chico ruiz
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some random thoughts that may, or may not, connect (figurative or literal) dots. ah hell, take the following with a grain of salt because i'm not sure where i'm going with this. i believe i'll be responding to several of the last posts? that's my intention anyway.
williams and price have been saying variations of the following for 3 years:
"one of the goals we have is to have an athletic team and break down some of the barriers that have existed with roles - eight everyday players, four or five bench players with very specific skill sets. i think we'd like to evolve into a team that has more options for our manager, more flexibility, and i think the same thing could be said about the pitching, having relievers that can go multiple innings and able to face righties and lefties."
"you have to do more with less. you sometimes can't afford the luxury of role players. another is the work we've done on player health. giving everybody enough time for rest and recovery means you're getting away from eight players playing every day and getting to a more flexible lineup where guys are going to be given more rest and recovery time."
i like what they've been saying. it seemingly fits into a 2018 mlb small market team's objective. the problem is: i didn't see any transition toward this kind of approach last year at all. there has to come a point in time when some of these things start coming to fruition. some effort has to be made toward implementing stated goals. doesn't there? i'm not sure that price is the right manager for this job, because it's going to take some experimentation with experiential instinct. i would think that the last few years were perfect time for trying different things, because it's not all about a notebook full of match-up stats. it's about being confident in your decisions that others consider chance or risk. realistically though, there is only one manager in mlb that demonstrates and practices the nature of the above 2 quotes with anything resembling regularity.
the reds have to start operating unconventionally, or non-traditionally, organization wide. for example, why not have dixon and blandino on the od roster. they are 26 and 25 years old now. save some money on gosselin or pennington. i've tired of the argument that veterans handle the challenges of the utility / pinch hitter role better. i simply don't agree with that as it pertains to small market teams because they can only audition lower level vets. no offense meant to gosselin or pennington, but that is what they are. the reds can't afford depth like neil walker. btw, would anybody be surprised to learn that the reds projected opening day starting line-up's (9) combined salary is significantly higher than the yankees opening day starting line-up (10)? that includes the designated hitter. hicks, judge, bird, wade, drury, sanchez, severino are all at, or very near, league minimum. for the record, 3 al east teams were in the top 7 in mlb team era last year (#3 nyy - 3.67). broach any subject you want; but pay attention. the king is dead. the prince is smarter and more thoughtful. also, their farm system is so deep they wouldn't need to sign or trade for anybody else in the next few years unless they want to. now i ask you; doesn't that read exactly like the position a smaller market team should consistently be in? but, what do i know? i'm just a poor slob that eats breakfast cereal out of bags. i am unable to think critically and multi-task, and rely too heavily on facts and reason.
it seems reasonable to assume that having the ability to make deals from a position of 'want,' and not 'need' is where you'd always prefer to be. my dunderheaded position is that any organization is capable of this philosophy, implementation, and execution; whatever the market size is. they just have to shift the parameters differently with keen understanding of separate financial limitations. you know? a 10 year prospectus or business plan. continuity. for god sake, what other business would sacrifice a couple years of success for a decade of failure?
keeping in mind that i'm a big picture scatterbrained idiot; blandino and dixon look near mlb ready to me. dixon has some pop to the gaps. reminds of a young justin turner. blandino has had a very high on base percentage his entire career. i think the reds still see significant upside in shed long as well. i could go on and on about all the reds prospects. i only hope you guys see where i'm going with this. i'm not criticizing as much as presenting possible directions or ways to achieve the mission statement quotes i referenced above. keep the farm system -as john likes to say- churning. make trades early (maximizing take) from the 'want' position. they will be unpopular, but you have to keep your system healthy with prospects. there's more, but this post is already too long.
garrett's fastball has improved from last year. he's going up the ladder more (i hope it's purposeful). his height / downward trajectory makes it more difficult to pick up that bottom of the letters type heat. no way anybody can catch up to that. if they start the swing they're done. that's the kind of stuff hickey teaches in chicago. regardless, garrett's gas (his arm, not his ass) has late life.
i'm going to enjoy watching the reds this year. i don't think the reds lose much with a rotation of bailey, romano, mahle, garrett, and castillo. at the moment, switching out finnegan & desclafani for mahle & garrett doesn't seem like a downgrade to me.
williams and price have been saying variations of the following for 3 years:
"one of the goals we have is to have an athletic team and break down some of the barriers that have existed with roles - eight everyday players, four or five bench players with very specific skill sets. i think we'd like to evolve into a team that has more options for our manager, more flexibility, and i think the same thing could be said about the pitching, having relievers that can go multiple innings and able to face righties and lefties."
