Zuniga looked up at his boss and grunted. “What do you need? I’m trying to make a plan for getting this team to win some games here.”
Garrison smiled and said “Perfect. That’s exactly why I’m here.”
The general manager took a seat and pulled a tablet out of his briefcase. “I need you to pick up your tablet and open the file I just sent you.”
Zuniga: What’s goin’ on here? You about to show me why you’re firing me?
Garrison: Of course not. Didn’t we just have that conversation? I’m not changing my mind after six games. I just want to help you find a way to get this team to win some game.
Zuniga let out a half sigh, half grunt and picked up his tablet. “This file here? The one that says Flyers Strategy 2058 on it?”
Garrison: That’s the one.
Zuniga: Sounds like more of a manager thing than a general manager thing doesn’t it?
Garrison: I actually think it sounds like a data-driven organizational blueprint for success based on years of research, but potato, potahto.
Zuniga: Ok, whatever. What does it mean for me?
Garrison: It means you get to have access to all of our research and strategic concepts at your disposal when making decisions before and during games this season. You get to see what the data says about the best ways to use the players that we currently have on our roster, and those who could be here soon.
Zuniga: Sounds like fancy speak for tellin’ me how to run my club.
Garrison: Our club. And it’s not telling you how to run the club. This is an opportunity for the decision makers to review the data and make great decisions to put our players in the best position to succeed.
Zuniga: Hmph…I can tell we’re going to dig into this, so let’s get to it.
Garrison: Great. Let’s take a look at page 1 of the document. You’ll see some bullet points there.
Zuniga: I see ‘em.
Garrison: Fantastic. Let’s go over some of them. I know you enjoy using the sacrifice bunt on occasion.
Zuniga: Get ‘em on, move ‘em over, ‘ get ‘em in. That’s always been the way, right?
Garrison: Yes. But our data says that while we’re getting ‘em on and getting ‘em over, we could be better at getting ‘em in. That could be made easier by having more outs to work with.
Zuniga: Ah, you’ve got some magical way of adding outs to the game?
Garrison: Yes, actually. We could try not giving the other team free outs by laying down sacrifice bunts so often.
Zuniga: Get ‘em over, remember? It’s easier to drive guys in when they’re in scoring position.
Garrison: True. That’s part of why we have so many guys on this team who can steal bases and take an extra base from time to time as well. I would rather us be thrown out being aggressive than be put out because we asked them to do it.
Zuniga: Fine. I’ll think about it. What other highlights do we have here?.
Garrison: Well, the data says that we aren’t positioning our defense in an optimal way. We need to put defenders in the right spot so that they can make more plays. Even with good defenders on the field, we can do more to help our pitching staff turn contact into outs.
Zugina: Shifting? Is that what we're talkin’ about here?
Garrison: Yes. That’s part of it. We need to ask our pitchers, especially those who get a lot of goundballs, to pitch to contact more frequently, and then make sure that they can trust that our defenders will be in position to make plays when that contact is made.
Zuniga: You want our guys to just throw it down the middle? That’s a recipe for disaster.
Garrison: I didn’t say throw it down the middle. I said pitch to contact. We have guys with too good of control to be nibbling so much and walking so many guys. For instance, Buwono shouldn’t be giving up that many free passes. He gets guys to hit the ball on the ground all the time. I think he’s just worried too many of them are going to get through the defense the way they are currently positioned.
Zuniga: Fine, fine. I’ll talk to Angelo (bench coach) and Julcir (pitching coach) about this and we’ll see if we can work some of it in.
Garrison: I think we need to make it more of a priority than that. We’re going to send you defensive position charts for each upcoming opponent and I want to see our defenders moving around the field to get into those positions starting with the next game on Tuesday.
Zuniga: I thought you weren’t telling me how to run the club.
Garrison: I’m telling you what I need to see happen. You can take it how you need to take it. I need to see these things in place. If they don’t have an impact, we’ll reassess.
Zuniga: And if I don’t like it?
Garrison: We’re a team Z. I’ve allowed you to present your case for 2 years now. I’m presenting mine today. Let’s work together to get the team where we want them to be.
Zuniga: Ha...You sure like to say things that sound like you’re on my side when what you really mean is do it or you can kiss that extension goodbye.
Garrison: Like I said, you can take it how you need to take it. I’m just here to present you with some opportunities to show me that you can be successful here. If everything goes according to plan we could be working together for a long time.
Zuniga: Is there anything else in this file that you need to see on Tuesday for me to have a job?
Garrison: Well, I would like to see you and Julcir be a little quicker to get our pitchers out when they’re deep into the game and showing signs of fatigue. I think we’ve had a few too many instances of pitchers getting knocked around their third time through the lineup when we could have handed the game to a fresh reliever instead. Even if the reliever isn’t quite the pitcher that the starter is, it can be helpful to show the batters something new later in the game.
Zuniga: Are you tellin’ me you want me to pull all our pitchers after 18 batters? That ain’t gonna happen.
Garrison: No. I’m definitely not saying that. I’m simply saying that I want you and Julcir to be a little more willing to pull a pitcher when they start to show that the third or fourth time through the lineup isn’t going well. Keeping a pitcher in late in the game because he pitched well earlier and thinking it’s just a little hiccup is not the most effective way to get to 27 outs with a win. We need to be willing to realize that a pitcher might be done a little earlier in the game. That hiccup is usually a sign that things are about to go downhill. Recognizing those signs a little earlier could get us a few wins that would otherwise turn into losses.You just have to be willing to let go of the outdated notion that a tired starter is always better than the alternative.
Zuniga: You’re not sendin’ me messages during the game about that are you?
Garrison: No. Obviously not. I trust you to be able to see those things. I just need you to open your mind to the idea that sometimes the right choice is to go against your previous instincts now that you have new information. Look at page 37. That's the beginning of the data supporting this idea with how it has impacted us the last two seasons.
Zuniga: Thirty-seven. Got it. Okay. I’ve got things I need to do. I’ll talk this over with the boys and we’ll see what we can do. Excuse me while I walk on these eggshells to get out of my office.
Zuniga gets up and acts like he is very carefully navigating his way out of the office on his tiptoes. “I trust you can find your way back out of here.”
Garrison gets up and follows his manager out of the office and heads toward the clubhouse exit.
“Thanks for your time Z. I look forward to seeing you implement some of our new strategic vision on the field this week.”
Zuniga grunts and walks in the opposite direction.
