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Craig Breslow hired as Chief Baseball Officer
atzar
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Posts: 1,817
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Post by atzar on Oct 25, 2023 10:55:28 GMT -5
I have no ability to evaluate a front office hire so I'll merely say 'good luck'.
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Post by bluechip on Oct 25, 2023 10:56:25 GMT -5
It's still very much an old boys league in regards to degrees. Ivy league degrees matter a lot. Not saying that he isn't qualified but in Baseball its an uphill battle if you didn't go to a Yale Harvard etc... It seems like he did a great job with the Cubs and we should be excited for some kind of change with the Sox, a lot of success will be determined by the payroll. It is absurd how many of this generation of guys went to either Harvard or Yale. Those schools are overrepresented to a point that goes way beyond whatever could be justified by merit. (And obviously this does not apply only to baseball...) It’s interesting because decades ago (and for decades), the opposite was true and the teams were run by old baseball types who were former players/scouts.
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nomar
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Posts: 10,793
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Post by nomar on Oct 25, 2023 10:57:55 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I also think he is walking into a very good situation with young rising talent, limited bad contracts, an offseason with money to spend and the teams’ biggest hole being fillable via FA, and a fan base who hated the last guy. I get wanting a guy with front office experience, and I think (at least in my mind) that trade negotiations are where I would worry most about Breslow being inexperienced. So I guess we’ll have to trust that his evaluations are solid and that he won’t get bullied past his price comfortability. I do think Breslow’s playing career gives him a good eye for scouting/mechanics, especially his playing career throughout which he didn’t get by on athleticism or stuff at all. I don’t think Breslow is a can’t-miss hire by any means, but ultimately he was the only candidate that you can genuinely call an innovator, and I think that is really enticing to Henry. Find something that your front office can actually gain a competitive advantage in. It seems like the game is due for its next found market inefficiency, and maybe Henry is convinced that Breslow was the guy figuring that out with his pitching lab in Chicago.
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Post by ematz1423 on Oct 25, 2023 10:58:04 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I also think he is walking into a very good situation with young rising talent, limited bad contracts, an offseason with money to spend and the teams’ biggest hole being fillable via FA, and a fan base who hated the last guy. I don't think it's any huge advantage but I do think it can be a positive that he had a pretty decent playing career. It should give him an understanding of the rigors and give him additional insight on how to keep a pulse of the team. The past two trade deadlines when the Sox were hovering around a playoff run and Bloom did nothing to help the team at the deadline, maybe Breslow understands how making even a medium sized move at the deadline can energize a team. Not saying it's necessarily the case and maybe he does things the same way but perhaps it's little things like that where he has insight that someone who wasn't a part of an ML clubhouse day in and out wouldn't necessarily have.
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Post by incandenza on Oct 25, 2023 11:03:32 GMT -5
It is absurd how many of this generation of guys went to either Harvard or Yale. Those schools are overrepresented to a point that goes way beyond whatever could be justified by merit. (And obviously this does not apply only to baseball...) I agree in general. But Breslow's background is so much different then the usual Yale/Harvard fare that it makes him more interesting. His academic background was molecular biophysics and biochemistry rather than the usual management path, and then a long career as a player. The stereotype of those Harvard/Yale execs are that they're aloof, detached, and overly dismissive of traditional scouting and coaching. That stuff doesn't seem to apply here. ---- I kinda disagree that the offense stuff is hard to fill, to be honest. Bloom had this weird habit of having holes and then just not filling them corner outfield in 2022, middle infield this year. They're probably not going to find a star-level second baseman, but it's the sort of situation where marginal, Epstein-era type of upgrades will make a big difference.I'm less optimistic about the pitching staff in the short-term, though. I'm confident in Breslow's ability to find talent and also nurture the existing arms in a better way, but I don't think that's a short-term thing. I think the situation you're describing is one that would have applied in the 2018-2021 period, where they had stars at several positions, and then several big holes to fill at others; that made for some low-hanging fruit (that nonetheless often went unplucked - both Dombrowski and Bloom had a weird tendency to not fill those holes). But what they have now is someone decent at every position, along with a very weak free agent class, which makes it hard to make big improvements.
E.g., Urias is fine at 2B, but also there aren't really better FA options. Ditto for Verdugo in LF. Ditto for Duvall. Story may or may not be fine, and ditto Yoshida, but they're going to have to roll with those guys regardless. Turner is probably gone, and then who do they get to replace his production?
Things could work out. Devers could hit up to his xwOBA; Casas could maintain what he did in the second half this season; Yoshida could maintain what he did in the first half; Duran could do the same; Story could bounce back; and everyone could stay healthy. But most of those things have to happen for the offense to be good, and they'd be counting on a bit of luck for it all to come together.
I'll be very interested in the early signals as to how focused Breslow is on the lineup.
