Jed Hoyer had some interesting things to say during the GM panel at SABR.
ON THE ROLE OF SCOUTS
Hoyer: "The scouts they know that I have an analytical bent, and that my bosses have that. The worst thing you can do is change their mindset. You're hiring them for their eyes and their instincts, and you want them to go out and scout. You want to take their report and combine it with the numbers. And if the numbers are influencing their report, or they're saying something they think you want to hear, then the report is tainted. So we really try to keep those things separate."
ON WINNING AND LOSING
Hoyer: "The drive home after you lose is awful. You're competitive. … In this game if you win six out of 10 night's you're a fantastic team. … The wins feel good, but the losses are so much worse. Part of that is the nature of baseball. We're trained to never get very high about a win or never get very excited about a winning streak, because we know the minute you feel good about yourself, the losing streak is right behind it."
It's so nice to have an analytical front office. The Cubs lacked this for years.