Author Topic: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters  (Read 4468 times)

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Online Natsinpwc

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I wonder if this is just a way to find an "injury" that would require a quick stint on the DL so they can bring up someone with a bit more versatility (ability to play OF) just in case. :shrug:
You don't think Lobby can handle the OF with that blazing speed?

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #51: October 25, 2017, 10:28:57 PM »
She takes a swing man, she can hit!

The following quotes are from two radio interviews where Janes unloaded on the team in a way that no Nats beat writer has done in 13 years. Read the last two paragraphs where she spits fire.

On Boras influencing the decision to fire Baker:
Quote
You know, I never rule it out with these guys, to be honest...and I think that that does discredit the Nats’ front office...I don’t think Bryce was Dusty’s biggest fan...It is hard to rule out the Scott Boras factor, if somebody didn’t like Dusty for some reason, just because he’s got that relationship with Ted Lerner. It’s hard to rule out. It’s hard to say ‘no way, that never factored.’ It’s one of those things that no one will ever admit.

That morning, when the reports started to trickle out that Strasburg might pitch, the reports were coming from Boras...Again, you can’t rule it out...And I think there’s something to it, because when there’s smoke, there’s fire, and there’s just always smoke with Boras and the Nationals. I don’t know how much of a role that played, but it’s just, again, you can’t say no because it always feels like there’s a little bit of a role there.

I do too, [in response to a suggestion from Olney that Boras was behind the move] And whether it’s because it got certain other characters involved in a way. You sort of always have to ask the Scott Boras question. I think so, too.

On the wisdom of the decision to fire Baker:
Quote
I think it was a panicky ownership decision, to be honest, and I don’t necessarily think there’s a good reason that comes with a decision like that, because it doesn’t really make sense. It’s not like there’s another guy they had in mind that they made this move for.

On the Strasburg incident leading to the decision to fire Baker:
Quote
And I don’t even put all of that on Dusty I mean, there’s so much that goes into that, as you know, but I do think that that was sort of a pivot point where a totally normal and functional season all of a sudden looked really, really dysfunctional on a really big stage, and sort of revealed and exposed some of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes with this group that isn’t that as flattering for them.

On the power behind the decision to fire Baker:
Quote
I firmly believe this wasn’t a Mike Rizzo decision. So I think scrambling is the right way to put it. We’ve heard from people in the organization who were just totally floored that this is how it went. Because, like you say, when you think about what you want for this team — which is probably going to look a lot different in ’19 than it will next year — you want a guy who’s a veteran manager, who’s not going to need a ton of money, because the Lerners aren’t going to give it to him; who doesn’t need a whole lot of job security, because the Lerners aren’t going to give it to him; but who has the credibility to win over one of the more experienced clubhouses around. And that is literally Dusty Baker, just in every single way.

You could say [John] Farrell has some credibility, but it sounds like they’re looking at Dave Martinez, Kevin Long — guys who haven’t been there. It’s just like you’re threading this needle, and it’s like you take a sure thing and say, ‘You know what? Let’s pick somebody who’s kind of a 50-50 shot instead.’ It just feels like too important a year for that and not really a good way to get that important year started.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2017/10/25/did-scott-boras-factor-into-nationals-dusty-baker-decision/



Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #52: October 25, 2017, 10:35:57 PM »
Janes is smart, but she's absolutely wrong on the decision being panicky. Game 3 was reason enough. Despite Rizzo serving him up a brillant postseason on a platter, Dusty still couldn't make the simple decisions

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #53: October 25, 2017, 10:44:29 PM »
Janes is smart, but she's absolutely wrong on the decision being panicky. Game 3 was reason enough. Despite Rizzo serving him up a brillant postseason on a platter, Dusty still couldn't make the simple decisions.