"you have to do more with less. you sometimes can't afford the luxury of role players. another is the work we've done on player health. giving everybody enough time for rest and recovery means you're getting away from eight players playing every day and getting to a more flexible lineup where guys are going to be given more rest and recovery time."
i like what they've been saying. it seemingly fits into a 2018 mlb small market team's objective. the problem is: i didn't see any transition toward this kind of approach last year at all. there has to come a point in time when some of these things start coming to fruition. some effort has to be made toward implementing stated goals. doesn't there? i'm not sure that price is the right manager for this job, because it's going to take some experimentation with experiential instinct. i would think that the last few years were perfect time for trying different things, because it's not all about a notebook full of match-up stats. it's about being confident in your decisions that others consider chance or risk. realistically though, there is only one manager in mlb that demonstrates and practices the nature of the above 2 quotes with anything resembling regularity.
the reds have to start operating unconventionally, or non-traditionally, organization wide. for example, why not have dixon and blandino on the od roster. they are 26 and 25 years old now. save some money on gosselin or pennington. i've tired of the argument that veterans handle the challenges of the utility / pinch hitter role better. i simply don't agree with that as it pertains to small market teams because they can only audition lower level vets. no offense meant to gosselin or pennington, but that is what they are. the reds can't afford depth like neil walker. btw, would anybody be surprised to learn that the reds projected opening day starting line-up's (9) combined salary is significantly higher than the yankees opening day starting line-up (10)? that includes the designated hitter. hicks, judge, bird, wade, drury, sanchez, severino are all at, or very near, league minimum. for the record, 3 al east teams were in the top 7 in mlb team era last year (#3 nyy - 3.67). broach any subject you want; but pay attention. the king is dead. the prince is smarter and more thoughtful. also, their farm system is so deep they wouldn't need to sign or trade for anybody else in the next few years unless they want to. now i ask you; doesn't that read exactly like the position a smaller market team should consistently be in? but, what do i know? i'm just a poor slob that eats breakfast cereal out of bags. i am unable to think critically and multi-task, and rely too heavily on facts and reason.
it seems reasonable to assume that having the ability to make deals from a position of 'want,' and not 'need' is where you'd always prefer to be. my dunderheaded position is that any organization is capable of this philosophy, implementation, and execution; whatever the market size is. they just have to shift the parameters differently with keen understanding of separate financial limitations. you know? a 10 year prospectus or business plan. continuity. for god sake, what other business would sacrifice a couple years of success for a decade of failure?
keeping in mind that i'm a big picture scatterbrained idiot; blandino and dixon look near mlb ready to me. dixon has some pop to the gaps. reminds of a young justin turner. blandino has had a very high on base percentage his entire career. i think the reds still see significant upside in shed long as well. i could go on and on about all the reds prospects. i only hope you guys see where i'm going with this. i'm not criticizing as much as presenting possible directions or ways to achieve the mission statement quotes i referenced above. keep the farm system -as john likes to say- churning. make trades early (maximizing take) from the 'want' position. they will be unpopular, but you have to keep your system healthy with prospects. there's more, but this post is already too long.
garrett's fastball has improved from last year. he's going up the ladder more (i hope it's purposeful). his height / downward trajectory makes it more difficult to pick up that bottom of the letters type heat. no way anybody can catch up to that. if they start the swing they're done. that's the kind of stuff hickey teaches in chicago. regardless, garrett's gas (his arm, not his ass) has late life.
i'm going to enjoy watching the reds this year. i don't think the reds lose much with a rotation of bailey, romano, mahle, garrett, and castillo. at the moment, switching out finnegan & desclafani for mahle & garrett doesn't seem like a downgrade to me.