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Post by julyanmorley on Oct 25, 2023 11:03:54 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I think it's important. I think there's like three main things I want from el jefe:
1) Can you do basic Fangraphs level value calculations. Most everyone can at this point
2) Are you keeping the franchise aligned with my interests as a fan? This is politics. Is he going to do bad moves that he thinks are good for his career? Is he able to keep meddlesome owners from messing things up? Hard to predict this one unless the guy has failed the test before
3) Where are you on the curve of adopting the latest competitive tech? Stuff like player development and training, pitch design, launch angles. defensive shifts. It's nice to be on the stuff that everybody already knows about, but what you really want is someone who's a good bet to be first/early to the next thing. I think Breslow's background as a player with a science degree that has had success installing a program with the Cubs makes him a strong horse to back on this front.
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Post by incandenza on Oct 25, 2023 11:06:40 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I also think he is walking into a very good situation with young rising talent, limited bad contracts, an offseason with money to spend and the teams’ biggest hole being fillable via FA, and a fan base who hated the last guy. It'll be fun when Sale, Yoshida, Story, and Abreu have monster seasons and Breslow gets all the credit for steering the Red Sox back into the postseason.
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Post by patford on Oct 25, 2023 11:12:28 GMT -5
I have no ability to evaluate a front office hire so I'll merely say 'good luck'. No fan does. Of course since the advent of fantasy leagues most fans (of all sports) believe they know more than any GM or manager. It looks like if some of the Red Sox best prospects turn out the team should be pretty well set in the near future with a solid lineup. If Breslow can build a solid pitching staff the future should be bright.
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Post by scottysmalls on Oct 25, 2023 11:13:47 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I think it's important. I think there's like three main things I want from el jefe:
1) Can you do basic Fangraphs level value calculations. Most everyone can at this point
2) Are you keeping the franchise aligned with my interests as a fan? This is politics. Is he going to do bad moves that he thinks are good for his career? Is he able to keep meddlesome owners from messing things up? Hard to predict this one unless the guy has failed the test before
3) Where are you on the curve of adopting the latest competitive tech? Stuff like player development and training, pitch design, launch angles. defensive shifts. It's nice to be on the stuff that everybody already knows about, but what you really want is someone who's a good bet to be first/early to the next thing. I think Breslow's background as a player with a science degree that has had success installing a program with the Cubs makes him a strong horse to back on this front.
Im not even sure a playing career is a big plus but I definitely don’t think it’s importantl. Many of the best execs across all sports historically did not have long or even existent professional playing careers. I don’t disagree with the qualities you named or the overall takeaway that Breslow might be really good, but none of those things have to do with the fact that he played. And I’m not saying that having played is necessarily worse than having worked in scouting or analytics previously, Im just saying I also don’t buy that it’s inherently better.
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Post by wOBA Fett on Oct 25, 2023 11:19:24 GMT -5
One underrated aspect of this hire is that Breslow knows a lot of people in baseball from his playing/FO days. I'd bet Breslow has a track record with someone in FO of every organization and an extensive baseball network to work from as needed.
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Post by incandenza on Oct 25, 2023 11:28:40 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I think it's important. I think there's like three main things I want from el jefe:
1) Can you do basic Fangraphs level value calculations. Most everyone can at this point
2) Are you keeping the franchise aligned with my interests as a fan? This is politics. Is he going to do bad moves that he thinks are good for his career? Is he able to keep meddlesome owners from messing things up? Hard to predict this one unless the guy has failed the test before
3) Where are you on the curve of adopting the latest competitive tech? Stuff like player development and training, pitch design, launch angles. defensive shifts. It's nice to be on the stuff that everybody already knows about, but what you really want is someone who's a good bet to be first/early to the next thing. I think Breslow's background as a player with a science degree that has had success installing a program with the Cubs makes him a strong horse to back on this front.
I want to add a #4 to this list, which is: are you measuring present vs. future value in a reasonable way? The Phillies and the Rangers, to take two examples, are probably both competent at #1. But they're also both borrowing from the future to be competitive now. Dombrowski did the same when he was in Boston. Bloom mostly prioritized future value, which made sense given the situation he inherited.
I want a POBO who pursues ownership's stated aim of building a consistent competitor, especially now that the playoff system incentivizes teams to aim for about 88-90 wins, rather than going all in for some three year window.
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Post by lonborgski on Oct 25, 2023 11:33:10 GMT -5
Gammons still on top of his game after all these years One week after Bloom was let go. He worked for the Cubs remotely from Newton; his commute just got dramatically worse, now he has to drive the worst 5 miles of the Pike twice a day!
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Post by asm19 on Oct 25, 2023 11:34:15 GMT -5
Sam Kennedy: "Hey Theo, do you want to come back?"
Theo: "Hell no... but I know a guy."
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Post by James Dunne on Oct 25, 2023 11:48:33 GMT -5
Gammons still on top of his game after all these years One week after Bloom was let go. He worked for the Cubs remotely from Newton; his commute just got dramatically worse, now he has to drive the worst 5 miles of the Pike twice a day! The Green Line's only functional branch goes right through there. And think of the outstanding PR!