Pick any three one run losses by any team and there will be multiple decisions by the manager that look bad. Baker got fired because of 1) he took his contract dispute public, 2) he embarrassed a Boras client, and 3) his guy Jones got the Nats named in a lawsuit linking the team to revenge pictures. If losing the NLDS really meant anything to the Lerners then Rizzo would be gone too.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #54: October 25, 2017, 10:50:18 PM »
Pick any three one run losses by any team and there will be multiple decisions by the manager that look bad. Baker got fired because of 1) he took his contract dispute public, 2) he embarrassed a Boras client, and 3) his guy Jones got the Nats named in a lawsuit linking the team to revenge pictures. If losing the NLDS really meant anything to the Lerners then Rizzo would be gone too.
Why would Rizzo be gone?! :lmao:

He literally turned one of the worst bullpens in baseball into one of the best. He made Dusty's job stupidly easy.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #55: October 25, 2017, 10:59:25 PM »
Why would Rizzo be gone?! :lmao:

He literally turned one of the worst bullpens in baseball into one of the best. He made Dusty's job stupidly easy.

One of the highest payrolls in the league and after nine years running the show his teams have never made it past the NLDS. Ironic AF, him referencing playoff failure as the reason for letting Baker go.

The real intriguing thing for the on-going manager search is how much control, if any, will Rizzo be given in the new hire. So far he has signed four managers who have lasted an average of two years each, who in their right mind would give this guy a fifth chance? Since the President of Baseball Operations was overruled on the decision on whether to extend Baker, I'd bet the house that the answer isn't the Lerners.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #56: October 26, 2017, 07:22:41 AM »
One of the highest payrolls in the league and after nine years running the show his teams have never made it past the NLDS. Ironic AF, him referencing playoff failure as the reason for letting Baker go.

The real intriguing thing for the on-going manager search is how much control, if any, will Rizzo be given in the new hire. So far he has signed four managers who have lasted an average of two years each, who in their right mind would give this guy a fifth chance? Since the President of Baseball Operations was overruled on the decision on whether to extend Baker, I'd bet the house that the answer isn't the Lerners.
Rizzo didn't want Baker in the first place. He wanted Bud Black, but ownership freaked him over. Again.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #57: October 26, 2017, 09:24:46 AM »
Who knows?  Maybe this has been simmering since the decision to go with Matt Williams instead of Dave Martinez?  MW was a Rizzo hire, right?  Arizona connection?  Maybe the owners say, had the team gone with Martinez, we would now have an experienced guy who is current in how to manage, the clubhouse would have been sorted out, and we would not be rolling the dice in Byrce's last year.

If that is the case, then the stuff with the Boras clients might have been more the last straw but not the root cause.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #58: October 26, 2017, 10:25:14 AM »
Who knows?  Maybe this has been simmering since the decision to go with Matt Williams instead of Dave Martinez?  MW was a Rizzo hire, right?  Arizona connection?  Maybe the owners say, had the team gone with Martinez, we would now have an experienced guy who is current in how to manage, the clubhouse would have been sorted out, and we would not be rolling the dice in Byrce's last year.

If that is the case, then the stuff with the Boras clients might have been more the last straw but not the root cause.
I agree. I think this is a much larger issue. I think a lot of it has to do with the events of this offseason. It was obvious the Nationals needed bullpen help, and Rizzo, allegedly, had deals in place for Robertson and/or Holland, but ownership vetoed them. They then went with the Boras client, Wieters.

Two months into the season, Rizzo basically has the "see I told you" card to pull on ownership. Wieters was hitting okay, but it was obvious his defense was poor behind the plate. On top of that, the bullpen was hot garbage. The Learners looked foolish. So they agreed to go into the luxury tax to fix the problem. Rizzo traded for three really good relievers. He, essentially, put together the best team that has ever been in DC and built it around Dusty Baker's shortcomings as a manager.

