Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins
What exactly is Moore's philosophy? I don't see much of one other than draft really high and hope the player pans out.
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This breaks down the problems pretty well.
http://www.royalsreview.com/2013/5/2...-working-right
However, those players are not actually the problem. Rather, they are a symptom of the problem. The problem is deeper, and it lies in the very way that you value and develop players.
Take for example any of the guys on your roster with an OBP (FYI - that means On Base Percentage) of around .250. It's an abomination that any one major league player is allowed to play for any length of time with that number, let alone multiple players. In fact, I would bet that you would agree that is bad. But that drives us to the deeper problem, a problem that I fear is deeply ingrained in how you think.
So, a random player has an OBP of .250. We'll call him say, Chreffides Mousmer. That means Chreffides gets on base 1 out of every 4 tries. However, nobody gets on base every game, so let's say that Mr. Mousmer has a game where he goes 0 - 4. The next night he goes 2 - 4. His OBP is .250. Most people would say that is terrible. But not you. You would say that Chreffides is turning the corner, that he is showing signs of improvement. If he continued to alternate between 0 - 4 and 2 - 4, you would keep him in the lineup indefinitely. When other organizations would have cut bait a long time ago, you look at that random 2 hit game and give the guy a few more months. That is an example of the "this" that isn't working.
The same goes for pitching. You know that graphic that gets displayed every so often in baseball games? The one that lists the 5 worst ERAs for pitchers with at least 50 starts? I'm sure it's a complete coincidence, but at least a couple of your guys are always on that list. I fear Wade Davis is about to join them. Any random 7 inning, 8 hit, 0 run performance will buy Wade a year or two of starts, nevermind his ERA continually hovering in the 5.5 range. After all, he has shown signs of improvement, of figuring it out.
Another example would be Jeff Francoeur. Here is his OPS (look it up) by year since 2008: .653, .732, .683, .805, .665, .561. Other GMs would look at the .805 in 2011 as the fluke. But not you. It is as if you think 2011 is the real Francoeur, and 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 are the flukes. This is fundamental to how you think about baseball.
You see, the very core of how you evaluate players is flawed. That flawed evaluation leads to flawed development, which leads to 5 black holes in the lineup in your 7th year. Go ahead, release Francoeur, or send Getz, or Moose, or even Hosmer down. Any of those would be welcome, but they are just symptoms, not the problem.
Take plate discipline. You say you value walks, and I'm sure you think you do. But I fear that plate discipline is just a check box in your mind, something that a random team meeting will fix, that if the guys would just be reminded of it, it will happen, but there are other things more important. I mean, it's just bad luck the Royals aren't scoring right now. They are doing pretty good in batting average. Just give it a little more time, and the hits will be bunched together, and things will improve.
That is another "this" that isn't working. You fail to understand the difference between the things that are innate abilities vs. the things that can be developed. Jeff Francoeur will never walk, no matter how much emphasis is put on it. The team that you have assembled is an out-making machine. But, if you could replace each player on the roster, who would you replace them with? It would be more black holes, because you are drawn to those types of players. You can't help yourself.