SB Nation User Blog: connie mack

HIRE DEPO NOW!! & Bring Carney back as the manager!

connie mack — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:37:35 -0000

Not Selling Jeans, makes the argument better than me:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-best-out-of-work-gm-in-baseball

I say keep Beane on as the President of Baseball Operations. He will understand what Paul is up to and run the necessary interference with the Front Office.

Give Paul DePodesta a clear shot with fresh eyes at the problem.

Have Paul fire Geren.

Try to get Carney Lansford as the manager. Heck, you could trade a prospect for him, or even take back some of Zito's contract and Zito in the process.

At least it would be interesting to be an A's fan again.

Poll

If you were the owner of the A's who would be your General Manager:

Billy Beane

61 votes

David Forst

14 votes

Paul DePodesta

41 votes

116 votes | Poll has closed

Michael Vick, Free Safety

connie mack — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:51:47 -0000

The Niner's defense seems to lack the big play element in the secondary. We all agree the Free Safety position is the biggest hole to fill.

So here's the thought, convert Michael Vick, a quarterback, to Free Safety. It worked with John Lynch ( I realize he was more of a hitter, while Vick is a speedster, but I bet Vick would be a total ball hawk). Quarterback's tend to be very aware athletes (on the field) and Vick has such amazing speed and instincts that he might be incredible as a Free Safety.

On a roster note, this frees up salary and 1st and 2nd round draft picks for a Defensive End and Offensive Lineman.

Imagine what he could bring on an interception return.

I also think this might be an easier, instinctual return to pro football for his first year back than coming back as a quarterback. and a fresh start.

I know Niner's Nation likes its stats, I'm a half-assed saberhead over at Athletics Nation, but imagine Michael Vick as a Free Safety.

One More thing: weekly film studies with Ronnie Lott to get his head right and keep it right.

For the purpose of this thread, I left character out of the conversation. Clearly the man has issues. But he has gone to jail, been bankrupted and served time. America loves a redemption story.

Poll

Is Michael Vick more likely to be successful in the NFL moving forward as a:

Quarterback

46 votes

Free Safety

16 votes

PR/KR

13 votes

Wildcat QB/Kordell Stewart Type

78 votes

153 votes | Poll has closed

Admit it Billy Beane, you were wrong about the Surge

connie mack — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:19:42 -0000

I think it is time for BB to fess up, not only was he wrong about signing Eric Chavez to the long term contract that he did, but also (that one is for you Nico) Chavvy's shoulders, back, hamstrings, groins, ankles, wrists, fingers and head are not going to recover to play 3B at an All Star level during the contract.

That's okay, mistakes happen, but until this gets acknowledged, the FALSE HOPE THAT CHAVVY IS GOING TO GET WELL COULD COST THE A'S AT LEAST ONE EXTRA YEAR OF REBUILDING.

I think Chavvy needs to be treated as follows:

1. Long Term DL, get completely healthy

2. Hit only at DH with the goal of getting Chavvy's old bat back as a DH every day.

3. After two months of hitting every day, if Chavvy feels like playing 1B, give it a shot.

The advantage of this approach is that we then no longer settle for guys like Jack Hannahan as our 3B, we hold open tryouts at 3B.

From our system: Baisley, Barton, Crosby (maybe the position switch and demotion from SS will jolt his stick)

Cheap outside options: Dallas MacPherson. Russel Branyan both free agents

Wildcards: Edgardo Alfonso (finally healthy?) some guy from Japan, Hank Blalock (if he checks out medically)

My main point is that Beane's inability to say he was wrong about the Chavez contract in the first place has prevented him from cutting losses at 3b. there is a saying among stock traders: "never let a trade become an investment". Beane's inability to acknowledge the poor outcome of the Chavez contract, coupled with his bad luck in the health department, has crippled the A's far more than the contract itself.

UPDATE: one other wildcard, trade back for Swisher, if possible, and throw him at 3B. He's athletic enough.

2nd UPDATE: Add Jesus Guzman to the list, and while we are at it, whoever the backup 3B in Pittsburgh is now, since they picked up LaRoche.

Rethinking the Minor Leagues

connie mack — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:40:21 -0000

Okay,
Since we are clearly rebuilding, I think we should take a look at using the minor leagues in a different form than we have in the past.
In short I would fill the AAA roster with 4A players picked up from around the league and signed as minor league free agents, with the promise of a cup of coffee in the majors if the guys on the 25 man roster don't get it done.
Basically look for Jack Cust/Graham Koonce/Halsey/Jeremy Brown types of guys from around the league. Get at least one of them at each position and honor a commitment to them to give them a shot if the major leaguers get hurt or falter.
The idea is to become the place to be for guys giving it one last chance who feel like they have been blocked for different reasons.
Now, for AA and below...

For double A and below you want to slow down the progression of guys from league to league and increase an emphasis on teaching skills, and I would definitely reintroduce baserunning.
I would literally have a objective list of skills expected to be mastered and demonstrated in game situations before a player can move to the next level.
skills like:
bunting,
throwing to the right base,
taking out the ss or 2b on double plays,
hitting behind the runner on the ground to move runners on 2nd to 3rd and runners from 3b to home.
etc, etc,
I sometimes feel like the A's move their prospects along too quickly and they get to the big leagues before they have physically matured.
I would rather sign a guy out of his senior year in college (22) let him play three full years in the minors:
low A (23)
High A (24)
double A (25)
and then, fully developed and 26 years old, give him a shot at the majors, if he doesn't make the club out of spring training, he goes to purgatory (AAA) where he gets one more shot assuming someone above him gets hurt (i think we can easily make that assumption).
If he makes the big league team at 26 years old, we have him in his physical prime, fully trained up and locked up for three years at the minimum, and three more years under control.
At 32, he gets to hit free agency.

