Yost and Baseball Prospectus

by Frank Madden on May 20, 2008 9:46 AM CDT Comment 19 comments

My friend works for the Sox media department and has heard me complain about Ned a few times, so he was expecting some vintage Ned when the Brewers were in town last weekend. But he was surprised to report he came away liking Ned a lot (note that my friend doesn't care about the Brewers' record either).

Yost did an interview with someone from Baseball Prospectus, and in it he apparently said that he used to subscribe to BP (which I found surprising). However he stopped subscribing after he felt they made some unfair claims about him (not sure when). The interview is supposed to run sometime in the next week, so hopefully that's all in there. They just did a Ted Simmons interview as well which I think was linked previously on BCB.
Is Ned Yost a tech-savvy hipster? He apparently had both an iPhone and an Apple laptop with him on the road.
And my friend became a big fan of Yost during the press conferences--he apparently speaks slowly and in complete sentences, which makes it easier for media people like my buddy to take everything down. Now if that only helped him as a manager...

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Maybe it was this article

From August 27, 2004 by Joe Sheehan

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3392

Ned Yost, for one, decided that the way to stop a seven-game losing streak and avert a sweep was to play all of his bad players. His lineup wasn’t fit for September. It might not have been fit for March:
Scott Podsednik, CF
Trent Durrington, 3B
Craig Counsell, SS
Brady Clark, RF
Chris Magruder, LF
Bill Hall, SS
Russell Branyan, 1B
Chad Moeller, C
Doug Davis, P

But wait, there’s more

I tend to stay away from evaluating intangibles, things I can’t measure, because the informed-outsider vantage point is a poor one from which to do so. However, I do think it’s possible to get some idea of effort by watching the games, and that a team’s effort level-not hustle, but effort-can be evaluated in both objective and subjective ways.
The Brewers didn’t show up on Wednesday afternoon, and that reflects poorly on Yost.

Or, wait, how about this tidbit from November 26, 2004?

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3637

The great white hope of a bad franchise is prospects on their way. The Brewers are looking in their mirror, waiting for Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and a few others to make the jump, but sometimes, objects really are closer than they may appear. A new owner will mean that Doug Melvin and Ned Yost will need to win in order to keep said new owner from bringing in his “own guys”

Oh boy, if only that were the case.

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the oldest ones I could find.

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 11:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

wow

that’s a positively giants-worthy lineup.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 20, 2008 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No PH too!

Best part was, zero pinch hitters were used too. Here’s my favorite part.

Top of the 8th, Brewers Batting, Tied 1-1, Greg Maddux facing 8-9-1
— 1 43% C Moeller Single to 3B (Ground Ball)
OO 1- 1 58% D Davis Bunt Ground Ball Double Play: Bunt C-SS (Front of Home)
O - 2 61% S Podsednik Groundout: 3B-1B

Luis Vizcaino replaces Doug Davis pitching and batting 9th

So even though you had a guy on first, you still let the Pitcher bunt attempt. I don’t remember Doug being a prolific (correct me if I’m wrong) bunter. Seems odd to not PH for him when you have Overbay on the bench.

by SgtClueLs on May 20, 2008 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'll come forward

since Ned lost the ability to misuse greg aquino, i’ve been a yost fan as well.

nice anecdotes frank madden, thanks!

Bring Back The Old Logo!

by jacob on May 20, 2008 11:45 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Really? A fan?

I can understand not wanting the man to be fired, but I can’t wrap my mind around the possibility that someone actually like him. I’ll be honest, I’m a little shaken.

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 11:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

as a manager, i am a fan.

i know it’s not a popular position, and i was calling for his head for the previous three years.

but, it’s really been a 180 degree turnaround from ‘03-first half of ‘07.
he’s two different managers over his career. can you come up with a list of all the things he’s been doing differently the last 5-8 months of baseball? it’s staggering.

he’s not my cup of tea personality-wise, but what do i care about that?

Bring Back The Old Logo!

by jacob on May 20, 2008 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I can respect that

I think he’s on the verge of being very wrong this year, though. The one thing he has in his power to change is who plays each day, and where they bat in the lineup. While I was all for not rushing to conclusions, and making rash changes, I think Ned now needs to give very serious thought to changing up the day-to-day play of the team. Barring any personnel or coaching changes, this is likely to be the only way to introduce a change in direction (aside from just waiting for the bats, which can’t be the approach for much longer). I’m also assuming that not much can be done to address the rotation or the bullpen, barring personnel changes.

