The front office asks columnists, fans, to read Treasury Secretary memoir

August 23rd, 2006 → 9:19 am @ // No Comments

“When Robert Rubin left Goldman Sachs 14 years ago and came here to join the Clinton administration, he brought a couple of big ideas with him. …

“The idea was simply that uncertainty was an inevitable part of life and only the foolish imagined they could eliminate it. To make the best possible decisions, bond traders and policy makers alike had to weigh every relevant piece of information, estimate the risks that something unexpected would happen and then make a judgment based on the odds, aware all the while that success could not be guaranteed. They had to understand that a good decision could produce a bad outcome. That is what uncertainty meant, and recognizing it maximized the chances that they would succeed next time.

“‘Unfortunately, Washington — the political process and the media — judges decisions based solely on outcomes, not on the quality of the decision making,’ Mr. Rubin wrote, with his co-author Jacob Weisberg, in his 2003 memoir, In an Uncertain World.”

–“This Fed Chief May Yet Get a Honeymoon,” David Leonhardt, The New York Times, August 23, 2006


Post Categories: Red Sox front office & Robert Rubin

3 Comments → “The front office asks columnists, fans, to read Treasury Secretary memoir”


  1. Kevin

    17 years ago

    Last night was one of the most encouraging losses I’ve seen. I hate to play revisionist, but if the Sox were in the same situation with Manny in the game they might have been able to scratch that one out. The end of the skid is near, hopefully.

    Reply

  2. soxfannyc

    17 years ago

    I continue to give Theo the benefit of the doubt. Obviously many of his moves the last two years havent worked out, but he is a “process” guy and hopefully the process isnt broken, only the recent outcomes. What gives me pause is that Theo was so wrong on Renteria and we are still paying part of his contract and the fact that so far he has been wrong on both Coco and Beckett. What was the rush to give both of those big contract extensions? Theo talks about payroll flexibility, but both of those deals give the Sox anything but. I wouldnt be surprised to see Coco in a Braves uniform next year with Andruw Jones playing CF and batting #5 for the Sox next year. I also expect Papelbon to be in the rotation next year with the Sox trying to find a new closer in the offseason. What does the Sox payroll look like next year?

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  3. deversm

    17 years ago

    Professional poker players are painfully familiar with this (a good decision could produce a bad outcome). You can set up the perfect situation, have far superior cards, play the hand flawlessly, and still lose the pot. Luck plays a huge part in the short term, but as close to 0 as possible in the long term.

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