Agreed. I wouldn't trade either of those or Mondesi; those guys are the next wave that will allow us to compete.

Disagree. I'd say the majority of what Ned does is right after watching most of the other managers in the league. Ned outmanaged Terry in the WS and put us in a position to win in all of the 2015 postseason. He's not brilliant, but I no longer think someone has to be to be a successful manager in this league.

Gameplan wise, the biggest cardinal sin a manager can make is overusing the starter. Remember barnyard Trey? Ned gets big ups for pulling pitchers at 100-115 pitches alone. Dusty Baker has ruined entire careers by not following this footprint.

Besides, I've come to believe that 90% of being a manager is being a leader in the clubhouse. On paper, the Nationals likely had the best team in the league last year (pundits argued the Royals were still behind them after the Zo and Cueto trades last year). What happened to the Nats? Their locker room was a disaster, their manager threw their players under the bus, and two of their players got in a fistfight in September. They ended up missing the playoffs entirely, which is incredible considering the talent on that roster.

Ned has had a great presence in the clubhouse and lets our players excel at being who they are. This is what gave Hos the confidence to go for home in Game 5 and our players the faith they needed to stay aggressive over the last two postseasons. Watching the impact Matheny and Collins have had on their rosters by picking favorites has made me appreciate the impact Ned has had on our young players. I've come to believe it's the most important responsibility a manager has in the clubhouse.

But you still want to believe the Royals won in spite of Ned, I won't argue. It's actually not an uncommon belief about this squad.

Yep, I don't believe he's a genius either, but he's good enough to lead a successful team. Something you believed and I doubted before.

I also do not think Pena, Bell or Hillman could have done the same.

Phil Jackson. Luke Walton adopted his coaching philosophy straight from Phil and not only rose to be the Lakers next coach, GS was a better team under him last year.

Teams with tons of talent have tons of egos. Massaging personalities is far too often overlooked. Managing requires teambuilding, otherwise you may have talent and dick in terms of team results.

*** Official 2016 Royals Repository, Version 1 ***
 

Anyone in the Triple-A ASG worth watching?


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I'd move one. Moustakas/Cuthbert/Dozier ... Lot of depth there.

I'd lean towards hanging on to Bonifacio due to his age and the lack of other close options.

I would NOT move Mondesi. And neither will the team.


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On the flip side, they're still prospects and their value may never be higher than it is now.

Dozier makes the most sense to move because of his age. He will be 25 in August. Cuthbert is just 23 and in the bigs.

Does it make any sense to keep Dozier as a possible replacement for (shudder) Hosmer should we not be able to sign him? Or do we not worry about that and assume Salvy or Gordon could end up there?

Ryan O'Hearn

Managing or coaching at the professional level is far more about managing personalities than it is about strategies.

Anyone that has reached the apex of the coaching profession knows the Xes and Os.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ changed it's format so I assume the baseball side isn't too far behind.

He's 22-9 postseason and 2-0 in the ASG. He's basically the anti-Marty

Yep. Pro sports are all about the results. According to that principle, Ned is the best manager in baseball for the 2015 and 2016 season(until further notice). I'm not sure who follows Bochy on the active WS appearances list, but Ned has to be top 3-5 for sure.

I was trying to think of a Marty equivalent in professional baseball, and then it hit me there's a philosophy only three letters off from "martyball" in this league.