The Da Vidro Code
Posted: July 12th, 2008 | Filed under: Baseball | 54 Comments »
I suspect that on the surface this will seem like just another baseball lineup beef — who should bat where in the lineup and all that nonsense — but I hope not. We’ve had too much talk about lineups already on this blog, especially because I don’t even think lineup construction is a big deal except as a conversation piece.*
*Speaking of conversation pieces … I can never hear that phrase without thinking about the 1984 NFL Draft. I’m pretty sure it was ‘84. That year, my friend Robert and I skipped school (like always) so that we could watch the draft on TV (sorry Mom and Dad). Well, as you might recall, back then the ESPN production of the NFL Draft wasn’t quite as high tech as it is these days. It was mostly just Chris Berman inventing nicknames and Mel Kiper Jr. calling every NFL general manager an idiot. In other words, it was GREAT.
But what I remember most about that draft was that ESPN did not exactly have a solid advertising base in those days — there were two commercials that played over and over and over and over throughout the day. One of those commercials was selling those NFL hemet phones that each team had at their table. And all I remember is the guy on the commercial showing the helmet, and then picking up the receiver, putting it to his ear and saying, “It’s a real conversation piece.” That’s it. “It’s a real conversation piece.” Two more picks. Then “It’s a real conversation piece.” Another pick. And “It’s a real conversation piece.” We must have seen that commercial 239 times before the end of the day; I feel certain it was like some sort of ancient form of torture. It’s almost 25 years later, and I have never ever been able to get that commercial out of my mind. I’m quite sure that if some operative would show me an NFL helmet phone, I would suddenly go blank like Raymond Shaw and be prime to kill political leaders.
Anyway, no, this time I’m really not talking about lineups, not exactly. I mean, look, obviously, there is no one who has a basic understanding of the rules of baseball who thinks it’s a good idea to have the 2008 version of Jose Vidro hitting fourth in the Mariners lineup. This isn’t some sort of interesting philosophical baseball question such as whether Grady Sizemore would be better leading off or hitting a little down in the lineup or whether Mark Teahen could emerge as a leadoff hitter.
No Vidro hitting fourth is like a wrong answer, just wrong, incorrect, false, an X on “Family Feud,” it’s like saying that up is down, red is blue, Godfather III was the best of the three. It’s wrong beyond obvious. Vidro is having an astonishingly bad year. He has no business hitting anywhere in a Major League lineup, much less hitting cleanup. He’s hitting .214/.261/.311. That on-base percentage is the worst in the American League for anyone with 250 at-bats*. The guy has not had even a .400 slugging percentage in three years. He’s a designated hitter who, at this point in his career and life, is no hitter. It’s a misleading title. He should be called a “Designated for Assignment.”
*Actually, that on-base percentage is tied for worst with Kenji Johjima, who is hitting eighth in that same lineup … yikes.
So, no, there really isn’t an interesting discussion to be had about about Vidro and hitting cleanup. My question is why. And I don’t mean this in the specific sense with Vidro … I mean, why is it that managers (and coaches and leaders of all kinds) sometimes do obviously and patently ridiculous things? I mean, let’s look at this logically: Managers want to win more than anybody, right? Their jobs are at stake. Their reputations are at stake. Plus these are obviously competitive people, successful people, talented people, they never could have become Major League managers or NFL head coaches or big time college coaches or whatever without drive and hard work and a history of doing something right.
I mean, take Seattle’s skipper Jim Riggleman. He managed in the minor leagues for years. He coached in the big leagues. He managed two other big league teams. The guy managed Tony Gwynn, Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Sammy Sosa, Mark Grace, the young Kerry Wood, Rod Beck, Trevor Hoffman. True, he wasn’t always successful or mostly successful, but he did win 90 games one year, and anyway I’m not talking about success, I’m saying he obviously loves the game, and he has been hired by three different Major League teams, and he has been around the game and great players all his life, and he wants to win more than any ten fans put together, and he HAS to know that there is no reasonable reason, if you are trying to win baseball games, that you would put a guy hitting like Vidro fourth in your lineup.
