Why not just promote Gary Rajsich to GM?

[Luke-OH]

1 hour ago, birdwatcher55 said:

Too old.  He's 63. I want a young, talented analytics guy running my operation.

Data science is no longer the future of the game, everyone does it (to various degrees). The future is integrating player development and data science, that requires smart baseball people the embrace rather than push back against analytics. The Astros are doing it, but everyone else is playing catch-up.

[tntoriole]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

 

I don’t think it’s clear what “qualifies” someone to be a GM.   Let’s take Andrew Friedman.    He worked in finance for a few years, got a job as Director for Player Development of the Rays for two years and BOOM at the age of 28 became GM of the Rays.    Honestly, was he more “qualified” than Rajsich or Brady?    I’d clearly say no, but obviously he was a very good GM in Tampa and is now team President for the Dodgers.    

Then they should just let one of us have the job.  I would be happy to take a leave from my psychiatric practice to become GM.  

[tntoriole]

50 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

Data science is no longer the future of the game, everyone does it (to various degrees). The future is integrating player development and data science, that requires smart baseball people the embrace rather than push back against analytics. The Astros are doing it, but everyone else is playing catch-up.

I agree.  There are skill sets and cognitive abilities that make it more likely for someone to be successful as a GM today and in the future.  Brady does not have those skill sets from what I have seen.   I would just like him to give one honest answer if I were considering him as a GM candidate somewhere...."Did you advocate for the Chris Davis contract signing and why?"  

[weams]

10 hours ago, glenn__davis said:

Harvey, Dietz, Akin, Stewart, Hanifee, DL Hall, Tanner Scott, just to name a few guys that Rajisch drafted that you didn't list and who look to have a potential future here.  I agree, Rajisch has done a fine job in his position.  I have no idea if that qualifies him to be a GM,

This. 

[weams]

2 hours ago, birdwatcher55 said:

Too old.  He's 63. I want a young, talented analytics guy running my operation.

Give me three names to pick from please. 

[tntoriole]

18 minutes ago, weams said:

Give me three names to pick from please. 

Kim Ng  currently in the Commissioner’s office but previously Assistant GM in Dodgers organization

 

Dan Kantrovitz

 

“Dan Kantrovitz enters his third season as assistant general manager and his sixth in the A's organization. He is involved in all aspects of the A's baseball operations department with a primary focus on overseeing statistical analysis for evaluating and targeting players in the amateur draft, free agent and trade markets.

Kantrovitz previously worked with the A's from 2009-11 with responsibilities in international operations and baseball operations analysis. He joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 as director of scouting, and spent three seasons in that role before returning to the A's. Kantrovitz began his front office career with the Cardinals in 2004 and held various duties in baseball operations before joining the A's in 2009.

Prior to working in baseball, Kantrovitz was twice an all-Ivy League shortstop at Brown University, where he received a bachelor's degree in organizational behavior and management in 2001. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 25th round of the 2001 MLB draft. After a shoulder injury shortened his professional career, he worked as an investment banking analyst and for a company providing statistical analysis to major league teams. Kantrovitz received a master's degree in statistics from Harvard University in 2009.

Kantrovitz, 38, and his family reside in Oakland.”

 

Mike Elias

 

Mike Elias joined the Astros in January 2012 and was named the Assistant General Manager in August of 2016. In his role, he oversees the Astros amateur scouting department and provides leadership and oversight to the Astros player development department. As the club’s scouting director, Elias served as one of the major contributors to the accumulation of young talent that has occurred during General Manager Jeff Luhnow’s tenure.  His involvement and leadership in the organization’s amateur draft efforts have helped to rapidly elevate the Astros’ talent pipeline to one of the best in baseball and furnished key pieces that contributed to the club’s ALDS berth in 2015. In 2012, as Special Assistant to the GM-Scouting, Mike was a driving force behind the decision to select Carlos Correa with the first overall pick, and helped assemble a draft class that was named the year's best by Baseball America. Since Mike's arrival in 2012, the Astros have selected a total of 10 players that have debuted in the Majors, including Correa, Lance McCullers, Alex Bregman and Preston Tucker. Elias began his career as an area scout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007 and was promoted to Manager of Amateur Scouting in 2010.  While with the Cardinals, he signed and scouted several Major League players and contributed to the development of a scouting department and draft process that supported one of the baseball’s top farm systems. Mike is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a left-handed pitcher on the varsity baseball team, earning four letters.  He and his wife, Alexandra, reside in Houston.

[weams]

What makes folks think Kim would be good? I know a decade or so she was on everyone's interview list. I have heard nothing about her for the last five seasons. Is she an analytic consensus builder?  A visionary? Cutting edge strategic mind?

This is not a rhetorical question. 

Are there any other young women who might be  a better fit for a struggling franchise on the outs with the MLB hierarchy?

[weams]

4 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

Kim Ng  currently in the Commissioner’s office but previously Assistant GM in Dodgers organization

 

Dan Kantrovitz

 

“Dan Kantrovitz enters his third season as assistant general manager and his sixth in the A's organization. He is involved in all aspects of the A's baseball operations department with a primary focus on overseeing statistical analysis for evaluating and targeting players in the amateur draft, free agent and trade markets.

Kantrovitz previously worked with the A's from 2009-11 with responsibilities in international operations and baseball operations analysis. He joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 as director of scouting, and spent three seasons in that role before returning to the A's. Kantrovitz began his front office career with the Cardinals in 2004 and held various duties in baseball operations before joining the A's in 2009.

