tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893512317902577458.post8468535914685724122..comments2024-01-06T02:22:33.000-05:00Comments on Camden Depot: Buck Showalter Enjoys Analytics, Except When He Doesn'tJon Shepherdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03521809778977098687noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893512317902577458.post-61868995121050309032018-06-30T23:39:49.990-04:002018-06-30T23:39:49.990-04:00Pssst.... Buck.... the analytics are there to tell...Pssst.... Buck.... the analytics are there to tell you the truth you don't want to be seeing or are missing for some other reason - not to re-enforce what 'your gut has already been telling you'. SMH.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12409389101408145220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893512317902577458.post-86419440846127592332018-06-29T19:00:04.987-04:002018-06-29T19:00:04.987-04:00Buck has made his share of mistakes and perhaps he...Buck has made his share of mistakes and perhaps he doesn't embrace analytics as much as he should. <br />But he figured out a way to right the ship in 2012 by sending Tillman down enough times until his mechanics were straightened out. He came to the conclusion that Zach Britton would never make it as a starter and turned him into a dominant reliever until he got hurt.<br />The one thing I'll remember Buck for (assuming he's gone after the season is done): he realized that you can cover for deficiencies in the starting rotation by having a plethora of good arms in the bullpen. Other teams have followed suit by only asking that---apart from their aces---they get 15-18 outs and the bullpen will do the rest.<br />In a division arguably with the greatest concentration of hitter's parks of all of the divisions in baseball, that's not bad strategy.<br />If he has one old school flaw: he's loyal to certain players perhaps to a fault. But that's why players love playing for him, by most accounts.<br />Apart from judging a player's ability by employing metrics, today's managers still have to do what all good managers have always had to do: they have to understand how to motivate their best players. IMO, Buck did a good job at that.<br />Earl Weaver left Eddie Murray alone because he understood he was self-motivated. He liked giving other players an occasional kick in the pants (Jim Palmer was one of his favorites, for a variety of reasons).<br />In the end, IMHO the failure of the Orioles was expressed well in an earlier column by one of the writers here. You can't have an organization that has three heads making decisions that often conflict with one another.<br />I'm hopeful that perhaps the team will be sold to another owner who will restore the old "Oriole Way" to the organization: everybody is on the same page, from the lowest tier of the minors to the Big Show.<br />The new GM will inherit a very high draft pick---perhaps the first one in the draft. Let's hope that this person is up to the task ahead.V. Blekaitishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03841118518283072694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893512317902577458.post-79149643106450691142018-06-29T13:18:09.313-04:002018-06-29T13:18:09.313-04:00Yes, it's confusing, but you can't separat...Yes, it's confusing, but you can't separate Buck from many of those decisions. Matt Kremnitzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15693430925266947705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893512317902577458.post-82146241783852245602018-06-29T12:36:26.436-04:002018-06-29T12:36:26.436-04:00There’s so much debate about who is really making ...There’s so much debate about who is really making the decisions. Who signed Rasmus? Who gave Tillman a major league contract? Who ignored Flaherty? Who refused to deal players at or near peak value? Who ignored the pitching? Who gave Machado the blessing to become a bad Shortstop instead of an elite third baseman? And many such questions.<br />If that was all done over Buck’s screaming objections, then he gets a pass. If he instigated or endorsed these moves, he should be gone yesterday, regardless of timing and replacement.<br />But even though we are aware of organizational dysfunction and lack of communication, and we have strong indications that Brady is taking over most of Dan’s duties, we don’t know anything for sure. Regardless, I think Buck’s day is done, and I’m not really interested in anything he has to say anymore.Piphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02853470978165087046noreply@blogger.com