PVG

Dear Matt, I don't know that this is a good space for you to promote your political views. Furthermore, I think it would be easy to push back on many of your points. And why abandon statistics when trying to make your argument? On top of that, the essay gives off the vibe (that I think that I hear from some liberals) that not only are you wrong if you disagree with me, but you are also morally corrupt. So I guess in this case - you said would you meant. That being said, I think it's clearly incorrect and even misleading to describe Jackie Robinson as a DEI hire. In the DEI movement there are a lot of beautiful words, and a lot of frankly, incomprehensible words. However, I think the general understanding of a DEI hire or a person that matriculates thru a DEI process, is someone who has inferior credentials and is promoted over someone more qualified due to some characteristic such as race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. But as you said, and was self-evident, JR had superior credentials and was being excluded due to his race. He does not fit the definition of a DEI hire. Just the opposite really, Those who promote a "color-blind" protocol would insist that he be hired.

So how does a guy like Nico improve? Can he do it without adding power - a la Tony Gwynn, and all those famous singles hitters of yesteryear?

Sept. 1 ... the kind of bullpen catalyst Counsell specializes in developing and empowering. ... he's a walking affirmation of the staying power of Counsell's capacity for turning rookies into relief aces. ...Hodge's breakout season is a testament to the value of their manager, Hi Matt, I've been reading your articles for several months now - and I'd like to get your overall evaluation. Besides the two pitchers you mentioned in this article - Hader and Williams, what are the other rookies that Counsell turned "into relief aces"? I'm not being sarcastic , I just don't follow baseball nearly as closely as most on this site - so I truly don't know. Thanks. If a coach or manager has this kind of ability - wouldn't he be worth even more than the $40M that the Cubs are paying him? Hader has been paid $44M over the last 3 years and Williams $7M this year. So, one might say that Counsell has developed more than $50M of pitching value via these two pitchers alone. Are there other managers/coaches who can do this? Are there others who can do similar things for starting pitchers, hitters? Who are they? Assuming all this is true, it seems inconsistent with some of your previous articles - 1) perhaps Counsell is past his prime 2) Counsell is not responsible for the future performance of the bullpen 3) Counsell is responsible for the "failed" Morel experiment 4) Counsell's challenge process is inferior How do we square all this? Is Counsell invaluable - or when considering his deficiencies is he merely human :) ?