So why? That’s the question here. Why? Why would a manager trying to win games do this? Let’s be clear about this: I’m on record saying that the Indians should have Grady hitting third, but that’s a totally different thing. I fully UNDERSTAND why he’s hitting first — he’s comfortable up there, Wedge is comfortable with him up there, he gets on base, he gets more at bats, he’s a good leadoff hitter. I think he’d be a better No. 3, but that’s just a baseball disagreement. I’m on record disagreeing with some of Trey Hillman’s moves, but again I always UNDERSTAND the moves, Trey’s a smart guy and the moves are always based on his own strategic impulses. Again, a baseball disagreement.
But this Vidro thing is like … there’s no disagreement. No other side. It’s like arguing whether an apple would taste better than the verb “placate.” It’s a la-la land thing.
Riggleman, of course, did not help his cause when he actually tried to explain the unexplainable. He told Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker that Vidro hits fourth because he provides “protection” for No. 3 hitter Raul Ibanez. “I know his numbers aren’t good this year. But he’s still got that reputation that’ll make guys think about not giving Ibanez anything to hit.”
OK, um, where to begin. I don’t even want to get into the concept of whether protection in baseball even exists. We’re obvious about a MILLION MILES away from that kind of intellectual discussion. No. let’s look at this quote at face value:
“I know his numbers aren’t good this year.” OK, so, that’s good right? Riggs knows. He’s aware. He’s alert.
“But he’s still got that reputation …” Wait, what reputation is that? If Jim Riggleman knows his numbers aren’t good, doesn’t he think that, you know, word might have spread outside of Seattle and gotten to some of the spies around baseball? Seriously, does he think coaches and manager and pitchers out there are scouting players using crackling 2003 video tape? Could you prop Javy Lopez in the cleanup spot to give your No. 3 guy protection? How about Richard Hidalgo?
“… that reputation that’ll make guys think about not giving Ibanez anything to hit.” OK, now, see, this is why I broke up the quote because, honestly, I don’t understand it. It’s sort of English but not really — like the language from the “Golden Compass.” Is Riggleman saying, as the words indicate, that Vidro’s reputation will make pitchers think about NOT giving Ibanez anything to hit? Wouldn’t that be precisely the OPPOSITE reputation you would want?
Catcher: OK, we’ve got Ibanez, how do you want to pitch him?
Pitcher: Who is on deck?
Catcher: Vidro.
Pitcher: Hmm, based on his reputation, let’s not give Ibanez anything to hit.
Catcher: Agreed. Vidro’s reputation sucks.
No, I don’t think that’s what Riggleman meant. I think that he meant that Vidro still has a reputation as a GOOD hitter and, because of that, pitchers would be nervous about pitching around Raul Ibanez. I guess that’s what he meant. We’ve already touched upon the, um, disorienting logic of this — I have no idea why a pitcher would be nervous about facing a guy who is hitting A LOT worse than Paul Bako and who has not hit 10 home runs in a season since Yasser Arafat died*.
*Not that I see these two events being connected at all.
But let’s go beyond that. Let’s somehow connect to this notion that pitchers, fearing Vidro’s mighty reputation, are afraid to pitch around Raul Ibanez. Why is this even a good thing? The Mariners are dead last in the American League in on-base percentage. DEAD LAST. Would a few more walks by Raul Ibanez really hurt this team? I mean, hey, I love Raul, really, he’s one of my favorite people and players in the game, but really, is he Babe Ruth now? Barry Bonds? Are you really THAT WORRIED that he might draw a few more walks? I guess I’m saying that I don’t understand this logic on ANY level, from the beginning of that quote to the end.
Thing is, that sort of crazy quote was inevitable: Because there is no possible quote you could offer that could explain hitting Jose Vidro cleanup unless that quote is:
1. “He does have possession of those photographs I would prefer to keep private.“
2. “He’s my son-in-law, and hey, I have to keep peace in the house.”
3. “Hey, what would you do if you got a fortune cookie that read, ‘Hit Vidro fourth?’
4. “My owner has him in his fantasy league.”
