained. ... In defending the Patriot Act, Republicans say: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." So what's the big deal?
At some point between April and October 2003, the White House added virtually all of the directories with "Iraq" in them to its robots.txt file, meaning that search engines would no longer list those pages in results or archive them. Among the excluded files (a list) are these:
Disallow: /president/fallatwhitehouse/iraq
Disallow: /president/fallatwhitehouse/text
Are these pretzel-related files? ... Howard Dean's blog adds: "Earlier this year, the White House revised pages on its website claiming that 'combat' was over in Iraq, changing them to say 'major combat'."
Man Versus Machine? There was much more objectivity in the papers today than I expected. A sampling:
Michael Silverman: "According to club sources, some of the problems the Red Sox had with Little were that he did not call upon his coaches for enough input, there was not enough attention paid to offensive and defensive matchups, that game plans were cast aside when the game began, and in the Division Series with the A's, he did not have a meeting with his hitters to go over the A's pitchers. "
Gordon Edes: "The Sox no longer want to discover, to their dismay, that the manager, according to a team source, failed to hold a hitters' meeting before the Oakland playoff series, wasting countless hours of traditional scouting work and sophisticated video and statistical analysis that was done ostensibly to give the Sox an edge. ... It was not Little's managerial style to meticulously anticipate every game situation that might arise, and, armed with the best possible information -- some statistics-oriented, some not -- react to those situations in a manner that would satisfy an owner as mathematical in his world view as a John W. Henry. That is why the Sox are not being dishonest in their insistence that Little was not being cashiered because of what happened in Game 7 of the ALCS. They had reservations that extended back to his first season on the job, which is why they did not exercise his contract option this spring..."
Edes is also the first Boston writer to float the name of Whitey Herzog in print. In the spring of 2002, Herzog was offered the job as Joe Kerrigan's bench coach. "I turned that down because I knew it wasn't going to work. Hell, maybe I should have taken it, I'd have been manager by the end of spring training [instead of Grady]. ... You got a good club there. I thought you had a better team there than the Yankees." Herzog says he'll listen if the Red Sox call. Pick up the phone, Theo.
Michael Holley writes of "irreconcilable differences ... It was never personal. The gap occurred when the manager was gently asked -- and sometimes forcefully told -- how to prepare for games. ... They wanted a curious thinker, a man who never would stop prodding and poking. ... Little listened to his bosses during these sessions, but he is not that kind of manager. If there is a legitimate criticism of him, it is that he should have tried harder to do what they wanted. If there is a legitimate criticism of them, it is that they should have quickly known what he was when they interviewed him."
Bob Hohler: "Principal owner John W. Henry, who believed Little too often made tactical decisions without adequately applying the vast statistical resources the team provided him, 'took the position well before the post-season that the club may need to question a long-term commitment to its manager,' ... The decision cleared the way for a wide-ranging search for a manager who possesses Little's deft touch in handling the players and media in one of baseball's most demanding markets but who also gives greater weight to the volumes of quantitative analysis developed by senior adviser Bill James and his statistical specialists. ... Despite the front office's unhappiness with Little's use of statistics, Lucchino said the Sox are not seeking a slave to computer analysis. 'This is not going to be a stat geeks organization, nor is it going to be an organization run by old salty dog baseball traditionalists,' Lucchino said. 'It's going to be an organization that mixes and matches and has balance and employs all the tools that might be available.'
Gerry Callahan: "The Sox expect to be in the playoffs again next year and the year after that. Grady says he'll be there to haunt them, but the Sox' owners can live with that. They saw him manage in a big game in October. Nothing can be as frightening as that."
Sean McAdam: "Said a club source: 'Grady wasn't fired for one wrong move. He was fired for the wrong way he went about making decisions.' ... Little was often reluctant to incorporate statistical data in making personnel decisions, lineup choices or in-game strategic moves. Additionally, communication with the coaching staff was often lacking, and management expressed dismay that input and scouting reports on players weren't disseminated to coaches."
Steven Krasner mentioned the June 21 nightmare in Philadelphia: "Very often, a game comes down to late-inning strategy. Specifically, how a manager runs his pitching staff is a major factor in the perception of how well he is doing his job. ... all along the way there were many moves made by Little that were of the head-scratching variety. ... One thing Little did often was stick with his starters longer than other managers. ... Little was slow in having relievers get up in the bullpen, generally waiting a batter too long before being able to get a favorable matchup. ... Every manager gets second-guessed. It goes with the territory. Other managers may look better from afar because you don't see each one of the thousands of decisions a manager has to make over the course of a season. But rest assured, if you spent a week with any manager, there would be some head-scratching. In the Sox' view, Little's strategic decisions during a game weren't made by using all of the tools at his beck and call."
