Showing posts with category "manager efficiency"

Clippers -- Lessons from Losers

Recently, on the NBA Network, I caught the tail end of a conversation between Kenny Smith and another announcer about the LA Clippers.  Maybe there are less

The Impact Of Managerial Change On Performance: The Role Of Team Heterogeneity

“When a key responsibility of a manager is to allocate more or less attractive tasks, subordinates have an incentive to work hard and demonstrate their

Pitch Til You Lose

Game 1 of the ALCS between the Tigers and Yankees  once again spotlighted the flaws in the use of MLB "closers."  I've written about the topic in How Much v.

The World is Not Enough

Ryan Jazayerli at Grantland offers a thorough and insightful survey of the demise of the Astros in "Rock Bottom in H-Town." Many turns to the story -- hiring

How Much v. How Well -- Michael Jordan as "6th Man"?

In 1968, Gates Brown hit .450 as a pinch hitter and .370 in total with an OPS of 1.12.  Yet, Brown did not register in the year end MVP voting.  His AL record

Coaching Ambition and Folly

As WKU recently endured a humiliating home beatdown by Louisville, my thoughts turned to one of the assistant coaches on the Louisville bench -- Ralph Willard

Chizik-Auburn Marriage Made in Heaven (or Roulette Wheel)

Two years ago, I dissed the hiring of Gene Chizik by Auburn.  I didn't predict failure but highlighted how poorly his track record fit the hiring of a

The Will to Make Tough, But Correct Decisions: Harbaugh and McCarthy

Related to the prior post on managerial decision making, Jim Harbaugh has finally won over almost all his critics for his decision to hand the starting QB job

4th Downs and Beyond: Coaches as Optimizers

Ran across a recent piece on the evolution of Jason Garrett's playing calling by Jonathan Bales of DC Times (an analytics based blog on the Dallas Cowboys and

The Wooden School of Management

As a young sports fan, I came of age watching but not liking UCLA basketball in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  They were Goliath and I pulled for the

Sir Alex & His Peers

Most U.S. sports fans don’t know who Sir Alex Ferguson is much less his accomplishments as manager of the most highly valued sports franchise in the world,

Kiffin to USC: Cover Band?

On CollegeFootball Talk/NBC Sports, Keith Arnold makes a funny observation: