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Post by reedonly on Feb 29, 2024 22:47:22 GMT -5
So we haven't even cleared spring training and a guy we were hoping would win a starter's spot is out... for at least 4 months. Winn and Beck down. Black backfilled Winn's spot but haven't heard about Beck's spot but Baseball Insider thinks it's Daulton Jeffries.
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Post by reedonly on Feb 29, 2024 22:57:40 GMT -5
Boly: I sympathize with your plight, Reed.
It's not really an issue. Between mucked up schedule, added responsibilities, inventory shortages, and old tired bones, it was a good time to leave. Technically, no one forced me out but they were definitely not begging me to stay, either. Since I hit the age where Medicare kicked in, the choice was easier. Had I retired earlier, Medicare and health care would have socked me with big time age 64 penalties. Physically, I think I could have gone for about three or four more years but after retiring, I got a lot of physicals which showed I did more damage to myself at work than I had realized. As a result, the timing was good to get out. My boss was a lot like FZ. Very polite on the outside but obviously did not want me to stick around. They needed to get rid of me so that they could balance their books and 35 years of experience meant nothing to union or management. What happened to me is a lot like how FZ treated Bochy and Crawford. History is history but we need that roster spot you're taking up. The only residual effect is that I've been getting a lot of work nightmares so I've cut out visiting the old workplaces.
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Post by reedonly on Mar 1, 2024 10:35:25 GMT -5
Looks like Boagie was correct. Crawford wanted to come back to the Giants but Zaidi did not want him. This seems to echo the Correa situation the year before and now it seems that Zaidi did not handle the situation well. No surprise about Zaidi's lack of people skills because all he does is sell snake oil. This is a re-post of an interview from the Athletic that was cut and paste.
“The bottom line is I was not wanted back by the one person whose (opinion) matters,” said Crawford, referring to Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. “So I went with a team that gave me a major-league contract. The Cardinals have a long history and tradition. I’ve admired and respected the way the Cardinals have played throughout my career and the way the organization has been run.
“But the bottom line is I wanted to come back to the Giants. That was obviously the ideal situation for me.”
Crawford said he made his feelings known to Zaidi in November when the club president detoured from the GM meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., and suggested an offsite face-to-face meeting. Crawford told Zaidi he was not seeking to reclaim his role as the everyday shortstop. He expressed a willingness to play multiple positions while mentoring Giants rookie shortstop Marco Luciano and other young infielders. He said he would be happy in a support role while spending another season making baseball memories for his four oldest children, ages 5 to 11, all of whom had cajoled him into postponing retirement.
“I had no playing time expectations,” Crawford said. “Just help out and be a veteran mentor type for Luciano, Casey Schmitt, (Tyler) Fitzgerald, continue being that guy for Thairo (Estrada), whoever else I could help out in that capacity. That’s what I came to him with.”
“I was told I could earn the last spot on the roster like anyone else could as a non-roster invitee,” Crawford said. “That was the nail in the coffin.”
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Post by reedonly on Mar 1, 2024 10:52:25 GMT -5
so, Zaidi did not want him back because he did not want to pressure the kids. Here is Zaidi's use car salesman rebuttal from the Athletic.
“He’s been one of our most popular and important players and we negotiated a two-year extension with him (after his banner 2021 season) which everyone was really happy with,” Zaidi said. “So any notion there was a concern about coexistence just doesn’t match the reality that we’ve both been here for the last five seasons and we’ve had some really great moments. He’s been an important member of this team and a real leader in the clubhouse as well.”
And what about Crawford’s claim that he was willing to play in a reduced, versatile role?
“That assessment is 100 percent fair,” Zaidi said. “He had interest in coming back and was open to a different role. The main thing we’ve discussed internally was the challenge of the fit because his status in the organization would actually make this supportive, mentorship role challenging for him, even with the best of intentions. I actually don’t question his intent or that he would do everything he could to mentor our young players and help bring them along. I just think we expect our younger players will have their ups and downs, as young players do, and having the greatest shortstop in franchise history on the bench … it was just going to create a dynamic where it was going to be harder for our young players to play with a margin of error.”
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Post by reedonly on Mar 1, 2024 11:02:11 GMT -5
This is what bugs me about modern day management: its about the metrics, its about the roster spots (or full time equivalences in real world terms) its not about experience and its not about people skills or skill sets. Another problem is that its not consistent. They brought back Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence who were even more borderline players then than Crawford is now. Zaidi says its nothing personal but, as usual, actions don't back up the words.