5. “I lost the cleanup spot in a poker game.”
6. “I had this dream about him, and my psychiatrist said this is what it means.”
7. “Mr. Rothstein insisted.”
8. “Jose Vidro? Wait. When did we lose Jose Guillen?”
No, there is no possible way to explain something this ridiculous, and I guess I’m asking: How does this sort of thing happen? It isn’t just Vidro. Quite often in sports you will see decisions so strange and clueless, they’re absolutely indefensible. How do they happen?The explanations I hear too often — the manager/coach/general manager is an idiot, they’re not trying to win, they don’t understand the game, on and on — don’t really make any sense to me. People in charge are not often idiots. They are very much trying to win. They do usually understand the game at quite a high level. I think there’s something deeper going on.
One of my favorite things to read is whenever Princess Bride and Butch Cassidy writer William Goldman sounds off about why Hollywood movies bomb. He’s written about this in a few places. And he writes that it isn’t because of a lack of effort or a lack of money or a lack of drive or even a lack of talent — anyway, not most of the time. It sometimes involves an extraordinary combination of blindness, goofiness, confusion, stupidity, lack of vision and bad luck. In other words, it’s complicated.
And so maybe this is more complicated than it seems too. I want to believe that. I really do.
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Managers get hung up on roles. Guys have to know their role. I don’t know how Vidro got this role either. He got to be a DH because he can’t play defense, which makes zero sense too.
It’s gotta be the pictures.
So does Cruise or Costner play Vidro in the film version of the 2008 Mariners?
So does Cruise or Costner play Vidro in the film version of the 2008 Mariners?
Antonio Banderas plays Vidro.
Costner plays Richie Sexson.
Quite often in sports you will see decisions so strange and clueless, they’re absolutely indefensible.
Is this the time to start nominating others?
Because I’ve got a doozy for you: the continued employment of Matt Millen (@##$!)
His teams are 31-80 since his arrival in 2001 (the year after barely missing the playoffs at 9-7). One GM, answering anonymously the question of whether that record of ineptness would ever be matched said, “no – nobody but nobody would ever keep their job long enough”.
An average of 1 road win per season and at least 9 losses every year. Oh yeah, and the guy is the second best paid GM in football…
joe, you’ve written a lot of great things, but this one is your funniest ever: “It’s like arguing whether an apple would taste better than the verb “placate.—
i’m still chuckling.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Seattle Mariners, where Miguel Cairo is your starting first baseman and Willie Bloomquist pinch hits with two out and a man on down by one in the ninth.
Millen has some wonderful pictures.
That is still the only explanation for him having a job.
Its late Saturday night, so take this for the half-cent its not worth, but I ultimately believe that this type of situation (at least in baseball), comes down to a GM creating an unworkable roster while there is an unreasonable level of expectation, and a manager then trying to find some glimmer of hope he can save his already lost job. And, yes, Riggleman’s job is already lost. He’s realized his only hope for a continued career (at the manager level) is to work a miracle somewhere, though I don’t know why he chose to accept this particular miracle-working opportunity…
Their roster is a nightmare, and unless he can get the new GM to cut Vidro (a tougher sell than Sexson, who’d become a pariah because of his contract), who does he replace him with anyways? Kenji? Willie F’ing Bloomquist? Riggleman remembers when Vidro was a threat (granted, never a cleanup-hitter threat, but a serious threat). And his career is essentially riding on his choice…does he choose someone whom he’s personally seen be a legitimate threat in MLB, or does he fight the new GM to cut him and bring up someone he’s never seen in AAA to replace him (and throw away more money – ultimately not the manager’s responsibility)? He rolls the dice on Vidro spending 2 months being the Vidro he remembers, instead of someone whose name he doesn’t know “translating” his AAA numbers into MLB success…
As a side note, somewhat related to this – my biggest take-away from Moneyball – Beane, for all his time spent in the clubhouse and interacting with the players, had the mental capability to visualize them as nothing more than their ultimate usefulness for his team. He could go in the clubhouse after a win and chat with the player who’d made it possible, but when it came time to make a “GM” decision, that same guy became the equivalent of a “number”. And if he could be traded for a higher number, “Adios”…
Vidro is probably not as bad as his numbers indicate this season and it’s not like the Mariners have many options.
