Author Topic: Recapping front office changes  (Read 16083 times)

Nate Colbert

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Recapping front office changes
« on: November 10, 2014, 09:22:13 am »
Charlie Gonzalez--former Cardinals scout hired as special assistant. Florida-based scout "responsible for scouting 41st rounder Kevin Siegrist, the Cardinals hard throwing lefthander, as well as outfielder Jon Jay, when Luhnow was in charge of their draft."

Dave Post--#2 guy in amateur scouting under Mike Elias and national crosschecker since 2007 hired away by Padres to become special assistant under new GM.

Marc Russo--an international crosschecker for the Astros who left to join the Braves as their international scouting director.

Dave Geivett--first reported by Tracy Ringolsby, Evan Drellich says it's not yet a done deal. Joined at the hip with ex-Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, both left that organization last month. Age 51 and experience includes stints with Yankees (scout and organizational instructor), Expos (farm director), Rays (special assistant) and Dodgers (assistant GM). Joined the Rockies in 2000, named as senior vice president of scouting and player development and assistant GM in 2011 before being promoted to senior vice president of major league operations in 2012. Caught flak from Rockies owner Charlie Monfort as being responsible for the team's bad season in 2014.

From the Ringolsby and Drellich reports:

  • In his latest role as Senior VP with the Rox, "Geivett moved his office full-time into the clubhouse and traveled with the team." (Ringolsby)
  • The Geivett and O'Dowd relationship "was unique, with the former taking on responsibilities that typically were reserved for the latter at an attempt to create a progressive front office. That structure, however, struck some as ambiguous. “I don’t even know who’s the GM,” Astros center fielder Dexter Fowler said in spring training after being traded from the Rockies. “I think everybody over there is still wondering who really is the GM … Dan and (Geivett) are just both coexisting.” (Drellich)


Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2014, 11:47:22 pm »
Yes, I'm sure you're qualified to take Marc Russo's place.

NeilT

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2014, 07:15:25 am »
Yes, I'm sure you're qualified to take Marc Russo's place.

If this involves sitting in Paris cafes, I'm well-qualified.
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing... as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”  Charles Grassley

HudsonHawk

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2014, 07:47:47 am »
If this involves sitting in Paris cafes, I'm well-qualified.

Speaking of that...we need to get a group for lunch at Cafe Rabelais to drink wine and argue.
The rules of distinction were thrown out with the baseball cap.  It does not lend itself to protocol.  It is found today on youth in homes, classrooms, even in fine restaurants.  Regardless of its other consequences, this is a breach against civility.  A civilized man should avoid this mania.

NeilT

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2014, 07:57:40 am »
Speaking of that...we need to get a group for lunch at Cafe Rabelais to drink wine and argue.

I'm up for that.  I like that place.
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing... as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”  Charles Grassley

Limey

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2014, 09:26:33 am »
If this involves sitting in Paris cafes, I'm well-qualified.

Moi aussi.
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Limey

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2014, 09:28:35 am »
Speaking of that...we need to get a group for lunch at Cafe Rabelais to drink wine and argue.

Arguing?  In a French cafe?

Oh yeah...
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Col. Sphinx Drummond

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2014, 10:36:34 am »
Left bank?
Everyone's talking, few of them know
The rest are pretending, they put on a show
And if there's a message I guess this is it
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NeilT

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2014, 12:16:57 pm »
Left bank?

I thought it was in Rice Village?
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing... as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”  Charles Grassley

Fredia

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2014, 12:35:54 pm »
maybe invite biggio
forever is composed entirely of nows

Navin R Johnson

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2014, 12:53:10 pm »
Video coordinator Jim Summers - Out
Evan Stackpole, an intern under Summers -In

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2014/11/20/astros-shuffle-titles-in-front-office-name-new-video-coordinator/

One of the few remaining holdovers from the last Astros regime will not return for 2015, a decision that seems to fit with the overall, new-age direction general manager Jeff Luhnow is moving.

