Cubs hire a "stats guru"

[UMFan83]

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5292732

 

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts made his first hire in the baseball operations department, naming Ari Kaplan as the team's statistical analyst manager.

 

 

Kaplan has created statistical profiles of players and organizations for the past 20 years. The 40-year-old Chicago native has blended scouting with statistical analysis for 21 major league teams.

[WilcoFan]

http://www.arikaplan.com/

 

I assume this is the guy.

[Geech]

Man, what a terrible website.

[Guest]

Man, what a terrible website.

 

No joke.

[lumafia]

Did he use Websites for Dummies to make his site or what?

 

Regardless, this is a step in the right direction, but I don't like the fact that this guy has so many balls in the air. Or, maybe I don't care and just think that saying "balls in the air" sounds funny. Not sure which.

[lumafia]

http://ariball.com/

[Guest]

Now that is significantly more interesting.

[lumafia]

Now that is significantly more interesting.

 

Yeah...some of it is interesting. I think we just have the other side of the spectrum. You have baseball guys who think they know everything and don't need those silly ol things called stats, and you have stat guys who can't be told anything that doesn't come from a spreadsheet. The reality is that you need someone who falls in the middle....or....moreso to the stat side. ;)

 

I particularly like this article: http://ariball.com/news/alfonso_soriano.html

He uses his expert Cal-tech trained expert analysis to determine that Alfonso Soriano wasn't performing as well after he hurt his knee as he was before he hurt his knee. :-k

[erik316wttn]

I don't know anything about this guy. Is he a legit stats guy, or is he just a guy Ricketts saw and said "Hey, you know all them fancy new-fangled stats.... want a job?"

 

It's a step in the right direction to at least acknowledge they need to keep an eye on things like that, but it would be very Cub-like just to hire the first guy they see.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't know anything about this guy. Is he a legit stats guy, or is he just a guy Ricketts saw and said "Hey, you know all them fancy new-fangled stats.... want a job?"

 

It's a step in the right direction to at least acknowledge they need to keep an eye on things like that, but it would be very Cub-like just to hire the first guy they see.

 

They already had a guy to just fill out spreadsheets and list nonsensical stats. I'm guessing they actually put some real thought into this hire, and probably had a number of job seakers.

[lumafia]

Doesn't sound good for Hendry. Apparently, Kaplan has his eye on a GM position.

 

“Kaplan's dream of becoming a GM is not as far-fetched as it once may have seemed. Many a baseball manager has spent seasons learning statistics and scouting before heading to the dugout…Making sense of players and their stats is probably the single most important job of the manager.”

 

v Contract Professional cover story

[Pushfrog98]

Man, what a terrible website.

 

No joke.

almost as bad as http://www.modestapparelchristianclothinglydiaofpurpledressescustomsewing.com/

[C.C.]

What the hell took so long?!?!

[UMFan83]

What the hell took so long?!?!

 

Dusty Baker, Jim Hendry, a general orginzational indifference towards advanced statistics.

[TruffleShuffle]

huh maybe now we will have an organization that knows when a pitcher's ERA is outperforming his peripherals (john grabow) or a hitter is having a career year because of luck on balls in play (aaron miles) so that the dumb ass signings will stop.

[17 Seconds]

he specializes in catcher ERA, batting average trends, and SP win percentage

[bhogg]

he has a no trade clause

[Tarver]

Man, what a terrible website.

 

No joke.

almost as bad as http://www.modestapparelchristianclothinglydiaofpurpledressescustomsewing.com/

 

The pic of that kid playing PS3 oblivous to the nutbars surrounding him should be on billboards throughout the south.

[utkcub]

About time this organization got with the picture and hired someone who is actually going to help us win some ballgames

[Pushfrog98]

About time this organization got with the picture and hired someone who is actually going to help us win some ballgames

I think he will be taking Wells' spot in the rotation and then playing 2nd on days he's not pitching. This should really help us win.

[rocket]

and of course hendry has the predictable response

 

"It's a game that has to have a strong human element, whether it's scouting or performing. You just don't draw people up on computers and plug them in and that means they can perform at Wrigley Field in a pennant race. You just keep putting all your information together. You rely heavily on your scouts."

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=388443&src=152

 

apparently heavily relying on scouts doesn't produce players that perform in a pennant race either.

[woodchip2153]

after looking at his website it doesn't look like he'll be bringing good statistical analysis. It looks like he does a lot of player x hits well with 2 outs and RISP and crap like that.

[Guest]

after looking at his website it doesn't look like he'll be bringing good statistical analysis. It looks like he does a lot of player x hits well with 2 outs and RISP and crap like that.

 

That's not really the case at all. A lot of the sample info had much more use to a manager/coach than a GM, but it was very interesting and useful stuff.

[jersey cubs fan]

after looking at his website it doesn't look like he'll be bringing good statistical analysis. It looks like he does a lot of player x hits well with 2 outs and RISP and crap like that.

 

I didn't look at his website, but I was disappointed to read he's already worked with the Cubs in the past and will work alongside Chuck Wasserstrom.

[daske17]

At the very least, this kind of decision makes me think that Ricketts has his head on straight on how to build an organization in the 21st century.

 

Scouting plays a role in player decisions, but that scouting should be backed up by hard numbers.

 

With that said, my gut tells me that Sandberg isn't the type of manager Ricketts envisions after Lou. Oh, and Hendry should update his resume.