Twins fan here, who can’t understand your ‘love’ for Gardy.
Somehow this sounds like, the 2007 version of Nick Punto and Gardenhire’s insistence on playing him. Why/How on earth he got… 472 at bats, with an OPS+ of 52. … 52?!? Yeah, that’s worse than Vidro’s 56.
Why does it happen? I don’t know. Loyalty. Sunk costs. Lack of an adequate backup or replacement player. Whatever. We Twins fans went through this. Listened to Gardy nonsensically defend Punto through the year. You want to know why we Twins fans “dislike” Gardenhire? Nick Punto 2007.
At least Punto could play a little defense. He had that.
“Would a few more walks by Raul Ibanez really hurt this team? I mean, hey, I love Raul, really, he’s one of my favorite people and players in the game, but really, is he Babe Ruth now? Barry Bonds? Are you really THAT WORRIED that he might draw a few more walks?”
I think that you’re confusing the M’s with an organization that understands the value of getting on-base.
Quite often in sports you will see decisions so strange and clueless, they’re absolutely indefensible.
Like second year, 5′8″, struggling, nickelback, Tim Jennings being matched up on Randy Moss for most of the 2007 Colts Patriots game?
Riggleman obviously fell into a coma after the 2000 season and came to thinking Vidro was still that hitter. The 2008 Mariners would gladly settle for the 2000 Vidro as their cleanup hitter.
Joe, my first question is if you understand all of Hillman’s moves then you have either missed some of the games or are seeing something different on the screen. Do you understand putting on a hit and run with Buck at first and Pena at the plate? How about doing it two times? If you understand that then you are much more capable than I originally thought.
Second, we should be careful how we put down the team who is last in the league in OBP since we miss that mark by a whole .003.
Other than that, good article as always.
I think JJF3 is on to something. The Mariners are awful; everyone knows that. No one is debating that point. Here’s my basic premise, which may or may not be echoing the point JJF3 was making: If this works, Riggleman may get some credit for “jumpstarting” the Mariners offense.
Okay, here’s the explanation. The Mariners have a LOT of BAD players. So it’s not like there’s any obvious option. It’s not like he’s hitting Vidro 4th so he can hit the 1941 version of Ted Williams 7th. Beltre could hit there, but then you’d be hitting Vidro 5th so what does it matter? Vidro has a career OPS+ of 108, not great for a DH, but good for a 2b, which he was. He even OPS+ed 109 last year. So there’s reason to believe he still might have something in the tank. And if by coincidence Vidro suddenly starts to realize, “Wait a minute, this thing in my hands…I remember this, it’s a BAT!” and begins hitting decently, Riggleman may get credit for an ingenious move that was really just dumb luck. And a little bit of playing the odds that there’s no way Vidro could get any worse.
If Vidro continues to be awful, Riggleman can just make the very easy and plausible claim, “Well, I had to do something, and this is all I had to work with.” Do I agree with the move? No. I don’t think that anyone gains anything even if Vidro turns into Babe Ruth in the second half. In fact, that might be worse, because it might convince the Mariners that he’s worth another $10 million a year. But I can see where there might be a glimmer of an argument that Riggleman is making this move because it’s a lose-lose situation, only this choice has the potential to make him look a tad better.
As an addendum to my previous point, Riggleman can’t come out and say all this, so he makes something up about why he’s hitting Vidro 4th. Next time he should make something up that’s just slightly more believable than that garbage he threw out there, but he couldn’t just say, “Well, you know what guys, we blow, so I thought I’d screw around a little bit.”
And let me be on the record as saying I have no idea whether this is what Riggleman is thinking. I’m just playing devil’s advocate for the sake of discussion. For all I know, Riggleman has an image of two monkeys eating bugs out of each other’s hair on a continuous loop in his brain.