Paul Doyle: "Henry and Epstein are unabashed fans of James, known for his unconventional ideas. James does not believe in the traditional use of a closer and values on-base percentage above most other statistics. James also opposes the use of the sacrifice bunt because he does not believing in giving up outs." ... I get the strong sense Doyle hasn't read James. James is fine with sacrificing in specific situations, but not as a knee-jerk reflex. Statistically, the odds of scoring a run with a man on first and none out and a man on second and one out are nearly identical, but after the bunt, you have one less out. And who knew getting on base as much as possible was "unconventional"?
Howard Bryant: "The bottom line in Boston is that men lost out to machines yesterday. The job Little did in massaging the disparate personalities of Ramirez, Timlin, Garciaparra, Martinez, et. al., was to Henry secondary to his refusal to write out his lineup based on the numbers."
Why does it have to be one or the other? Why can't it be both? Red Sox management clearly believes it's possible. Why employ someone who steadfastly continues to rely on only 50% of available resources? Every writer who posits this as man versus machine is doing nothing more than commenting on a battle that isn't being fought.
Naturally, there was some crap (here and here). And all Dan Shaughnessy needed to do was drop in a few quotes from the press conference and then tell everyone that of course -- wink wink nudge nudge -- we all know the Sox are lying. ... Several other writers, including this one, have mentioned McKeon likewise going with his gut in sticking with Beckett in Game 6 of the World Series. There is a big difference. One, Beckett is much younger than Pedro. Two, there is no way McKeon sits on his ass with a Gump-grin on his face as Beckett allows 3 or 4 line drive hits and the Yankees tied the game (or take the lead). No way.
BlogWatch: Bambino's Curse moves back to its original home for the off-season. ... Ben Jacobs takes Adrian Wojnarowski's latest ESPN column apart. ... Dwight's House: "Those evil statheads, run by Grand Poobah stathead Bill James have dispatched another Good Baseball Man. Little will get a job soon enough. ... happily staring into space as his starting pitcher dies on the mound ... That will always be Grady Little's baseball legacy in Boston. Grinning like an idiot, while the world collapses." ... Portland Sox Fan has a question for the writers who are incredulous that if Grady had taken the Red Sox to the World Series, he might still have been replaced: "What happened to Dusty Baker last year?"
The Yankees' off-season will likely be even busier than Boston's. I'd love to stay on top of the New York papers for tidbits, but I doubt I'll have the time. So far, we know Giambi loves porn and Zimmer won't return to the Yankees "even if they wanted to have a day for me." Don Zimmer Day at Yankee Stadium? Yeah, that'll happen. Maybe that tumble on the Fenway turf did screw him up after all. And one Yankee player blasted Giambi for not starting Game 5. Because this player apparently was with the Yankees in 1996 and 2003, it has to be Jeter, Williams, Pettitte, Nelson or Rivera.
Michael Silverman: "According to club sources, some of the problems the Red Sox had with Little were that he did not call upon his coaches for enough input, there was not enough attention paid to offensive and defensive matchups, that game plans were cast aside when the game began, and in the Division Series with the A's, he did not have a meeting with his hitters to go over the A's pitchers. "
Gordon Edes: "The Sox no longer want to discover, to their dismay, that the manager, according to a team source, failed to hold a hitters' meeting before the Oakland playoff series, wasting countless hours of traditional scouting work and sophisticated video and statistical analysis that was done ostensibly to give the Sox an edge. ... It was not Little's managerial style to meticulously anticipate every game situation that might arise, and, armed with the best possible information -- some statistics-oriented, some not -- react to those situations in a manner that would satisfy an owner as mathematical in his world view as a John W. Henry. That is why the Sox are not being dishonest in their insistence that Little was not being cashiered because of what happened in Game 7 of the ALCS. They had reservations that extended back to his first season on the job, which is why they did not exercise his contract option this spring..."
Edes is also the first Boston writer to float the name of Whitey Herzog in print. In the spring of 2002, Herzog was offered the job as Joe Kerrigan's bench coach. "I turned that down because I knew it wasn't going to work. Hell, maybe I should have taken it, I'd have been manager by the end of spring training [instead of Grady]. ... You got a good club there. I thought you had a better team there than the Yankees." Herzog says he'll listen if the Red Sox call. Pick up the phone, Theo.
