Josh Barfield expected to be asst. GM; Brian Bannister and Gene Watson coming as well

[TheFutureIsNear]

Still don’t think Getz should have been the hire…but it is undeniably a good sign that he’s surrounding himself with smart people that fill holes the organization has had for a long time. 

[bmags]

27 minutes ago, kitekrazy said:

 

Red Sox owner tried the Reinsdorf method large but small market approach.  Not really spending money.

I don't think that is the Reinsdorf method. The small market approaches include actually building a farm and scouting network.

I think Henry hamstrung Bloom unfairly. I think he will get another crack at things eventually, a la Cherington, if these prospects move forward and make an impact. 

 

[nitetrain8601]

Surround yourself with people smarter than you. It's a good first FO move for Getz. Don't mean nothing until they do something, however.

[SoCalChiSox]

Good moves it seems from most reviews.

[oldsox]

Okay, someone please tell me why Barfield is such a great addition.

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, nitetrain8601 said:

Surround yourself with people smarter than you. It's a good first FO move for Getz. Don't mean nothing until they do something, however.

At least it means Getz is willing to bring in accomplished staff. Kenny and Rick wanted cronies and people they could control. Their permanent coaching staff over multiple managerial regimes also served as clubhouse rats (Boston remains Jerry’s rat).

Jerry doesn’t want to pay three people to not work in 2024 (KW, RH, PG), so I can see one more year for major improvement (not likely) in a likely 60s/70s win season and then bring in someone else.

[GreenSox]

17 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

But what happens to Jeremy Haber, lol?

 

This puts all the Dayton Moore rumors to bed, at least.

The 3 Hs.
Hahn is out
Hopefully Hostetler seeks other opportunities. 
They can let Haber work in the analytics department or something.   Or seeks other opportunities.

When is the last time they brought 3 outsiders (or even 1) into the inner sanctum of the front office?  Maybe I'm grading on a curve, but this seems good.

Edited September 20, 2023 by GreenSox

[GreenSox]

Sorry - meant to edit and I quoted instead

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by GreenSox

[Quin]

4 hours ago, bmags said:

I don't think that is the Reinsdorf method. The small market approaches include actually building a farm and scouting network.

I think Henry hamstrung Bloom unfairly. I think he will get another crack at things eventually, a la Cherington, if these prospects move forward and make an impact. 

 

Yeah, the Reinsdorf Method is "play it safe."

• Sign the Keuchels, Grandals, Melkys, Benintendis, and LaRoches of the world as your big gets vs. actually signing big free agents like Machado or Harper in their prime.
• Sign older "proven" Cuban prospects vs. shelling out an extra $100,000 for teenagers like Juan Soto.
  • Robert and Abreu are exceptions to this rule. Robert had mega hype. Abreu had quiet hype dating back to 2012.
• Trade prospects for rentals, cause they're just prospects and prospects are risky.
  • The White Sox Traded Away Prospects Team would be legit scary.

The problem is that it worked in 2005, so JR and Kenny got high on their own supply and figured they could build a contender that way.

JR basically tells his GM they can only buy a 2012 Honda Civic in 2023.

[bmags]

2 hours ago, oldsox said:

Okay, someone please tell me why Barfield is such a great addition.

I think he cleared the low bar of "performed the job at an org different from the white sox".

I *do* like the DIamondbacks though and how they have built on the fly seemingly thru just draft picks and smart trades and patience. Tough, as we've seen, to have so many young players and pitchers and it mix right.

How much is Josh Barfield a part of that? no idea. 

But I know he saw a different org operate and so he may as well be Branch Rickey as JR would say.

[chitownsportsfan]

[TheBooneLoganEra]

Great watch if you want to get a sense of what he's about. 

 

 

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, TheBooneLoganEra said:

Great watch if you want to get a sense of what he's about. 

 

 

https://www.mlb.com/royals/team/front-office/gene-watson

Watson has experience with multiple other orgs (Angels more recently) and Barfield helps tick off the Balta Boxes as well.

[poppysox]

7 hours ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

Still don’t think Getz should have been the hire…but it is undeniably a good sign that he’s surrounding himself with smart people that fill holes the organization has had for a long time. 

Maybe Getz is smarter than some people here give him credit for.  Smart people are not afraid to hire smart subordinates.

[Marqhead]

JR still here? Don’t care. 

[FT35]

Before we get into the measurable successes of his tenure, I just want to state for the record, I have nothing against Chris Getz as a person.  Like everyone else, I was hoping they would bring in a proven outside mega talent to come in and completely change everything as I believe wholesale change is needed in this moment.  I doubted the hire because I’m conditioned to doubt everything coming out of this team.  They have given me zero reason to trust anything.  

As far as Getz, I hope he is successful in every way.  I hope that he can make a name for himself that will carry weight outside the White Sox circles and lay the groundwork for a long, successful front office career as long as he wants it.  My expectations are very low, but this will always be my hope for him personally and this team.

[kitekrazy]

On 9/20/2023 at 8:12 AM, bmags said:

I don't think that is the Reinsdorf method. The small market approaches include actually building a farm and scouting network.

I think Henry hamstrung Bloom unfairly. I think he will get another crack at things eventually, a la Cherington, if these prospects move forward and make an impact. 

 

Not really too many are bad at it.

[SoxAce]

Can Getz hire his own Jeff Greenberg "analytics guru" now? Cuz that was a tremendous hire by the Tigers.

[caulfield12]

https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-barfield-finds-success-in-d-backs-front-office

 

https://www.amazon.com/MVP-Machine-Baseballs-Nonconformists-Players/dp/1541698940

The MVP Machine (book by Travis Sawchik and Ben Lindbergh) has a chapter dedicated to Brian Bannister’s work combining analytics and on field player development. So I’m actually excited about this hire. Also highly recommend the book.

 

"For too long, stat geeks like me ignored the 'development' side of 'scouting and development.' The MVP Machine is the book that's going to change that. Travis Sawchik and Ben Lindbergh persuasively and entertainingly demonstrate that a baseball player's success is less about God-given talent and more about innovation, hard work, and the willingness to take a more scientific approach to the game. Read it, and you won't think about baseball in quite the same way again."―Nate Silver, founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight

Edited September 22, 2023 by caulfield12

[Texsox]

If if if if if 

JR had a clue that Getz could put together decent front office I'll take back some of my negative thoughts about the hire. 

[hogan873]

Good managers/leaders know they are not the smartest person in the room.  Getz seems to be surrounding himself with smarter people who know a lot about baseball.  It's a nice first step.  I'm particularly optimistic about getting someone in the organization that can (hopefully) improve the pitching on this team.

[Y2Jimmy0]

On 9/19/2023 at 9:27 PM, Balta1701 said:

Here is the current White Sox front office.

https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/team/front-office
 

Jeremy Haber is currently listed as the assistant GM. They could certainly expand their staff and have more than one of those, but most likely he is being specifically replaced or moved to another position. The roles for the other two could be in n place of several different people, or again they could expand their staff.

 

7 hours ago, SoxAce said:

Can Getz hire his own Jeff Greenberg "analytics guru" now? Cuz that was a tremendous hire by the Tigers.

Greenberg is Scott Harris’ best friend. I feel like Sox fans would complain about the nepotism 

[Highland]

Briefly saw an interview of Bannister. Came across as a smart and articulate man.

[Balta1701]

3 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

 

Greenberg is Scott Harris’ best friend. I feel like Sox fans would complain about the nepotism 

Why was I tagged here?

[Y2Jimmy0]

8 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Why was I tagged here?

My fault. I had that saved in my quotes for some reason and it posted both.