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Post by grandsalami on Oct 25, 2023 11:50:55 GMT -5
Gammons seems to be saying without saying it that Theo gave his full endorsement
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Post by bluechip on Oct 25, 2023 11:55:26 GMT -5
One underrated aspect of this hire is that Breslow knows a lot of people in baseball from his playing/FO days. I'd bet Breslow has a track record with someone in FO of every organization and an extensive baseball network to work from as needed. Chaim Bloom knew tons of people too as the former Rays front office got spread across the league.
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Post by asm19 on Oct 25, 2023 12:11:46 GMT -5
Here's hoping that the GOAT Peter Gammons' tweets about the importance of New Balance in Shohei Ohtani's free agency are just as prescient!
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Post by wOBA Fett on Oct 25, 2023 12:18:48 GMT -5
One underrated aspect of this hire is that Breslow knows a lot of people in baseball from his playing/FO days. I'd bet Breslow has a track record with someone in FO of every organization and an extensive baseball network to work from as needed. Chaim Bloom knew tons of people too as the former Rays front office got spread across the league. Won't derail the thread, but I'd imagine Breslow's network is much larger. Breslow pitched for 9 different teams between 2005-2017 and he knows everyone from FO executives, to agents, to trainers and coaches.
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Post by manfred on Oct 25, 2023 12:23:14 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I also think he is walking into a very good situation with young rising talent, limited bad contracts, an offseason with money to spend and the teams’ biggest hole being fillable via FA, and a fan base who hated the last guy. It'll be fun when Sale, Yoshida, Story, and Abreu have monster seasons and Breslow gets all the credit for steering the Red Sox back into the postseason. He’ll have been in charge of nurturing those changes, as we saw with Casas, Bello, Houck, etc.
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Post by Guidas on Oct 25, 2023 12:24:10 GMT -5
People keep mentioning Breslow’s playing career as this big positive for him and I don’t really see that. I mean I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but I’m not sure it’s a good thing either. Is that better than having worked in a front office for a decade? Lot of ways to skin the cat I just don’t think the playing thing is all that important. I also think he is walking into a very good situation with young rising talent, limited bad contracts, an offseason with money to spend and the teams’ biggest hole being fillable via FA, and a fan base who hated the last guy. It'll be fun when Sale, Yoshida, Story, and Abreu have monster seasons and Breslow gets all the credit for steering the Red Sox back into the postseason. Gammons still on top of his game after all these years One week after Bloom was let go. He worked for the Cubs remotely from Newton; his commute just got dramatically worse, now he has to drive the worst 5 miles of the Pike twice a day! He could always take the T. (ducks)
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Oct 25, 2023 13:07:35 GMT -5
I will be the one to say it (sorry...umass said it as well), since it appears no one else will. While he was on the list of candidates, this is a weird hire. He doesn't have the requisite experience, which does matter when you are running a major market team. We found that out just recently.
I don't know if it is a good hire or if he will do well, certainly hope he will. But for POBO, this is a strange hire.
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Post by greenmonster on Oct 25, 2023 13:27:56 GMT -5
It'll be fun when Sale, Yoshida, Story, and Abreu have monster seasons and Breslow gets all the credit for steering the Red Sox back into the postseason. He worked for the Cubs remotely from Newton; his commute just got dramatically worse, now he has to drive the worst 5 miles of the Pike twice a day! He could always take the T. (ducks) or..... "Queue the Duck Boats"
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Post by alexcorahomevideo on Oct 25, 2023 13:31:47 GMT -5
I will be the one to say it (sorry...umass said it as well), since it appears no one else will. While he was on the list of candidates, this is a weird hire. He doesn't have the requisite experience, which does matter when you are running a major market team. We found that out just recently. I don't know if it is a good hire or if he will do well, certainly hope he will. But for POBO, this is a strange hire. I think its obvious that this job was not attractive at all. Could have something to do with the culture, ownership, or both. A club that will spend 250-300 million for a shot at contention for the most part will always be interesting. A team that spends on the bottom end of that top 10 in spending and maybe below? Well then you look at something like culture and right now it sucks. So I can see why no real candidates wanted to touch this job. However its a good opportunity for Breslow to establish himself further and potentially use it for a better job down the road.
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Post by ephus on Oct 25, 2023 14:08:06 GMT -5
For the love of an inning-ending double play from your 7th inning arm, not a single one of us has any idea what a Breslow regime looks like. We're literally reading tea leaves here. All we know for sure is 1. He's local 2. He's supposed to be wicked smart 3. He's played in Boston 4. He's won in Boston. Can we hear what he says at his introductory press conference before we issue final marks?
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Post by dcsoxfan15 on Oct 25, 2023 14:12:10 GMT -5
It'll be fun when Sale, Yoshida, Story, and Abreu have monster seasons and Breslow gets all the credit for steering the Red Sox back into the postseason. He’ll have been in charge of nurturing those changes, as we saw with Casas, Bello, Houck, etc. Yes, just as Chaim Bloom nurtured the development of minor league players over several years, Breslow will nurture the development of Chris Sale (34), Trevor Story (nearly 31), and Masataka Yoshida (30).
An excellent comparison.
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