He is smarter than that though Less analytical and more motivational would get him fired quickly by Luhnow
Who do you consider a good manager out there? Joe Maddon is the only one that seems to have consistent success, and he's as far on the analytical side as you can get. Who are the great motivational and go-with-your-gut managers out there?
Slow news day/ fun fact (courtesy of /r/baseball thread on Reddit): Behold possibly the most bizarre 0.2 of an inning ever pitched: On 8/1/71, Reds' Joe Gibbon faced 7 batters, surrendering a hit, an IBB, a hit by pitch, struck a guy out, made an E1, a balk and a wild pitch, and capped it all off with the only walk-off catcher's interference in play-index history
Not so much a go with your gut guy but a guy who can snap his club out of unbearable, lack of desire to win losing streaks. A manager who will not stand idly by as his team gets shafted by the umps and ask "may I have another?".I would give him one more year to get his **** together.
Neither of those guys fit your criteria. One has never even managed. Garner was a disaster with younger teams.
I don't really see Ventura or Duffy as a meaningful upgrade over Fiers/Musgrove, assuming either would cost good prospects. Although Ventura has upside.
If Hinch can't take this current team to playoffs this year will you still be on the Hinch wagon? Hinch never managed before Arizona and they ran him off on a rail.
I'm on the "the manager is usually the least of a team's concerns" wagon. There can certainly be bad fits... and there can certainly be some guys who have stronger personalities that leads to some player confrontations... but for the most part, if you have a manager who can keep the peace in the clubhouse, and can figure out which roles the bullpen guys can thrive in... then you're pretty much par for the course. Bo Porter, by all accounts, was bad with strategy... and bad in the clubhouse. This is a very young team... and Hinch seems to be able to relate to them better than an older/pure strategist manager would. The "rah rah", "fired up!", "go to war" mentality you're looking for is just rhetoric... mainly concocted by fans.
Anyone think it's possible that the Astros want the news regarding interest in KC pitchers out there so that the Sox may bite and agree to something more to the Astros liking?
I have no qualms with Hinch. He's surpassed expectations in his two seasons. Sure, he's had some questionable moves, but let's see how he does this year. Part of me is intrigued with an Ausmus reunion, with a staff employing both Biggio and Baggy. But nostalgia (and Ausmus' record) aside, Hinch has earned another season or two. I don't think that changes unless we absolutely crater this year or the players quit on him. That's really the only way I see a change in management going into 2018.
Duffy was solid last year after scrapping his CB. Wonder what it would cost to get him since he'd be more of a 1 year rental.