Michael Holley writes of "irreconcilable differences ... It was never personal. The gap occurred when the manager was gently asked -- and sometimes forcefully told -- how to prepare for games. ... They wanted a curious thinker, a man who never would stop prodding and poking. ... Little listened to his bosses during these sessions, but he is not that kind of manager. If there is a legitimate criticism of him, it is that he should have tried harder to do what they wanted. If there is a legitimate criticism of them, it is that they should have quickly known what he was when they interviewed him."
Bob Hohler: "Principal owner John W. Henry, who believed Little too often made tactical decisions without adequately applying the vast statistical resources the team provided him, 'took the position well before the post-season that the club may need to question a long-term commitment to its manager,' ... The decision cleared the way for a wide-ranging search for a manager who possesses Little's deft touch in handling the players and media in one of baseball's most demanding markets but who also gives greater weight to the volumes of quantitative analysis developed by senior adviser Bill James and his statistical specialists. ... Despite the front office's unhappiness with Little's use of statistics, Lucchino said the Sox are not seeking a slave to computer analysis. 'This is not going to be a stat geeks organization, nor is it going to be an organization run by old salty dog baseball traditionalists,' Lucchino said. 'It's going to be an organization that mixes and matches and has balance and employs all the tools that might be available.'
Gerry Callahan: "The Sox expect to be in the playoffs again next year and the year after that. Grady says he'll be there to haunt them, but the Sox' owners can live with that. They saw him manage in a big game in October. Nothing can be as frightening as that."
Sean McAdam: "Said a club source: 'Grady wasn't fired for one wrong move. He was fired for the wrong way he went about making decisions.' ... Little was often reluctant to incorporate statistical data in making personnel decisions, lineup choices or in-game strategic moves. Additionally, communication with the coaching staff was often lacking, and management expressed dismay that input and scouting reports on players weren't disseminated to coaches."
Steven Krasner mentioned the June 21 nightmare in Philadelphia: "Very often, a game comes down to late-inning strategy. Specifically, how a manager runs his pitching staff is a major factor in the perception of how well he is doing his job. ... all along the way there were many moves made by Little that were of the head-scratching variety. ... One thing Little did often was stick with his starters longer than other managers. ... Little was slow in having relievers get up in the bullpen, generally waiting a batter too long before being able to get a favorable matchup. ... Every manager gets second-guessed. It goes with the territory. Other managers may look better from afar because you don't see each one of the thousands of decisions a manager has to make over the course of a season. But rest assured, if you spent a week with any manager, there would be some head-scratching. In the Sox' view, Little's strategic decisions during a game weren't made by using all of the tools at his beck and call."
Paul Doyle: "Henry and Epstein are unabashed fans of James, known for his unconventional ideas. James does not believe in the traditional use of a closer and values on-base percentage above most other statistics. James also opposes the use of the sacrifice bunt because he does not believing in giving up outs." ... I get the strong sense Doyle hasn't read James. James is fine with sacrificing in specific situations, but not as a knee-jerk reflex. Statistically, the odds of scoring a run with a man on first and none out and a man on second and one out are nearly identical, but after the bunt, you have one less out. And who knew getting on base as much as possible was "unconventional"?
Howard Bryant: "The bottom line in Boston is that men lost out to machines yesterday. The job Little did in massaging the disparate personalities of Ramirez, Timlin, Garciaparra, Martinez, et. al., was to Henry secondary to his refusal to write out his lineup based on the numbers."
Why does it have to be one or the other? Why can't it be both? Red Sox management clearly believes it's possible. Why employ someone who steadfastly continues to rely on only 50% of available resources? Every writer who posits this as man versus machine is doing nothing more than commenting on a battle that isn't being fought.
Naturally, there was some crap (here and here). And all Dan Shaughnessy needed to do was drop in a few quotes from the press conference and then tell everyone that of course -- wink wink nudge nudge -- we all know the Sox are lying. ... Several other writers, including this one, have mentioned McKeon likewise going with his gut in sticking with Beckett in Game 6 of the World Series. There is a big difference. One, Beckett is much younger than Pedro. Two, there is no way McKeon sits on his ass with a Gump-grin on his face as Beckett allows 3 or 4 line drive hits and the Yankees tied the game (or take the lead). No way.
