The 2018 Phillies managerial search

[zambonir]

Nats are going with Martinez, so every team that fired their guy after the Phillies will have hired faster (except the Yankees). I have no problem with that, I like that they did a lot of searching, and it's also easier for veteran GMs to move more quickly, but it's still funny.

Martinez had already interviewed with them the last time around so also easier to pull that trigger. Wonder if it means anything re: Farrell.

By "the last guy" I meant Sandberg, as in the last lifelong minor league manager who came from AAA (though not directly). Mackanin had major league experience!

[andyb]

Though Sandberg at 53 was still a bit older than Wathan. I do think Wathan has a better record and has exceeded expectations with the various teams given him, though of course the last few years success has been because of an above average run of minor league prospects.

I just hate the herd mentality of hiring coaches that are a part of the latest World Series team when much of that success is because those teams had really good core players. Houston's development has been aided by analytics, but they have a young core of players from top draft picks (Correa, Bregman) that makes lots of things possible. And the Dodgers $265 million payroll also makes lots of things possible. They have had some developmental successes, but are they dramatically better per dollar spent than other organizations?

[zambonir]

I think it's more about philosophy and pedigree than recent success. And in the case of both Martinez and Kapler you are talking about guys who have experience with Andrew Friedman and/or Joe Maddon for many years. And Cora's just always had that future manager tag, plus he won as a player in Boston. That he has experience working with Hinch and Luhnow in that organization counts more than just the fact that they were the best team in the AL this year.

Ibanez's name is coming up as a Yankees candidate (he also works for the Dodgers).

[zambonir]

The Case For Dusty Wathan as the Next Phillies Manager

Jay Floyd, unsurprisingly is for Dusty.

Part of his argument is that he's a little bit like Charlie (in that Charlie was Thome's choice and Dusty would be a lot of players' choice).

[DougLindsay]

Heyman says Kapler is the choice.

[zambonir]

Heyman | Gabe Kapler Appears To Be Choice For Phillies Manager

[zambonir]

Salisbury and Zolecki confirming. Sounds like they could announce tomorrow if MLB says it's okay on the off day.

[bigegypt0417]

I like it!

[allentown]

I'm fine with Kapler. The Dodgers are a very solid organization and it will be good to plug in some of their knowledge. If Kapler was #2 for the Dodgers manager position and has added experience since then, I view that as a fairly strong endorsement. An analytical guy is a plus. A younger guy is a plus. If his nutritional approach is mandating all organic, then there seems to be more than a tad of quackery, however.

[zambonir]

I'm sure the real story there is just that they got rid of the junk food which I believe the Phillies have done as well (along with spending more on minor league food).

I'm excited. I think Wathan was a fine candidate who should have been (and clearly was) considered on his own merits, but a big move away from internal (for the first time in 20 years) is very satisfying. I think we can confidently say the previous regime would have picked either of the other two candidates. And given that he comes out of development and is Klentak's first manager, we can expect to see instruction and philosophy shifts at all levels, which has been as long-awaited as having an analytics department.

[jimbomill]

Insightful phrase "seems to be more than a tad of quackery". I just hope that the Phillies didn't just hire their own version of Chip Kelly.

I guess I'm just a tad skeptical on folks who are deemed to be following "analytics". This is the study of after-the fact pools of data, slicing and dicing every which way.
I'm fond of someone who had been a professional MLB manager and has had experience using WHATEVER his background might be to help form the in-game decisions. Gabe had one (1) season managing a single-A team. That wowed him so much, he went back to becoming a baseball PLAYER again.
Gabe strikes me as someone more suited to the front office, or, as an advisor, but we'll see. I guess I was leaning towards Wathan, in retrospect.

[bigegypt0417]

Pretty good writeup...

Phillies to hire Gabe Kapler as next manager

[Purduke]

Insightful phrase "seems to be more than a tad of quackery". I just hope that the Phillies didn't just hire their own version of Chip Kelly.

If he calls Buffalo and trades Hoskins after a 5 minute phone call in exchange for a young pitcher who missed last year because of TJ surgery then I'll start to worry

[jimbomill]

Agreed

[EDmuch]

I would prefer a manger to a data analyst, but I was not in the room during interviews so I will just have to pass on judgment and wait to see what happens on the field.

[DurhamBull]

I like the choice of Kapler. Fresh air. I could see Wathan as bench coach providing tremendously valuable experience to complement Kapler's skills, and I could also see Wathan as bench coach undermining Kapler's authority, intentionally or otherwise. I guess it depends on personalities.

[Austinfan]

Next couple years player development takes precedence over brilliant game day strategic moves.
The fact that Kapler will probably interact with the minor league development staff (he ran that for the Dodgers for three years) may mean we finally have consistent player development from rookie ball to the majors.
And if he can get them to spend more money in the lower minors on nutrition and training, that can accelerate the development of LA and HS players.
And if he can help elevate the play of some "marginal" prospects (see the Dodger success with players like Turner), that would be a huge bonus.

[Austinfan]

You also know he's motivated if he's willing to leave Malibu for Philadelphia.

http://www.sportsnetla.com/shows/connected-with-dodgers.TWuX_gZzLLAP

Interesting interview with Kapler.

[allentown]

If his specialty is connecting with people and getting the best out of them, those are great attributes for any manager, but especially a manager of a young team. It seems he has worked a lot with field staff and scouts, which is also a plus. The job of manager is changing. While his background is a tad unconventional, shortfalls can be covered by selecting the right bench coach. He seems a guy who will consider and integrate the thinking of his bench coach.

[andyb]

I am not sure you can say we have not had consistent player development from rookie ball to the majors. And Kapler will also have nothing to do with that really. We also already spend money on nutrition and training in the minors. Who the major league manager has nothing to do with that. I am also not sure how you give Kapler credit for a guy like Turner since Turner was not a Dodger minor leaguer. Kapler was in charge of minor league development, not the majors.

Kapler is a giant unknown as a manager. The analytics background will hopefully make him more aware of things like defensive value and pitcher usage. Bullpen usage in particular is evolving really quickly and I hope he takes notice of the success of stacking two starters back to back.

As for whether he is a good hire, it is really hard to tell since there is not a track record. All of the stuff in your post is near meaningless though as the manager's job is really the major league team and optimizing it. You can take a Charlie Manuel type and still implement a nutrition program. Manuel could manage 25 personalities in the clubhouse even while he cost us a few games analytically. Hopefully Kapler can do so as well.