Building an Organization

Between a series of articles over on www.hardballtimes.com by Paul Nyman (Beyond Moneyball), the recent amateur drafts of both baseball and hockey, and last week's canning of half of the Blue Jays major league coaching staff, I have been giving alot of thought towards what goes into successful professional sports organization building.

And maybe some of my conclusions help point to reasons as to why our two Toronto franchises in the aforementioned sports have not been very successful during their current, and recent past managerial structures.

Some of my current lines of thought include:
Talent over mechanics. If a guy can hit - let him hit. If he can pitch, then pitch away. Mechanics are individualistic and should not be tampered with unless results are not happening. That seems to have been what was happening with the Jays hitters for most of the season. The whole don't swing at the first pitch axiom - why the hell not? If it's a hittable pitch, be aggressive and try to nail it. The axiom is useful for young players who are getting themselves out, but not helpful for talented hitters. Take away aggression and you take away instinct. Take away instinct, and you are taking away skill. Bad choice.

Organizational coaches should be focused on teaching hitting/throwing skills to kids who have talent but can't get results. The rest of their task is to monitor the top ones to ensure they retain consistency. The more consistent a young player becomes, the better he will retain his skills against more advanced competition.

With pitchers, that should also hold true for the avoidance of injuries. More consistency, more muscle memory, less sudden stresses and strains.

How does this affect JP Ricciardi and the Blue Jays directive heads? As this is the third time he has fired his managers mid-season, he is creating a massive disruption in the consistency and fluidity of the organization. The disruption may have positive effects at the top level (see our last two games) but may hurt the organization in the long run.

That, and his big mouth - the Dunn debacle is not the first time he has shot off his mouth to his own detriment. I have not been in town for his whole reign, but I do remember a number of baseless whines about payroll. The Yanks and The Red Sox win alot because they have great leadership, not because they have great wallets.