BlogWatch: Bambino's Curse moves back to its original home for the off-season. ... Ben Jacobs takes Adrian Wojnarowski's latest ESPN column apart. ... Dwight's House: "Those evil statheads, run by Grand Poobah stathead Bill James have dispatched another Good Baseball Man. Little will get a job soon enough. ... happily staring into space as his starting pitcher dies on the mound ... That will always be Grady Little's baseball legacy in Boston. Grinning like an idiot, while the world collapses." ... Portland Sox Fan has a question for the writers who are incredulous that if Grady had taken the Red Sox to the World Series, he might still have been replaced: "What happened to Dusty Baker last year?"
The Yankees' off-season will likely be even busier than Boston's. I'd love to stay on top of the New York papers for tidbits, but I doubt I'll have the time. So far, we know Giambi loves porn and Zimmer won't return to the Yankees "even if they wanted to have a day for me." Don Zimmer Day at Yankee Stadium? Yeah, that'll happen. Maybe that tumble on the Fenway turf did screw him up after all. And one Yankee player blasted Giambi for not starting Game 5. Because this player apparently was with the Yankees in 1996 and 2003, it has to be Jeter, Williams, Pettitte, Nelson or Rivera.
October 27, 2003
It's Official. Grady Little is no longer employed by the Boston Red Sox. Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein answered questions for more than 30 minutes at a press conference Monday afternoon. I watched the NESN broadcast via the Web and the Red Sox said all the right things, emphasizing Grady's strengths numerous times and saying they understood the players' admiration and respect for him, but noting that in the end, there was not 100% support for giving Grady the multi-year deal he was looking for. Hopefully, MLB will post a transcript tomorrow.
Lucchino hinted that Grady was told as early as spring training that management had issues with certain aspects of his managerial style and hoped he could integrate the front office's philosophy into what he was already doing. Grady clearly didn't do that; whether he didn't or couldn't is debatable. I believe he never understood some of the progressive ideas the club believed in, starting with bullpen usage. Epstein said he wouldn't discuss the search for a new manager, but noted it would take a while, adding "Maybe we'll have a new manager when my hair grows back from the postseason debacle ... [pause] of my hair."
Lucchino and Epstein said numerous times the decision was not made solely because of Grady's Game 7 goof -- and anyone who watched more than a handful of Red Sox games should know Grady was chronically overmatched in game situations all season. But that won't stop most writers from looking at the number of Red Sox wins in 2002 and 2003 and wondering how Boston could dump such a nice successful skipper over one bad decision. ... But the Red Sox should have won many more games this summer than they did and if a lot of Grady's brain farts hadn't occurred, many of the comebacks that showed the team's resiliency wouldn't have been necessary.
The Herald should be ashamed of two articles it published today, blaming both the front office or the fans for Little's departure. Ed Cossette offers some pointed comments. Also, Bob Hohler of the Globe notes that "though some of Little's lineup decisions were questioned...." By who? Certainly not by Hohler -- or any of the other Boston beat writers/columnists. They gave Grady a free ride all season and would have given him a free ride in the ALCS too, but Grady ended up making a decision so mind-bogglingly wrong, so bone-headedly stupid, so historically inept that even his apologists couldn't look the other way.
Not once was Grady ever asked why he brought in the team's worst relievers into the highest-leverage situations or why he'd send up one pinch-hitter when there were obviously better options on the bench. When Grady's decisions resulted in a blown lead or a stalled comeback, the game stories focused on the players not doing their jobs or the fact that Grady was simply burdened with poor pitchers, etc. Never once did Gump have to deal directly with the results of his own stupidity. [By the way, I have every single article written by the Boston press corps in 2003 on a CD-R, so if anyone can cite chapter and verse of Gump being called on his moronitude, let me know.] ... The media has to keep defending Grady, because if they suddenly start writing about Grady's poor moves costing the Red Sox games all season long, one might reasonably ask: "Why didn't you write about this stuff as it was happening?" The press turned a blind eye to Grady's incompetence in April, May, June, July, August, September and October 1-15, so how could they do otherwise now?
