San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers is the exception. He has allowed his assistant, Paul DePodesta (of Moneyball fame), to blog about the team's personnel decisions. On It Might Be Dangerous...You Go First, DePodesta details the braintrust's thinking behind trades, contract extensions, free agents, draft strategy, etc. DePodesta's blog is unique in that it's the first time that the management of a professional sports team has communicated with the team's fans without going through the media. This direct, 1-on-1 communication could prove revolutionary (by, perhaps, fostering interest in the team and widening the team's fanbase) or, as the blog's title suggests, dangerous (by providing information that could help their opponents).
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
It Might Be Dangerous... You Go First
Major League Baseball General Managers are among the most secretive, secluded people in all of professional sports. While the MLB trade rumor mill is constantly active, the men (and yes, they are all men) who actually make personnel decisions rarely offer any insight into their thoughts or plans.
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This reminds me of the the new Jonah Lehrer book _How We Decide_. (A clip of him on Colbert is a pretty cool way in: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/02/colbert.php). I suspect that much of what DePodesta attempts to make explicit in his blog will emerge as a construction of something artificially systematic?? No? But you're right: the exposure--the "backstage pass" that fans will have--is sure to increase interest in the team.
ReplyDeletePS: I'm a Cubs fan. I know: sad.