Friday, August 21, 2020

How Not to Run an Organization.

So when Brian Cashman was looking to replace Joe Girardi, who never did anything but win, he put all the managerial candidates through a test.  He gave them the Yankees' roster, with names removed but all the numbers included, and asked them to make up a lineup for a theoretical game.

The guy who did it the best—or rather, the guy who matched up best with how Cashman would've chosen that lineup?  Aaron Boone.

"He got 'em all right!"  exulted Cashman, like a father kvelling over a son who had just aced the SATs.

Because, of course, that's what you want:  everyone in your organization thinking alike, in lockstep with a philosophy devised by individuals who, almost to a man, never played the game.

No creative tension.  No challenging input.  Just someone who is a mental extension of yourself in the dugout.

I don't want to blame yet another Yankees meltdown on Boone, who seems to be a good clubhouse manager, which is often more important than being a great field manager.

But hiring people who think just like you—or, more likely, simply have sussed out exactly how you think—is not the way you ever get better, it's not the way you ever think out of the box when things go wrong.

5 comments:

JM said...

I was no fan of Girardi, starting with how he treated Posada during his last year(s). For me, he was more or less Torre with a mean streak and testier press sessions. And I didn't like Torre, who thought he was a genius when the team could do no wrong, but who got all all defensive and insulted when the team could do wrong and he didn't deliver championships.

Not to say you're wrong, Hoss. Boone is a bumbler and Cashman spent so many years being a toady that he expects the same from anyone he hires.

It's always the same. Play the guys with the contracts and/or hype no matter how bad they're going. Don't fix the rotation. Carry a fuckload of bad to mediocre pitchers in the pen who are basically useless, keeping the roster jammed with them.

The organization is still lousy and Cashman is still a tool.

13bit said...

Team of Rivals vs Confederacy of Dunces

You decide.

Fuck you, Brian. You need a plutonium enema ASAP

HoraceClarke66 said...

I understand, JM. I thought Torre was a bad field manager, too, and I often thought that if we could have switched him for Billy Martin—worst clubhouse manager EVER—in October, the Yanks could've won another 5-6 World Series.

Girardi was a better field manager but yeah, by the end, he had succumbed to New York managerial disease, and was too worked up to even see straight, much less manage coherently.

BUT...Torre was an amazing clubhouse manager and the ONLY guy ever able to deal with Old George for any length of time. He came in when the franchise was about to fall completely apart, and gave us some great seasons.

Girardi, in his way, not only won the last championship we'll ever see the Yankees take, but also got winning records out of 2-3 teams that were outscored—the ONLY time that has ever happened in the franchise's history. Hell, if the Astros hadn't been cheating, he might still be managing.

Boone is a decent guy—but simply hiring people who agree with you completely is never a way to make anything better. Especially when what you've been doing is already is so ineffectual.


Anonymous said...

Boone is a great, great diplomat. He can talk for five minutes straight and say basically nothing, without offending anyone. Which is a great talent in itself, but obviously doesn't have anything to do with baseball. He should run for President one day. Heck, I think I might even vote for him. After all, Ronald Reagan proved that you don't need to know anything (or remember anything) to be President. You just have to have the looks, some movie star charisma, and the ability to read convincingly from a teleprompter.

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