Inside the Winter Meetings:

[UK1679666180]

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-10/116556038429650.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

 

Larry O'Brien shook hands with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and headed out the door of the Walt Disney World Dolphin resort Wednesday during baseball's winter meetings. O'Brien, a burly, bearded, friendly fellow who is a player agent, had two purposes. He wanted a cigarette and he had to call his only client, pitcher Ted Lilly.

 

O'Brien told Lilly the Yankees wouldn't offer the four-year, $40 million contract Lilly wanted. Lilly said that was fine -- he was happy to accept the same offer from the Chicago Cubs.

 

Lilly asked O'Brien, "Do you want to call him, or should I?" referring to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.

 

"Maybe you should," O'Brien said. "He'd like that."

 

What Lilly didn't know was, at that very moment, Hendry was hooked up to an EKG machine at a nearby hospital. Hendry hadn't felt good all week, and he'd checked into the hospital. He would undergo an angioplasty a few hours after speaking with Lilly and finalizing the contract.

 

"Ted had no idea," O'Brien said, relating the story a short time later

 

 

In the end, it was all about the money. And nobody's been spending more money this off-season than the Cubs. Adding Lilly after signing free agents Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and others -- altogether, the contracts total more than $270 million -- it was a miracle the Cubs' outlay didn't send other GMs besides Hendry to the hospital.

 

Hendry had to stay an extra day, but he was doing all right. Gary Hughes, Hendry's top deputy with the Cubs, said yesterday morning Hendry was "working the phones" from his hospital bed.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=nelson/061208&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

 

To those who want a job in MLB, would you consider going down there resume in hand?

[E.J.]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

[Bruce Miles]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

 

Yeah, I touched on this and then touched off a few pages of debate on another thread, the one that speculated on Hendry having to step down.

I'm in the minority around here who thinks Gary Hughes is a darn fine baseball man and evaluator of talent. I might be a little biased because I know him and have talked a lot of baseball with him. He's got a pretty cool World Series ring from helping the Marlins procure some good players. But he didn't know what "DIPS" meant, and that made him an idiot to a lot of people.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

 

Yeah, I touched on this and then touched off a few pages of debate on another thread, the one that speculated on Hendry having to step down.

I'm in the minority around here who thinks Gary Hughes is a darn fine baseball man and evaluator of talent. I might be a little biased because I know him and have talked a lot of baseball with him. He's got a pretty cool World Series ring from helping the Marlins procure some good players. But he didn't know what "DIPS" meant, and that made him an idiot to a lot of people.

 

I don't think anyone doubts Hughes' scouting prowess. I think what that roundtable showed was a dismissiveness and a lack of tolerance for new ways of evaluating performance.

[Electron Blue]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

 

Yeah, I touched on this and then touched off a few pages of debate on another thread, the one that speculated on Hendry having to step down.

I'm in the minority around here who thinks Gary Hughes is a darn fine baseball man and evaluator of talent. I might be a little biased because I know him and have talked a lot of baseball with him. He's got a pretty cool World Series ring from helping the Marlins procure some good players. But he didn't know what "DIPS" meant, and that made him an idiot to a lot of people.

 

I believe it was in that same thread that someone linked the "chat article" with the infamous DIPS comments. Other than the DIPS comments, nothing in there was that discouraging to me. It wouldn't make me excited for him to be the GM, I just thought peoples preconceived feelings for Hughes contributed to their reaction to that article.

[Rob]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

 

Yeah, I touched on this and then touched off a few pages of debate on another thread, the one that speculated on Hendry having to step down.

I'm in the minority around here who thinks Gary Hughes is a darn fine baseball man and evaluator of talent. I might be a little biased because I know him and have talked a lot of baseball with him. He's got a pretty cool World Series ring from helping the Marlins procure some good players. But he didn't know what "DIPS" meant, and that made him an idiot to a lot of people.

 

I don't think anyone doubts Hughes' scouting prowess. I think what that roundtable showed was a dismissiveness and a lack of tolerance for new ways of evaluating performance.

 

That's pretty much what I took out of it.

 

I've got no problem with Hughes being the #1 man on the scouting side, but I'd like for a GM to be the guy who mixes the opinions from the scouting side with the stats side. Hughes just hasn't given me any indication he'd be up for that role.

[Bruno7481]

I'm sure it's been said before, but is anyone else deathly afraid that Gary Hughes is Hendry's right-hand-man? What does that say about this organization? :x

 

Yeah, I touched on this and then touched off a few pages of debate on another thread, the one that speculated on Hendry having to step down.

