The Kyle Blanks Opinion Test
Shortly after the Jack Zduriencik front office took over the Mariners, they were pretty universally beloved. I remember stories that Zduriencik was getting recognized on the street, so we’re going beyond even just blogosphere adoration. Since then, opinions have changed. Some people still love the executives in charge, but some other people are frustrated, and still others yet are worse. Some remain rosy; some feel that old familiar cynicism. At least, no longer does it feel so clear that these are the right people to guide the Mariners to where we want them to be. That’s something I can imagine debating, whereas a few years ago I felt all kinds of certain. It seems to me the front office has taken a turn.
How is it that you feel about the front office? You, specifically you, the individual reader. Do you still feel generally positive about things, or are you beyond ready to see someone else assume complete authority? To help you answer this question, I’ve devised the Kyle Blanks Opinion Test. Consider the following rumor tweet, from the absolutely delightful Ken Rosenthal:
#Mariners had top-level scout on #Padres last week, per @jonmorosi. Reason, according to a source: M’s looking for offense and …
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2013
… have interest in #Padres OF/1B Kyle Blanks. The problem: Blanks is not close to returning from tendinitis in both Achilles. #Mariners
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2013
Which is closer to your feelings on the subject?
(1) Good for the Mariners, targeting a potentially undervalued player who’s hit well in the minors and who possesses a bunch of power. Injuries might have held back Blanks’ development and he could conceivably fill a variety of roles.
(2) Typical Mariners, blinded by power despite everything else. Blanks can’t stay healthy, he doesn’t really walk, he doesn’t really make contact, and he’s hardly known for his mobility. Just more focus on dingers instead of value.
If your answer is (1), you are still mostly a fan of the Zduriencik front office. It’s not that you think of it as flawless, but you can take the bad so long as you get the good. If your answer is (2), you are probably wondering right now about other potential GM candidates. You’re worried that a strong second half might save Zduriencik’s job, when what you really want is other people making decisions. You don’t trust these people anymore.
Thank you for taking the Kyle Blanks Opinion Test, and I hope that you’ve learned something about yourself. As an alternative to the Kyle Blanks Opinion Test, if you want to know how you personally feel about the Mariners’ front office these days, you could just think about that question directly.
Comments
67 Responses to “The Kyle Blanks Opinion Test”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
his backup plan was to bring in kendrys, ibanez, and morse for a season with the knowledge that we were still a year away from the first full wave of dope prospects making an impact. the fact is this website called for jack z’s job prematurely and now you’ve convinced yourself it’s the truth the way McDonald’s executives are convinced their food isn’t bad for people.
Yeah, you know it all, don’t you? You should take note of the dates of those transactions, what positions they play, and who we have moving forward and who might potentially be available. You seem to think addressing the outfield will be simple.
You’re a broken record. I’m sorry you still don’t get it. You should definitely keep thinking he’s done a fantastic job with everything, though. For extra comfort, take a look at the team’s records while you reflect on all the great trades and acquisitions he’s made.
@MrZD
I’ve gone over my ideas last offseason a million times. I know you’re familiar with at least a few of them. I’m not doing so again. They’re all documented in earlier posts.
I frequent Lookout Landing (shocking, I know) and already saw that article. I’ve read articles regarding most, if not all of his trades. And I’m not sold. I wouldn’t be having this discussion if I was. That doesn’t mean I hate every single trade he’s made. Some were good. Not enough. And I’m not confident he can build a contender because of what we’ve seen.
@stevewtvrurnameis
it was never about their record for his first 5 years. it’s what comes in the next 5 years that matters. the trouble with you is you don’t believe something is possible until it’s already happened. we are such a healthy organization at this point moving forward. 5 years ago we were depleted completely. you keep plugging along visionlessly though buddy. we’ll see whose right in a couple years. only at ussmariner do you have know it alls calling people know it alls.
@woodcutta
not only am i not apologizing for Jack Z i’m calling you naive, jaded and ignorant for continuing to doubt him. he’ll address the outfield when the time is right.
Naive =and= jaded?
Everybody at work is ultimately judged by results, even if the process looks good. I don’t see that the process with Z is anything special, and the results are especially bad. I haven’t seen keen personnel insight — some draft picks were good, others not. Z picked up Eric Thames for one of the dominant relievers in the league. Pineda, who looked special, was dumped for Jesus Not Christ. Only Josh Hamilton’s mystic vision stopped Z from crippling the team with that debacle.
This front office is just not that good.
