2020 Misc MLB News

[owbc]

The funniest part about this hire is that Aubrey Huff is now the #1 trend on Twitter and he hasn't even said anything today.

[TURBO]

Kim Ng has broken the glass ceiling with the Marlins. She's their new GM!

 

 

That's great news if she was the best qualified person to choose from... I hope they didn't hire her just because she's a woman.

Have you seen her resume? Do you ask that "best-qualified" question every time a new GM is hired?

 

I have not seen her resume.

 

If she was the best qualified person, and not hired based on her gender, good for her.

 

I see that you want to call me a sexist, why not just say it and be done with it?

 

I'm assuming that when GMs are hired, they are hired because of their qualifications, but if gender is a qualification, then I disagree with that kind of reasoning.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

Kim Ng apparently put in the grunt work, earning this job...unlike my namesake, Wendy Selig-Prieb, whose only qualification was to be Bud's offspring. I remember her embarrassing our team by offering key front office positions to her teenage crush, Paul Molitor, every other winter. After he gave her the finger the first time, she should have shown some pride, and stopped begging...

[Brewers Numbers]

From Jon Morosi (

): Kim Ng has 3 World Series rings. She made 8 postseason appearances as an executive. She was assistant GM of the #Yankees and #Dodgers, then spent a decade in the Commissioner’s office. Objectively speaking, she has one of the greatest résumés of any first-time GM in @MLB history.

 

From Céspedes Family BBQ (

): active GMs/presidents of baseball ops who were still in or just graduated college when Kim Ng had her first GM interview in '05:

 

Mike Elias

Scott Harris

Derek Falvey

Erik Neander

David Stearns

 

an outrageously long time to be qualified and not get a chance. today is a good day!

[DuWayne Steurer]

She's probably overqualified. It's time for baseball to move past giving jobs to ex players just because they used to play baseball. We've seen that Trend in the right direction for several years now. This is another huge step in the right direction. aside from the fact that she is the general manager of the marlins, I absolutely hope she finds success in this endeavor.

[Baldkin]

Kim Ng has broken the glass ceiling with the Marlins. She's their new GM!

 

 

That's great news if she was the best qualified person to choose from... I hope they didn't hire her just because she's a woman.

 

Have you ever once said, "I hope they didn't hire him just because he's an ex player?"

[Underachiever]

 

I see that you want to call me a sexist, why not just say it and be done with it?

 

Based on the last few posts by others, I'd have to get in line, so I'll pass.

[pacopete4]

Great news and hopefully a wave of seeing 50% of our population become more involved with the sport we all love. This game needs popularity badly.

[adambr2]

Ng is plenty qualified for the position. I don't really understand why anyone would question if she was just hired because of her gender -- obviously she has the credentials to be suited for the position. It's not like they just hired a random woman off the street to hire a woman for the attention.

 

Whether she is the most qualified candidate, time will tell. I'm sure there were plenty of people wondering if a 30 year old Harvard grad with no prior GM experience was the most qualified candidate to run the Brewers.

[homer]

Be weird to hire someone in that role because of their gender. What would be the point of doing that? PR? I doubt you make a GM hire for a PR stunt.

[jerichoholicninja]

She's probably overqualified. It's time for baseball to move past giving jobs to ex players just because they used to play baseball. We've seen that Trend in the right direction for several years now. This is another huge step in the right direction. aside from the fact that she is the general manager of the marlins, I absolutely hope she finds success in this endeavor.

 

Honest question, who was the last ex-player to get a GM or similar job? I can't remember. I thought it was the Ivy League egg-heads that were ruining the game anyway.

[Eye Black]

Honest question, who was the last ex-player to get a GM or similar job? I can't remember. I thought it was the Ivy League egg-heads that were ruining the game anyway.

Former GM’s Billy Beane (A's), Ruben Amaro Jr. (Phillies), and Kenny Williams (White Sox) were all MLB players.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

She's probably overqualified. It's time for baseball to move past giving jobs to ex players just because they used to play baseball. We've seen that Trend in the right direction for several years now. This is another huge step in the right direction. aside from the fact that she is the general manager of the marlins, I absolutely hope she finds success in this endeavor.

 

Honest question, who was the last ex-player to get a GM or similar job? I can't remember. I thought it was the Ivy League egg-heads that were ruining the game anyway.

