Off Topic
First Year Manager Breaking Models
MANAGER OF THE YEAR WHISPERS FLOATING AROUND
September 5, 2061: Marshall Islands – Kate Fiscus was a controversial figure, so to speak, throughout the Brewster Baseball Association even before she was tabbed to become the first female manager in league history, taking over the reins of the Bikini Krill this year. Fans were abuzz, some fervently supportive others dismally dismissive. Then there were those who just couldn't figure out how to feel about anything. These were the ones recommending patients, the ones who said the world would reveal the truth soon enough.
The calendar says that it is September now, so “soon enough” seems to have come, and the results suggest that while mistakes have been made, perhaps Fiscus can actually manage a little bit. The players love her, it seems. Not a week goes by that several comment about how relaxed her presence makes the clubhouse feel, and how her personal touch keeps everybody focused on what matters. But there's more to being a good manager then making a roster of 27 men happy. The goal is to win baseball games. And the role of a manager is to get the most from her players. The good ones find ways to win when even their greatest fans think it unlikely. In this light, it's interesting that many of the teams insiders are beginning to whisper about how effective keep discus has been under the cloudy covers of day-to-day turmoil that surrounds any baseball team. Spend any time around the organization's structure, and you're likely to hear the phrase Fiscus Effect used freely. She may not be as skilled in the traditional managerial tool set as some would expect, but Fiscus has not backed down from the challenge. Not at all.
It's leading several to ask one more question.
Could Fiscus be Manager of the Year?
Exhibit A in the case for Kate Fiscus as manager of the year comes in the form of the high falutin’ measures for expected wins and losses, a statistic that the Krill stand at the top of the table with. The team has won eight more games then all the numbers suggest that it should have. If this is not a metric of the Fiscus effect, what is?
For the uninitiated, this table suggests that the bikini krill really should be struggling far down in 5th place instead of neck and neck with Portland And a game ahead of San Fernando. Given that the team won a miserable 74 games last year, and that this table suggests that at their core the club should not be too much better now, what else can you attribute this boosted level of performance to other than a particularly adroit manipulation of the roster by the manager and her staff?
Nothing, right?
“We're going to Win games, and we're going to beat the pants off Portland,” Fiscus said at her first press conference as manager of the Krill. At this point, she's managed to deliver on the first part of that. But Portland, to date, has been the one team that the Krill has not been able to actually beat. Of course, good managers find ways to keep giving their teams the worthy goal. There are some who have said that Fiscus has actually pulled her punches against the lumberjacks to date, with expectation that they would meet again in the postseason. Perhaps this upcoming 4 game series we'll set the tables for just such an event.
Regardless, for now that eight game difference between actual wins and expected wins is all the voters should need to know as they fill out Kate Fiscus's name for this year's Frick Manager of the Year award.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR WHISPERS FLOATING AROUND
September 5, 2061: Marshall Islands – Kate Fiscus was a controversial figure, so to speak, throughout the Brewster Baseball Association even before she was tabbed to become the first female manager in league history, taking over the reins of the Bikini Krill this year. Fans were abuzz, some fervently supportive others dismally dismissive. Then there were those who just couldn't figure out how to feel about anything. These were the ones recommending patients, the ones who said the world would reveal the truth soon enough.
The calendar says that it is September now, so “soon enough” seems to have come, and the results suggest that while mistakes have been made, perhaps Fiscus can actually manage a little bit. The players love her, it seems. Not a week goes by that several comment about how relaxed her presence makes the clubhouse feel, and how her personal touch keeps everybody focused on what matters. But there's more to being a good manager then making a roster of 27 men happy. The goal is to win baseball games. And the role of a manager is to get the most from her players. The good ones find ways to win when even their greatest fans think it unlikely. In this light, it's interesting that many of the teams insiders are beginning to whisper about how effective keep discus has been under the cloudy covers of day-to-day turmoil that surrounds any baseball team. Spend any time around the organization's structure, and you're likely to hear the phrase Fiscus Effect used freely. She may not be as skilled in the traditional managerial tool set as some would expect, but Fiscus has not backed down from the challenge. Not at all.
It's leading several to ask one more question.
Could Fiscus be Manager of the Year?
Exhibit A in the case for Kate Fiscus as manager of the year comes in the form of the high falutin’ measures for expected wins and losses, a statistic that the Krill stand at the top of the table with. The team has won eight more games then all the numbers suggest that it should have. If this is not a metric of the Fiscus effect, what is?
| Team | W | L | xW | xL | xW Dif |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIK | 80 | 62 | 72 | 70 | 8 |
| SAC | 93 | 49 | 87 | 55 | 6 |
| LBC | 78 | 64 | 73 | 69 | 5 |
| VAL | 64 | 78 | 61 | 81 | 3 |
| HAW | 64 | 78 | 62 | 80 | 2 |
| POR | 80 | 62 | 79 | 63 | 1 |
| VAN | 63 | 79 | 65 | 77 | -2 |
| SFB | 79 | 63 | 86 | 56 | -7 |
Nothing, right?
“We're going to Win games, and we're going to beat the pants off Portland,” Fiscus said at her first press conference as manager of the Krill. At this point, she's managed to deliver on the first part of that. But Portland, to date, has been the one team that the Krill has not been able to actually beat. Of course, good managers find ways to keep giving their teams the worthy goal. There are some who have said that Fiscus has actually pulled her punches against the lumberjacks to date, with expectation that they would meet again in the postseason. Perhaps this upcoming 4 game series we'll set the tables for just such an event.
Regardless, for now that eight game difference between actual wins and expected wins is all the voters should need to know as they fill out Kate Fiscus's name for this year's Frick Manager of the Year award.
