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Subject: Bill James to Red Sox
Posted by: blue hen, almighty
- [473133021] Wed, Nov 06, 2002, 13:31
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| 1 | biliruben
Sustainer
ID: 3502218
Wed, Nov 06, 2002, 13:51
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Henry asked me if I were still touch with Bill. I said that I was. Henry asked me for Bill's phone number. I gave it to him.
Later that day, I sent an e-mail to Bill, letting him know that I'd given out his phone number, and apologizing if he'd rather I hadn't done that.
Bill's reply? "Any time a billionaire asks you for my phone number, go ahead and give it to him. I'll sort things out later."
And so he did.
-- Rob Neyer
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| 2 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 473133021
Wed, Nov 06, 2002, 14:30
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That goes for me too. If a billionaire ever asks for my number, you can give it to Bill James too.
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| 3 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Wed, Nov 06, 2002, 18:55
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If the Sox take this seriously, over a period of time, they will be in the playoffs every year, and eventually build a dynasty.
James is not all-seeing or all-knowing, of course. But there are 2 things he (or taking his advice) can do immediately;
(1) Stop stupid free-agent signings.
If you look at most teams' salaries lists, many (most?) are spending 15, 20 25, 30% of their budgets on free agents who could have been predicted, with a very high degree of certainty, not to be worth the money.
(2) Stop dumb trades.
Personal contacts among, quote sound baseball men unquote are necessary to arrange trades, so James should not be expected to pull off all sorts of amazing deals, especially since people know he's there. But every team makes really stupid trades, which a James could slap down with great ceratinty of success. It is safe to assume that a James-advised team will never trade Jeff Bagwell for a 33-year-old marginal relief pitcher.
(BTW, in baseball, a "sound baseball man" is someone who:
1. is white, at least 50 years old, and overweight;
2. has already been fired at least 3 times for his teams' lousy performances; and
3. many managers or owners like to either get drunk with or play cards with.)
(3) Improve The Minor League System
This may be the hardest task, and the one where you come up most against "the organization", but James could identify the diamonds in the rough and pick them up for nothing; and the athletes/"tools guys" who just can't play baseball but who are coveted by dumb teams.
If the Red Sox take James carefully, and if Cashman leaves New York for whatever reason, I would confidently predict a Red Sox mini-dynasty (i.e., a period in which the RedSox make the playoffs 90% of the time) to start within 5 years and last a long time.
Good luck, Bill!
Toral
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| 4 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 22100300
Thu, Nov 07, 2002, 00:23
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I agree with most or all of Toral's points. This is definitely something good for the Red Sox organization, and almost enough to make me want to cheer for them.
Keith Law's had a pretty good effect on Toronto already. They have several important pieces in place right now. James may not be smarter than Law, but I'd venture to say he's being paid more and has more of management's ear.
The unfortunate thing for the Red Sox is that it may be too late. Law's already with the Jays, and sabermetricians are invading "real" baseball all over the place. James may help the Red Sox, but they'll be in the division with the Jays and Yankees, so don't hand them anything just yet.
I eagerly await the GM announcement. Personally, I'd get the best "talker" I knew and let James make all the decisions. But that's just me.
I was just looking at "The Baseball Book" from 1990. Randy Johnson had stars with his name. James said Randy "had a chance" to be Sam McDowell. Uh, yeah.
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| 5 | ¤ Mario LeMoose ¤
ID: 58100918
Sat, Nov 09, 2002, 19:00
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A's let Red Sox pursue Beane
The Oakland Athletics, who gave the Mets their manager, Art Howe, have taken the first step toward giving the Boston Red Sox their general manager, Billy Beane. A baseball official confirmed last night that the Athletics had given the Red Sox permission to speak with Beane. In fact, the official said, they might have already spoken.
(Click on the link above for the complete article.)
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| 6 | Madman
Donor
ID: 21020124
Sat, Nov 09, 2002, 19:21
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Holy crap. I wasn't too big on the James move until I read this about Beane. Mainly, I just didn't see how James would fit into an organization effectively. You can't just pull in a stats guy and make it work. It's all about rationally incorporating good analysis in an overall framework.
But if they get Beane . . . crap. The American League might want to watch out. That's one of the few fits that I see really working.
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| 7 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 22100300
Sun, Nov 10, 2002, 16:14
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Why do teams like the Yankees and Red Sox always seem to get whatever they want?
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| 8 | ¤ Mario LeMoose ¤
ID: 3010161022
Sun, Nov 10, 2002, 23:16
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The Red Sox always almost get what they want.
Boston is not Beane town
Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane withdrew from consideration for the same job with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night, ending a whirlwind weekend in which he was widely expected to leave.
"He left a very attractive offer on the table,'' A's spokesman Jim Young said. ''He felt he belonged in Oakland and obviously we couldn't be happier."
Boston will not be Beane town, and the A's scheduled a news conference for Monday morning to discuss his reasoning for staying with the small-market team he has built into a perennial playoff contender.
(Click the link above to view the rest of the article.)
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| 9 | Madman
Donor
ID: 21020124
Sun, Nov 10, 2002, 23:17
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Wow. Can't wait to hear what Beane has to say about this one.
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| 10 | The Left Wings
ID: 1668298
Mon, Nov 11, 2002, 20:25
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So Billy Beane is a pretty good manager. But why such big reactions from you guys?
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| 11 | Madman
Donor
ID: 21020124
Mon, Nov 11, 2002, 22:27
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The Left Wings -- look at a list of trades that he has done since he took the job. It's an incredible list. Very, very few mistakes.
Give him some real resources, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez ... and the sky is the limit.
As it stands now, he's going to lose his stellar reputation as the A's dwindle back into nothingness in the near future. That won't be his fault. Just Lady Luck changing sides.
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| 12 | James K Polk
ID: 23754811
Tue, Nov 12, 2002, 12:22
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Heard Tim Kurkjian on The Tony Kornheiser Show this morning. He said Beane has a teenage daughter, and so won't leave the Bay Area until she's done with high school. (Implication was that it was a split family, but I didn't catch whether that was it for sure.) Kurkjian said he was surprised Beane even let his name come up w/ Boston, because Beane has told him several times over the past year or so that he's not going anywhere for now. Also mentioned that Beane probably liked being viewed as the guy who could work magic with a small-payroll club, but was pretty clear that this was a family-based decision. When the daughter is gone to college, Kurkjian said he expects Beane will be serious about large-market clubs.
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| 13 | The Left Wings
ID: 1668298
Wed, Nov 13, 2002, 07:15
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Poor daughter... No parties, no boyfriends, and a curfew at 10pm, all because her dad refused to leave town. I think he just ruined her daughter's social life.
LOL
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