Bill Bavasi was fired minutes ago as manager of the M's. His tenure will not be fondly remembered by Seattle fans, whether fair or not. The size of his head and his deep-roots baseball names will be what is most recalled.
The move was necessary, though late by weeks if not months.
Well, OK, years.
I was worried about Bavasi the day he indicated that SABR stats really didn't quite matter at that much to him as human-eyeball scouting. Sorry, I know scouts, I am friends with scouts, I have served as a Division 1 college scout. Gut instinct is important but in today's game so is every and any form of analysis you can bring to the table.
Especially as GM. Savor those handwritten or all-caps typed-up reports from baseball lifers, OK by me. Just don't discount the guy at the end of the hall with his laptops humming (usually more than one crunching numbers) as a necessary evil. Embrace the New.
Need examples: Well, how about the Red Sox and A's? One overcame decades of frustration with SABR hires. The other franchise keeps finding ways to stay in the pennant on its well-known low budget and what is practically a mirage of a fan base.
The new guy--or woman, hey, it's 2008 going on 2016--needs to crunch numbers for breakfast.
Embrace the New.
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