Comments on: Theo

By: alkexei

alkexei — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:34:18 +0000

before it is too late, make tek a bench coach!

By: Theo Epstein Gets It- Why Can’t Sabean? « Triples Alley

Theo Epstein Gets It- Why Can’t Sabean? « Triples Alley — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:40:11 +0000

[...] by triplesalley on October 23, 2009 A tip of the hat goes to Mr. Joe Posnanski for this gem. I must be really out of the loop- this conversation happened about three weeks ago. In any [...]

By: Judy

Judy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:24:58 +0000

Luke, you might want to check that again, Drew’s a fine defensive outfielder and his WAR is higher than Swisher’s, who’s a very good player as well. And, Joe, you might want to pay a little more attention to Drew, he’s more enjoyable to watch play baseball than you might think.

By: Intro and Playoff Preview « Two Seam Fastblog

Intro and Playoff Preview « Two Seam Fastblog — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:24:04 +0000

[...] may have been a tad influenced by this article, but I do respect Theo Epstein as a true genius of the game. He’ll have the Sox winning for [...]

By: Luke

Luke — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:42:02 +0000

Great post, Joe. However, while I agree that J.D. Drew is a good player (much better than many Sawx fans I meet will ever admit), his 2nd-highest OPS is a bit misleading. Nick Swisher, for example, has more WAR largely because of defense which is – as they say – half the battle. Also Jason Bay’s UZR/150 is brutal. Even in Fenway.

By: BD14

BD14 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:41:21 +0000

Last point on the park effect at Fenway – here is excerpt from an article by Clay Davenport over at Baseball Prospectus talking about the exact subject:

“Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park: Fenway’s a legend, one dominated by the Green Monster. Contrary to lore, it is actually a neutral to downright poor park for home runs, and worse if you’re left-handed, with left/right home-run Park Factors of 90 and 100. It is also one of the worst places for singles (92), as the short fields let the outfielders play shallow. But it is the best park in baseball for hitting doubles, by a mile (143; Arizona is second at 129). Surprisingly, the Red Sox don’t take particularly good advantage of their park, with Varitek the biggest beneficiary. Jacoby Ellsbury took a big hit, since singles are his whole game. All of the Angels will benefit from playing in Boston, with Kendry Morales getting a big 20-point jump; the Angels’ biggest guns—Vladi Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and Juan Rivera—will get the least advantage from Fenway”

By: The Silver Lining

The Silver Lining — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:17:57 +0000

[...] In a chat last week, Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein explained why he wasn’t bothered by J.D. Drew’s relatively low number of runs batted in (quotes from Joe Posnanski’s blog): [...]

By: BHinOR

BHinOR — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:18:59 +0000

When people comment about Lugo, Renteria, other fee agent busts…are you actually trying to argue that Theo is not a good GM? Because while debate rages over whether Drew & Matsuzaka were/are good or bad signings, the Red Sox just keep winning. They freely admit to using their financial advantage just as much as any other advantage. What *smart* team wouldn’t?
I’ll say that as a Red Sox fan, especially after decades of having my heart ripped out, it has been as fun and interesting watching the front office as it has been watching the team. It’s an amazing thing to see the way John Henry translated what made him a billionaire into an organizational philosophy for a baseball team. The way they systematically rooted out any and all advantages they could find and funneled them directly into the health of the organization. The money allows for taking risks, but despite the sunk costs they have flourished with their low risk/high reward philosophy. It was a risk to hire Epstein in the first place, and a smart one. All I heard was laughter and incredulity at the hiring of a kid. Who’s laughing now?
It’s sad to see so many fans suffer through ownerships that don’t have the smarts or the finances to truly compete, especially in such historically great baseball towns. What’s worse are the ownerships who make money off subpar teams with no incentive to improve them. Henry, et al, have shown a rare ability to care about the fans, to care about winning – and to actually achieve that – all while growing their business and profitability. Someday they will move on and this era will close, but I’m appreciating the hell out of it while it lasts! Yes, it’s great being a Red Sox fan. Now, anyways.
And criticizing the GM for the moves that did not work out? That’s like criticizing someone with a .750 OBP for the outs he makes 25% of the time. I’ll take a Jeremy Giambi and a Julio Lugo every damn year along with the results we’ve gotten throughout.

By: What Baseball Can Teach Us About Innovation « Crossing the Line

What Baseball Can Teach Us About Innovation « Crossing the Line — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:44:02 +0000

[...] he wasn’t bothered by J.D. Drew’s relatively low number of runs batted in (quotes from Joe Posnanski’s blog): “When you’re putting together a winning team, that honestly doesn’t matter. [...]

By: Josh in DC

Josh in DC — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:27:48 +0000

Anecdotally, I’d guess the Wall killed Nomar in his first couple years with the Sox. All those line drives to left would have been out of, say, Camden Yards. I’m going to go check if that’s true.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=garcino01&year=1997&t=b

Yeah, it checks out. His rookie year, he OPS’d .936 on the road and .819 at home. (To paraphrase Kent Brockman: OPS’d. It’s a word. Look it up.)