Video coordinator Jim Summers, the former Green Beret who spent 14 years with the Astros and was one of two people in charge of reviewing possible challenges this past year, has technically resigned according to a person familiar with the situation. However, the Astros were not interested in bringing Summers back, the person said.


Interesting bio on Summers
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/astros/article/Job-for-Astros-video-review-team-is-to-see-it-5398414.php
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Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #11 on: February 18, 2015, 11:22:25 pm »
Updated:

Charlie Gonzalez--former Cardinals scout hired as special assistant. He's apparently picking up at least some of the national crosschecker duties previously performed by Dave Post. (1)

Dave Post--#2 guy in amateur scouting under Mike Elias and national crosschecker since 2007 hired away by Padres to become special assistant under new GM.

Marc Russo--an international crosschecker for the Astros who left to join the Braves as their international scouting director.

Tom Shafer--pro scouting guy for the Astros who crosses over to replace Russo as international crosschecker.

Bill Geivett--first reported by Tracy Ringolsby, Evan Drellich says it's not yet a done deal. Joined at the hip with ex-Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, both left that organization last month. Age 51 and experience includes stints with Yankees (scout and organizational instructor), Expos (farm director), Rays (special assistant) and Dodgers (assistant GM). Joined the Rockies in 2000, named as senior vice president of scouting and player development and assistant GM in 2011 before being promoted to senior vice president of major league operations in 2012. Caught flak from Rockies owner Charlie Monfort as being responsible for the team's bad season in 2014.(2)

(1) According to Drellich, in addition to Gonzalez stepping in:

Quote
International scouting director Oz Ocampo will assist the amateur side as well, along with the Astros’ four regional crosscheckers, J.D. Alleva (east), Ralph Bratton (midwest), Kris Gross (west) and Evan Brannon (east), who have expanded national duties.

(2) Obviously the whole Geivett joining the front office thing never materialized.

jaklewein

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2015, 11:40:26 am »
Nate, how in the heck do you do it?!?  Keep up the torrid pace that you have of providing fantastic information on this site?  Many have already thanked you.  I want to extend my thanks as well.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2015, 01:40:18 pm »
Ron Shah, a writer for Fangraphs and who some of you might remember from last year writing/tweeting from Lancaster about Appel and others, has gone to work for the Astros "in a scouting and development role".

homer

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2015, 03:13:16 pm »
who some of you might remember from last year writing/tweeting from Lancaster about Appel and others

We count on you for all the remembering.
Oye. Vamos, vamos.

NeilT

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2015, 04:50:46 pm »
I figured this was all about how OWA had hired a new string of recappers for the front page.  Which may or may not exist.
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing... as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”  Charles Grassley

Bench

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2015, 05:10:49 pm »
I figured this was all about how OWA had hired a new string of recappers for the front page.  Which may or may not exist.

There certainly appears to be no link to it under the new format. 
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NeilT

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2015, 05:15:54 pm »
There certainly appears to be no link to it under the new format.

BG did a really nice opening day recap.
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing... as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”  Charles Grassley

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2016, 06:16:16 pm »
Mike Elias promoted to Assistant GM (a title last held by current Brewers GM David Stearns) among other FO changes announced today. Elias will still be in charge of the draft but now oversees player development as well.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2016, 06:21:02 pm by Nate Colbert »

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #19 on: September 13, 2018, 03:35:13 pm »
The hierarchy under Luhnow with today's announcement that Taubman has been promoted to asst GM:

Assistant GM, Player Acquisition........................................................Mike Elias
Assistant GM, Baseball Operations, Research and Innovation......Brandon Taubman
Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel.................................Kevin Goldstein
Special Assistant to the GM, Process Improvement........................Sig Mejdal
Special Assistant to the GM, Baseball Operations...........................Oz Ocampo
Director, Research and Development...............................................Mike Fast
Director, Player Development............................................................Pete Putila

From today's PR:

Quote
Taubman joined the Astros organization in June 2013 as an analyst in Baseball Operations and has spent the last year as the Astros Senior Director of Baseball Operations, Research and Innovation. Taubman quickly earned promotions after joining the club, as he was promoted to Manager of Baseball Operations prior to the 2014 season, and Director of Baseball Operations in October 2015.

