The Rays Tank: Joe Maddon Extension Edition
by Erik Hahmann on Feb 15, 2012 8:00 AM EST
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PrintWe didn't get a chance to cover it much yesterday afternoon, but in case you missed it, Joe Maddon signed a three year extension worth roughly $6 million total. He had one year left on his old contract, and was never going to seriously entertain any other offers, but it's nice to lock up, and I say this with no hyperbole, the best manager/coach in the history of major Tampa Bay sports.
In his six seasons at the helm the Rays are 495-477, something that seemed impossible in the franchises' first ten years of existence. He may infuriate some with his lineup tinkering, but there's no questioning the success he's had with an ever changing roster. He's transformed himself into the best manager in baseball and I'm glad he's on our side. Congrats, Joe.
On to the links:
- Over at Baseball Nation, Jeff Sullivan runs down the worst swings of the 2011 season -- complete with GIFs! Johnny Damon checks in at number 10, swinging at a pitch from Josh Beckett that was 46.6 inches away from the center of the strike zone. Beckett dominated the Rays at times last season, and Damon can take some funky swings, so this one isn't a surprise.
- Geoff Young of Baseball Prospectus spoke with former Rays farmhand, and occasional Major League reliever, Dirk Hayhurst, about his baseballing future. If you hadn't heard by now, Mr. Hayhurst is taking his talents, both of the pitching and journalistic variety, to the Italian Baseball League. It's a good synopsis of the whole situation.
- How much does a win cost? In the first of a two part series at FanGraphs Matt Schwartz tries to answer that question. He does a very good job explaining how FanGraphs comes up with their price estimations and how we can use them to analyze free agent contracts.
- If being David Price wasn't enough fun already he gets pitching tips from Kate Upton, she of SI Swimsuit Issue fame, in this commercial for MLB2k12. Not a bad life.
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5 things you may not know about Joe Maddon
Check out five things you might not of knew about Joe: http://theraysway.com/slideshows/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-joe-maddon
Yossi Feins
Chief Editor of TheRaysWay.com
Founder of The Rays Rant (http://yossif.mlblogs.com/)
Follow @TheRaysRanter
Ha
I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, and that was my relationship with the Lord
by Sandy Kazmir on Feb 15, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
*have known
Everytime I see this I think of poor joey, that lost soul
by ShawnTSA on Feb 15, 2012 10:30 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
If only he would of been here for that comment :(
WOULD HAVE WOULD HAVE
If you lived closer I would have kicked the snot out of you by now
Matt Moore. That is all.
by joeybw
No, Yossi is actually smart and knows stuff.
Just go with it.
by DeadeyeRR on Feb 15, 2012 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
No regrets
I notified him 10+ times in comments, warned him twice, and banned him for 5 minutes. I guess we’ll all take naps we won’t wake up from one day.
by benderbrodriguez on Feb 15, 2012 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
This site needs more Kate Upton progressive statistical anal.
by MakeitRayn on Feb 15, 2012 9:21 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Phrasing?
Not sure that’s an appropriate abbreviation in that context
Certainly not appropriate, I'm offended
I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, and that was my relationship with the Lord
by Sandy Kazmir on Feb 15, 2012 9:51 AM EST up reply actions
Im sure Lueke was offended too
by BossmanJunior333 on Feb 15, 2012 1:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Can the Rays do an Upton for Upton trade?
and I’m not talking about Justin
by maris61 on Feb 15, 2012 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I heard she plays good double d
by BossmanJunior333 on Feb 15, 2012 4:03 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Tough to compare across sports, but Dungy/Kiffin did create the best defense ever.
(And due to a change in score keeping needed to calculate Football Outsider’s DVOA, “ever” means 1992-present).
And the wrinkles they introduced quickly proliferated around the whole league. Can Maddon claim to have changed the game in the same way?
Defensive shifts?
I don’t think you can quite put it on the same level — and the FO surely helps — but I think Maddon’s responsible for some much more dramatic defensive shifts being used around the majors these days. (Or did I just not notice them until Maddon started doing it?)
I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously.
Follow @steveslow
by Steve Slowinski on Feb 15, 2012 9:11 AM EST up reply actions
Comparable, but I think not on the same level
The Tampa 2 created the market for middle linebackers with legitimate coverage skills. For the shifts to bee the same, we’d need to see a proliferation of third basemen who can play shortstop.
by Whelk on Feb 15, 2012 10:09 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Truth.
I would put Dungy and Maddon as equally great coaches, and tied for the best coaches in Tampa Bay history.
Maddon is the best manager in baseball though.
+1
Maddon is not only without a doubt in the top 3 analytical minds among MLB managers (probably #1, but you can’t really say that objectively), but also consistently ranked as the one players says would want to play for above all others
by benderbrodriguez on Feb 15, 2012 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
I think it is more unusual
to revolutionize practices in baseball than in football. What would you say is the last one universally regarded as dramatic in baseball. since let’s say the 1950s? (And that can be attributed to a particular manager.) The use of a 9th inning only closer? The double switch? Batting the pitcher 8th? (I don’t think so.) There are subtle variations, and Maddon’s defensive alignments may be an example of that, but rarely revolutionary changes.
