Ask Grandstander

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

If you were ARod's agent, would you advise him to opt out of his contract?

Probably would, motivated by my thought that there will be more money in it for me.

That's if I was Arod's agent and assuming that if I was a sports agent, I would have a radically different personality and morality than I currently have as me.

Now, if it was really me...and somehow or other I was Arod's agent but not otherwise changed, I would tell Arod to decide whatever is best for him and then I'll try and make the best deal based on that.

[Nighthawk]

What childhood 'truth' (i.e. the relationships between sidewalk cracks and the spinal columns of unsuspecting mothers, putting a penny on the track can derail the train, you shiver when somebody walks over your future grave) do you suspect has some actual truth to it? Which one do you wish did?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

What childhood 'truth' (i.e. the relationships between sidewalk cracks and the spinal columns of unsuspecting mothers, putting a penny on the track can derail the train, you shiver when somebody walks over your future grave) do you suspect has some actual truth to it? Which one do you wish did?

None and, well, none.

I would be surprised if you were surprised by the above response. I've never masked my contempt for all things booga booga, hocus pocus, abbra cadabra mumbo jumbo, gobbledy goopus, the entire panoply of superstitious beliefs. I am hostile toward exorcisms, voodoo, charms, totems, relics, incantations, spells, curses, evil eyes, fortune telling, conjuring, mesmerizing, oraculating, haunting, palm or aura reading, sorcererests, soothsayers, mediums, channelers, alchemists, shamans, ghosts, goblins, demons, devils, angels, witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, changlings, poltergeists, banshees, leprechauns, specters, apparitions, fairies and all organized theologies.

If I have left something from this list of nonsense, I'll be happy to add it.

[jtur88]

When putting on the shift, wouldn't it make more sense to leave 2B and SS at their normal positions, and move the 3B to short RF? So the 3B does not need to be the pivot man and maybe not make the DP, just before Manny hits the game tying homer?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by jtur88

When putting on the shift, wouldn't it make more sense to leave 2B and SS at their normal positions, and move the 3B to short RF? So the 3B does not need to be the pivot man and maybe not make the DP, just before Manny hits the game tying homer?

I've had to chance to see hundreds of Barry Bonds at bats where the extreme shift was employed against him. My anecdotal observation on this was that it didn't seem to make a difference in the long run, backfiring on the opposition as frequently as it helped them.

However, that is anecdotal observation and I wonder if anyone has ever undertaken a study to learn if these shifts really help or not.

When Roger Craig was managing the Giants, he was an enthusiast for the wheel play, the one where in a bunt situation, the thirdbaseman charges before the pitch is thrown, SS moves over to cover third...and at least when I was watching, this never seemed to work. The bunt would go up the firstbaseline, or the guy would swing away and roll one right through the vacated SS position.

If I was managing, I think that I would use a straight away defense for nearly everyone and all situations....unless there was some strong evidence that these shifts were really working.

[jtur88]

My question was, given that the shift IS employed (in this casie yielding a double play ball), which infielder ought be the one that moves to short right?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by jtur88

My question was, given that the shift IS employed (in this casie yielding a double play ball), which infielder ought be the one that moves to short right?

The point of my answer was to convey to you the idea that I do not think it matters much...at least in the absense of any sort of organized study of shift effectiveness.

Any shift is going to be a trade off. You defend against a specific possibility and the price is enhanced jeopardy if the ball's trajectory refuses to cooperate with your plan. That applies internally to the specifics of the shift used, whichever infielder you select to cover short right, you have created a weakness somewhere else.

[Wiggen]

What would Ted Williams' career batting average have been had he decided to combat 'The Williams Shift' by going to left field, instead of attacking it head on during every at bat?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Wiggen

What would Ted Williams' career batting average have been had he decided to combat 'The Williams Shift' by going to left field, instead of attacking it head on during every at bat?