A graduate of Cornell University, Taubman's efforts over the years were instrumental in helping the Astros win their first World Series Championship in 2017. He has also been an essential figure in helping the Astros become perennial contenders at the Major League level, while still maintaining a top-ranked farm system.

During his time with the Astros, Taubman has been heavily involved in virtually every aspect of the Astros Baseball Operations department, including player evaluation, contract valuation and negotiation, roster construction, economic modeling and pro scouting. Most recently, he has served as a program manager to the Research and Development team, which has entailed helping to direct the day-to-day operation and the long-term vision of the team along with Director of Research and Development, Mike Fast.

Prior to coming to Houston, Taubman worked for Ernst & Young as a derivative valuation expert. He was also a member of the Ernst & Young advisory team which consulted with the federal government during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Following his time at E&Y, he worked for Barclays Investment Bank in their Equity Derivatives group as an analyst.

Taubman will work alongside Astros Assistant General Manager, Player Acquisition Mike Elias, who will continue his work in leading the club's domestic and international scouting efforts.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 03:43:56 pm by Nate Colbert »

jbm

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #20 on: September 13, 2018, 04:02:43 pm »
Wait, I'm clueless.  Where, or/ when did Elias go?

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #21 on: September 13, 2018, 04:03:58 pm »
Wait, I'm clueless.  Where, or/ when did Elias go?

Two asst GMs.

jbm

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #22 on: September 13, 2018, 04:04:10 pm »
Apparently,  I'm blind on top of clueless.  Never mind.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #23 on: September 28, 2018, 04:56:28 pm »
Assistant GM, Player Acquisition........................................................Mike Elias
Assistant GM, Baseball Operations, Research and Innovation......Brandon Taubman
Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel.................................Kevin Goldstein
Special Assistant to the GM, Process Improvement........................Sig Mejdal
Special Assistant to the GM, Baseball Operations...........................Oz Ocampo
Director, Research and Development...............................................Mike Fast
Director, Player Development............................................................Pete Putila


Elias' name has surfaced in regards to the open GM jobs in NY and SF.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/09/27/san-francisco-giants-general-manager-search-10-candidates-david-forst/

https://nypost.com/2018/09/04/the-names-on-radar-in-mets-complex-intriguing-gm-search/

juliogotay

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #24 on: September 29, 2018, 08:54:56 am »
Assistant GM, Player Acquisition........................................................Mike Elias
Assistant GM, Baseball Operations, Research and Innovation......Brandon Taubman
Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel.................................Kevin Goldstein
Special Assistant to the GM, Process Improvement........................Sig Mejdal
Special Assistant to the GM, Baseball Operations...........................Oz Ocampo
Director, Research and Development...............................................Mike Fast
Director, Player Development............................................................Pete Putila


Elias' name has surfaced in regards to the open GM jobs in NY and SF.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/09/27/san-francisco-giants-general-manager-search-10-candidates-david-forst/

https://nypost.com/2018/09/04/the-names-on-radar-in-mets-complex-intriguing-gm-search/

I'd hate to lose Elias but it is inevitable.

Ty in Tampa

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #25 on: September 29, 2018, 09:10:37 am »
I'd hate to lose Elias but it is inevitable.

The problems with a wildly successful front office.
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I'm living rent-free in the back of your head."

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #26 on: October 04, 2018, 12:44:43 pm »
Not quite front office but close enough...