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Post by reedonly on Mar 2, 2024 10:30:36 GMT -5
Crawford is definitely pissed off at Zaidi because we know him as a quiet, easygoing person and for him to burn his bridges like this is not in his usual character. Papa on KNBR said he burned the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge, the Dumbarton Bridge, and any other bridge he could not think of. Zaidi shows he does not have people skills because he could have been up front and handled it differently. This is defintley the way modern management thinks. Maybe it impresses people in ownership but that is not the way I was brought up.
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Post by klaiggeb on Mar 2, 2024 10:40:24 GMT -5
Me neither, Reed. Me neither.
This is what I would categorize as a classic Gen Z move. People don't matter, only the bottom line.
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Post by klaiggeb on Mar 2, 2024 10:40:46 GMT -5
NOT saying he's Gen Z. Just that this move is like what they do every day
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Post by reedonly on Mar 2, 2024 11:04:22 GMT -5
What bugs me is that it is not necessarily the bottom line but it is to manipulate certain metrics like JD Power scores or processing times. Managers get bonuses for hitting certain economic and metric targets and those take precedence over common sense goals. Bill Walsh used to say that the score takes care of itself if you do things the right way. I don't like taking so much effort to fudge numbers for their bonuses. That's what these guys do and they even go to state these things in huddles and staff meetings. For example, we were instructed to "greet people and say your name: thats two JD Power points right there."
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Post by reedonly on Mar 2, 2024 21:09:42 GMT -5
Boagie: I imagine Bob Melvin is the one that pushed to pickup Ahmed since they had a history in AZ together. They rewarded that relationship in AZ, but not the relationship Crawford had with SF? I just don't understand that thinking.
Both Ahmed and Crawford were offered a chance to compete to be the 26th man (same offer). Crawford felt that he did not want to compete for a position and Ahmed was willing to. Turns out Ahmed is now the leading candidate to be backup infielder having finally recovered from shoulder surgery. Crawford got a better deal in St Louis with a guaranteed $2 million but would have had to go the minor league route with SF the way Ahmed is doing now. FZ communicates poorly with the players but he also communicates poorly with media. He is articulate but he just seems unable to put his points across because he is so used to talking like a GM (noncommittal, no promises). I think they probably should have gone the route of making a position like "community liason" or "special assistant to Larry Baer" for Crawford where he could act as an infield coach but I'm not sure if talks went that far. The special assistant route would save face for everyone and seems like it would make the most sense but that bridge has been burned. Ownership would have to overstep FZ in order to bring back Crawford after his Baggarly interview.
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Post by reedonly on Mar 2, 2024 21:36:52 GMT -5
Hadn't heard about Beck's hand injury.
I'd LOVE Farhan to be on thin ice and be shown the door.
But if Beck can't go, I'm guessing they sign Monty really soon. The hand injury appears to be caused by an aneurysm in the arm. This is caused by congenital defect, atherosclerosis, or injury and is basically a weakness or ballooning of an artery in Beck's upper arm. David Cone had a similar thing and they used a leg blood vessel to replace the arm vessel. Now, they have artificial vessels so maybe the rehab will not take as long as Cone's. Cone was out for four months rehabbing the arm and leg. If Beck opts for the artificial vessel, he would be rehabbing the arm only. I believe there was a Japanese player who recently had the same problem but did not recover. So, best case scenario would be for Beck to miss about four months and pick up where he left off like Cone did. Worst case scenario is that it is career ending. Doing no surgery is out of the question because Beck will be at increased risk for blood clots in the future. They did not say how big the aneurysm was but if it is bigger than an inch in diameter, the treatment would be a stent-graft (similar to the one used in heart surgery). Beck will be undergoing vascular surgery in Stanford on Monday and when they find out how big the aneurysm is, they will have a better idea of Beck's timeline. I'm thinking he will be out half of a year and that he will be put on the 60 day IL.
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Post by pachyderm on Mar 10, 2024 7:09:14 GMT -5
oops
moved my comment to the correct thread.
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Post by reedonly on Mar 10, 2024 16:39:38 GMT -5
Beck has been shut down for eight weeks after the surgery. They did not say which surgery they performed nor did they indicate the size of the aneurysm, but best case would be a June return.
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