Prior to working in baseball, Kantrovitz was twice an all-Ivy League shortstop at Brown University, where he received a bachelor's degree in organizational behavior and management in 2001. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 25th round of the 2001 MLB draft. After a shoulder injury shortened his professional career, he worked as an investment banking analyst and for a company providing statistical analysis to major league teams. Kantrovitz received a master's degree in statistics from Harvard University in 2009.

Kantrovitz, 38, and his family reside in Oakland.”

 

Mike Elias

 

Mike Elias joined the Astros in January 2012 and was named the Assistant General Manager in August of 2016. In his role, he oversees the Astros amateur scouting department and provides leadership and oversight to the Astros player development department. As the club’s scouting director, Elias served as one of the major contributors to the accumulation of young talent that has occurred during General Manager Jeff Luhnow’s tenure.  His involvement and leadership in the organization’s amateur draft efforts have helped to rapidly elevate the Astros’ talent pipeline to one of the best in baseball and furnished key pieces that contributed to the club’s ALDS berth in 2015. In 2012, as Special Assistant to the GM-Scouting, Mike was a driving force behind the decision to select Carlos Correa with the first overall pick, and helped assemble a draft class that was named the year's best by Baseball America. Since Mike's arrival in 2012, the Astros have selected a total of 10 players that have debuted in the Majors, including Correa, Lance McCullers, Alex Bregman and Preston Tucker. Elias began his career as an area scout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007 and was promoted to Manager of Amateur Scouting in 2010.  While with the Cardinals, he signed and scouted several Major League players and contributed to the development of a scouting department and draft process that supported one of the baseball’s top farm systems. Mike is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a left-handed pitcher on the varsity baseball team, earning four letters.  He and his wife, Alexandra, reside in Houston.

Also, I knew you could do this exercise. I was uncertain that the person asking for a young buck could. 

[weams]

Looked up a current view of Kim at 50.

https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/jersey-celebrities/kim-ng-shes-on-first/

[tntoriole]

55 minutes ago, weams said:

What makes folks think Kim would be good? I know a decade or so she was on everyone's interview list. I have heard nothing about her for the last five seasons. Is she an analytic consensus builder?  A visionary? Cutting edge strategic mind?

This is not a rhetorical question. 

Are there any other young women who might be  a better fit for a struggling franchise on the outs with the MLB hierarchy?

I think she has considerable strengths both as an analytic baseball decision maker and builder of teams but also as a visionary organization builder.  I would see her also as a repairer of alliance with MLB in the post Peter era...if the sons truly are different from the old man in their style and sensibilities. 

But there are other potentual female candidates in the next wave...excellent article about this topic here

http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/23294318/where-mlb-first-woman-gm-come-from

[tntoriole]

37 minutes ago, weams said:

Looked up a current view of Kim at 50.

https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/jersey-celebrities/kim-ng-shes-on-first/

You wonder given her Yankee and Torre connections as to what her interface and relationship with Buck might be like...

[weams]

6 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

You wonder given her Yankee and Torre connections as to what her interface and relationship with Buck might be like...

Your article makes it seem like her time has come and has gone. 

[tntoriole]

9 minutes ago, weams said:

Your article makes it seem like her time has come and has gone. 

You could be right..But I still think she would be a great choice...and she could bring in and recruit the best and brightest go-getter female assistant GM staff. 

We could become both groundbreaking and it would be a tremendous marketing tool to the next generation fanbase...

[Chavez Ravine]

Thinking about who might make a good GM for the O's is about as frustrating as thinking about what to get my Dad for Christmas or his birthday.  Even if I come up with some epic idea that fits him perfectly, I can foresee the pitfalls. He will ask how much it was, whether I got it on sale, and question whether I can really afford it. He will be shocked that I didn't get it at the PX. He will think it is frivolous or redundant to something he has that he got in 1967 and doesn't work. He will think about other people he can give it to who might make better use of it than he.  He will actively try to exchange it Secret Santa style with someone else. 

In the case of the O's GM, I identify someone I think would be cool, then...Wonder how they will get along with Angelos.  Can they get him to adjust his thinking on the International market? Can the person send Brady on a years long special assignment to turn New Zealand cricketers into left fielders?  In the end, like with thinking about my Dad's presents, the fun of it kinda grinds away.

[tntoriole]

9 minutes ago, Chavez Ravine said:

Thinking about who might make a good GM for the O's is about as frustrating as thinking about what to get my Dad for Christmas or his birthday.  Even if I come up with some epic idea that fits him perfectly, I can foresee the pitfalls. He will ask how much it was, whether I got it on sale, and question whether I can really afford it. He will be shocked that I didn't get it at the PX. He will think it is frivolous or redundant to something he has that he got in 1967 and doesn't work. He will think about other people he can give it to who might make better use of it than he.  He will actively try to exchange it Secret Santa style with someone else. 

In the case of the O's GM, I identify someone I think would be cool, then...Wonder how they will get along with Angelos.  Can they get him to adjust his thinking on the International market? Can the person send Brady on a years long special assignment to turn New Zealand cricketers into left fielders?  In the end, like with thinking about my Dad's presents, the fun of it kinda grinds away.

I am already in the post-Peter  mind set when I think about this topic.   My only question is ...how different are the heirs from the old man?  You gotta think they have to be better because arguably nobody could be worse.   Old man Irsay was awful compared to the son. 

Sure, Peter would never do this, but maybe John and Lou will.