Man, I wish I knew the answer to that. Dusty Baker playing Tsuyoshi Shinjo as the DH and putting Kenny Lofton in CF in the World Series still mystifies this Giants fan. Why would you do it?! They’re both center fielders – one is a living highlight reel, and the other took possibly the worst first step in baseball! It’s still killing me.
“It’s like arguing whether an apple would taste better than the verb ‘placate.’” is a sentence worthy of laudatory profanity of Pat Jordan caliber, but I am not capable of such erudition.
Jose does a lot of things really well that don’t show up in the box score, and he should hit fourth. He’s also handsome.
I think what Riggleman means is “Vidro is hitting fourth because the only worthwhile thing than Mariners can still get out of this season is next years #1 draft pick.”
It seems pretty likely that the Mariners would like to trade Ibanez before the trade deadline. Perhaps Riggleman (fearing that he’ll be forced to manage the team again next season) is quietly trying to sabotage the deal by making Raul look unattractive to potential trade partners.
Jeremy:
Lofton in 2002 had 13 FRAA between his two teams, and Shinjo had….13 FRAA. I mean, I’m sure Shinjo was better defensively, but it’s not like we’re talking about using Jhonny Peralta as a defensive replacement for Adam Everett; at the very least, Lofton was still a good defender.
Riggleman suffers from a man-crush for Vidro’s game. Vidro probably looks perfect in batting practice, solidly hitting 56 mph fastballs; he comes back to the dugout knowing exactly what each pitch did and how he “…came just this close…” to not screwing up.
Seems like so many ballplayers succeed early on the basis of athletic ability and, after a thousand big league games, finally get the game. But the eye’s not as acute. The bat’s a hair slower. But they’ve figured out the game.
I suspect Riggleman thinks Vidro is constantly on the brink of breaking through. Again. Or again again….*
* As luck would have it, I have had the
curseopportunity to see a variety of professional/semi-pro/amateur theatre/college/high school productions of the musical “Peter Pan.” I’ve come to learn that Tinkerbell comes back to life regardless whether your clap your hands in the 2nd Act. This is the principal difference between “Peter Pan” and baseball. That and the flying.Heehee…
I agree with the point that it’s all about preconceived roles. A couple of years ago Jose Vidro certainly looked like a cleanup hitter. Maybe Riggleman subscribes to the idea that certain lineup spots require certain character traits and Vidro is the only guy he has who fits that imaginary profile.
It’s not as if batting Vidro 4th is keeping the M’s out of the playoffs. Employing Vidro is whats keeping the M’s out of the playoffs.
I’ll toss out a comparable situation here in the Queen City. For every game he has played this year, Ken Griffey Jr. has batted 3rd.
Junior’s line. .236 /.349 /.401 with an OPS+ of (ugh) 95!
compare to
Votto:281/.352/.467 OPS+112
Dunn:.229/.382/.542 OPS+138 (26 HR’s)
Heck… Edwin:.255/.336/.476 OPS+109
Yet Junior is still entrenched in the three spot, sucking up 5 PA most games (they have finally been pulling him for late inning defense on double switches).
What’s more, I firmly believe that if he somehow gets traded, whoever gets him will still bat him 3rd! Because he has that reputation as a #3 hitter, which he hasn’t been in half a decade!
BTW, Brandon Phillips has batted cleanup all year. In 10 years or so I could see some team making the same Vidro-esque mistake with him.
I think it has to do with the Peter Principle.
Riggleman has been a good worker and good company man in every role he’s taken on, so someone gives him a job as a manager. He’s not so good at that, so he gets fired. But then he’s a really super bench coach again, he impresses in the interview, and then gets promoted again.
Riggleman is just not good enough to be a manager, though, and will continue to support. You see this all the time. Ray Miller was a great pitching coach, pretty bad manager. Steve Spurrier can coach the hell out of a college football team and can’t handle the pros. Same with Rick Pitino and hoops.
There are plenty of coaches who have excelled many times and who then get promoted to do something they can no longer handle. Combine that with the old-boys networks that exist in the major sports and you get a lot of retread coaches who probably shouldn’t be working.
