More on management

After his thoughts about next season a cloud of realism descended on Fujii and he stated that he needed to play better next season or he wouldn't be offered another contract. His pay didn't change this year but his incentive structure did. Fujii does need to play a lot better and should have taken a pay cut for his poor performance but his statements are indicative of poor management by Tigers. Fujii should be under no illusion that he is good enough to start ahead of Johjima which he seems to think is the case. It is the management's job to tell him this and it seems they aren't doing so. This represents a worrying development - dither and drift seems to be setting in and without a proper manager Tigers lack direction. Will Wada survive for his whole contract? He certainly needs to demonstrate a better understanding of the game and the team than he has so far.
Kakefu was able to extract a promise from Wada on his radio programme that Arai would be the starting third base for the whole of the season, injury permitting. This shows sense but Wada's latest thought on Johjima shows up the poor planning and strategic appreciation currently exhibited by the Tigers top guys. He is proposing that on the days that Johjima can't catch because of knee trouble he should play first. The rationale being that Tigers need his bat. However, if Johjima is injured shouldn't he be rested so that he becomes fit again? What is the point of playing him and risking further damage to his knee when he is needed at catcher? Remember Fujii is not adequate in the role and Komiyama is still learning. Incidently, Komiyama is much better as a second catcher than Fujii. Even Shimizu is better. This is probably Wada shooting his mouth off but indicates that the thought processes are not that good. Once again Tigers management spurned the chance to go after free agent fielders who would have helped the situation.
Iwata met with the management to discuss his salary and took along a batch of sabremetrics. This threw them - it was a bit too modern and advanced. It is likely that Iwata will agree as he was offered a pay rise but obviously there is frustration at the backwardness of the Tigers management office among the players. Unfortunately, this malaise is prevalent throughout the whole of Japan. One feels that if Tigers management are going to reject what is common throughout MLB we are in for a rough season. I will touch more on this topic but at the moment I am feeling less and less confident about next season. Two perfectly competent managers were passed over for Wada and his group.