Football, I think, is more prone to coaching decisions that become copied. Since the 1950s, the west coast offense, the blitz, the prevent defense? ( As you can tell, I am not much in tune with football strategy these days.)
I think the really dramatic changes in baseball strategies took place in the first 100 years and have become pretty much just tinkered with since then while football is still undergoing a lot of strategic innovation.
I'm really more aware of the history of football strategy than of baseball strategy, so maybe someone else can answer this.
But for revolutionizing baseball since the 1950s, I would say the biggest thing is LaRussa’s use of large specialized bullpens to get the lefty/righty matchups. I think that’s pretty big.
You may be right about football changing more quickly, though. I think a lot of that has to do with college, where the very uneven playing field drives innovation.
Earl Weaver's extensive use of platoons was big
Especially from the mid/late 70s thru the end of his career, his teams consistently outperformed their Pythag record
Use the force, Lueke
by nomoredevil on Feb 15, 2012 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
But that style
had been developed by Casey Stengel in the 1950s.
If you have Baseball Between the Numbers
Go to Click’s chapter about Mike Redmond v. Tom Glavine and read the final page. You’ll notice he basically outlines the Danks Theory idea.
by R.J. Anderson on Feb 15, 2012 1:34 PM EST up reply actions
"Best manager in baseball"?
I’m not so sure about this. I think we have the best FO in baseball. And I think you can say we have the right manager for this team & organization. But that doesn’t make him the best. Mostly, I’m sure his unusual style and personality would be transfer to other organizations & locales.
But I am glad he’s ours for three more years.
Use the force, Lueke
I think picking the "best manager" in anything is always hard and open to debate.
I personally do not look as closely at 29 other teams and managers, so I can not justifiably say he is the best, but I can say he is great at preparing a strategic gameplan for each individual game.
I'd say he's the best, although yes, it's obviously open for debate.
I think Ben Lindberg had a piece at BPro recently that talked about how managers might be the next great “inefficiency”. If you can find managers that are willing to use statistical analysis to make informed in-game decisions, that aren’t afraid to think outside the box, and that get the very most from their players, you’d theoretically have a large leg up on other teams that are using their rosters sub-optimally.
And hey, that’s exactly what the Rays have. Maddon’s a good fit for the Rays in that regard.
I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously.
Follow @steveslow
by Steve Slowinski on Feb 15, 2012 9:54 AM EST up reply actions
girardi
9 recs.
Steve, the front page is calling……
by mr. maniac on Jan 24, 2012 12:46 PM EST
"Please break your typewriter and computer and never come out of your ass cave again"
.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1108/most.popular.manager/content.1.html
This is a big part of why I think Joe Maddon is the best manager in the MLB
by benderbrodriguez on Feb 15, 2012 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
i was hoping it would just be pictures of the road trip outfits.
9 recs.
Steve, the front page is calling……
by mr. maniac on Jan 24, 2012 12:46 PM EST
"Please break your typewriter and computer and never come out of your ass cave again"
MLBTR on who is out of options
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/out-of-options-2012.html#more
Jake McGee, Jeff Niemann, Jose Lobaton, Elliot Johnson, Sam Fuld, Matt Joyce
by Jason Collette on Feb 15, 2012 10:22 AM EST reply actions
Lobaton could get hurt again
I put the screw IN THE TUNA!
by Transplanted on Feb 15, 2012 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Can Elliot Johnson please not make the roster
Not even in a Joe Dillon/Nathan Haynes role
Vroom vroom party starter
www.raysprospects.com
by Imperialism32 on Feb 15, 2012 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed
I can see the wisdom in hoarding catchers with limited offensive skills. I don’t see the point of having him, keppinger, rodriguez, brignac, and Zobrist on the same roster. We could still field a decent team for weeks at a time with an injury in the middle infield.
Along those same lines I’d just as soon waive the guy if the plan is to play him in front of Beckham at Durham.
by GomesSweetGomes on Feb 15, 2012 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
*if he clears waivers, which I assume he would
by GomesSweetGomes on Feb 15, 2012 11:12 AM EST up reply actions
Don't be so sure
Houston is pretty bad-they’ll take almost anyone
I put the screw IN THE TUNA!
by Transplanted on Feb 15, 2012 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
especially if he has a good spring I'd be suprised if EJ passes through waivers again
last year I don’t think teams realized he could play a good defensive SS.
I wonder
if Friedman is looking at the list of out of option players-and the players with options with whom they are competing for jobs-to help fill out the roster. I don’t see any obvious picks, but perhaps a catcher or RH power hitter becomes available that route and is cheaper than one would have been via free agency or a trade earlier.
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