Tim Wilken Interview

[dabynsky]

I was going to post this in the draft thread, but I want people to actually see this interview Bruce Miles did with Tim Wilken. I've said before that I want Wilken to remain in place if at all possible after removing Hendry from the GM post. This quote here sealed it for me:

That said, we went after the hitters, and we went after what we termed in the higher picks to be a little bit more intelligent at the plate, guys that have a chance to have a pretty good OBP. They're selective, they want to work the pitcher hard. Sometimes that doesn't always result in walks, but what it does is it results in high counts, which gets the pitcher out of the quicker.

This is the first time I have heard anyone associated with the front office of the Chicago Cubs acknowledge that they wanted guys that were selective at the plate, that have a chance to have a good OBP and get higher pitch counts from their opponent.

The rest of the article is pretty cool, and worth the read. He singled out my guy Zeke DeVoss as one of those guys working the count and his OBP. But that quote has to be highlighted because it is the first time I can remember anyone within the FO acknowledging how you build a successful offense today.

 

[daddies3angels]

I was going to post this in the draft thread, but I want people to actually see this interview Bruce Miles did with Tim Wilken. I've said before that I want Wilken to remain in place if at all possible after removing Hendry from the GM post. This quote here sealed it for me:

This is the first time I have heard anyone associated with the front office of the Chicago Cubs acknowledge that they wanted guys that were selective at the plate, that have a chance to have a good OBP and get higher pitch counts from their opponent.

The rest of the article is pretty cool, and worth the read. He singled out my guy Zeke DeVoss as one of those guys working the count and his OBP. But that quote has to be highlighted because it is the first time I can remember anyone within the FO acknowledging how you build a successful offense today.

Thats good to see but did u know that Cubs minor league system is also really bad at taking walks. They are in the bottom halve in every league. So why is this just now becoming an issue

 

[dabynsky]

Thats good to see but did u know that Cubs minor league system is also really bad at taking walks. They are in the bottom halve in every league. So why is this just now becoming an issue

Because our GM actively focuses on acquiring athletes with the five baseball tools, and plate discipline is not one of them. This has long been an organizational failing, and I was just happy to see someone acknowledge the need for plate discipline. And Wilken was the one guy that I really wanted to keep around (I'm 50/50 on Fleita, I love what he has done in the international scouting side of things but he is in charge of player development for a long time which has sucked for the most part), and the fact that he not only acknowledge that they were targeting this but explained why it is important in that quote just made me feel even better about singling him out as the one guy to keep. It was just nice to at least someone actually in charge of part of this organization expose ideas similar to mine about what makes a successful offense.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Nice read. I <3 Wilken

 

[2SeamHeat]

Because our GM actively focuses on acquiring athletes with the five baseball tools, and plate discipline is not one of them. This has long been an organizational failing, and I was just happy to see someone acknowledge the need for plate discipline. And Wilken was the one guy that I really wanted to keep around (I'm 50/50 on Fleita, I love what he has done in the international scouting side of things but he is in charge of player development for a long time which has sucked for the most part), and the fact that he not only acknowledge that they were targeting this but explained why it is important in that quote just made me feel even better about singling him out as the one guy to keep. It was just nice to at least someone actually in charge of part of this organization expose ideas similar to mine about what makes a successful offense.

Also, if you read other comments that Wilken has had about this particular draft class, you get the feeling that he may not have made certain picks in the past due to knowing the team wouldn't make the effort to pay out the cash to sign them. As I read in one place, the Cubs went from the bottom third in signing bonuses each of the past few years to top third this year. Seeing the cash they handed out, it wouldn't surprise me to see them in the top 5... and it was all worth it in mere terms of the vast potential and talent that was picked up.

I have been a long believer in Wilken. I just think he's been handcuffed by a lack of leadership and commitment at the top since he's been here. Sure, we've gotten some solid talent in the top 2-3 picks in each of his drafts (with the lone real question being Simpson from last year), but after that... it falls off dramatically. This draft, in my opinion, shows what he is capable of... and what he helped put together in Toronto and Tampa.

Fleita, I think is an excellent scout. I'd almost consider him for an assistant GM spot... being mentored by a real GM (not Hendry). However, I've been up and down on him as head of development. I'd like to see someone come over from somewhere like Oakland or Minnesota... maybe even Boston, to take over that role.