It’s not playing Strat-o-Matic with the managerial candidate, but the Cubs are going to use game situations to interview their potential field generals:
“We created some sort of game simulations where we handed them statistics and lineup cards and things like a history of bullpen usage,’’ Epstein said, “and we had them watch key
innings of the game and walked them along in the game, and then we’d stop and try to create real-life situations.’’Close game, late innings, scoring threat. Change pitchers? Which one, based on bullpen availability or guys left on the
opponents’ bench?“We’d try to create some
intensity, so we got right in his face and asked for an answer quickly,’’ Epstein said. “We weren’t looking so much at what the [candidate] said in terms of the strategy he was employing, but what pieces of information he would use, what his thought process would be in trying to make a decision.“It was helpful to see how the candidates make decisions and also helpful to see how they perform under pressure.’’
I love this, and all teams should do something like it.
Question #1! Since we’re not going to fix the weird angle in the right field corner, do you pull your right fielder after he takes 30 seconds to dig a double out of the corner for the 2nd time in a game, or wait for the third time?
Sounds good, right up to the point that they get in the candidate’s face and press for a decision. What exactly is that supposed to prove? Theo seems to think that all stress is the same. He’s wrong. Stress in an interview situation is not the same as performance stress. If it were, young Theo would be able to evaluate young pitchers performance under stress using this same method. Getting in the candidate’s faces that way isn’t going to yield Theo & company any additional useful infromation.
I agree with Mike’s point about the context of stress being different in an interview than in real time during a game. Besides, how is this technique going to evaluate whether a managerial candidate will be able to talk his star hitter out of a slump? Or keep peace between two guys on the team who don’t like each other? Or deflect media scrutiny away from his players? Or know when to argue or not argue with an umpire? There are a lot of good Strat-O-Matic players out there. Very few of them however would make effective Major League field managers.
This comes across as Epstein looking for nothing more than a button-pushing yes-man. As a fan of the Brewers, I hope he finds one.
No one said this was the ONLY tool the team is using…and as an indicator of how a manager uses numbers I love it.
The Cubs are also putting candidates in front of the local media as soon as their interview is done to see how they perform there as well…