In grand scheme of things, where the major league minimum is 500K+ and mediocre middle relievers make a couple of million, would it have hurt the Nats to offer Bud Black more $ and/or more years? I mean, if he’s really their first choice, why cut corners at that particular position?
It makes no sense. As a Phillies fan, I’m thrilled.
Because MLB front offices have a realistic evaluation of the impact managers have on success?
Scuzz
1903
Would the Nats have had to buy out Blacks existing Padres contract?
Anyway, it is now a done deal. Dusty Baker is the new Nats manager.
No, Black was fired by the Padres, making them liable for his entire salary.
With Black, I think it was the one year deal and then the insult to injury of offering him only two years at a significantly reduced AAV that sent him scurrying.
Now that the 2015 season is over, let’s see what we have on page 1:
Even better than I’d hoped! Despite the ugliness that was the NLCS.
Yep, right on the money with this one. :(
Uh…nope. I should have looked over at the AL West instead of the NL, would have done better with the Astros!
Scuzz
1906
Okay, I had missed or forgotten that he was fired. I do think he would have been a better fit with a pitching oriented team like Washington.
True in general, but in the Nationals specific case this is what we have:
A team picked by some to go all the way performed well below expectations, and much of that was pegged (correctly or not) to the manager, and particularly his handling of pitchers. So they fire the manager and (very publicly) court Bud Black, who is praised for his handling of pitchers. This gives the scribes and the fans the belief that a problem is being if not fixed, at least addressed. All is well until…
The Nats, a team with $165 million dollar payroll, decides to lowball the guy and he walks away. Instead they hire a guy who is long perceived, rightly or wrongly, for overusing pitchers, and who is now clearly understood to have been the team’s second choice. All that to save a few million dollars?
That, I submit, makes no sense, from a baseball standpoint and from a public relations standpoint.
I would never take the under on the Ratty Nattys’ incompetence.
It boggles my mind that Baker could be anyone’s second, or even third or fourth, choice, especially a team that relies on pitching. Unless, of course, their plan is to cut future salary by having their rotation ruined.
Diddums
1910
As dfs mentioned earlier, Baker with the Reds really didn’t overwork his starters much. The first graph shows a tremendous decline in really long starts over his career (also includes 2012 and 2013…for Baker earlier in his career, look on the last page).
He’s still probably a sub-optimal choice (just to give one alternative, Lloyd McClendon is also a clubhouse guy and is somewhat more saber-friendly, although not enough for Jerry Dipoto). But Ned Yost just won a world series. Managers change.
Yeah, to folks in Milwaukee Ned Yost at KC is the baseball equivalent of Bill Belichick from Cleveland to New England.
Lantz
1912
The Lerners seem to deserve their reputation.
WTF happened to Tommy Hanson?
I’ve only heard rumors that it was perhaps an overdose, but nothing official.
Alstein
1915
Officially Catastrophic Organ Failure.
The article mentioned his stepbrother died a couple of years ago. Which means his parents have now lost two children.
Horrible.
So, probably overdose then. That really sucks. Bad day for baseball between this and the Jose Reyes thing.
In a surprise to approximately no one, Kris Bryant won the NL Rookie of the Year award and Carlos Correa won in the AL. I’m a little surprised that Bryant was unanimous, as I’d expected at least one voter to put Matt Duffy first. He finished second, and poor injured Jung Ho Kang was third. In the AL, Correa beat out Indians SS Francisco Lindor by only 15 points, so it was fairly close as these things go.
LockerK
1919
Zack Meisel @ZackMeisel
One voter’s ballot: Correa, Burns, Rosario. Lindor left off entirely. Rosario’s teammate, Sano, was much better than Rosario. Good grief.
AL ROY could’ve gone either way but that ballot… woof.
LockerK
1920
Zack Meisel @ZackMeisel
One voter’s ballot: Correa, Burns, Rosario. Lindor left off entirely. Rosario’s teammate, Sano, was much better than Rosario. Good grief.
AL ROY could’ve gone either way but that ballot… woof.
