Is Byrnes really a sabermetrics guy?

[Ryanwb]

If so he no doubt noticed that Luis Gonzalez is in the top 40 of most of the sabermetric catergories in the NL. Followed closely by Hudson and Byrnes while Chad Tracy (in most part due to his strikeouts) is near the bottom. Conor Jackson's numbers have been up over the last 2 months of the season and has brought his numbers SABR stats up

My question is.... will these numbers affect Brynes' decisions on who to retain or is this simply a matter of production vs salary? Gonzalez is putting up decent numbers but he makes too much money. Will this affect potential free agents?

Where does Byrnes lie on a sliding scale where Billy Beane (number crunching, salary watching) is the far left and Brian Cashman (money is no object, pay to win now) is the far right?

 

[devilfan02]

We also have to remember that Gonzo os one of the worst defensive LF and sabermaticians have placed higher value on defense as of late. I do believe that Byrnes is very salary concious which is evident by most of his moves so far as Dback GM. None of us here know how much Gonzon wanted on his extension. It could have been 1 more year for 8 million or 3 million, we don't know. I'm sure Byrnes had a value for Gonzo and he could have been demanding too much. Overall, I would say Byrnes is more on the left side of your scale. Thats my opinion based on the transactions he's made, all the prospects we have, and the fact that we're in a smaller market.

 

[AZZenny]

The other piece is that Gonzo is in steady decline, which will continue, not plateau, and you wouldn't pay a fading guy $5M or so for one last year if it means blocking or having to get rid of a youngster who is ready to produce now and can be with you for 4 or 5 years at a mere fraction the cost, or a younger, productive veteran who can be there at the same or lower numbers and bring value either in trade, or when he goes free agent.

 

[hafey]

1) It isn't the GM that is salary conscious as a philosophy. They have a budget they must work within. That is the reason Beane turned to numbers, to become more efficient with his limited budget. So comparing Cashman and Beane isn't really useful.

2)Byrnes does, as I know, have a background as a numbers guy.

3)It doesn't take a GM to realize that Gonzo is clearly on the decline, and while Gonzo is still a reasonably effective offensive player, we have too many young players that can play the outfield. Ultimately Gonzo will be inconsquential in the long term. Why waste even a million on him?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Byrnes has probbaly noticed Gonzo's OPS has declined four years in a row and without a DH it will become harder and harder to continue playing him as much. And his offensive numbers may appear good compared to the rest of thel league, let's also remember he's in the bottom half of qualified OF's in OPS despite playing in a hitter's park.

 

[ajcardfan]

1) It isn't the GM that is salary conscious as a philosophy. They have a budget they must work within. That is the reason Beane turned to numbers, to become more efficient with his limited budget. So comparing Cashman and Beane isn't really useful.

I have to admit that I thought Beane had gone nuts signing Thomas and Bradley this year. Even if Thomas got only 500K. It sure worked out perfectly though for the A's.