Kapler and Klentak, no, they are not a law firm

It’s a strange day and times for Phillies baseball.

There was perhaps one of the longest selections of managers that this team has ever seen, and we ended up with a manager who espouses numbers being produced by players that will make an impact on who ends up on this team.

Kapler can talk a good game, and that’s how he got this job in Philadelphia. The new manager is a fan of sabermetrics apparently, and since he’s in great shape, a champion of fitness.

With the hiring, GM Matt Klentak went to bat for Kapler and linked him with the recent Dodgers success. Kapler had been employed by the Dodgers and spoke of wanting diversity in the dugout, he stressed that he didn’t want people around him that thought just like him. He values difference in people and that may be a good thing.

Kapler doesn’t have much managerial experience. That may be the thing that holds him back the most. He’s played the game for years though, and that is experience that you can’t get unless you’re an MLB player and know the ins and outs of the game.

Here’s some numbers on Kapler for his playing days:

The thing that most would concern this writer would be if Kapler were to rely on numbers and sabermetrics too much. He’s played the game, and his numbers would have been unimpressive in this day and age that only seems to give the impression that those are a big deal.

Imagine just a few years ago, if you asked if ball clubs would be paying out millions on data and numbers crunchers. You probably would have been called crazy. The Phillies employ a former employee of Google, Andy Galdi, and now others for sabermetrics. But where have the Phillies gone since he has been hired and others have been hired in the same capacity? Not anywhere but the bottom of the basement. So I can contest, what are the value of baseball anaylytics? Sure, the ‘new age’ baseball numbers fiends will find value in this newly embraced method but with the Phillies it has equalled nothing. Maybe Kapler will see this and his talk to Klentak was just to assure him he loved ‘numbers’ but will rely on his gut for club decisions.

Eric Valent was a scout for the Philadephia Phillies, now he works for the Marlins. His interview here  on Youtube comments on the world of sabermetrics and specifically the Phillies, and a little on Matt Klentak. This may have led to Valent leaving the Phils and going to the Marlins organization, again a signal of the change within the way the Phillies do business as Valent was with the Phils for several years.