Bench coach Joe Espada has been mentioned in connection with managerial openings in Toronto, Minnesota, Anaheim and Arlington.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-gm-ross-atkins-outlines-template-next-manager/

http://www.startribune.com/thirteen-names-to-watch-for-the-job-of-twins-manager/494983211/

http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41036324-4

https://www.mlb.com/news/5-big-questions-for-rangers-ahead-of-2019/c-296667950


If he were to get hired for one of those positions, he would be the 3rd bench coach in the AJ Hinch era to leave for manager jobs elsewhere (after Alex Cora and Trey Hillman).




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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #27 on: October 04, 2018, 02:59:50 pm »
...except Hillman went from the Astros to manage in the KBO.
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das

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #28 on: October 25, 2018, 07:43:33 am »
Josh Bonifay, Astros’ minor-league field coordinator going to to the Phillies to be their Director of Player Development:

https://theathletic.com/611291/2018/10/24/phillies-mine-houstons-successful-system-for-their-next-farm-director-josh-bonifay/
Another trenchant comment by a jealous lesser intellect.

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Goin' for a bus ride.

das

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Another trenchant comment by a jealous lesser intellect.

moriartp

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #31 on: October 26, 2018, 11:09:26 am »
In non-Astros front office news, NYM are reportedly leaning toward agent Brodie Van Wagenen as their new GM (over longtime Rays saber-exec Chaim Bloom). This would be a very steM decision but not a very STEM decision.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #32 on: October 29, 2018, 12:46:06 pm »
Assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert hired as hitting coach for the Cardinals. Former Astros' minor league manager Stubby Clapp named StL's first base coach.


Quote
JJ Cooper  @jjcoop36 1h ago
I know 99 percent of people seeing this will have zero clue who Jeff Albert is, but he is a very innovative hitting coach who has always looking to learn and grow (something teams look for in 2018). He is very comfortable with using data/technology to help hitters improve.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2018, 12:57:53 pm by Nate Colbert »

moriartp

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #33 on: October 29, 2018, 01:33:09 pm »
Assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert hired as hitting coach for the Cardinals. Former Astros' minor league manager Stubby Clapp named StL's first base coach.
He's a real loss. I spent a long time reading his twitter feed last year—the guy really knows his stuff.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #34 on: October 29, 2018, 04:56:08 pm »
Elias' name has surfaced in regards to the open GM jobs in NY and SF.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/09/27/san-francisco-giants-general-manager-search-10-candidates-david-forst/

https://nypost.com/2018/09/04/the-names-on-radar-in-mets-complex-intriguing-gm-search/

And now the Orioles:

Jon Morosi @jonmorosi 3 hours ago
#Orioles are not yet close to naming a new head of baseball operations. Ben Cherington, Kim Ng, Mike Elias and #Athletics assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz are among the possible candidates, sources say. @MLB @MLBNetwork

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #35 on: October 30, 2018, 05:33:26 pm »
Bullpen coach Doug White joins Brad Ausmus' staff in LAA as pitching coach.

Like Jeff Albert, White had long-time ties to Luhnow going back to their days in the Cardinals organization.


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/angels-hire-doug-white-as-pitching-coach.html

das

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #36 on: November 01, 2018, 07:30:53 am »
Bullpen coach Doug White joins Brad Ausmus' staff in LAA as pitching coach.  Like Jeff Albert, White had long-time ties to Luhnow going back to their days in the Cardinals organization.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/angels-hire-doug-white-as-pitching-coach.html

I'm wondering if the undoing of this team will have nothing to do with the players and instead will be due to the brain drain of thought leadership.  1) because it's hard to replace and 2) because that talent moving to other teams elevates their capabilities in this regard and levels the playing field. 
Another trenchant comment by a jealous lesser intellect.

AtascAstro

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #37 on: November 01, 2018, 09:03:52 am »
I'm wondering if the undoing of this team will have nothing to do with the players and instead will be due to the brain drain of thought leadership.  1) because it's hard to replace and 2) because that talent moving to other teams elevates their capabilities in this regard and levels the playing field.

