Full Version: Grady Little Unemployed
I love the double-speak: he was NOT fired, we just decided not to renew his contract. While that's technically true, and while being fired has a bit more sting than "not renewing contract", when I'm "laid off" from a company, the effect is the exact same as being fired.
Any guesses on who they're going to put on the hotseat?
QUOTE
\"If people want to judge Grady Little on the results of a decision I made in that last game the other day, so be it,\" he said in his Fenway Park office. \"In my heart, I know we had a great season here.\"
People that speak about themselves in the third person get ZERO sympathy from me. Jim Allen thinks that this is a sign of someone totally disconnected from reality.Any guesses on who they're going to put on the hotseat?
Good grief, that's amazing. Little did an excellent job. As recently as Labor Day I think everyone assumed the AL wild card would come from the West. Yet the Sox got into postseason play, and came thisclose to beating the Yanks. He won 188 games in two years with players who in many cases are household names only in their own households. Maybe Bobby Valentine in Boston? Who else is pathetic enough to want that job?
He handed an undeserved pennant to the We-Own-Baseball Yankees. Unemployment is the nicest thing that could've happened to him.
Yeah, who would want a high-profile managing job in a legendary park that's filled every night? That said, a large number of the Sox regulars had career seasons; Epstein is clearly going to make some moves.
[ October 27, 2003, 12:59 PM: Message edited by: Bill W ]
Yeah, who would want a high-profile managing job in a legendary park that's filled every night? That said, a large number of the Sox regulars had career seasons; Epstein is clearly going to make some moves.
[ October 27, 2003, 12:59 PM: Message edited by: Bill W ]
It's not exactly right that Grady Little is "paying the price for his decision to stick with Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the American League championship series," as the AP writer declares.
Rather, it's safe to assume that the decision not to renew his contract had been made much earlier in the season, due to his continuing "refusal to adhere to the club philosophy of studying stats and numbers for success on the field... In the end, that is exactly what defined his biggest blunder at the worst possible time." (Boston Globe sportswriter Eric Wilbur, who quotes the numbers on Pedro's stamina)
Had the Red Sox won the World Series, Grady Little's ass would have been saved. His fateful Game 7 decision only confirmed what otherwise appeared inevitable.
[ October 27, 2003, 03:22 PM: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]
Rather, it's safe to assume that the decision not to renew his contract had been made much earlier in the season, due to his continuing "refusal to adhere to the club philosophy of studying stats and numbers for success on the field... In the end, that is exactly what defined his biggest blunder at the worst possible time." (Boston Globe sportswriter Eric Wilbur, who quotes the numbers on Pedro's stamina)
Had the Red Sox won the World Series, Grady Little's ass would have been saved. His fateful Game 7 decision only confirmed what otherwise appeared inevitable.
[ October 27, 2003, 03:22 PM: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]
I am in total favor of Grady's contract not being renewed. Alot of his supporters keep on saying stuff like "look what he did for the team, the chemistry, getting to post season, etc...." All that stuff doesn't matter. The regular season is one season, the post season is a different season all together, that's why when a batter is up and their stats are displayed, it only shows the stats for the post season (occasionally they'll put up regular season numbers) But it makes total sense that he is not coming back. People say "he shouldn't be persecuted for one decision" It's not that simple. It's not like it's the second week of the season in a game against Tampa Bay. It is Game 7 of the ALCS against our biggest rivals in which the championship was being delivered to us on a silver platter, but Grady made the idiotic decision to trip the guy carrying the trophy, and let Steinbrenner pick it up.
It's also like if a business man makes little mess ups during a fiscal year, which may be annoying, but definitely not anything big...and then a 50 million dollar acquistion arises and the CEO has him handle it, and he f**ks it up and costs the company millions and millions of dollars, for that one mistake he should be fired.
It's also like if a business man makes little mess ups during a fiscal year, which may be annoying, but definitely not anything big...and then a 50 million dollar acquistion arises and the CEO has him handle it, and he f**ks it up and costs the company millions and millions of dollars, for that one mistake he should be fired.
I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up in the Yankees organization--something of a replacement for Don Zimmer. Odder things have happened.
~Adam
~Adam
I've heard Jim Fregosi is up for the Bosox job. How many lives does this guy have? One good year (surprising World Series run) is all this guy has going for him. Give someone else a chance to manage... unless the BoSox wanna hover around the .500 mark....
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Adam:
I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up [as] a replacement for Don Zimmer.
You stole my thunder! It could be Torre's "Red Sox manager who blows a pennant" bench coach niche.
I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up [as] a replacement for Don Zimmer.
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Bill W:
My strange feeling is the reverse. Could you imagine Zim as the coach of the Red Sox???
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Adam:
I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up [as] a replacement for Don Zimmer.
You stole my thunder! It could be Torre's \"Red Sox manager who blows a pennant\" bench coach niche. I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up [as] a replacement for Don Zimmer.
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Keith:
Could you imagine Zim as the coach of the Red Sox???
