Screw Guts And Screw Old Fogies

[DOUGHBOYS]

A year ago, if given the choice between a terrorist, a cartoon character, or a baseball player, Yasiel Puig would have stumped most of us. Mike Trout had scouts drooling before his arrival, so he was a known commodity before being the well-known commodity that he is now.
Puig and Trout may be compared for the next 15 years.

They both play for L.A. teams.
They've both risen from the ashes to become the best players on their team.
The Dodgers and Angels threw money at every free agent who'd had good numbers in the past, only to find that their best player was right there all time.
But worse, even though Trout and Puig are instant hits, their teams are duds.
The Dodgers nine under .500, the Angels 10.

Both players should lead off. Mattingly and Sciosia should throw all strategic assessments aside and admit to themselves that Puig and Trout give their teams the best chance to win. The Dodgers and Angels lineups cannot be trusted. Let them fail. But get your best hitter up as many times as possible when they do fail.
Mattingly and Sciosia won't though. Puig's and Trout's Managers think that moving a lineup around till winning is the way to go.
They're old school.
They go with their 'gut'.
Our own KJ rails at Joe Torre and Mattingly lineups. Here is something I'll bet he and some of you did not know...
(story alert!)

George Steinbrenner's health was declining. He was hardly seen at Yankee games. Steinbrenner never fully trusted any Yankee employee to get things right all the time. This was especially true of Managers. Truth is, that when a Manager would do something George would not do, George would fire them in his mind.
He did put a lot of trust in Brian Cashman. And Cashman loved Joe Torre.
When the Yankees lost in the playoffs of what would be Torre's last year as Yankee Manager, Steinbrenner, and now his son's were not eager to re-sign Torre.
Cashman had Torre's back, but not as eagerly as he would have had it a few years before.
Cashman had realized that what the Red Sox and Bill James were doing with sabrmetrics was working. He could see things on his computer that Torre did not on the field. Torre liked to tell Cashman that he was a 'gut feeling' guy, not a numbers guy. And when Cashman would suggest a lineup change, Torre would smile in thinking that Cashman did not know the game on the field as well as Torre and dismiss the suggestions.
Cashman would look at a starting lineup and see that some players were only used because of a lefty/righty matchup, nothing else.
Cashman could get the players to make the Yankees a better team, but knew Torre was a dinosaur in how to use them to get maximum results.
The Steinbrenners decided to offer Torre another contract, but with a pay cut. Torre, still would be the highest paid Manager in baseball. His pride could not accept a pay cut though and he was done as a Yankee Manager.
Mattingly was a Torre deciple. Most thought he would get the job. He didn't.
One of the question's in Cashman's interviews for the Yankees job was whether the Manager would use sabrmetrics and accept help from others in the use of sabrmetrics. Cashman found his man in Joe Girardi.

Mattingly moved to L.A. He followed Joe Torre in location and philosophy. His gut rules. Same with Mike Sciosia. This is not the one and only reason these franchises are reeling. But, it sure isn't helping them either.
Mattingly has insisted from his Dodger beginnings that Andre Ethier is an everyday player. And over the last four years, Ethier has hit almost 100 points higher vs. righties than lefties.
He's a platoon hitter.
Like Seth Smith. The difference being that Oakland KNOWS Smith is a platoon player.
But, Oakland's sabr-savvy is miles ahead of the Dodgers, and Don Mattingly's gut.

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I just thought I'd throw this in since I was talking about Puig and Trout.
Can we please screw the idea that a player picks the representatives for the home run hitting contest?
It's stupid.
Here's my idea for this year.
Let's roll with the kids that are getting baseball fans excited.
The home run hitting contest should not feature old fogies like Ortiz, or Cano, or really, anybody over 30.
How about a National League team of:
Stanton
Harper
Puig
Gattis (Dom Brown if Gattis is still hurt)

And an American League team of:
Trout
Machado
Cespedes
Myers

Now THAT, that I would look forward to....