I've wondered the same.  I'm attempting to convince myself otherwise with this line of thinking:  These guys were most important in the early years of Luhnow's tenure because they were bought-in at a time when it was still kind of radical.  That isn't the case anymore and finding coaches willing to work within the system should be easier.  Furthermore, the Astros are now clearly a resume builder and should be able to attract talent into those positions.

subnuclear

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #38 on: November 01, 2018, 11:05:23 am »
Beware the resume builders.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #39 on: November 04, 2018, 09:41:44 pm »
Assistant GM, Player Acquisition........................................................Mike Elias
Assistant GM, Baseball Operations, Research and Innovation......Brandon Taubman
Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel.................................Kevin Goldstein
Special Assistant to the GM, Process Improvement........................Sig Mejdal
Special Assistant to the GM, Baseball Operations...........................Oz Ocampo
Director, Research and Development...............................................Mike Fast
Director, Player Development............................................................Pete Putila


Brian McTaggart  @brianmctaggart 9m ago
Sig Mejdal, the former NASA engineer and blackjack dealer who spearheaded the analytical team that helped the Astros win their first World Series last year, has allowed his contract with the Astros to expire as he pursues other opportunities, MLB.com has learned

moriartp

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #40 on: November 04, 2018, 09:42:27 pm »
Following in Mike Fast's footsteps, Sig Mejdal has quit (says McTaggart).


Edit: I give up.

Navin R Johnson

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #41 on: November 04, 2018, 09:46:11 pm »
Wtf is going on.
There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #42 on: November 05, 2018, 01:18:57 am »
Chandler Rome is reporting that analytics team member Ryan Hallahan is also leaving the organization. His title was Senior Technical Architect and has been with the club since Feb. 2012.

LinkedIn resume.


All three of the analytics guys who have left (Fast, Megdal, Hallahan) made their decision after Brandon Taubman received his promotion to Asst. GM. All three joined the org in early 2012 while Taubman didn't come on board until mid-2013 when the Astros hired him as an analyst. He had no baseball experience prior to that.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #43 on: November 05, 2018, 02:15:29 am »
Add another to the list of the recently departed...

Ronit Shah was hired by the Astros 3 1/2 years ago and his last position was working as an Amateur Scouting Analyst (his departure was the reason for the Astros' recent job posting which had been noted previously over in the Bus Ride). Like Kevin Goldstein, once upon a time was a writer for Baseball Prospectus. The how/why of his leaving in August not yet known.

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #44 on: November 05, 2018, 09:23:06 pm »
According to a Baltimore beat writer Sarah Gelles apparently is joining the Astros analytics group after previously working 8 years for the Orioles, moving up from intern to her most recent job as Director--Analytics & Major League Contracts. We'll have to see what her title is but she may be the Mike Fast replacement.

« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 09:28:55 pm by Nate Colbert »

Nate Colbert

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #45 on: November 06, 2018, 05:04:42 pm »
Catching up on comments from the other day...

Quote
Eduardo Perez @PerezEd Nov 4
Most likely the biggest free agent name in #Baseball this off season #MLB #wow
I’m a big believer in what Sig Mejdal has meant to reshaping the #Astros organization as far as Draft analysis, player Development and in game Managerial analysis. #Cardinals

Quote
Alyson Footer @alysonfooter Nov 4
Mike Fast and Sig Mejdal both opted to let their contracts with the Astros expire after the season, and they are now among the most valuable free agents on the market this offseason. Brilliant minds who absolutely have their fingerprints all over that Astros WS trophy.

Quote
Kyle Boddy @drivelinebases  Nov 4
SO THE RUMORS ARE TRUE. WELCOME SIG MEJDAL AS HEAD OF WHATEVER-YOU-WANT-TO-DO TO DRIVELINE BASEBALL I'LL FIRE MYSELF TO BRING HIM ON. Ahem. I doubt Sig will come work here but I can think of no finer person to employ in.... well, basically any capacity if you run an MLB team.


