POTD Willie Bloomquist, Using the Whole Brain
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Blue Quadrant
Right on cue!, babe. If you wanted an example of Blue-Only analysis, here y'go amig-O.
This paradigm, taken to its extremes, assumes that other viewpoints are not only mistaken about, but actually oblivious to the Blue-Only material. This blog proceeds from the assumption that Jack Zduriencik literally does not know that 0.0 WAR is replacement level, and then proceeds with its excoriation of Zduriencik for refusing to learn the basics about baseball analysis.
At this point (ten years on) there is only one thing I would add: nobody in the real world gets to act like that.
Mojician does not win trials by assuming that the D.A. does not know what a voir dire is. Grumpy does not give a second opinion on a diagnosis after assuming that the first surgeon never went to med school. Bat571's fleet didn't sail in to "clear waters" based on the assumption that the enemy simply wasn't paying attention. A chess master, seeing a weird move, does not simply shrug, "Oh, well, guess it's a good thing Kasparov is an idiot" and then win games that way.
Nobody in the real world gets to assume that --- > everybody different from them is stupid.
Only in the media, do pundits get to assume that others are brain-damaged and then continue along their merry ways. Those actually in the fray have to --- > show some respect for others' ideas. Otherwise, the Law of the Fittest will soon have them seeking alternative employment.
Such as, in the media...
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Green Quadrant
Green-quadrant thinkers tend to be safety-first, and then tend to be sequential and process-oriented. Think dominoes. "The Book" tends to make us feel safe. We all like to feel like we're following steps 1, 2, and 3; after all, those steps have been proven to work in the past.
But none of these are absolutes. All people mix thinking from all four quadrants, as does LL.
For an example of useful Green-oriented thinking, see Lookout Landing's excellent post on the subject.
We're not implying that LL is limited to green-quadrant thinking. Not at all. But here's a good example of how a Green Quadrant Manager might assess the Bloomquist move -- in terms of its effect on other dominoes.
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Red Quadrant
In this specific case, the Red Quadrant is where the money is. Along with some yellow.
The Houston Texans are 2-and-10; they have lost, literally, ten games in a row. That isn't because they have 2-and-10 talent. It is because their locker room is in a state of civil war. (Just for example, DB Ed Reed complained about their last defeat by grousing that the Texans were outcoached.)
The Miami Dolphins were 3-and-0 before running into an ugly, ugly locker room scandal, and then went 2-and-5 from there. They did scrounge a victory yesterday against a team in even more disarray than they are in.
If you've been around the Mariners for long, you've been watching them -- year after year -- throw in the towel around May 15. Once a baseball team quits on a season, there are no do-overs. That's when they just start bringing up developmental players...
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Eric Wedge didn't leave on a sweet note. Lloyd McClendon does not come in on a sweet note, nor does he come in with much buy-in.
Under these circumstances you need Org Guys in the clubhouse. You've got to have them. The 2014 Mariners will need a minimum of two Sweeney/Griffey type player-coaches in uniform, where the young players will actually listen to them.
A 36-year-old Willie Bloomquist -- a 100.00% fiercely Club-Loyal veteran -- will be out there taking ground balls with Nick Franklin and Brad Miller. If Franklin and Miller keep their heads in the right place, and have big seasons, and support Lloyd McClendon, it will be in large part due to Willie Bloomquist.
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Why two years for Bloomquist? Hey, Nick. Get used to Willie. He's going to be here a while.
On March 10th, Nick Franklin does not get to snicker at Willie Bloomquist. Do you get why? Because Willie is going north. Nick maybe ain't. You feel me? Do you get how that works in a real sports locker room?
Willie Bloomquist, by virtue of his contract, is now senior to Miller and Franklin, if not also Ackley.
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The above reasoning is likely to do no more than --- > anger the staunch Blue-Only advocates. But! Consider how many baseball franchises make room for Org Guy spear-carriers.
Just about every manager is allowed 1-2 spots, at the end of the roster, for "clubhouse buffers." I guess it is possible that 30 baseball teams -- when they pay attention to "chemistry, makeup and bull****" are ignorant, and Fangraphs is enlightened.
Just don't try to tell the Houston Texans' coach that.
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Yellow Quadrant
The big picture here is, the trade issues swirling around Miller, Franklin, and Ackley. LL covers this for yer. Maybe this move signals us that several trade scenarios are heating up.
Another big-picture issue here is, Jack Zduriencik wants to win in 2014. Not 2015, but 2014. How could "WFB" possibly contribute to this? That's another issue, but the good news for you, as a Mariner fan, is what the M's intention is.
Not only by -- in his mind, the Red Quadrant mind -- assisting the young players' development, but also in another way...
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Dr's R/X
Whether you agree, disagree or abstain, you'll agree with this much:
Willie Bloomquist's contract should be viewed as --- > a statement, by the Mariners, that the construction of Lloyd McClendon's clubhouse is a priority.
Maybe he's right. Maybe he's wrong. Either way, that is the useful debate here. Not the debate about whether Jack Zduriencik should learn what "replacement level" is. We might as well spend our time debating whether Russell Wilson should learn what a "Cover Two" is. Our time would be just as productively spent, either way.
Jack Zduriencik is well aware that Fangraphs has bequeathed him with 0.0 WAR at every roster slot, without his having to pay for it. He has made a public statement that clubhouse building, and the development of the young infielders, is worth $2M per year to him.
It's a more sophisticated debate, and a more useful one.
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