Another fascinating lineup choice by Dusty Baker here in the ‘Nati is his use of Corey Patterson in the leadoff spot for most of the first half. CP is currently batting .193 with an OBP of .224. He doesn’t even belong on a roster.
Joe,
The very first MLB game I ever covered was the Tribe’s 2004 home opener against the Twins. Look up the box score. Gardy DHed Jose Offerman and had him batting cleanup. I wrote at the time that I would be telling my grandchildren about the time I saw a 35-year-old Jose Offerman bat cleanup for a major league team, but since I don’t have grandchildren, I am telling you for now.
Of course, the Twins won the division that year. Just another “clip & save” for your Gardy Must Be A Genius file.
Here’s a link to the box score….
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE200404120.shtml
My favorite two items from that box score…
1. Batting cleanup, Jose Offerman went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his OPS plummet to 1.287. Seriously. I don’t care if it was the 7th game of the season, Jose Offerman’s OPS *FELL* to 1.287.
2. Matt Lawton saw five pitches in four at-bats. It was a brutally cold day…I believe the wind chill was in the low 30s or upper 20s, and Lawton was wearing several layers of clothing under his uniform. He clearly went up there hacking so he could get back to the dugout, yet he deposited one of the five pitches he saw all day into the right field seats.
Great column in the Star about DeJesus. How about a comparison about how he and his predecessor Beltran are doing this year?
Joaldo. You are the man. Thank you for making my Sunday morning. Hilarious.
@Sirk
“1. Batting cleanup, Jose Offerman went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his OPS plummet to 1.287. Seriously. I don’t care if it was the 7th game of the season, Jose Offerman’s OPS *FELL* to 1.287.”
And it kept on a fallin’. All the way to to .758 or so by the end of the season. He has since gone on to assault and battery on the field.
There is no way that a 2004 Offerman (after spending 2003 in the Atlantic League) should have ever batted 4th. No way!
Hey Ryan RL what do his numbers mean
“Mr. Rothstein insisted”
What an absolutely hilarious line.
“So does Cruise or Costner play Vidro in the film version of the 2008 Mariners?
Antonio Banderas plays Vidro.
Costner plays Richie Sexson.”
and Tom Cruise can play Ichiro. Hey, it’s not that big of a jump from being “The Last Samurai”
Isaac
“my first question is if you understand all of Hillman’s moves then you have either missed some of the games or are seeing something different on the screen. Do you understand putting on a hit and run with Buck at first and Pena at the plate? How about doing it two times? If you understand that then you are much more capable than I originally thought”
It’s quite obvious he was going with the percentage play here. Pena has 2 options here. Ground into a double play, or strike out. If he hit and runs’ with Buck while Pena hits into what WOULD have been a double play, we either have a man on 2nd, or Buck has a better chance to break it up. Either way, we save 1 out and have a man on. Worse case, the DP still happens.
Now, if he K’s, Buck gets thrown out at 2nd and we still have the same effect as if we had Pena swing away.
^I wrote all that in jest, trying to be wity or funny. But, for what ever reason, it seems to make a sliver of sense…???
You could make the arguement that a bunt would ALWAYS be better, but then you’d be assuming Pena can bunt. We might as well use a “ghost hitter” when he’s up.
Case in point: Dusty Baker hitting Corey Patterson leadoff for most of the first three months of the year, despite a terrible career OBP and the worst numbers in the majors during 2008.
re:Tank Garbonzo
We don’t like to talk about that here, especially since Jerry Hairston Jr. just apperently tore his hamstring from the bone running out a bunt single this afternoon in Milwaukee. More black hole of outs Corey in the leadoff spot!
Carlos Gomez: batting lead-off, and after tonight’s game, an OBP below .290.
Thanks for the hilarious post. Out here in the Seattle we’ve been just as mystified. But we’ve long since given up on trying to figure out what the heck is going on — this is just the most bizarre in a litany of incomprehensible decisions and unsupportable statements made by almost everyone associated with the team this season. I remain convinced that we fell asleep and woke up as the imaginary fans for Franz Kafka’s fantasy baseball team, the Fighting Roaches. Nothing else makes sense.
