Comments on: Irony’s a bitch http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/ Media, Baseball, Boston, the Red Sox, Music, Literature, and Mnookins Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:03:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: crimsonohsix http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-650 crimsonohsix Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:38:22 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-650 Who cares if his actions are a "tossed glove invitation to a Shaughnessy-style skewering." I'd take a GM that makes decisions based on objective analysis and logical thinking over one that makes decisions based on what some silly reporter thinks any day of the week, even if he did go to a safety school. Apparently you wouldn't. Rating Theo's ability to be a good GM on a single year (or two years, even) is like saying someone's a bad poker player because he goes all-in preflop with AA and loses to someone who calls. It's silly. Alright, not gonna clutter the blog with this discussion anymore. Who cares if his actions are a “tossed glove invitation to a Shaughnessy-style skewering.” I’d take a GM that makes decisions based on objective analysis and logical thinking over one that makes decisions based on what some silly reporter thinks any day of the week, even if he did go to a safety school. Apparently you wouldn’t.

Rating Theo’s ability to be a good GM on a single year (or two years, even) is like saying someone’s a bad poker player because he goes all-in preflop with AA and loses to someone who calls. It’s silly.

Alright, not gonna clutter the blog with this discussion anymore.

]]> By: sonnysiebert http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-645 sonnysiebert Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:45:27 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-645 //I don’t know where you get this impression of Theo, sonny - but to me (and Seth can correct me if I am wrong), he seems like the type of boss who stays at work until 1am grinding it out with the most junior staff...// hmmm...well, not sure how I would know about Theo Epstein's inspirational office heroics (which don't seem germane to this discussion in any event). But then I'm not a camp follower of the casually cool. Is glorifying all things Theo the shibboleth?. //I don’t know where you get this impression of Theo, sonny - but to me (and Seth can correct me if I am wrong), he seems like the type of boss who stays at work until 1am grinding it out with the most junior staff…//

hmmm…well, not sure how I would know about Theo Epstein’s inspirational office heroics (which don’t seem germane to this discussion in any event). But then I’m not a camp follower of the casually cool. Is glorifying all things Theo the shibboleth?.

]]> By: crimsonohsix http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-636 crimsonohsix Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:55:01 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-636 I don't know where you get this impression of Theo, sonny - but to me (and Seth can correct me if I am wrong), he seems like the type of boss who stays at work until 1am grinding it out with the most junior staff, a boss who is open to creative ideas that are backed by numbers, and someone who will readily admit that he is wrong when presented with a cogent argument. He's also not an old stiff. Pretty much every (junior analyst's) dream boss. I don’t know where you get this impression of Theo, sonny - but to me (and Seth can correct me if I am wrong), he seems like the type of boss who stays at work until 1am grinding it out with the most junior staff, a boss who is open to creative ideas that are backed by numbers, and someone who will readily admit that he is wrong when presented with a cogent argument. He’s also not an old stiff. Pretty much every (junior analyst’s) dream boss.

]]> By: Bill Pratt http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-635 Bill Pratt Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:49:06 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-635 Reading anything written by Dan Shaughnessy is like sticking your tongue into a sore tooth. Every time you do it, you know its going to bother you, but you do it anyway. Reading anything written by Dan Shaughnessy is like sticking your tongue into a sore tooth. Every time you do it, you know its going to bother you, but you do it anyway.

]]> By: Ogie Oglethorpe http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-628 Ogie Oglethorpe Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:18:17 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-628 There is a scene in the movie Jurassic Park where Sam Neil upon seeing the genetically engineered Dinosaurs says something along the lines of, "I think I'm out of a job." and Jeff Goldblum jumps in and says, "Don't you mean extinct?" I thought that the CHB must have felt this same way after the Sox swept the Cards. I used to get really fired about his articles and used to go back and forth with him via email about some of his ridiculous material. At one point he called me at the office and dropped numerous f-bombs in response to some of my feedback. After we swept the cards I would pass by his articles and laugh thinking to myself, "This guy is irrelevant now." I was guessing he probably felt that way too since somebody took away his security blanket. Then the Theogate happened and he was back in the think of things. I think he never really felt like his days of calling out the Sox at every turn were over, he was just laying in wait. There is a scene in the movie Jurassic Park where Sam Neil upon seeing the genetically engineered Dinosaurs says something along the lines of, “I think I’m out of a job.” and Jeff Goldblum jumps in and says, “Don’t you mean extinct?” I thought that the CHB must have felt this same way after the Sox swept the Cards. I used to get really fired about his articles and used to go back and forth with him via email about some of his ridiculous material. At one point he called me at the office and dropped numerous f-bombs in response to some of my feedback. After we swept the cards I would pass by his articles and laugh thinking to myself, “This guy is irrelevant now.” I was guessing he probably felt that way too since somebody took away his security blanket. Then the Theogate happened and he was back in the think of things. I think he never really felt like his days of calling out the Sox at every turn were over, he was just laying in wait.

]]> By: sonnysiebert http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-614 sonnysiebert Fri, 25 Aug 2006 01:31:08 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-614 Shaughnessy may be sticking it to Red Sox management in this column but I think it can be fairly said that Theo Epstein handed him the sword with all his talk about long term plans and how great the team is going to be in the future. Theo's the boss at work who reduces your salary by 20% when the company isn't doing well and tells you it's a good thing because better times are ahead and you'll get that back and more once things turn around. Somehow it never seems to work out that way because there's always another corporate crisis to justify continuing the paycut. (ok, so my metaphors aren't very good either). Maybe the Red Sox will win it all again in the future. But Theo Epstein has no way of guaranteeing that. The other terms in the division aren't going to stand still, they'll be looking to get better as well. And players can be injured, underperform, or get tossed into a Venezuelan jail just as easily in the future as now. To explain current Red Sox failure in terms of anticipated future success is a tossed glove invitation to a Shaughnessy-style skewering. After all, he lives for this. Shaughnessy may be sticking it to Red Sox management in this column but I think it can be fairly said that Theo Epstein handed him the sword with all his talk about long term plans and how great the team is going to be in the future.

Theo’s the boss at work who reduces your salary by 20% when the company isn’t doing well and tells you it’s a good thing because better times are ahead and you’ll get that back and more once things turn around. Somehow it never seems to work out that way because there’s always another corporate crisis to justify continuing the paycut. (ok, so my metaphors aren’t very good either).

Maybe the Red Sox will win it all again in the future. But Theo Epstein has no way of guaranteeing that. The other terms in the division aren’t going to stand still, they’ll be looking to get better as well. And players can be injured, underperform, or get tossed into a Venezuelan jail just as easily in the future as now.

To explain current Red Sox failure in terms of anticipated future success is a tossed glove invitation to a Shaughnessy-style skewering. After all, he lives for this.

]]> By: mtalinm http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-605 mtalinm Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:10:16 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2006/08/24/ironys-a-bitch/#comment-605 I'd say we are lucky/smart not to have made some mongo-trade on 7/31, only to have several injuries in rapid succession. Better to keep the cash for next season. Besides, if the Astros laid down $20+M for Clemens in hopes of winning the WS, does anyone really think they would have traded Oswalt? That would have been shooting themselves in the foot. I’d say we are lucky/smart not to have made some mongo-trade on 7/31, only to have several injuries in rapid succession. Better to keep the cash for next season.

Besides, if the Astros laid down $20+M for Clemens in hopes of winning the WS, does anyone really think they would have traded Oswalt? That would have been shooting themselves in the foot.

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