 

 

Jerry DiPoto Mariners 2015

[JosephC]

Braves give Drew Smyly a 1 year, 11 million dollar deal. Doesn't look like they are going to go "cheap" this off-season. 11 million dollars for Drew Smyly. Over the last five years (missed 2017 and 2018), Smyly has thrown 315 2/3 innings with a 5.25 ERA, 82 ERA+, 1.37 WHIP and 4.92 FIP. A pretty big chunk of money for 26 1/3 really good innings in 2020 (note that the home park was in San Francisco, generally thought to be MLB's best environment for left-handed pitchers).

 

I guess it's safe to say that COVID-19 has not crippled the Braves finances.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Braves give Drew Smyly a 1 year, 11 million dollar deal. Doesn't look like they are going to go "cheap" this off-season. 11 million dollars for Drew Smyly. Over the last five years (missed 2017 and 2018), Smyly has thrown 315 2/3 innings with a 5.25 ERA, 82 ERA+, 1.37 WHIP and 4.92 FIP. A pretty big chunk of money for 26 1/3 really good innings in 2020 (note that the home park was in San Francisco, generally thought to be MLB's best environment for left-handed pitchers).

 

I guess it's safe to say that COVID-19 has not crippled the Braves finances.

 

That is the most "Braves" move I think I've ever seen. For a team that is supposedly great at developing young pitching, they seemingly have absolutely no faith in depending on that young pitching. All this is going to do is take one of their young "prized" starters who should be in the rotation, like Bryse Wilson, Touki Toussaint, Chad Sobotka, or Huascar Ynoa, and push them to the pen or the minors, all so a guy who profiles as a #4-5 guy can take those starts. I don't get it.

[TURBO]

That makes zero sense... They don't have anything better to spend 11 million on?

[Lathund]

Smyly was one of the guys I was looking at for the Brett Anderson veteran lefty starter type of role, because I found that (admittedly brief) showing in 2020 intriguing. But that was under the assumption that it'd be a lot less than $11m... even in a normal season that'd be a lot for that kind of profile. Though I do think it'll turn out to be a good move for them, under the assumption that they have more money to spend. If their payroll is limited it doesn't seem like the smartest way to spend it.

[RWeeksFan23]

Is Smyly the guy we signed to a minor league contract a couple years ago?

[Eye Black]

Is Smyly the guy we signed to a minor league contract a couple years ago?

He was in the Brewers organization for about 2.5 weeks in July of 2019. Here is an article from when he opted out of his minor league contract:

Drew Smyly opts out of minor league contract with Milwaukee Brewers, becomes free agent

[sveumrules]

Yup. Then Drew went out & threw 13 IP with only 1 ER in his first two starts with the Phils & there were some "how'd we let this guy go?!?!" type posts, but then over his last ten starts he only managed 49 innings with a 5.44 ERA while the Brewers surged to the postseason with help from guys like Pomeranz & Lyles that Stearns & company caught considerable flack for acquiring in the first place.

[jerichoholicninja]

Even without pandemic affected revenue that contract makes no sense. It's only one year so it's not a franchise crippling deal or anything but there's no way they couldn't have found a better use for $11M this offseason.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Charlie Morton to the Braves, 1 year/$15 million. Morton is a better pitcher than Smyly, so this makes a little more sense. Still, it seems very odd, to me at least, that the Braves are investing once again in old, retread pitchers, rather than go with their stable or supposed young, up-and-coming stud starters.

[stoutdude04]

Charlie Morton to the Braves, 1 year/$15 million. Morton is a better pitcher than Smyly, so this makes a little more sense. Still, it seems very odd, to me at least, that the Braves are investing once again in old, retread pitchers, rather than go with their stable or supposed young, up-and-coming stud starters.

 

True, but for one year I think Morton will be solid again. Would have been okay with the Brewers doing that.

[PeaveyFury]

What about the Braves’ finances is allowing them to throw gobs of money at questionable veterans when supposedly most teams are pulling back some this year?

[sveumrules]

What about the Braves’ finances is allowing them to throw gobs of money at questionable veterans when supposedly most teams are pulling back some this year?

 

Between Hamels, Ozuna, Melancon, Shane Greene, Tyler Flowers & Nick Markakis they have about 64 million coming off the books.