Hohler also points out that while batters hit .221 against Pedro's first 105 pitches this season and .364 on all pitches thereafter, the three-year split is not as drastic and thus perhaps Grady shouldn't be hung out to dry for staying with him. Hohler says the sample size is too small. It is small, but it's small for two reasons: (1) when Pedro is tired and getting lit up, he gets pulled and (2) the Red Sox have made efforts to not overwork Pedro during the season, to both avoid injury and have him rested for possible October play. Here are Pedro's last four seasons:
"One Red Sox player suggested to his agent recently that statman Bill James come down to the dugout, make an IBM manager his bench coach, and install modems in the offices of John W. Henry and Larry Lucchino so they instantly could convey their wishes, instead of having to wait until after the game to question the manager's strategy." ... It must be tough knowing you are a dinosaur and knowing that the old, conventional ways of doing things are changing for good and that you either don't understand the new ways or are afraid of being left behind.
Lucchino hinted that Grady was told as early as spring training that management had issues with certain aspects of his managerial style and hoped he could integrate the front office's philosophy into what he was already doing. Grady clearly didn't do that; whether he didn't or couldn't is debatable. I believe he never understood some of the progressive ideas the club believed in, starting with bullpen usage. Epstein said he wouldn't discuss the search for a new manager, but noted it would take a while, adding "Maybe we'll have a new manager when my hair grows back from the postseason debacle ... [pause] of my hair."
Lucchino and Epstein said numerous times the decision was not made solely because of Grady's Game 7 goof -- and anyone who watched more than a handful of Red Sox games should know Grady was chronically overmatched in game situations all season. But that won't stop most writers from looking at the number of Red Sox wins in 2002 and 2003 and wondering how Boston could dump such a nice successful skipper over one bad decision. ... But the Red Sox should have won many more games this summer than they did and if a lot of Grady's brain farts hadn't occurred, many of the comebacks that showed the team's resiliency wouldn't have been necessary.
The Herald should be ashamed of two articles it published today, blaming both the front office or the fans for Little's departure. Ed Cossette offers some pointed comments. Also, Bob Hohler of the Globe notes that "though some of Little's lineup decisions were questioned...." By who? Certainly not by Hohler -- or any of the other Boston beat writers/columnists. They gave Grady a free ride all season and would have given him a free ride in the ALCS too, but Grady ended up making a decision so mind-bogglingly wrong, so bone-headedly stupid, so historically inept that even his apologists couldn't look the other way.
Not once was Grady ever asked why he brought in the team's worst relievers into the highest-leverage situations or why he'd send up one pinch-hitter when there were obviously better options on the bench. When Grady's decisions resulted in a blown lead or a stalled comeback, the game stories focused on the players not doing their jobs or the fact that Grady was simply burdened with poor pitchers, etc. Never once did Gump have to deal directly with the results of his own stupidity. [By the way, I have every single article written by the Boston press corps in 2003 on a CD-R, so if anyone can cite chapter and verse of Gump being called on his moronitude, let me know.] ... The media has to keep defending Grady, because if they suddenly start writing about Grady's poor moves costing the Red Sox games all season long, one might reasonably ask: "Why didn't you write about this stuff as it was happening?" The press turned a blind eye to Grady's incompetence in April, May, June, July, August, September and October 1-15, so how could they do otherwise now?
Hohler also points out that while batters hit .221 against Pedro's first 105 pitches this season and .364 on all pitches thereafter, the three-year split is not as drastic and thus perhaps Grady shouldn't be hung out to dry for staying with him. Hohler says the sample size is too small. It is small, but it's small for two reasons: (1) when Pedro is tired and getting lit up, he gets pulled and (2) the Red Sox have made efforts to not overwork Pedro during the season, to both avoid injury and have him rested for possible October play. Here are Pedro's last four seasons:
Pitches 1-105 105+ 2000 111- 698 .159 15- 70 .214 2001 77- 396 .194 7- 27 .259 2002 138- 699 .197 6- 27 .222 2003 135- 612 .221 12- 33 .364 4 years 461-2405 .192 40-157 .255There is a bigger difference in 2003, but rather than letting Little off the hook by noting the splits haven't been as bad in previous seasons, Gump actually deserves more blame for ignoring very clear evidence that THIS SEASON, Pedro's ability declined greatly after 105 pitches. Batters hit him like a collective Ty Cobb. And the Pedro we are talking about re October 16 is the 2003 Pedro -- not the Pedro of 2000 or 2001 or 2002.
"One Red Sox player suggested to his agent recently that statman Bill James come down to the dugout, make an IBM manager his bench coach, and install modems in the offices of John W. Henry and Larry Lucchino so they instantly could convey their wishes, instead of having to wait until after the game to question the manager's strategy." ... It must be tough knowing you are a dinosaur and knowing that the old, conventional ways of doing things are changing for good and that you either don't understand the new ways or are afraid of being left behind.
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