“Mr. Rothstein insistedâ€
Yes, I loved that too — wondered how many people caught it.
I blame Beltre.
Seriously, not that I’ve followed every game, but when Beltre hits fourth this season, he’s awful. Not good batting third, either. Move him down the lineup, and he’s not bad, OPS+ 109, 16 homers overall, clearly a much better choice in this lineup.
And Riggleman, who is not the an obvious choice as manager, may be trying his best not to make his GM look bad. The GM, after all, is the one who saddled Rigs with Vidro. I mean, you or I or most anybody here, even if forced to use Vidro, would say, “Okay, we’re putting Vidro and Kohji 8th and 9th to isolate the stench, and everybody else will have more at bats with higher chances of scoring some runs.” But that would make the GM look bad (worse). The season’s lost anyways, so why create more embarassment. Maybe by being a good little underling Riggleman thinks he can keep the job next season.
One other point on Beltre. I listened or watched almost every game he played with the Dodgers. His magical year, with Tim Wallach as his hitting coach, it seemed that finally after years of effort, Beltre recognized enough sliders in the dirt away early enough to stop swinging at them. That one change forced pitchers to throw more strikes (or to walk him) and swinging at strikes he has always more or less followed Ted Williams’ projections.
Now lots of other things could have happened. He got married and had a support group for a poverty raised boy from a different culture. He did bulk up some, so maybe steroids were an issue, although the Dodgers had been trying to feed him and make him lift weights ever since they got him. But maybe also Tim Wallach got through to him. Only Beltre (and maybe Wallach) knows for sure.
My point is, if I’m Beltre, and I’ve gone from arguably the best season ever had by a third baseman back down to just another guy, why wouldn’t I invest $100K of my own money in a personal batting coach named Tim Wallach? That money would be tax deductible, and if it works, he’d make me back probably $50,000,000 over the rest of my career. If it didn’t work, oh well. And if I’m the GM who signed Beltre, why wouldn’t I consider bringing in Wallach for a few weeks to see if they could recapture the magic? I’ve seen other combinations of players and coaches who clicked beyond normal expectations, then separated, and never clicked again. Yet every team in baseball thinks coaching matters, or they wouldn’t all have so many coaches and change them with such regularity.
Just wondering….
Completely indefensible? Let’s see, how about buying an NBA team during the franchise’s competitive peak, then running the GM out of town (only a year after being named NBA Executive of the Year), who also happens to be the franchise founder’s son; then replacing him with an inexperienced TV analyst, who, as a player contributed to several of your team’s worst losses. Even better, this new GM almost immediately alienates the team’s coach, who happens to have the best record in franchise history, has recently been named coach of the year; eventually forcing him out and hiring a proven loser because this loser has “experience,” the very thing the GM himself lacks.
That’s right. Robert Sarver + Steve Kerr = wrong beyond obvious. I hate the Suns.
Nick Punto obviouisly was brutal last year. This year – .324/.383/.471. Always great on defense, no matter where you stick him in the infield. And who should the Twins have played at third instead of him last year? Mike Pagliarulo? Gary Gaetti?
With GoGo, you may as well send him to Rochester if you demote him to 9th in the order. He is who we though he was… free swinger, faster than anything non-motorized, exciting, frustrating, full of potential, has lots to learn. Patience, grasshoppers…..
Richie Sexson was bad, but he was Ted Williams compared to Vidro. Higher OBP, slugging, more homers……Vidro was marginally better last year, and that’s the only advantage he has over Sexson, who was released last week.
Batting Vidro fourth is Riggleman’s way of saying, “I don’t have a clean-up hitter! We’re not just a lineup tweak away from being good. We’re miles away from being good.” Instead of trying to cover up the holes in the roster as best he can, Riggleman is highlighting the team’s deficiencies in an effort to make it clear to fans and the front office how much help they need.
. . . Or else he’s just amusing himself so that years from now he can tell the story of how he batted Vidro fourth.
Joe, when you watched that 1984 draft, you must have been excited seeing the Steelers revamp their receiving corps with two All-Name Team All-Stars: Louis Lipps and Weegie Thompson. Louis Lipps Sinks Ships! Lipps, Inc.! Weegie’s on the board!
