DK interview with Greg Smith

[wvbucco]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08023/851362-63.stm

I'm really not getting a warm-fuzzy feeling from Smith.  His track record is just not that good.  His hiring was really the only move that made me think "what the heck?"  I guess we'll see in June.

[WTM]

Smith could be a wild card.  He had a crappy record when Randy Smith was GM and BA implied at one point that Randy did hamper Greg.  Dejan's article implied the same.  Greg's drafting picked up dramatically once Randy was gone, but the sample size is very small.  At least he's not Creech, who had a mediocre track record with the Expos and Cards, and a terrible one with the Dodgers, before he arrived to screw up the Pirates.

The really alarming sign was the comment from Huntington the day before, when he said they didn't need to pay six figure bonuses in the Dominican and added that they'd place an "internal value" on players they were thinking of signing.  I understand that phrase to mean that their signings won't be driven by market prices, that they'll have a ceiling they won't exceed because they have some abstract notion of how much an amateur Latin player is worth.  That probably comes from Coonelly and his views back when he was screaming at GMs not to go over slot.  IMO, the basic problem with the Pirates' approach to amateur signings has been the notion that they don't have to compete in the market, that they're somehow smarter than the other 29 teams.  The smarter GMs now are doing well because they try to understand the market and look for the best ways to operate in it.  Huntington seems to be saying that he's going to ignore the market, which is exactly what McClatchy meant with his "funny water" prattle.  They can't succeed that way.

[Max Power]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08023/851362-63.stm

I'm really not getting a warm-fuzzy feeling from Smith.  His track record is just not that good.  His hiring was really the only move that made me think "what the heck?"  I guess we'll see in June.

Greg Smith is a Talent evaluator.   It will be some time until we know of his success or failure.  In my opinion, since I do follow the Tigers and the Toledo Mud Hens, I've seen some of his work.  He's the type of evaluator/scout that's needed here, one that puts prospects in motion.

[wvbucco]

I hope so, MP.  It just seems like there's not a lot of high-end talent to show for his time in Detroit. 

[Possum]

I hope so, MP.  It just seems like there's not a lot of high-end talent to show for his time in Detroit. 

There is some talent in Detroit but not a roster full.  I would love to see what the writers etc think of the Tiger's farm system before I make up my mind about Smith. 

I know that his job might be tougher with the Bucs because of the tight purse strings.

[Steve Zielinski]

The really alarming sign was the comment from Huntington the day before, when he said they didn't need to pay six figure bonuses in the Dominican and added that they'd place an "internal value" on players they were thinking of signing.  I understand that phrase to mean that their signings won't be driven by market prices, that they'll have a ceiling they won't exceed because they have some abstract notion of how much an amateur Latin player is worth.  That probably comes from Coonelly and his views back when he was screaming at GMs not to go over slot.  IMO, the basic problem with the Pirates' approach to amateur signings has been the notion that they don't have to compete in the market, that they're somehow smarter than the other 29 teams.  The smarter GMs now are doing well because they try to understand the market and look for the best ways to operate in it.  Huntington seems to be saying that he's going to ignore the market, which is exactly what McClatchy meant with his "funny water" prattle.  They can't succeed that way.

The team has to spend somewhere if it intends to compete. It would be better for the Pirates if they were to spend more than the average team on amateur players than on the major league roster.

[WTM]

It would be better for the Pirates if they were to spend more than the average team on amateur players than on the major league roster.

I just got through reading an article in the Hardball Times annual about the value of spending on amateur scouting.  It made the point that draft and Latin Am. bonuses are much more efficient expenditures than free agents.  That's the part that Coonelly, in the arguments he made in favor of slotting, didn't seem to understand.  The question isn't whether a draft pick or a Dominican kid is risky, it's whether you can find the talent you need more cheaply by spending it on veteran players.  Coonelly ignored a couple of key facts:  (1) veterans are very risky, too, and (2) you can pay out a whole bunch of bonuses to amateur players for what one average FA will cost, so even if, or when, most of those amateur players flop, you'll come out ahead if you're good at what you're doing.

Of course, the third course of action is to refuse to spend market prices on either FAs or amateurs.  This means you're simply not trying.  It's what the Pirates have done up until now and, based on NH's comments in the Tuesday PG, I suspect it's what they intend to continue doing.  They just seem to be putting a more sophisticated face on the cheapness.

[Steve Zielinski]

It would be better for the Pirates if they were to spend more than the average team on amateur players than on the major league roster.

I just got through reading an article in the Hardball Times annual about the value of spending on amateur scouting.  It made the point that draft and Latin Am. bonuses are much more efficient expenditures than free agents.  That's the part that Coonelly, in the arguments he made in favor of slotting, didn't seem to understand.  The question isn't whether a draft pick or a Dominican kid is risky, it's whether you can find the talent you need more cheaply by spending it on veteran players.  Coonelly ignored a couple of key facts:  (1) veterans are very risky, too, and (2) you can pay out a whole bunch of bonuses to amateur players for what one average FA will cost, so even if, or when, most of those amateur players flop, you'll come out ahead if you're good at what you're doing.

Of course, the third course of action is to refuse to spend market prices on either FAs or amateurs.  This means you're simply not trying.  It's what the Pirates have done up until now and, based on NH's comments in the Tuesday PG, I suspect it's what they intend to continue doing.  They just seem to be putting a more sophisticated face on the cheapness.

I suspect that the Nuttings believe the last front office was inept and that the new front office can win on the cheap. But, even a competent front office will find a Nutting-friendly budget a major albatross.  The Coonelly hire remains the flashing red light. He seems unlikely to pay market rate for any quality player given his background.

Oddly enough, the Nuttings probably want to win. But the next person who says that the Nuttings are anything but cheap will be the first person to do so!