My theory is that it would have worked out so that it was the same. If he started hitting the opposite way and was burning the opposition when he did, then they would stop using the shift. If he found himself hitting less by going the opposite way, then he would have stopped it.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

What do you forsee for the Reds with Dusty Baker in charge?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

What do you forsee for the Reds with Dusty Baker in charge?

Dusty is of the Peerless Leader school of managers and is well qualified to run a specific sort of team. His strength lies in keeping the club focused on the game, keeping harmony in the clubhouse and generally setting the example for the whole club with his behavior. Dusty is a "man's man" type, the one who leads by causing other people to not want to let him down.

What sort of team has the greatest need for that type? My observation is that it is most effective with a talented but underachieving club. Perhaps a club which had a number of good rookies arrive, great things were expected for the future, but they just plateaued instead, turning in one mediocre season after another until a general complacency set in. They need a manager who will remind them of their professional obligations.

Does that describe the '08 Reds? I haven't followed them closely enough to know.

Baker tends to trust veterans over young players, has no particular extreme characteristics with regard to how he runs a game, controls his temper well and will only appear on the field to put in the expected grumpitude over a close call that went against his team, or to protect one of his players who is on thin ice with the umps.

I thought he did a very good job handling the Giants pitching staff while he was in SF, kept them healthy, had a role for everyone in the bullpen, had neither a quick nor slow hook for the starters. In Chicago he was being handed a notoriously fragile staff and his first year there he was either incredibly lucky or incredibly good because his five starters gave him 32,32,32,30, and 28 starts. He only need two other guys to cover 8 other starts all year. After that, Wood and Prior returned to their traditional DL spots and the number of starts given to pitchers not in the rotation rose to 25. The year after that it was 46, the year after that it was 54. Then he was fired.

So, I'm left wondering if Baker has no special ability with pitching staffs and he has just been someone who went from one extreme of luck to the other. He lost his job in Chicago because of pitching injuries, a big part of his success in SF was the product of avoiding such injuries.

[Zen653]

What sort of team has the greatest need for that type? My observation is that it is most effective with a talented but underachieving club. Perhaps a club which had a number of good rookies arrive, great things were expected for the future, but they just plateaued instead, turning in one mediocre season after another until a general complacency set in. They need a manager who will remind them of their professional obligations.

Does that describe the '08 Reds?

It sounds like it would have applied to the 2006 Indians but Eric Wedge has done a nice job of turning that team around. It could also apply to the 2007-2008 Chicago White Sox. I have no idea why Ozzie Guillen's contract was extended.

While on the subject of managers, why did Cito Gaston never get another managerial job after his very successful stint in Toronto?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Zen653

While on the subject of managers, why did Cito Gaston never get another managerial job after his very successful stint in Toronto?

Gaston, like Baker, was of the Peerless Leader school, the strong silent type and it's hard to evaluate their true contributions since they don't seem to be doing or saying all that much. His second WS championship in '93 was also the last time the Jays played over .500 ball during Gaston's tenure. When he was fired, his resume featured great performace first four years, stinko performance the last four years. I guess the more recent results dulled enthusiasm for hiring him right away.

After that, it was his misfortune to perfectly fit a needed slot which kept him from being hired again. That was the token black manager candidate to interview when the club had really already made up its mind to hire someone else but needed to show that they had complied with MLB's directive about equal opportunity. He was a legitmate candidate with legitimate credentials, so no one could argue that this was some obviously insincere interview. My memory is of Gaston being on a number of "short lists" for this and that managing position, none of which he got.

[guy incognito]

Hey there, long time, no see...

On this date ten years ago in Nevada, Britain's Andy Green set a new land speed record, getting up to 763.055 MPH in his "Thrust SSC", a car powered by twin Jet engines.

ThrustSSC Pictures

A decade seems to me to be an awfully long time for something like this to stand. You seem to be a sporting type, Grandstander...how about financing and constructing a car to break that speed record, and appointing some hapless boob - skrable, say - to drive it?

[skrable]

who stole my hap?