Are there people on OH you feel could do a better job than AM or other members of the O's brass?

[jjnono]

There's a Degree to further GM aspirations? Which one? j/k btw

Ha - Excellent point. Perhaps better to say that you would have taken some serious statistical analysis courses, basic economics, etc. Then again, I'm just sorta guessing. My point is that you would have rounded your education so that you might step into some entry level job out of college. But you know, 40 years ago, pre-Bill James, I"m not even sure a college education was necessary. Being around the game, having the right connections and proving your knowledge was probably the stepping off point... But as some have pointed out, I've probably taken the hypothetical a bit too far. Perhaps it's not a bad question to answer as I see the O's have dug themselves an 8-0 grave in the second tonight! Yeesh.

[PrivateO]

Dunno if anyone has said it yet, but if I was owner, I'd give someone a chance.

Why not?

[Sports Guy]

I have seen this before...but for those of us who have not been here as long...what exactly did you do for the O's?

Thanks

Ticket sales, customer service and ballpark tours.

Peon stuff.

But let me tell you something, even on that level, you could tell how screwed up everything is. You saw unqualified people getting promotions even though they didn't deserve them but they were friends of the Angelos family.

Baseball is very much a good ol boys network. Those guys may have contacts and things like el gordo is talking about but that doesn't make them the right people for the jobs and it doesn't make them all knowing guys.

[Sports Guy]

Finally, someone who read the OP as I did.

To be fair, i think most of us read it that way...just not ALL of us.

I do not think there has ever been a poll on the OH where El Gordo wasn't a pain in the butt in the thread...For whatever reason, the poll questions always piss him off and he can never just take the question for face value. He probably should stay out of them.

[El Gordo]

For someone who spends so much time poking fun at others for their being high and mighty you sure do come off as someone who thinks he is high and mighty.

What part of the post you cite do you take exception to?

[El Gordo]

Ticket sales, customer service and ballpark tours.

Peon stuff.

But let me tell you something, even on that level, you could tell how screwed up everything is. You saw unqualified people getting promotions even though they didn't deserve them but they were friends of the Angelos family.

Baseball is very much a good ol boys network. Those guys may have contacts and things like el gordo is talking about but that doesn't make them the right people for the jobs and it doesn't make them all knowing guys.

But if you were miraculously made GM how would you be able to change that culture? Look, the POTUS doesn't have the power to make major changes in the governtment's establishment, without huge political clout. How could you expect to do so with the O's dysfunctional bureaucracy? You might have all the right ideas, but so what? PA is still the owner. And if he weren't, who would have to be, to give you the support you would need to instiutute your draconian changes? Why isn't Bill James a GM? He knows more about stats than anyone here?

[El Gordo]

It's your tone in pretty much this whole thread, not to mention many other similar threads.

My tone is that it is patently absurd to think that a bunch of hobbyists, no matter how smart could get a top job in an industry without credentials or experience and think they could be effective. That simply doesn't happen in any business. To be a GM besides being a crack sabermetrician, you have to have interpersonal skills, political savvy, be good at making deals, communicte effectively and with tact, handle the media with aplomb, and have been around the game enough to deal with players. Who here possesses all those skills, plus the ones I haven't thought of. To my best knowledge Stotle is the poster here who is most involved in the actaul business of baseball, and he seem to think he is far removed from a GM's job.

[Gurgi]

Absolutely yes. As SG said, there would be a learning curve as with any job...and maybe there are management/personnel aspects that would be difficult for an outsider to literally take over immediately. But as far as making decisions goes, there are people on here both with a better current plan and (apparently) better decision-making skills in general and better priorities vis a vis actually constructing a winning team.

Just to be clear, though, there are also many people on here who are both confident in their abilities and completely incapable of doing the job.

Never truer words spoken. But that makes for the wild show that is the OH.

Honestly MacPhail has had some very, very good trades.

[Gurgi]

First, I wouldn't go to dinner with the man that has presided over 14 terrible seasons and doesn't seem to care. Second, a lack of contacts doesn't mean you aren't qualified.

I would go. They say he is a decent guy to chat with. Would love to hear his side of what caused such disaster to befall us.

[Gurgi]

Ticket sales, customer service and ballpark tours.

Peon stuff.