@phineasphreak:
Interesting. The D-Backs are the anti-Mariners: too many OF’s and not enough pitching. On paper, the two teams match up well for a potential trade.
stevemotivateir
If they could win, of course they would sign players that would give them wins. But 1-2 more wins vs dingers? I don’t know what would excite fans. I think it’s a wash. At least it was something different to distract the fans while the rebuild was continuing. Should the team have gotten defense only players like they did in the early years of Z’s tenure? I think it would have negatively affected fan perception=attendance because of the lack of change.
I don’t care what you believe, but the M’s were broken when Z came in. The minors and the majors were awful. Z had no cards to deal from, and had to restock the entire system. Unlike other sports, it takes 4~6 years to develop minor league talent in baseball and to get them to the majors. Even after the talent gets to the majors, it sometimes takes several years before they completely adjust to the majors.
If Z was lucky he could’ve rebuilt the team quicker, but he wasn’t lucky with his gambles.
He tried to sign good players to reasonable deals, but he failed. Of course players want to go to teams that pay more and win. Should he have overpaid even though the core of the team wasn’t ready? I don’t think so.
You mention that the team was still reporting profits. Do you know how businesses operate? Baseball is a business even if you don’t believe it is. For the company to continue to operate, they have to generate profits. So, of course their going to cut costs and spending to report a profit.
Who do you expect to pay for the enormous contracts that you want the M’s to sign? Ownership? The owners want a profit (like any other business), and don’t want to invest more money unless there are likely returns in the future.
Now, the team is looking like it will be competent, which will result in greater attendance, and greater revenue. Also, the new TV ownership will also generate greater profits for the team because they are likely to start winning.
The M’s front office has the ability to recognize minor league talent. I’m not a scout, but is it that different to recognize minor league talent and major league talent? If their so competent at the minor league level, I would assume they would be better at the majors if given the resources.
I truly think the past incompetence was greatly affected by the limited resources this FO was given.
Regarding Fields, Fister, Morrow, Jaso. Fields was a Bavasi draftee, so I don’t think simple logic will explain that (I think there’s some baseball politics involved for that one).
Fister, I don’t think anyone expected Fister to take such a leap forward in production. Morrow was broken in Seattle because of the misuse by the old regime.
For Jaso, I don’t really know, and it’s a minor deal so I really don’t care.
it was never about their record for his first 5 years. it’s what comes in the next 5 years that matters. the trouble with you is you don’t believe something is possible until it’s already happened. we are such a healthy organization at this point moving forward. 5 years ago we were depleted completely. you keep plugging along visionlessly though buddy. we’ll see whose right in a couple years. only at ussmariner do you have know it alls calling people know it alls.
There’s no trouble with me. Again, you’re assuming. Somehow, you got it into your head that I can’t see the big picture, or recognize the positives. I do. But you’re ignoring the many black spots, some of which still exist. You’re the one who’s delusional. And you spout off with arrogance and naivety, which makes you incredibly annoying. On top of that, you criticize the people who run this site and frequent it, yet here you are. You’re a genius.
not only am i not apologizing for Jack Z i’m calling you naive, jaded and ignorant for continuing to doubt him. he’ll address the outfield when the time is right.
You really don’t know when to stop talking. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people quote you and pick you apart. It will continue as long as you speak the way you do.
By the way, addressing the outfield, along with every other area, is something the GM is responsible for every year. Not just when you feel the time is right. But keep assuming you know better.
Fister was already taking big steps when a Mariner. I was dismayed — several people were — when he was traded, and it turned out the trade was even worse.
@stevemotivateir
If you were called right now by the powers that be and given the absolute power to fire Jack Z would you do it? If so, when and why?
I won’t make any more assumptions.
Did you really need to ask that? I’ve made it pretty clear I’m not confident in his ability to acquire the right MLB players, and since the draft is past, there’s really no reason to wait. Kingston could fill-in on an interim basis. I don’t want to see Jack make any more trades.
Let’s move forward.
@stevemotivateir
Yeah I needed to ask it; your answer now serves as a tangible starting point for a new conversation, free from assumptions. Why are you not confident in his ability to acquire the right MLB players? Using the past calandar year statistics on fangraphs I’ve prorated to 650 plate appearances the WAR numbers for the following MLB players (all of whom GMZ has overseen the acquisition of except Saunders):
Nick Franklin — 3.9 WAR (“Good Player” almost worthy of Fangraph’s “All Star” player label)
Justin Smoak — 2.3 WAR (“Solid Starter” awesome! Considering we got him for Cliff Lee in a trade that has since netted the Mariners 20+ WAR)
Kyle Seager — 5.1 WAR (Superstar)
Brad Miller — 3.4 WAR (Good Player)
Mike Zunino —- 2.9 WAR (“Solid Starter” almost worthy of Fangraph’s “Good Player” label)
Raul Ibanez and Michael Saunders —- 1.5 WAR each (“Role Players” and Saunders at times has looked like a “Solid Starter” Ibanez could be a 4th outfielder on a contending team couldn’t he? Saunders maybe even a solid 3rd outfielder, no?)