We've been bringing guys up at 22 and 23 years old, they develop into big leaguers at the major league level, and then we watch them go away and have their best two or three seasons after we can't afford them.
I say lets be smarter about when we start the clock.

Of course there are always exceptions, but with the use of the AAA team to hold open tryouts for guys from other organizations who want a fresh start. I think we could pick up one or two back of roster guys/year off the AAA team.
Add an additional 1 or two guys per year from the AA roster and you have your 3-4 rookies per year pipeline set up.
Now of course when guys like Huston Street and Will Clark come along, you move them up quicker, a lot quicker, but in general you try to follow this pace.

Poll

Is this a good Idea?

Yes

11 votes

No

51 votes

It is worthy of discussion

28 votes

90 votes | Poll has closed

The Ten Man Pitching Staff

connie mack — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 04:44:15 -0000

162 x 9 = 1458 IP

Can we do it? It used to be routine in an age when GMs didn't really pay attention to their bullpens. As I've said before it opens up CRAZY platoon opportunities.

Economically it has two huge advantages:

Platoons that hit and field like all stars are way cheaper than all stars
decent long relievers are the cheapest decent pitchers available

It also plays to the A's strengths, we have several candidates that could be in the bullpen and come in and throw 2 to 3 high quality innings at a time, and we have four pitchers with 190IP seasons under their belts.

Organizationally, we are better prepared to try this for two more reasons, we constantly stress throwing strikes and pitching to contact, and we have fielded defenses the last two years that have been very adept at turning batted balls into outs.

two more important factors, we pitch in pitchers park, and our AAA team is only a 2 hour drive away.

i see this being a big plus for the regular season, but like dingerpower pointed out in his diary, would need to be changed in the postseason.

Check this out:

Platoons that hit and field like all stars are way cheaper than all stars
decent long relievers are the cheapest decent pitchers available

It also plays to the A's strengths, we have several candidates that could be in the bullpen and come in and throw 2 to 3 high quality innings at a time.

this is a clip from an excel spreadsheet that didn't format that well:

Position    Pitcher    Appearances    avg ip    total ip    comments
1    Haren    33    6    198    avg 220 ip 1st 2 years at Oak
2    Loaiza    33    6    198    avg 195 ip last 4 years
3    Harden    32    6    192    04 189 ip/ 05 128 ip
4    Blanton    32    6    192    avg 197 ip 1st 2 years
5    Kennedy    32    6    192    avg 160 ip from 2002-2005
total for starters                972
long Right    Saarloos    50    3    150    avg 140 ip last 2 years
long Left    TBA(Reuter?)     60    2    120    this works out to 2ip every third day of the season
setup 1    Duke    40    2    80    avg 78 ip last 3 years
setup 2    Calero    50    2    100    at StL he was used less often for over one ip/g
Closer    Street    80    1    80    averaged 74 IP 1st 2 years
bullpen innings    required if starters avg 6ip/start            486
bullpen innings    possible with these numbers            530

1458 total innings

Notes: assumes no extra innings, but also assumes no road losses

Poll

how many pitchers?

10

2 votes

11

17 votes

12

8 votes

13

0 votes

27 votes | Poll has closed

Chavy and Witasick for ARod

connie mack — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:26:37 -0000

You gotta give something to get something.
Lets trade our third baseman to the Yankees for an out of position shortstop, God knows neither team is giving up clutch hitting. they need relievers, maybe they'll take Witasick.

To the A's fans that say no thanks, I'd rather have Chavez, my response: ARE YOU CRAZY? ARod brings way more to the offense, he is a legitimate #4 hitter in the prime of his career on the way to the hall of fame. He would give us above average defense at SS, sorry BoCro, and a solid presence in the lineup.

Chavy would be a role player in NY, great defense would win the fans over, and he'd probably hit 7th or 8th in the lineup. The expectations on him would be much lower. this is a reasonably face saving move for the Yanks, and they might take it.

As for Witasick, hopefully they'll take him too.

As for BoCro, trade him for a part we can use or give him a position in the outfield and tell him to learn how to hit the outside pitch.

The contracts I'd write, RIGHT NOW!

connie mack — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 04:17:36 -0000

Greetings all,
If I were the GM, I would sign the big hurt before the end of the season to the following contract (assuming he would take it)
4 years
3 million per year base salary
2 million bonus for 500 PAs per year
1 million bonus for 600 PAs per year
1 million mutual buyout provision after the first year for each side. Which could be exercised after years one, two and three.
Benefits to Frank,
If he has a good or great year, he makes 5 or 6 million.
He's guaranteed 4 million at first.
If he has a MONSTER year, he can buyout and renegotiate.
Its not priced so high that he has to keep wandering every year or two from team to team.
The A's training staff/Macha worked well with him.
Benefits to the A's:
They get to keep Frank F-ing Thomas
He legitimizes their order.
In the event he breaks down, they are "only" out four million.

the second contract I'd write: I would sign Marco Scutaro through the year he turns 34 for the major league minimum each year. (with a mutual 1 million buyout for each side).
Benefits to Marco:
He gets security. for investments et cetera, can afford to buy a house and all that stuff.
Benefits to the A's:
they begin to develop a quality bench. they lock him up through the years expected to be his prime.

Third contract, sign the Duke RIGHT NOW to a six year deal that takes him three years past arbitration.
Duke gets security, the A's sign a long term contract with an effective ML pitcher while his value is based on being a reliever. then convert him to a starter.