Unless a drastic change in offense manifests itself, Yost should shuffle the lineup, and I know it’s going to go against everything that was good about the pitcher batting 8th, but the guys haven’t been playing well enough to think about optimal strategy, anyway.

So, if I’m Yost, and I need to shake up my offense, this is what I do.

Kendall C
Hardy 2B
Braun LF
Fielder 1B
Hart RF
Weeks 2B
Hall 3B
Cameron CF
Pitcher

I would also platoon Cameron and Hall with Gwynn and Counsell for a short time, because those guys are struggling out there, and need a chance to sit back and observe a little bit.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I’ve been trying to come up with an actual approach the team could take without firing anyone.

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i wouldn't consider it a hijack.

it’s a ned thread.

personally, i think kendall is the worst hitter on the team so giving him the most at bats is a horrible decision. hardy v. cameron in the two hole, i don’t really care either way. though i wouldn’t mind seeing this lineup

cameron
braun
fielder
weeks
hart
hardy
hall
pitcher
kendall

but whatever, it’s the lineup, has almost no effect on how the season plays out.

i’m in favor of waiting for the bats. the team needs to hit better and stop walking so many guys and giving up so many homeruns and bill hall needs to start playing defense at third. ned can’t actually change those things. ned can’t change the day-today play of the team. he can put them in the best position to win.

Bring Back The Old Logo!

by jacob on May 20, 2008 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, it's not a big move strategically

The idea is to shake up the team and get the guys out of a bad rhythm. My main goal in the lineup I proposed is to get Weeks out of the leadoff for a while, and Kendall’s OBP seems like a good fit. Cameron also has a decent OBP, but I like him in a spot where he might pick up some RBIs (and being in front of the pitcher is a decent spot, since he already swings at bad pitches).

It’s a quarter of the way through the season. You can only say “the guys need to hit better” for so long. At some point you either need to do something to help them, or find some different guys.

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Looks like Ned's giving JJ a shot in the 7

2B Rickie Weeks
CF Mike Cameron
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
SS JJ Hardy
3B Bill Hall
P Manny Parra
C Jason Kendall

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 3:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

sigh

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 3:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

When I saw

“Hardy 2B” I thought you’d be calling Escobar up … but I do like the cojones on display, leaving a big gap between second base and Hall. I don’t know if Cameron can cover that much ground.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 20, 2008 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

hahahaha

Yeah, that was a typo :)

by Marty McSuperFly on May 20, 2008 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

at the risk of going way off topic

I think “liking” Ned is akin to liking Hillary Clinton. (Not that I do or don’t.) I think Ned has done a fine job handling the decision-making that we can see this year. But if it weren’t for the story I could tell, I can’t imagine having a drink with the guy. I would imagine that many of the legions of Hillary supporters out there feel the same way … presumably there are reasons to like the candidate but remain aloof to the person.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 20, 2008 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What is the likable part?

Complete sentences and speaking slowly. Okay, doesn’t count for much. Uses Apple stuff – interesting but not meaningful. Claims to have subscribed to BP – throw in some sort of brownie point I guess. Was he exceedingly deferential to the awesomeness of the Red Sox?

What else?

by ol Pete on May 20, 2008 1:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

besides...

we all know that the only reason someone buys an iPhone is to make yourself seem cool and make people jealous. Yost seems like the kind of guy that wants people to think he’s smart.

Posted from my iPhone

by warwick5s on May 20, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m jealous.

by ol Pete on May 20, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am always nervous around I-Phones

They appear to me as glitzy mugging targets. Gah, I have lived in some poor neighborhoods.

by Braunstalker on May 20, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's easier to conceal if you want to

It’s got the wired headset with the mic built in, so if you get an aftermarket, non-white one, no one knows you have anything better than a walkman in your pocket, and you can listen to tunes or answer calls without pulling it out.

I’m more worried about looking like a know-it-all and killing conversations with it.

by warwick5s on May 20, 2008 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs