Jason Kanzler Has the Background to Call Out a Bad Plan<\/p>\n
A recommendation arrives with numbers attached. Hey, that\u2019s cool. What was the input?<\/p>\n
A hitter going 3-for-8 against a pitcher gives us a .375 average and very little reason to build a lineup around it. Sure, the number is accurate. The conclusion can still be a reach. Kanzler surely understands that distinction well enough to catch it before it becomes the Mariners\u2019 plan.<\/p>\n
Also, we\u2019re talking pretty basic, ordinary baseball questions. A manager who understands the analytical work is more than likely equipped to pursue the answers beyond the first explanation.<\/p>\n
Kanzler\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 doesn\u2019t guarantee he\u2019ll get every call right. Teaching yourself to code and winning a pennant aren\u2019t exactly in the same realm. But what we should like about his background is the appetite it suggests for understanding how things work. That curiosity should serve Seattle well when a recommendation looks cleaner on a screen than it does from the dugout.<\/p>\n
We should want him debugging a plan when it fails, checking the inputs before running it again, and telling Dipoto and Justin Hollander when the problem calls for a rewrite. See\u2026we can hit the buzzwords too.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a trap here for the Mariners. Kanzler\u2019s comfort with analytics makes him an obvious philosophical fit, and it would be easy to treat that fit as the accomplishment. Everyone speaks the same language. Meetings run smoothly. The manager understands what the front office wants.<\/p>\n
Now, what happens when he thinks it\u2019s wrong? That conversation could become one of the most important pieces of this hire.<\/a><\/p>\n Mariners\u2019 collaboration needs to survive a disagreement<\/p>\n Kanzler has already described how he wants that partnership to work.<\/a> At his introduction, he said his staff, players and the organization would all inform his decisions. He also made clear that he is comfortable making the final call when the information leaves room for judgment.<\/p>\n That gives us something to hold him to. Player feedback belongs in the process, and the manager has responsibility for deciding what to do with it.<\/p>\n According to Adam Jude\u2019s reporting, Hollander emphasized a shared vision as the Mariners work to complete the coaching staff. There is already a meaningful connection behind the reported addition of CJ Gillman as hitting coach: Kanzler said he had tried to hire Gillman before and praised his communication and coaching methods.<\/p>\n Kanzler has his own reasons for believing in the coach expected to lead Seattle\u2019s hitting instruction. His endorsement gives us more substance than another promise that everyone will work well together.<\/p>\n The same standard should apply to his relationship with Dipoto and Hollander. <\/a>Kanzler\u2019s analytical background gives him a foundation for examining their recommendations. His job now requires him to decide how those recommendations serve the players he manages.<\/p>\n
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