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"As opposed to a lot of ML teams, who have French soccer players calling the shots. :- )"
LOL
Linkage: Brown's Developmental Resume
I/O: Kudos to Jason for chasing down juicy quotes re: Brown.
CRUNCH: And, as usual, Jason's comments in the thread are almost better than the original article.
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I/O: Brown with raves for his leadership skills.
Such as, "The guy knows how to mesh personalities together, how to get young players to focus on what they need to be focused on. That is not an easy task," said one front office executive. "He's got that kind of reputation."
CRUNCH: Ummmmmmm .... right away, crazy-ol' Dr. D is nervous. That's an FKey7 comment. You know how you feel about fluff pieces in March about how Ken Griffey Jr. has been working out real hard this winter? That's were I file the above comment.
That's not to say that Brown might not be a good leader. I'm sure the man commands respect. As did Don Wakamatsu, more so. Most AAA managers know how to get young players to focus.
I'm not trashing the quote, which is interesting. I'm providing you a variety camera-angle on the subject, is all.
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I/O: Brown not afraid to take charge. Brown not over-worried about being the players' pal.
Thusly: "I think it's very simple -- he is the boss, and the players know it. They respect him. I have never heard a negative word said about Brown. Not from an umpire, player, manager, coach or a member of the front office."
CRUNCH: If this is the rationale for making a guy the manager, I've graduated from nervous to anxious. I suppose other AA managers get promoted because they've alienated a lot of people?
No disrespect intended. But what happens is, people get too close to the situation. They've met the man, they like the man, and they go, "Hey, great. Solid choice." But it is, sometimes, based on being "captured" by subjective factors that unfortunately might not mean much.
How many current AAA managers would have a lot of people saying nice things about their ML future?
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I/O: Two players quoted that Brown was tough but fair with them.
CRUNCH: See above. If the above items were not the case, the guy wouldn't be a seasoned AAA manager, but is every AAA manager a "solid choice" to turn around a 105-loss team?
Brown's a straight shooter, pard. Good stuff. Glad to hear it. ummm...
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I/O: Brown used to pitch.
CRUNCH: As opposed to a lot of ML teams, who have French soccer players calling the shots. :- )
We're not being snide. Just goofing off. You get our point. The things said about Brown could all be said about Don Wakamatsu, and were said about him. And about most AAA managers.
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I/O: Brown has a rep for developing players.
CRUNCH: Now we're getting loose. To me, Jason's own analysis is much more interesting than what he got from the baseball guys.
PI assesses Brown's grass-roots, Indy-league toil as praiseworthy, and wants a player-development guy for a young team. Logical. Though I don't necessarily sign off on it, the logic is interesting.
The assessment of Brown as a better-than-average developmental guy, and technical coach, is a subjective one, and one that I respect. If Churchill's considered opinion is that Brown can teach pitching and hitting better than, say, Don Wakamatsu or Brett Butler can teach it, I value that assessment.
My take on it, though? Is that a lot of guys look like good teachers at the AAA level. A loottttttt of them. True though it might be, it's not a meaty enough concept for senile ol' Dr. D to bet very long on.
.................
Great thing, though: a month-and-a-half to check the guy out. Of this, SSI heartily approves.
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Comments
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From one of the players comments. The player said, "One time he pulled me aside and asked 'if you want to play more, show me why you deserve it. I'm going to play those that deserve it. I don't care what your paycheck says."
For a team that has dealt with veteran entitlement issues and the glacially slow to react Wok this was like music to my ears, and it hold way more weight coming from a player than some scout or media member.
I am still on the fence on whether I like Bobby V better or Brown better, but the more I look at the situation I think I would feel comfortable with either.
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Great write-up, as always, Doc.
And to expand on an excellent point (and quote) by OBF ... it ain't about what the manager SAYS that ultimately determines his (and the team's) fate. It's about what he DOES.
To this instant, I don't believe I've heard anyone complain about anything Wak said - (except perhaps Figgins in response to Wak saying - "You're batting 9th."). The Wak adjectives were: smart, classy, stuidious, unflappable, etc., etc. They described EXCLUSIVELY how he carried himself - how he presented himself to the public (and press). Precious little was written - (one way or the other) - on what he actually DID, (batting Griffey 5th for 7 weeks - benching Sweeney out of ST while Byrnes got more PT - pinch-hitting for Figgins with Griffey when Junior was hitting 200 points worse - etc., etc., etc.).
In the end - the club may make their decisions based on what he says. But, the final outcome of wins and losses will be determined by what he does. SAYING "I don't care what your paycheck says" is indeed a money quote. But actually benching (for instance), a healthy, slumping Bradley, to put a (say) in-the-zone Langerhans into the lineup is easier to allude to than to actually do.
The "play-the-kids" crowd will want the spec-du-jour (Smoak? Tui?) in the lineup, not Langerhans. The front office, who is paying Bradley 8 figures to ride the pine - is going to want some return on that investment. The power starved masses are going to want someone with more pop (Saunders? Branyan?).
The fans often don't get the word on nagging injuries - (Saunders' hammy is a little tight - or Branyan felt a little twinge during BP). So, when a manager DOES actually make a lineup choice based on ALL the info - that is designed to help the club win as much as possible today - (w/o being overly detrimental to tomorrow) - the manager can still be crucified in the press and on the blogs.
There are not 100% right answers in a *specific* game when balancing the concerns of winning, health and development. You can only view the balance over time - in hindsight. Was the prospect playing only 1 day in 6? Was the slumping veteran playing 20 games before a day off, (and only getting that because he hurt something)?
Me? I've liked what I've seen so far from Brown - even while many others are complaining because he isn't doing "enough" of X or Y. ("Kotchman isn't in our future - so why is he STILL playing?")
Well, perhaps that's because Smoak is simply not ready - and Branyan simply cannot handle the day-to-day wear and tear of playing 1B - and perhaps the club sees zero upside in having Tui play 1B, when they're projecting him to be MAYBE a passable MI bat. I know that typically, your bench Swiss Army knife typically doesn't play a lot of 1B, because that's where you're supposed to get BIIIG offense. I mean, really ... how many games did McLemore play at 1B? (answer: none -- he played every position except catcher and 1B).
I think Wak was a perfect "face" for the team - and a lousy manager. (But what do I know from 3000 miles away?). I think Brown might well be an excellent manager - but I think the powers that be are more concerned about "face" than winning. I think Piniella was the ultimate evidence in that regard. Piniella was like Grunge -- a passing fad that the club deigned to ride for awhile - but not really what Seattle is about -- (Starbucks and Microsoft).
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about the above quote is that it is NOT a quote from Brown, it isn't was he is saying. It is a quote from a player, about what they experienced from him and about what they heard from him behind closed doors. Brown has already shown it a little bit (albeit he hasn't had a ton of guys to choose from) with leaving a hot Tui in the lineup over the more heralded prospect Saunders, and the "veteran" Langerhans
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He's still K'ing way too much and really...he's had one good game and a HR in another game...
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Saunders is hurt. Ever since he crashed awkwardly into the wall, he's been hurt. He's getting an MRI I believe when the Ms get back, and they won't let him hit again until after they get the results. Or at least that's what I read last on the situation.
Brown can tell Tui that his manager's backing him, but Saunders isn't a viable option at this point. I just hope Mike's okay.
Tui heating up would be a bonus, but he's got another month of playing time to see if he can get some of his bad tendencies under control.
~G