Quote
Next Level Baseball @nextlevelbb Oct 27
Only one sabermetrics genius exists in MLB. Its Sig Mejdal (the inventor) and he has made Jeff Luhnow who he is in baseball. Have never understood why another team doesn't pay him more money than he can turn down. I would.

JimR

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #46 on: November 06, 2018, 06:02:18 pm »
Catching up on comments from the other day...

Is all of this because he did not get promoted?
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #47 on: November 06, 2018, 06:08:41 pm »
Is all of this because he did not get promoted?

Someone who knows Footer should ask her.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #48 on: November 07, 2018, 01:57:39 pm »
Not quite front office but close enough...

Bench coach Joe Espada has been mentioned in connection with managerial openings in Toronto, Minnesota, Anaheim and Arlington.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-gm-ross-atkins-outlines-template-next-manager/

http://www.startribune.com/thirteen-names-to-watch-for-the-job-of-twins-manager/494983211/

http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41036324-4

https://www.mlb.com/news/5-big-questions-for-rangers-ahead-of-2019/c-296667950

Didn't get any of them of course but Rosenthal (article at The Athletic) citing an industry source speculates Espada might take over the Marlins job at the end of 2019 when Mattingly's contract expires.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #49 on: November 07, 2018, 02:33:04 pm »
Mike Fast announced he has a new job with the Braves.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #50 on: November 07, 2018, 02:58:20 pm »
Mike Fast announced he has a new job with the Braves.

Special assistant to the GM according to a news report, which is a step up (or at least that's my perception).

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #51 on: November 07, 2018, 07:22:04 pm »
Astros hitting coach Dave Hudgens leaving to be Blue Jays bench coach
« Last Edit: November 07, 2018, 07:23:49 pm by astrojo »

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #52 on: November 09, 2018, 02:39:05 pm »
According to a Baltimore beat writer Sarah Gelles apparently is joining the Astros analytics group after previously working 8 years for the Orioles, moving up from intern to her most recent job as Director--Analytics & Major League Contracts. We'll have to see what her title is but she may be the Mike Fast replacement.

Her title will be Program Manager, Research & Development.

The replacement for Mike Fast as Director, Research & Development is Ehsan Bokhari (formerly a senior analyst in the Dodgers' R&D department where he had worked for the last 3 1/2 years).

So within the R&D department you now have (not necessarily a complete list):
  • Ehsan Bokhari--Director, R&D (masters in statistics and PhD in quantitative psychology from U of Illinois)
  • Sarah Gelles--Program Manager, R&D (a BA from Amherst in law, jurisprudence & social thought)
  • Colin Wyers--Senior Architect, R&D (previously Manager, R&D and before that worked at Baseball Prospectus with Kevin Goldstein)
  • Catherine Cage--Manager of Research, R&D (previously Analyst, R&D and has a masters in statistics from U of Florida)
  • Ryan Ferguson--Senior Analyst, R&D (previously Analyst, R&D and has a PhD in cognitive psychology from Arizona State)
  • Adam Brodie--Analyst, R&D (MS in machine learning and PhD in philosophy from Carnegie Mellon)
  • Kristen Mori--Analyst, R&D (BA in math from Purdue)
« Last Edit: November 09, 2018, 03:24:59 pm by Nate Colbert »

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #53 on: November 09, 2018, 07:28:22 pm »
Her title will be Program Manager, Research & Development.

The replacement for Mike Fast as Director, Research & Development is Ehsan Bokhari (formerly a senior analyst in the Dodgers' R&D department where he had worked for the last 3 1/2 years).

