Out with the old, in with the old

[PDXChris]

Great to see a new lineup tonight. Oh wait, Chris Young is still batting second and nothing has changed. I guess Josh must have pre-filled out Hinch's lineup card for the next few weeks.


Also, nice a nice shot of Gibson sitting by himself while Hinch was talking with another coach. I get Hale and Gibson feel awkward right about now.

 

[PDXChris]

Why is Wilson in there? 2 errors in 4 games started. Augie is batting .305 and has solid defense.

This is what I would go with.

F Lopez 2B
A Ojeda SS
J Upton RF
M Reynolds 3B
J Whitesell 1B
M Montero C
C Jackson LF
C Young CF
Y Petit P

 

[PDXChris]

If Webb is not coming back soon, they need to find another pitcher. Pedro anyone?

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

If Webb is not coming back soon, they need to find another pitcher. Pedro anyone?

Parker

 

[PDXChris]

Parker

He just got to AA and his ERA is over 4 there.

 

[devilalum]

Why is Wilson in there? 2 errors in 4 games started. Augie is batting .305 and has solid defense.

This is what I would go with.

F Lopez 2B
A Ojeda SS
J Upton RF
M Reynolds 3B
J Whitesell 1B
M Montero C
C Jackson LF
C Young CF
Y Petit P

Batting Young in the 8 hole will not help him get out of his slump. He had a double last night. I hope they put Young second and leave him there for at least a couple of weeks. I think that might be just the psychological boost he needs. If not go back to Ojeda.

 

[devilalum]

He just got to AA and his ERA is over 4 there.

And all we need is to destroy another young players confidence by rushing him up too early.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Batting Young in the 8 hole will not help him get out of his slump. He had a double last night. I hope they put Young second and leave him there for at least a couple of weeks. I think that might be just the psychological boost he needs. If not go back to Ojeda.

Batting Young anywhere won't help him... That "double" was actually a misplayed ball by both the CF and RF... they looked like a couple of Keystone Cops on that play...

 

[PDXChris]

And all we need is to destroy another young players confidence by rushing him up too early.

That is my point. We need to get a capable starter with MLB experience.

 

[BC867]

Out with the old, in with the old certainly hits the nail on the head.

It has now been made clear that the very passive Bob Melvin (who was never qualified to be anything more than Bench Coach) took the hit for Josh Byrnes.

It's why volatile candidates like Chip Hale and Kirk Gibson were bypassed.

This quote says it all. "Byrnes said he will continue to have an influence over the lineup and batting order."

So Josh Byrnes was the Mad Scientist and Melvin was Assistant Mad Scientist.

It's why our young position players weren't allowed to get comfortable in a role and grow into it.

Evidently we now have a George Steinbrenner imitation in the Valley. But whereas King George chose strong Managers -- from Billy Martin to Joe Torre -- Byrnes chooses 'yes' men.

With the Dodgers losing Manny, we could make up for their stronger young lineup with our better starting pitchers. Let's see if we do.

Then let's see if the D'backs can take the Division when Manny returns vs. letting it slip away as we did last season.

This change in 'yes' men Managers doesn't offer much hope for anything different.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2009/05/08/20090508dbbyrnes-CR.html

 

[PDXChris]

Batting Young in the 8 hole will not help him get out of his slump. He had a double last night. I hope they put Young second and leave him there for at least a couple of weeks. I think that might be just the psychological boost he needs. If not go back to Ojeda.

If you bat him 8th, it will force him to be patient and just make contact or you can bat him 9th and give bat him in front of the most consistent player this year.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Patience.

No one is going to give you credit in 6 months if you rail against Hinch now and he ends up being a bust. The odds are stacked against him in the first place.

And theres a chance you might just look dumb in 6 months too.

Lefty might think I am crazy but I trust Josh Byrnes. This is obviously his coup de grace and I think he is smart enough to know that and have made his decision accordingly.

Personally I am happy he went against the retread route.

The reality is we have no idea how Hinch will turn out because there is nothing really to base it against. Whats the harm in reserving judgement and giving him say a month to see what he can do?

 

[HooverDam]

Personally I am happy he went against the retread route.

So am I, but Chip Hale wouldn't have been a retread, why couldn't they have gone with him?

The reality is we have no idea how Hinch will turn out because there is nothing really to base it against. Whats the harm in reserving judgement and giving him say a month to see what he can do?

Its a little tough for most fans, who have had to work their whole lives to get where they are, and had to be qualified to get their jobs, see someone with ZERO qualifications get hired to such a big job. Not only that, but to land a four year contract without doing a damned thing. If that doesn't scream of mismanagement and poor decision making, what does?

The idea of hiring people who have qualifications for a job is a long standing, and sensible tradition. When its ignored you end up with situations like the Suns and Steve Kerr and now likely the D'backs and Hinch. Now, is there a chance Hinch could work out? Sure, but the odds are extremely low and it would entail the Snakes getting extremely lucky. Criticizing Byrnes for making an insane decision is absolutely called for and necessary right now.

 

[82CardsGrad]

If you bat him 8th, it will force him to be patient and just make contact or you can bat him 9th and give bat him in front of the most consistent player this year.

I'd love to see Young batting 8th... In Reno!

 

[Dback Jon]

Why play Whitesell so much? Is Tracy hurt?

 

[Skkorpion]

Why play Whitesell so much? Is Tracy hurt?

No. In my opinion, it's because Tracy has been batting lousy for a while, is a defensive liability and pouts. The next time he runs hard to first base will be his first ever.

Why not bring up a young player who has conquered Triple A level and give him a chance on a team going nowhere right now if they keep starting the same proven losers?

 

[82CardsGrad]

No. In my opinion, it's because Tracy has been batting lousy for a while, is a defensive liability and pouts. The next time he runs hard to first base will be his first ever.

Why not bring up a young player who has conquered Triple A level and give him a chance on a team going nowhere right now if they keep starting the same proven losers?

Melvin or Schu must not have known how to light the fire under Tracy's ass...

 

[BC867]

So am I, but Chip Hale wouldn't have been a retread, why couldn't they have gone with him?

To a casual observer (who doesn't post to sports sites), it would look like both Chip Hale (whom I've been advocating as Manager for a year) and Kirk Gibson were part of Melvin's coaching staff and therefore more of the same.

Of course, I don't believe for a minute that they would have been more of the same.

I really wonder what role they played through these Mad Scientist batting orders and young hitters swinging for the skies.

Did they agree with it? I can't believe that.

Did they siimply have no opinion? I can't believe that either.

Did they know that it was weak management, but remain loyal by keeping their mouthes shut in public? What about in private?

I wonder if we'll ever find out. I expect that Chip Hale will be managing a Major League team next season.

As I posted during Spring Training, as I sat in the first row just a few feet from Chip in the 3B coaching box, I called out, "The D'backs have a great Manager. Too bad he's in the coaching box."

I would have liked a glance from him, but nothing. He's a class individual.

 

[devilalum]

Isn't Byrnes part of the new generation math/baseball people. Every decision is made based on some kind of formula. I've read that these guys don't buy much into old school kick ass managing. Everythings about trends, averages, eras etc., etc., etc.....

I imagine Byrnes up in the press box scanning spreadsheets, crunching numbers on his computer and calling the dugout with the final decision.

 

[HooverDam]

^From what Ive read and heard from J Byrnes in interviews, he's not a hardcore SABRmetrician, but he is one to some degree. Id say he's something of a blend of the old and the new.