Regarding Millen, he is on my list of sports figures who need Mercy Firings:
1. Carl Peterson
2. Gary Bettman
3. Matt Millen
4. Elgin Baylor
Mercy Firings are for people who have had their positions of leadership for a long, long time and have had every opportunity in the world to succeed yet have not. Basically they are powerful figures who should have lost their power at least a decade ago, and if they had, not only would their organization be in much better shape, they themselves would have a much better reputation as well.
Hey Joe,
Love the work. Check out what Aaron Gleeman wrote today about Gardy and Carlos Gomez. This is a similar situation. (I actually like Gardy a lot, but the lineup thing with Gomez and, last year, Punto is unforgiveable. And, he could use Joe Nathan much more effectively in tie games)
One thing some people are forgetting is…. baseball is played by PEOPLE… not statistics. Not numbers. Gardy is paid to manage PLAYERS with personalities, quirks, etc. If you have followed the Twins, you know that Gomez is a very, very, VERY unique kid. And that’s just it, he’s a kid. Maybe it was wrong to tab him for the leadoff spot to begin with, that is definitely up for debate. The fact is… he’s there now, and to give his spot in the lineup to Span, the guy he beat out, you risk messing with an alreadity volitile kid’s head. Gardy is treating the situation carfully, he’s with Gomez every day, he sees how he reacts to adversity (and he’s in a whole world of adversity at the plate right now), and he obviously feels like a demotion to 9th in the order would do more harm that good right now. Plus, who would we rather bat leadoff… Span, based on what sample size? Casilla, who is playing so far over his head right now that… let’s just say he’s playing really, really far over his head.
As with everything, there is a tipping point. But Gardy doesn’t feel like we are there yet. It’s about more that just stats. And in one very important stat, wins, the Twins are leaps and bounds ahead of where the most optomistic projections had them at the beginning of the year.
A very funny entry, Joe. Plus, a Manchurian Candidate reference. Excellent.
Well, I can’t let this post go without taking a shot at Buddy Bell.
Remember Bell using Shane Costa in the cleanup spot one game?
That was pretty damn ridiculous as well.
“and Mel Kiper Jr. calling every NFL general manager an idiot.”
Well, not much has changed on that front. Seeing as how he rates every NFL team’s draft performance as somewhere between a B+ and a C-, he now thinks that instead of ALL being idiots, they’re all just “…eh. Sorta okay.”
Which is pretty much in keeping with the general course that ESPN sails nowadays. “Sweet Jesus, don’t say anything that could offend ANYONE! You hear me? ANYONE! Except A-Rod.”
As for Jose Vidro, you seem to forget that he is a table-setter, grinder and a firecracker!
It’s obvious why they have Vidro batting fourth.
When they lose, they can say, “sure you beat us but we had Vidro hitting fourth. Of course you are going to win.”
Thusly, the other team has acheived a hollow victory. This demoralizing factor is probably good for 1 win and the Mariners avoid the series sweep. They could potentially lose more games if Vidro was hitting elsewhere.
Maybe Riggleman just has “DH Syndrome”, also known as “The Philosophy that Whoever’s DHing Will Never Hit Lower Than Fifth, or Maybe Sixth”. Sufferers of this malady refuse to admit they have a terrible option at DH (that’s supposed to be a guy who crushes the ball, right?) and feel that they can’t bat the bad DH at the bottom of the order, because if you do that then why even have a DH? So they stick him in the 3-5 spots in the order, or maybe the 6. To these managers, the DH slot itself demands respect worthy of heros, and that respect is violated if you put it in a lineup spot that’s less prestigious than that of the struggling utility infielder.
‘Course, I haven’t checked to see if Riggleman has ever used the DH lower than 5. If so, then I revert to the photos explanation.
It’s like arguing whether an apple would taste better than the verb “placate.†= CLASSIC
well, it could be that giving the opposing team a goooood laugh will short-circuit the concentration of said team… it might mean as much as a half run or so to the mariners every series and, man, could they use it…