But let me tell you something, even on that level, you could tell how screwed up everything is. You saw unqualified people getting promotions even though they didn't deserve them but they were friends of the Angelos family.

Baseball is very much a good ol boys network. Those guys may have contacts and things like el gordo is talking about but that doesn't make them the right people for the jobs and it doesn't make them all knowing guys.

He who has the gold makes the rules.

I believe you about the promotions.

[CA-ORIOLE]

My tone is that it is patently absurd to think that a bunch of hobbyists, no matter how smart could get a top job in an industry without credentials or experience and think they could be effective. That simply doesn't happen in any business. To be a GM besides being a crack sabermetrician, you have to have interpersonal skills, political savvy, be good at making deals, communicte effectively and with tact, handle the media with aplomb, and have been around the game enough to deal with players. Who here possesses all those skills, plus the ones I haven't thought of. To my best knowledge Stotle is the poster here who is most involved in the actaul business of baseball, and he seem to think he is far removed from a GM's job.

Ok we get it. You can't grasp a hypothetical question.

You think AM is a crack sabermetrician? (I don't think that's even a requirement btw)

There are at least a few (not a "bunch") people that have those skills (except for being around the game, which isn't a skill) imo. Aren't half the people on here lawyers? Not to mention business owners, managers etc.

[El Gordo]

Ok we get it. You can't grasp a hypothetical question.

You think AM is a crack sabermetrician? (I don't think that's even a requirement btw)

There are at least a few (not a "bunch") people that have those skills (except for being around the game, which isn't a skill) imo. Aren't half the people on here lawyers?

Ok, so you think being a lawyer qualifies you to be a GM. What other qualifictions do you think he needs? A lot of people have a good idea of what good plan might be, but who here has the qualifications to impliment their plan?

[CA-ORIOLE]

Ok, so you think being a lawyer qualifies you to be a GM

.

Being a lawyer encompasses nearly all of the requirements you listed other than being a sabremetrician (which I don't think is a requirement). That doesn't mean you have to be a lawyer. Many entrepreneuers and managers have those attributes as well.

What other qualifications do you think he needs? A lot of people have a good idea of what good plan might be, but who here has the qualifications to impliment their plan?

Knowledge of the game, common sense, management skills including the identification and improvement of critical processes, Leadership skills, the ability to understand and utilize sabremetrics, critical thinking, interpersonal skills.

If by implementing the plan, you mean the authority. Yes.

[SrMeowMeow]

Ok, so you think being a lawyer qualifies you to be a GM. What other qualifictions do you think he needs? A lot of people have a good idea of what good plan might be, but who here has the qualifications to impliment their plan?

For the last time, the question is not "could any poster on here get a job as a GM". The answer to that, for every single person on the board, is no.

The question is, "are there posters who would make better decisions and construct and execute a better strategy than the front office."

How is this confusing? You are seriously the most pedantic person in the world.

[bluedog]

No idea why you would think this is what I am saying. Not only am I sure there are people with management experience, I'm sure you are one of them and that you are super at it!

My point was that it's a broad skill set required to RUN baseball team. There are a lot of people I read on here that I think could be positive contributors in a front office. There are a very select few that I think, based on their baseball thoughts, would be able to operate in a high level baseball position without having to go through the whole "years of experience" thing.

Even with management experience, if you don't understand the process of scouting, the process of setting up a trade, the process of balancing a ML budget, etc., I would think it would be awfully difficult to step in and run a Big League club.

The only skillset that is absolutely necessary to run any large company is the ability to identify needs and hire the correct person(s) to fill that need and to make sure they get the resources necessary to successfully get their job done. It's nice to have a working knowledge of as many aspects of a business as you can, but for any large business there are going to be mission critical elements of the business that the CEO (or General Manager in this case) simply know nothing about. The core skill for top management is the ability to identify and hire people with the right skill set, attitude and work ethic to get various jobs done.

You don't have to understand the process of scouting, or the process of setting up a trade or balancing a team budget (although of course it wouldn't hurt to understand them). The GM shouldn't be doing those things - he should have people who are experts at doing each one of them that work for him. It's the GM (or CEOs) job to make decisions based on the expert advice and information provided to him by his minions. If he has the right minions he wins. If he has the wrong minions he gets the Orioles.