Without sounding like an over the top old man fan, the GM is an idiot, he does not understand baseball. He understands computer graphs and beep bops. Apparently, this has been reported by many beat reporters a number of times, the team is run 100% by the computer nerds in the windowless room. The teams does what ever the graphs tell them to do. Reports are that even the Manager is not allowed to make any gut decisions, he has to look at his computer printouts, have team meetings, to decide which pitchers to use, which hitters to use. You dont need to look any further than Berrios in the playoffs last year or Schneider getting benched during a hot streak this season.
In Blue Jay land every decision is made by a computer algorithm, apparently the nerds told Atkins that defence centric teams win more than they lose. It's fine to use accurate computer models to give you a starting point but nothing will replace a coach who understands the game, who understands when a player has a hot hand and boatloads of confidence, the computer tells you this hitter is shitty against lefties but he is on a 14 for 32 tear, in Blue Jay land that hitter will get the day off because a computer says so, in the old days you go with the hot hand. I'll put Tony La Russa or Sparkey Andersen in their primes, who know human nature and understand the importance of experience and a hot hand (confidence), against a computer any day of the week.
On most days this team is unwatchable, they dont even do the fundamentals well. I've played and coached the game for 40+ years, my inner coach is screaming when the catcher sets up in the wrong place or the hitters guessing and sitting on a pitch that is a foot outside and swinging. Although baseball is the most cerebral of the 4 major North American sports, at a certain point you need to throw all the bar graphs away and just play the game, react to what you see, be an athlete. This team literarily looks like a team that has got the wrong mindset (wrong computer data) in their heads when they are at the plate.
Bad Farm system, terrible bullpen, one of the worse starting hitting line ups in MLB.... for a team that relies on metrics so much they sure are ignoring obvious in your face data of how poorly the metrics tell us the GM is doing .... Vald is not who we thought he would be, although he is having a decent year this year and Bo has regressed. Our LF cant hit, our CF cant hit, our RF cant hit, our DH can't hit, our 3B is a replacement level player our SS can't hit, our starting pitching staff is good one start, garbage the next, our Bullpen is the worse in baseball - and I didn't need a million dollar analytics department to observe that.
? Since when? They are a TV revenue driven league, have been for decades.
... feel free to do a search.