So when the Lerners see Dusty make stupid mistake after mistake in the playoffs, they start to second guess some things. And yes, I understand that the bats didn't perform and Gio crap the bed. But the bottom line is that the Nationals would have won had any halfway decent manager been the Nats' manager. It didn't take anyone skilled to see Scherzer was gassed after the 6th inning of Game 3. Or that using Sammy Solis was a terrible idea. But Dusty didn't even bother and the Lerners decided that scrapping a manager with a history of playoff failures was easier than scrapping half a team with a history of playoff failures. Besides, that will happen after next year's NLDS exit.

Offline Ray D

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #59: October 26, 2017, 12:54:05 PM »

So when the Lerners see Dusty make stupid mistake after mistake in the playoffs,
Do you really think the Lerners comprehended any of that?:

Offline rbw5t

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #60: October 26, 2017, 01:02:11 PM »
Do you really think the Lerners comprehended any of that?:

I think they see we lost, so Dusty must have made stupid decisions.  If he would have won, well, anyone could have done it.

I think Rizzo won't be back after next year, because he'll be in demand, and many other GM/President positions are more desirable than putting up with the Lerners, and they won't fight/pay to keep him, because they think they're the real geniuses and anyone can do what he does.

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #61: October 26, 2017, 01:04:51 PM »
I think they see we lost, so Dusty must have made stupid decisions.  If he would have won, well, anyone could have done it.

I think Rizzo won't be back after next year, because he'll be in demand, and many other GM/President positions are more desirable than putting up with the Lerners, and they won't fight/pay to keep him, because they think they're the real geniuses and anyone can do what he does.

GM openings are rare and even rarer with high budget teams. It would be interesting to see Rizzo have to build a team without $100 million contracts

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #62: October 26, 2017, 01:07:16 PM »
Do you really think the Lerners comprehended any of that?:
I think they see we lost, so Dusty must have made stupid decisions.  If he would have won, well, anyone could have done it.

I think Rizzo won't be back after next year, because he'll be in demand, and many other GM/President positions are more desirable than putting up with the Lerners, and they won't fight/pay to keep him, because they think they're the real geniuses and anyone can do what he does.
You would have to be blind and stupid to not see how colossally Dusty freaked up Game 3. There never should have been a Game 5. It was a stupid simple decision. Ned Yost made that same decision countless times during the Royals run.

Offline bluestreak

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #63: October 26, 2017, 01:18:58 PM »
You would have to be blind and stupid to not see how colossally Dusty freaked up Game 3. There never should have been a Game 5. It was a stupid simple decision. Ned Yost made that same decision countless times during the Royals run.

Posted before, but I think Cameron knows more about baseball than Slate. Or many other folks. But let me guess, Slate won't agree. And everyone is blind or stupid.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/in-defense-of-dusty-baker/

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #64: October 26, 2017, 01:25:34 PM »
Posted before, but I think Cameron knows more about baseball than Slate. Or many other folks. But let me guess, Slate won't agree. And everyone is blind or stupid.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/in-defense-of-dusty-baker/
"Almora’s something like a league-average hitter, but with the pinch-hitting penalty, he was a pretty significant downgrade from Schwarber, and significantly less likely to hit a home run that would put the Nationals down a run."

Dave is, as usual, lazy.

Almora in 2017 against LHP: .342/.411/.486. As a pinch hitter, he was a .294 hitter.So Dusty's move allows Maddon to replace the poor hitting, poor felding outfielder with a much better hitting and fielding outfielder.

Also, Cameron makes it sound like it was either a tired Scherzer or Solis. The correct move was Ryan Madson to start the 7th.  That was their 4/5/6 hitter. The next time you see Bryant and Rizzo would be the 9th. So bring in Madson to start the inning. Give Kintzler the bottom of the order. Of even bring in Perez to face Heyward and then go to Kintzler.

