Brian Kenny has a lot of ideas. “Bullpenning,” “Super-Relievers,” Anthony Rizzo batting leadoff. Do these ideas actually work in practice?
The Cubs made Rizzo their leadoff hitter last year. That lasted about a week and a half.
The Phillies tried “Bullpenning” this year. It was a catastrophe.
Every team in the 2017 Postseason was using “Super-Relievers.” It was utter chaos.
Brian Kenny has made a lot of money selling these ideas. Too much money. These ideas are a bunch of nonsense.
What is Jerry Dipoto’s goal with the Seattle Mariners?
Dipoto was signed to a 3 year deal to be the team’s General Manager prior to the 2016 season. The team was pretty good before he got there. Jack Zduriencik had done a pretty good job building a team that was close to contention. Dipoto has been coasting on what Zduriencik built for the last few seasons. Ditto Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles with Ned Colletti.
It’s facile to say “The Mariners have been good since Dipoto showed up. It must be because of Dipoto!” The Mariners could have been a lot better the last three years. Maybe if they had traded for a Legit Dude like Matt Kemp or Miguel Cabrera instead of the overrated Jean Segura, kept Taijuan Walker, and hired someone who actually looks like he should be managing a Major League Baseball team instead of Scott Servais, the team would have made the playoffs and maybe even won a World Series. Instead the team has missed the playoffs in both of Dipoto’s full seasons in Seattle and will miss the postseason again this year.
Look for Dipoto to get a contract extension before then. He’s loved the last two seasons. He got all the credit for what Zduriencik built, and he made a lot of money. Look for the Mariners to be bad this year, and sell at the deadline. Cano, Cruz and Felix Hernandez – none of whom Dipoto brought to Seattle – will all be traded. Then, the word of the day will be “rebuild.” Dipoto already traded Seattle’s best prospect Tyler O’Neill for Marco Gonzalez. How convenient.
This will be a long rebuild. Year after year of agony for Seattle’s fans. Year after year of millions of dollars entering Dipoto’s bank account.
Seattle fans will be miserable during Dipoto’s rebuild. But Dipoto won’t be. No no no. He’ll be making millions of dollars, year after year, pretending to care about building a winning baseball team. All he cares about is his bank statement and his ego.
The Mariners ownership team should get wise to Dipoto’s act now, and fire him before he can trade off Felix, Cano and Cruz. All they need is a leader. They should trade for Matt Kemp or Miguel Cabrera. Then again, the team would be good. And that means the fans would like the team more than they like Jerry Dipoto.
See, the Oakland Athletics have been terrible year after year under Billy Beane’s watch. But a large segment of their fans – young, trendy, analytics-loving – still love him and so does the media. He’s hailed as a “genius.”
The media loves Dipoto as well. He’s the “cool kid” and Mike Scioscia’s the stodgy old troglodyte. How are the Mariners doing this year? Not so good. The Angels are 7-3. Go figure.
No matter how bad the Mariners are a large segment of their fan base will love Dipoto, and so will the media. Dipoto will bask in that adulation and his millions while normal Mariners fans wonder when the team will actually be good. They never will be under Dipoto. Just look at Oakland.
How much money has Beane made while he’s been in charge of the As? A lot. And every time the team has been close to winning a World Series, he’s traded away its key component, first when he traded away Tim Hudson following the 2004 season and then when he traded away Yoenis Cespedes during the 2014 season.
Beane was jealous of all the attention Hudson and Cespedes got from the fans. That’s why they had to go. And the cool kids love him now more than ever. Go figure.
That’s Dipoto’s vision for the Mariners. Immense wealth and adulation from millions of adoring fans. Adulation and wealth that he never could gain as a player.
See, he wasn’t very good. Just like Billy Beane. If Dipoto were to trade for Miguel Cabrera, then the fans would say “we love you Miggy!” Dipoto’s way the team will be terrible, and the fans will say “we love you Jerry!” anyway. Ownership should fire him, quick, and bring in someone who cares more about building a good team than accruing fame and fortune.
That’s what Brian Kenny has gained in recent years. He claims to care about baseball. He doesn’t. He’s just trying to sell books. And tear down people who he’s jealous of, like Eric Hosmer.
Hosmer got his mega-deal, the one Brian Kenny was trying to keep him from getting. 8 years, $144 million. Brian Kenny may be rich, but he’ll never be that rich. And that’s the whole point. Brian Kenny, Jerry Dipoto and Billy Beane are not star athletes. They wish they were. They are star intellectuals though. Congratulations to them.
What’s the fourth principle of SABR Skepticism? Hierarchy, order and structure matters. And everybody knows that in the natural hierarchy intellectuals are beneath the jocks. That’s high school 101. Brian Kenny, Jerry Dipoto and Billy Beane are trying to usurp the jocks.
It’s time somebody put them back in their place.
Ownership groups around baseball should understand what the game is here. The SABRmetrics guys are more interested in their own fame and fortune than building good baseball teams. There are a plethora of good old school general managers who are on the market right now. Ruben Amaro Jr, Terry Ryan, Omar Minaya, Doug Melvin, Jack Zduriencik and Ned Colletti all did good jobs as general managers of their teams. Some of them are in front offices now, but none of them are in leadership positions. They would all do better than the analytics guys who are in vogue right now. They’re the shiny object. Owners around baseball should ignore them.
If you’re a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays who do you want to oversee your team’s rebuild and to be in charge when the brand new stadium opens: the guy whose mentor is the the guy who thought trading AJ Ellis was a good idea? Or the guy whose mentor is the guy who brought World Series Championships to Toronto and Philadelphia? You tell me.
Just look at that picture of Andrew Friedman with his trendy haircut. What a superstar. Then look at that picture of Pat Gillick. Now THAT is a Legit Dude. Ruben Amaro Jr. is a Legit Dude too. Andrew Friedman isn’t and neither is Erik Neander. Stuart Sternberg, take notice.
Look at the San Francisco Giants and what they have done with Bryan Sabean at the helm. He’s as Old School as it gets. Look at what the Kansas City Royals have done with Dayton Moore at the helm. Old School Dude. Look what Dave Dombrowski did with the Marlins back in the day. That was Legit. 1997 was Legit. Al Leiter is Legit. Bobby Bonilla is Legit. So is Jim Leyland. So is Dave Dombrowski. Guys who have nothing to say except “Analytics! Analytics! Analytics!” aren’t.
MLB front offices need less of that. Why did the Houston Astros win the World Series last year? Who was the GM of that team: Jeff Luhnow or Dallas Keuchel?
How are things going for Klentak’s Phillies? Or Friedman’s Dodgers? Or Cashman’s Yankees?
What MLB front offices need more of is Old School Dudes. Less math majors, snobby intellectuals and bitter beta males like Brian Kenny, Jerry Dipoto and Billy Beane.
SABR Skeptic 