I'm in the minority around here who thinks Gary Hughes is a darn fine baseball man and evaluator of talent. I might be a little biased because I know him and have talked a lot of baseball with him. He's got a pretty cool World Series ring from helping the Marlins procure some good players. But he didn't know what "DIPS" meant, and that made him an idiot to a lot of people.

 

I don't think anyone doubts Hughes' scouting prowess. I think what that roundtable showed was a dismissiveness and a lack of tolerance for new ways of evaluating performance.

 

That's pretty much what I took out of it.

 

I've got no problem with Hughes being the #1 man on the scouting side, but I'd like for a GM to be the guy who mixes the opinions from the scouting side with the stats side. Hughes just hasn't given me any indication he'd be up for that role.

 

And many of the stat guys people want dont mix the opinions from the scouting side either.

 

It cracks me up how people can read one article about a guy (who they have never had one conversation with or even met) and automatically evaluate his qualifications and ability to perform a certain job.

[Bruce Miles]

I never touted Hughes to be GM. I think he's great in what he does, and as I've tried unsuccessfully to point out for close to two years, even citing quotes, Hughes is nowhere near the close-minded person some people believe he is. I'll wave the white flag on that one.

[Guest]

I never touted Hughes to be GM. I think he's great in what he does, and as I've tried unsuccessfully to point out for close to two years, even citing quotes, Hughes is nowhere near the close-minded person some people believe he is. I'll wave the white flag on that one.

Some of us got the message, Bruce.

[UK1679666180]

Hughes has definitely had a great career as a baseball executive. It's pretty amazing that one poorly worded statement about DIPS as well as properly defending the work of scouts could be this much of a topic. I would guess that most execs don't know much about DIPS, but someone in the staff does that has an input.

 

If he would've BS'ed his way thru the question and gave a standard answer, this would not be an issue.

[treebird]

Hughes has definitely had a great career as a baseball executive. It's pretty amazing that one poorly worded statement about DIPS as well as properly defending the work of scouts could be this much of a topic. I would guess that most execs don't know much about DIPS, but someone in the staff does that has an input.

 

If he would've BS'ed his way thru the question and gave a standard answer, this would not be an issue.

 

in fairness, i'm pretty sure it's only an issue with like 15 dorks (myself included) on random websites like this one.

[UK1679666180]

I think he was ridiculed beyond here, most of it was the more stat inclined, but that debate generated buzz.

 

Obviously, the "stat/scout" debate has been a hot topic over the last 5 or so years.

 

I believe that article from BA was geared from a stat perspective moreso than from a scout perspective.

[Bruce Miles]

I think he was ridiculed beyond here, most of it was the more stat inclined, but that debate generated buzz.

 

Obviously, the "stat/scout" debate has been a hot topic over the last 5 or so years.

 

I believe that article from BA was geared from a stat perspective moreso than from a scout perspective.

 

And believe it or not, both sides who participated in that debate came out of it feeling good that some bridges had been crossed. Both sides have a lot to offer. I've chided the Cubs for their lack of sabermetrics-friendliness, but in fairness, they're starting to look at this more seriously. The scouts side has to stop being so touchy about "stats guys" wanting to run them out of the business. I don't see that from the stats-oriented people; they'd just like to be welcomed into a world that has resisted change for 100 years.

I'd like to see more dialogue.

[UK1679666180]

I think that bridge will be crossed, both sides have to get a general concept of what the other one is trying to accomplish towards the overall goal.

 

I can understand from where each side is coming from. If I was an area scout and I felt comfortable knowing the area, if I get a memo from a scouting director/crosschecker (orig. based on someone from the FO looking up college stats) to turn a report on a player I've already seen and didn't like b/c of his collegiate stats, I'd be upset.

 

Likewise, if I was into the stat side and I presented info about a player and was immed. turned away b/c I never scouted or played the game, I'd be upset as well.

 

Bruce, I don't know how familiar you are with the White Sox organization but your neck of the woods has someone who could provide more background into this merger.

 

More from Hughes..

 

http://espn.go.com/community/s/2001/0308/1139077.html

[cubweiser03]

Ok i found this quote very funny considering all the conversation on this board...Shall we start another Dunn Thread?

 

Gary Hughes (Reds 2001):

It's' tough to get that determination. You make a great point about them. It is hard when you only see a guy play one time, whether he has good plate discipline. But we love guys like Kearns and Dunn who have that discipline. On base percentage has been a stat people are paying more and more attention to.

 

I meant to mention Cliff Floyd as well, as far as my best draft picks go.