Cameron is lazy

Offline Ray D

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #65: October 26, 2017, 01:30:29 PM »
You would have to be blind and stupid to not see how colossally Dusty freaked up Game 3

The old man is near blind and at this stage of life probably not too far from stupid.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #66: October 26, 2017, 01:32:25 PM »
Posted before, but I think Cameron knows more about baseball than Slate. Or many other folks. But let me guess, Slate won't agree. And everyone is blind or stupid.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/in-defense-of-dusty-baker/

They criticize the manger for not sticking to the tried-and-true method if it fails ("standard decision") and they critcize the manager for not adjusting to the playoffs if that fails, too. If they succeed then they're geniuses, of course.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #67: October 26, 2017, 01:33:26 PM »
The old man is near blind and at this stage of life probably not too far from stupid.
Blind ... eh, maybe. I know he's got a dodgy knee. Stupid ... no. He's just set in his ways and terminally loyal. This would be a wonderful trait in a  young ball club, but when you have superstars, you have to put your foot down sometimes. I mean, he wasn't even sure Max needed to come out after he gave up the hit in Game 3. Wieters had to make the decision.

Offline Ray D

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #68: October 26, 2017, 01:36:25 PM »
Blind ... eh, maybe. I know he's got a dodgy knee. Stupid ... no. He's just set in his ways and terminally loyal. This would be a wonderful trait in a  young ball club, but when you have superstars, you have to put your foot down sometimes. I mean, he wasn't even sure Max needed to come out after he gave up the hit in Game 3. Wieters had to make the decision.
I thought we were talking about the Lerners.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #69: October 26, 2017, 01:40:27 PM »
I thought we were talking about the Lerners.
I really don't think the elder Lerner is making a lot of decisions at this point in his life.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #70: October 26, 2017, 01:58:21 PM »
I really don't think the elder Lerner is making a lot of decisions at this point in his life.

He's 92, but I've heard that he's still sharp. One of those lucky guys.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #71: October 26, 2017, 02:04:08 PM »
He's 92, but I've heard that he's still sharp. One of those lucky guys.

Maybe, but with Mark Lerner's health challenges, they may be suffering from lack of leadership at this point.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #72: October 26, 2017, 02:17:19 PM »
Maybe, but with Mark Lerner's health challenges, they may be suffering from lack of leadership at this point.

Wouldn't be surprised if Pops is actually in charge at this point. They obviously felt like they could undercut Rizzo on Dusty, so someone's still in at the tiller. :)

Offline Slateman

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #73: October 26, 2017, 02:33:43 PM »
Wouldn't be surprised if Pops is actually in charge at this point. They obviously felt like they could undercut Rizzo on Dusty, so someone's still in at the tiller. :)
I think Rizzo suffers from the same flaw that Dusty has. They're both too loyal. Look how long we held on to Danny Espinosa.

Offline comish4lif

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Re: Janes Says - Our Reporting on Our Reporters
« Reply #74: October 26, 2017, 05:21:01 PM »
One of the highest payrolls in the league and after nine years running the show his teams have never made it past the NLDS. Ironic AF, him referencing playoff failure as the reason for letting Baker go.

The real intriguing thing for the on-going manager search is how much control, if any, will Rizzo be given in the new hire. So far he has signed four managers who have lasted an average of two years each, who in their right mind would give this guy a fifth chance? Since the President of Baseball Operations was overruled on the decision on whether to extend Baker, I'd bet the house that the answer isn't the Lerners.
I'm not sure how much of the "4 managers in 8 years" thing you can hang on Rizzo.

Riggleman quit midseason. I blame that more on the Lerners (65/35) than on Rizzo. Riggs had only a few months remaining and didn't want to be a lame duck manager.
Davey Johnson was a stopgap. He agreed to manage on the condition that it was 2 years and he could go back to fishing. Failure on Rizzo and the Nats for not grooming someone from within.
Matt Williams is 100% on Rizzo. No ifs ands or buts about it.
And, I think we are all blaming the Lerners for Dusty's firing/leaving/ne renewing however you want to term it.

So, out of the last 4, it' more on the Lerners than Mikey Arizona.