Kendrys Morales —– 2.9 WAR (“Solid Starter” nearly worthy of “Good Player” Label)
Franklin, Miller, and Zunino are small sample sizes but I am confident in Jack Z’s ability to acquire the right MLB players due to the fact that we have productive, young, and inexpensive players for years to come locked in at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS. We have a quality DH who likes Seattle and may resign in the offseason, and now we can clearly turn our attention toward adding to the outfield. Our pitching is anchored by Felix and Kuma (Kuma! What a great value! $$$) a nice pitcher’s park to call home and Taijuan Walker, Erasmo, etc. We have some decent OF prospects now working through the system in Romero, Austin Wilson, O’Neil, and a possible OF’er in Peterson. We have money to spend due to avoiding bad contracts and a new TV deal which should boost payroll. It’s fair to point out Morrow, Fister, and Delabar as bad trades, even Jaso if you like (although we got Jaso for a nothing bum bad player in josh lueke who also happened to be a rapist). Overall it seems that building through the draft has brought us to this point of having 6 locked in starters who happen to be productive, and youthful with financial flexibility… outfield is a clear need area so GMZ can focus his attention moving forward. He’s overseen the acquisition of all 6 of those starters. So yes, let’s move forward… I say with GMZ leading the way. There is another draft next year, it’d be nice to have GMZ and McNamara running it. Why don’t you want to see Jack make any more trades? He may not have to if for example Jacoby Ellsbury wants to come back to the PNW and Romero turns out to be a solid starter. If Smoak can figure it out after all that why can’t ackley turn into a solid starter as well? Why not us, steve? Why not us?
So you recognize the small sample sizes for the rookies you mention, but they’re your primary argument for Jack’s brilliance? You can’t prorate rookies with a month of service time and call them a guarantee. Ackley severs as the poster boy for caution. Which brings up another point… the first ‘core’ of young player was suppose to be Ackley, Smoak, and Montero. Obviously not all the younger players have impressed. And while Smoak is having a better year at the plate, I wouldn’t say he’s figured things out. He still doesn’t produce like a corner infielder and his defense still sucks. And even if you called this year a success, several years of sucking still counts against him.
You’re also ignoring the fact that my complaints aren’t draft-related, so you can throw out your chart and start over. And again, I never said all of his trades were bad. Not all his FA signings were bad either. Even Bavasi did a few things right.
But when you look at every transaction collectively over the last five years, which I have -many times, also factoring corresponding moves, DFA’s, etc, it shouldn’t be hard to see why so many of us aren’t sold. There were a lot of mistakes. There were some bullets dodged as well.
I’m content with McNamara in the fold. I think he’s done a pretty fine job overall. And an argument could certainly be made that he deserves more credit for the drafting than Jack.
But Jack isn’t needed. It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t been as bad as Bavasi. He hasn’t been good enough. I want better. You should too.
Maybe you don’t realize it, but you’re arguing in circles. You’re digging for a loop hole that isn’t there. I’ve outlined my issues with Jack many times and I’ve detailed them many times over the years in the comments. I’ve also given credit when it was do. If you don’t understand, comprehend, accept it, whatever, I really don’t care. But you can’t win an argument like this. With exception to 2009, he’ failed to field a winning team. And there’s still considerable holes to address. Feel free to believe in him, though. Just don’t be surprised if the disappointment continues (as long as he’s still employed here).
Jack’s building a dynasty. If you don’t understand, comprehend, accept it, whatever, I really don’t care.
Jack’s building a dynasty. If you don’t understand, comprehend, accept it, whatever, I really don’t care.
Feel free to point out the extensive list of MLB GMs who have worse records than Bill Bavasi had as as the M’s general manger their first 4+ years in the league and went on to build dynasties any time now.
Producing some good ballplayers in your minors and developing them is necessary for a dynasty, but not sufficient. The problem with Jack Zduriencik isn’t the minor league development and scouting; it’s the other stuff that takes us from “necessary” to “sufficient”.
Anyways- that dynasty of talent he created over in Milwaukee- good for two 90 win seasons and lots of below-.500 seasons when combined with so-so GM skills (sound familiar?). I guess “dynasty” has been defined down, huh?
Oh, I didn’t realize he was trying to build a dynasty. How did miss that?! The package offered for Upton makes a lot more sense now.
Every GM is trying to build a dynasty with the resources they have.