Manager of the Year

by Mr. Philosophical on Aug 26, 2007 3:28 PM EDT

There was a diary about giving BoMel credit for the recent D-Backs success. Well it's that time of the year to predict who will win all these awards, and one of them is Manager of the Year Award And in this Foxsports.com news report, it's stated that Bob Melvin of our Diamondbacks is headlining the award.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7157308?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

Surprising he is first in the polls of probably the casual fans. But truthfully, does he really deserve the award?

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Comments

::Cue angry posts from Ben::

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 26, 2007 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

Does he derserve the blame

when things go bad?

by unnamedDBacksfan on Aug 26, 2007 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

I will say this.

If we expand NL MOTY candidates to teams with no playoff chances, one would have to consider Manny Acta. The Nats were supposed to be the worst MLB team in years and lose 100 games, and yet they're on pace to win 72 games, (better than the D-Rays have ever done) and they're still a game and a half ahead of the Marlins in the NL East. What few veterans they had have been crippled by injuries, (Especially in the rotation!) and yet they've had a pretty respectable season, ATC.

That having been said, I'm not sure that BoMel should rightly be MOTY, but frankly, I can't think of any better candidates. Of their list of candidates, the only managers who, it could be argued, actually came into a situation where keys were not already in the ignition are BoMel, Clint Hurdle, and Ned Yost. The run differential thing has to factor in, as well as the fact that this team is so young. I think Melvin's done a good job of kicking the "can't win with young guys" label he picked up with the Mariners.

No other manager in the league has done more with less than Bob Melvin, and although he avoids the spotlight, it's his turn to be recognized.

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 26, 2007 4:40 PM EDT reply actions

No

My stance has always been that this team wins despite him.

I will commend him on having a team that can forget about what happened the day before, but as I've said before, I think a lot of that started when Kirk Gibson came here. We sure didn't have a whole lot of it last year.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Aug 26, 2007 9:33 PM EDT reply actions

You can...

Just as easily make the argument that the reason the team has a short memory is because it's made up of a bunch of young guys, a bunch of freewheelers, who just want to play and play well. With the exception of Drew, Snyder and CoJack none of the real young players were here last year for any significant period of time. A corollary to that argument is the fact that, while Chris Young & friends played most of the year in AAA, they went on to win a minor league championship for Tucson. So they have experience with success, and what works, even if not in the majors.

I'm not trying to sell KGib short, and perhaps you are 100% right. I just don't understand what grounds you have for constantly claiming that the team ALWAYS wins DESPITE BoMel but BECAUSE OF KGib? Why is it that BoMel can do nothing right but KGib walks on water?

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 26, 2007 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Reading too much in to it

Never said Gibson walks on water. I'm just willing to attribute the resiliency to him more than Melvin. Nothing more.

It could very well be that these kids do it on their own. That just strengthens my argument.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Aug 26, 2007 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Alright.

All I was trying to say is that it seems like you can be so black and white on Melvin and the success of the team. Of COURSE KGib has something to do with it, and the players' experience together, but I think Melvin's doing a good job of starting every day anew, and imparting that outlook to the team. And I think the few times he's allowed himself to visually have a hangover, (in Milwaukee, for example) the team's responded.

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 26, 2007 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Long and short of it

is that we simply don't know. Kirk Gibson was resiliant so we attribute resiliancy to him, but we don't know what he's actually saying and doing. BoMel's in-game management is truly bizzare, but he could be firing up the boys with Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops on the eve of encountering the Spanish Armada. What a manager really does is not subject to the scrutiny that player actions are. MotY is a silly award, because it's given based on incomplete information--usually, how much better a team did than it "should" have done based on player stats and predictions, which means that you can get it for having a tough bunch of guys, or good luck, or a strong front-end and weak back-end bullpen,or whatever.

by andrewinnewyork on Aug 27, 2007 12:51 AM EDT reply actions

Indeed.

MotY is a silly award, because it's given based on incomplete information--usually, how much better a team did than it "should" have done based on player stats and predictions, which means that you can get it for having a tough bunch of guys, or good luck, or a strong front-end and weak back-end bullpen,or whatever.

Try "D. All of the Above"

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 27, 2007 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Couldn't have...

...said it better myself. But all of these factors mean that Melvin WILL win it. Like it or not. And ya know, I'm certainly willing to pay that price for winning the division!!! Who knows, maybe I've been wrong all along and Melvin is a great manager. I still don't see how, though.

by johngordonma on Aug 27, 2007 6:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Root for the Cubbies

If you don't want BoMel to get it, root for the Cubbies. If they win the Central, Sweet Lou will win MOY. He's done a masterful job bringing them back from a bad start despite a ton of injuries to key players. Of the 8 position players who started on opening day, only 3 (Jones, Lee and Ramirez) were in the lineup yesterday and Lee and Ramirez both were out for extended periods. Remember Zambrano and Barrett duking it out? And I haven't even mentioned Prior and Wood. I'm not saying Lou should get it, but I believe he will.

by fjm235 on Aug 27, 2007 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

He has to be a candidate

As does Manny Acta, as mentioned above. I think you'll see a camp in support of Ned Yost as well.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Aug 27, 2007 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Something is up...

I'm not sure who's "responsible", but we now have a 29-16 record in one-run games. If results in one-run games are pure luck, and they're a 50/50 shot, the odds of such a good record by chance is only 3.6%. I generally don't think managers have an influence in more than a handful of games all year, but the sheer number of close contests we've played probably increases that leverage. Given the team payroll, our performance this year is stunning, but I'd rather see the award given to Management of the Year, as I think it's a coalition effort, between Melvin, Gibson, Byrnes and everyone else who assembled the roster.

by Jim McLennan on Aug 27, 2007 11:19 AM EDT reply actions

Indeed.

"I generally don't think managers have an influence in more than a handful of games all year, but the sheer number of close contests we've played probably increases that leverage."

When I was a coxswain on the Georgetown Crew team, we had a saying:

When the race is won, it's because of the rowers. When the race is lost, it's because of the coxswain.

Of course, sometimes that was actually true, but for the most part, it just reflects how the coxswain never gets credit when the race goes well, but always gets blamed in a bad race. I think the same is also true for MLB players and managers. You never notice a "good" manager, but you always notice a "bad" manager.

(Note: The coxswain is the guy who sits in back and faces forward, issues commands, steers the rudder, etc., since the rowers are all facing backwards)