So within the R&D department you now have (not necessarily a complete list):
  • Ehsan Bokhari--Director, R&D (masters in statistics and PhD in quantitative psychology from U of Illinois)
  • Sarah Gelles--Program Manager, R&D (a BA from Amherst in law, jurisprudence & social thought)
  • Colin Wyers--Senior Architect, R&D (previously Manager, R&D and before that worked at Baseball Prospectus with Kevin Goldstein)
  • Catherine Cage--Manager of Research, R&D (previously Analyst, R&D and has a masters in statistics from U of Florida)
  • Ryan Ferguson--Senior Analyst, R&D (previously Analyst, R&D and has a PhD in cognitive psychology from Arizona State)
  • Adam Brodie--Analyst, R&D (MS in machine learning and PhD in philosophy from Carnegie Mellon)
  • Kristen Mori--Analyst, R&D (BA in math from Purdue)
What would Casey or Yogi have said about such a lineup?
He breezed him, one more time!

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #54 on: November 09, 2018, 07:47:58 pm »
What would Casey or Yogi have said about such a lineup?

"The future ain't what it used to be."

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #55 on: November 13, 2018, 11:24:27 pm »
Nightengale tweet:

Houston #Astros assistant GM Mike Elias, barring a sudden change of heart,will be the new GM of the Baltimore #Orioles


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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #56 on: November 14, 2018, 12:15:27 am »
Oof.
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #57 on: November 14, 2018, 04:20:24 am »
Mark Feinsand  @Feinsand 4h ago
If Mike Elias does indeed land the Orioles GM job as @BNightengale is reporting, it is expected that Sig Mejdal would join Elias in Baltimore. Mejdal, who was a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow and was one of Houston's key analysts, left the Astros earlier this month.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #58 on: November 14, 2018, 05:05:34 am »
Mark Feinsand  @Feinsand 4h ago
If Mike Elias does indeed land the Orioles GM job as @BNightengale is reporting, it is expected that Sig Mejdal would join Elias in Baltimore. Mejdal, who was a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow and was one of Houston's key analysts, left the Astros earlier this month.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #59 on: November 14, 2018, 06:19:18 am »
This is what success does in every field of endeavor.

Yup, you just have to be happy for their opportunities, wish them well, and continue to train their replacements (you had already started that, right?).
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #60 on: November 14, 2018, 09:46:15 am »
Sounds like Mejdal likes the challenge of building from scratch.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #62 on: November 16, 2018, 12:18:26 am »
Bob Nightengale  @BNightengale 3h ago
The Baltimore #Orioles, who will soon officially announce Mike Elias as their new GM, also made Elias the highest-paid first-year GM in #MLB history.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #63 on: November 16, 2018, 04:19:12 pm »
Elias, having passed his physical, has now officially been named GM in Baltimore.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #64 on: November 16, 2018, 07:42:24 pm »
Elias, having passed his physical, has now officially been named GM in Baltimore.
Well played!!!!!


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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #65 on: November 21, 2018, 10:32:03 am »
Mark Feinsand  @Feinsand 4h ago
If Mike Elias does indeed land the Orioles GM job as @BNightengale is reporting, it is expected that Sig Mejdal would join Elias in Baltimore. Mejdal, who was a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow and was one of Houston's key analysts, left the Astros earlier this month.

Named Assistant GM, Analytics for the O's.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #66 on: November 21, 2018, 12:26:49 pm »
Probably wise of Baltimore to go all-in on the Astros model with those 2 behemoths in their division.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #67 on: November 21, 2018, 12:56:00 pm »
Probably wise of Baltimore to go all-in on the Astros model with those 2 behemoths in their division.

I know about Joe West, but who's the other one?
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #68 on: November 21, 2018, 01:02:32 pm »
I know about Joe West, but who's the other one?

CC Sabathia.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #69 on: November 21, 2018, 01:04:09 pm »
I know about Joe West, but who's the other one?
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #70 on: December 07, 2018, 01:04:54 pm »
Couple of interesting tidbits from Eno Sarris in The Athletic:

Says the "Astros have spent more money on the hardware hooked up in Minute Maid Park than other teams spend on their entire player development department in a year". In addition to Trackman (which every team has), "the Astros have enough high-speed, high-definition cameras capturing video...for biomechanics analysis to make most player development directors blush".