Well, yeah. (He managed them in '78, you may be too young to remember. Red Sox conspiracy theorists claim he was working for the Yankees when they blew their 14-game lead.) However, I think Theo Epstein realizes that Zimmer has forgotten whatever he may have once known about baseball.Could you imagine Zim as the coach of the Red Sox???
Oh man... Whitey Herzog? I know McKeon has raised the market for geezers in mothballs, but Lordy...
[ October 28, 2003, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: Bill W ]
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Bill W:
Well, yeah. (He managed them in '78, you may be too young to remember. Red Sox conspiracy theorists claim he was working for the Yankees when they blew their 14-game lead.)
But if I remember correctly, the Red Sox also won the last eight games of the regular season to tie the Yankees for first place. If it was a conspiracy, I wouldn't have relied on a corked bat on a one game playoff to give up first place to the Yankees. Well, yeah. (He managed them in '78, you may be too young to remember. Red Sox conspiracy theorists claim he was working for the Yankees when they blew their 14-game lead.)
QUOTE
Adam:
I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up in the Yankees organization--something of a replacement for Don Zimmer. Odder things have happened.
Someone (Peter Gammons?) suggested this possibility on ESPN.I have this strange feeling Grady Little will wind up in the Yankees organization--something of a replacement for Don Zimmer. Odder things have happened.
I could just imagine what it would be like next season if the Red Sox got off to a slow start and Little were still managing. I think it would get really ugly really fast. Even if they got off to a hot start the fans would just be waiting for a downturn so they could pounce. But considering that Little won so many games, the Red Sox had better find an excellent replacement.
from Joe in Philly:
Someone (Peter Gammons?) suggested this possibility on ESPN.
Damn him for stealing MY idea! Has he no shame? You know, of course, this means war.
~Adam
Someone (Peter Gammons?) suggested this possibility on ESPN.
Damn him for stealing MY idea! Has he no shame? You know, of course, this means war.
~Adam
Hmmm....Angels bench coach Joe Maddon could be The Soul Mate of Bill W.:
QUOTE
Joe Maddon, the Angels' computer-savvy bench coach, said Tuesday he is \"absolutely\" interested in the Boston Red Sox managerial vacancy.
The Red Sox want a manager who can blend old-school baseball knowledge with new-school tools of statistical evaluation[my emphasis]. Maddon, 49, who played, coached and managed in the Angels' minor league system for 19 years before joining the major league coaching staff in 1994, helps turn computer data into scouting reports for Manager Mike Scioscia.
\"If computers were available when Branch Rickey was alive, he'd have made them popular 50 years ago,\" Maddon said. \"Technology won't win a game by itself. But it organizes your work better, which may allow you to win a game.
\"We take advantage of technology in every other facet of life and we're going to disdain it in sports? I don't get that.\"
Maddon managed the Angels to a 19-10 record after Terry Collins resigned late in the last-place 1999 season, and players spoke highly of his strategic and communications skills. The Angels, believing they could not replace Collins with another man who had not played in the major leagues, hired Scioscia but directed him to keep Maddon on the staff.
General Manager Bill Stoneman said the Red Sox had not asked permission to interview Maddon or pitching coach Bud Black. Stoneman said he would grant permission for any coach asked to interview for a managerial vacancy
The Red Sox want a manager who can blend old-school baseball knowledge with new-school tools of statistical evaluation[my emphasis]. Maddon, 49, who played, coached and managed in the Angels' minor league system for 19 years before joining the major league coaching staff in 1994, helps turn computer data into scouting reports for Manager Mike Scioscia.
\"If computers were available when Branch Rickey was alive, he'd have made them popular 50 years ago,\" Maddon said. \"Technology won't win a game by itself. But it organizes your work better, which may allow you to win a game.
\"We take advantage of technology in every other facet of life and we're going to disdain it in sports? I don't get that.\"
Maddon managed the Angels to a 19-10 record after Terry Collins resigned late in the last-place 1999 season, and players spoke highly of his strategic and communications skills. The Angels, believing they could not replace Collins with another man who had not played in the major leagues, hired Scioscia but directed him to keep Maddon on the staff.
General Manager Bill Stoneman said the Red Sox had not asked permission to interview Maddon or pitching coach Bud Black. Stoneman said he would grant permission for any coach asked to interview for a managerial vacancy
You know, despite the fun you have at my expense 
, plenty of baseball figures from Branch Rickey to Earl Weaver to the Yankees of the last 8 years have believed in and practiced sabermetric concepts. Theo Epstein and the Bosox braintrust definitely want someone who fits that pattern; Little didn't.
, plenty of baseball figures from Branch Rickey to Earl Weaver to the Yankees of the last 8 years have believed in and practiced sabermetric concepts. Theo Epstein and the Bosox braintrust definitely want someone who fits that pattern; Little didn't.
Bill W is absolutely right, so leave him alone, ok? :mad: wink
Uh oh...can I expect enraged Red Sox fans to come after me with torches and pitchforks now?
I personally hope that Maddon stays with the Angels; Scoscia and the players seem to like him.
I personally hope that Maddon stays with the Angels; Scoscia and the players seem to like him.
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