Also published a table (or re-published--originally included in an article several months ago) showing the Astros' R&D department with more analysts (15) than all but 2 organizations in baseball (Yankees and Dodgers with 20 apiece).

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #71 on: January 25, 2019, 07:09:44 pm »
(Putting this response in what I feel is a more appropriate thread)

Nate, since I sort of tune out in the off-season and am unaware, has there been something written on the "10,000 feet" view of the "purge"?  Seems like there was a lot of movement beyond folks taking their skills to other organizations.

I really think you just chalk it up to a multitude of reasons: chance to be the GM for the team you rooted for growing up and near where you're from (Elias), guys bottlenecked in the organization (Fast, Sig), other teams desperate to hire your guys hoping some of the magic rubs off (Elias, Fast and many others), taking a higher level job with another organization (Dave Hudgens, Doug White, Jeff Albert, Josh Bonifay, Chris Holt, Dillon Lawson), going in a different direction with your life (Ryan Hallahan), phasing out some player development jobs likely the result of even further usage of technology (elimination of nine coaching jobs in the minors which resulted in some folks not returning), perhaps not retaining people who are unable to keep up with the pace of change in the organization (I'll let you fill in the blank there).

For those unfamiliar with some of the above names and other items, you haven't been reading this thread/soliloquy.

And just for the helluvit (and at the risk of being redundant, cabrera'd or just beating the hell out of things), I would also reference again the McKinsey interview Luhnow did here and here. Some quotes I saw where I kinda/sorta gleaned information from or just found interesting:

Quote
We decided that in the minor leagues, we would hire an extra coach at each level. The requirements for that coach were that he had to be able to hit a fungo, throw batting practice, and program in SQL. It’s a hard universe to find where those intersect, but we were able to find enough of them—players that had played in college that maybe played one year in the minors that had a technical background and could understand analytics.

...until the point where we realized that we no longer needed that, because our hitting coaches and our pitching coaches and our managers are now fully technology enabled. They can do the translation. And they’re actually real baseball people who have had careers in coaching and playing.

Quote
You’ve got 150 people working in baseball operations, 200 players in a system, some of them have no high-school education. Some don’t speak English. You’re dealing with a very difficult population to implement new things that are not normal to them. The program of sending the people out and eventually changing over a large part of our hitting and pitching coaches and managers, quite frankly, to be a bit more open-minded, progressive group is when our implementation started to take root.

Quote
Big data combined with artificial intelligence is the next big wave in baseball, and I think we’re just starting to scratch the surface. But we’re making a big investment in this area.

Quote
You have to be first. You have to create an advantage for yourself. If you’re not looking at what’s coming down the road—and technology and data are so important— somebody else is going to.

Quote
...Yuli Gurriel, a guy we found in our international scouting out of Cuba who took a lower-dollar offer to be with the Astros and could’ve gone to another team.



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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #72 on: January 25, 2019, 07:57:23 pm »
Thanks. You are awesome. Seriously.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #73 on: January 25, 2019, 09:38:50 pm »
Thanks. You are awesome. Seriously.

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #74 on: February 28, 2019, 05:43:41 pm »
If you needed a primer on Edgartronic, Rapsodo and Yakkertech (and the Houston pipeline feeding into it), then here's an article from last week...

https://www.mlb.com/news/rapsodo-and-edgertronic-are-changing-baseball

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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #75 on: March 01, 2019, 04:54:18 pm »
If you needed a primer on Edgartronic, Rapsodo and Yakkertech (and the Houston pipeline feeding into it), then here's an article from last week...

https://www.mlb.com/news/rapsodo-and-edgertronic-are-changing-baseball

Very good article.  Worth the read.
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Re: Recapping front office changes
« Reply #76 on: March 11, 2019, 02:27:24 am »
A bit more on how those Edgertronic cameras are being used:

A Peek into the Astros’ Secret Sauce for Pitching