MLB Instant Replay Still Absorbing A Lot Of Time TAGS: baseball | blitz | consulting | instant replay | lean | lloyd mcclendon | mlb | mlb instant replay | operations | pace of game | pace of play | process | replay | six sigma | slow | sports | time | transfer rule Because of many obviously-blown calls (well, obvious to everyone but the umpire) in baseball but no means by which to really review and retract judgments, Major League Baseball rightfully decided …Continue reading →

Around the Bases: MLB Instant Replay Edition TAGS: 2014 | anita brody | basketball | blitz | chapel hill | concussion | consulting | espn | green bay packers | instant replay | lean | mary willingham | mlb | nfl | north carolina | operations | outside the lines | playoffs | process | rob neyer | roger goodell | settlement | sports | survey Because there are so many individual examples of Lean thinking either being used or being applicable in sports – based on my overflowing bookmarks queue the latter clearly takes the …Continue reading →

Obvious Bad Calls and the Case For Instant Replay TAGS: blown | call | cb bucknor | consulting | instant replay | lean | lean blitz | marlins | mlb | operations | phillies | process | rich kruger | sports During last night’s semi-meaningless game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins, this play and subsequent call happened. Umpire CB Bucknor called the runner out. FYI, the rule in …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: The #Lean Blog Podcast about Lean in Sports TAGS: 2013 | augusta national | bcs | championship | consulting | continuous improvement | david meier | eric ries | golf | jeffrey liker | jim womack | lean blitz | lean blog | major league baseball | mark graban | masters | miami | mlb | norman bodek | notre dame | operations | pace of game | pace of play | podcast | process | sports MP3 File (run time 33:12) Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at …Continue reading →

A #Lean Look at the #Baseball Jersey Manufacturing Process TAGS: baseball | buttons | error-proofing | inventory | jersey | jerseys | lean | lean blitz consulting | majestic | meredith marakovits | mlb | overprocessing | pants | pockets | production | sports | uniform | waste | yes network | zippers Rob Neyer of SBNation shared this great video from the YES Network on how Majestic manufactures the game jerseys for the New York Yankees. With an eye on the eight …Continue reading →

Will MLB Show Little “Respect For People” By Eliminating Non-Uniformed Personnel Pension Plans? TAGS: ballpark | baseball | continuous improvement | craig calcaterra | customer experience | cut | dollar foolish | employees | enterprise | espnnewyork | executives | hardball talk | industry | lean | lean blitz consulting | major league baseball | minor league baseball | mlb | nbcsports | non-uniformed | operations | pennywise | pension | pension plans | process | respect for people | six sigma | sponsorships | sports | ticketing | waste reduction The two pillars of Lean are 1) reduction of waste activities and 2) respect for people. Some of the ways organizations respect their constituents are with fairness, sharing of best …Continue reading →

Long Lead Times on Johnny Football Texas A&M Jerseys TAGS: 2 | adidas | aggie | aggies | blitz | bulk | college | consulting | continuous improvement | darren | espn | flexibility | football | jersey | johnny | late | lean | lsu | major league baseball | manziel | margins | mlb | national football league | nfl | nickname | operations | optimization | ordering | overseas | process | revenue driver | rovell | shipping | six sigma | sports | texas a&m Texas A&M’s redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has certainly earned his nickname “Johnny Football” for both his passing and running abilities in leading his school to a solid season of …Continue reading →

Dirk Hayhurst on Positive Banned Substance Results TAGS: author | ball four | banned substance | blog | blogger | bullpen gospels | business | coach | dirk hayhurst | disrespect | garfoose | ignorance | jim bouton | lean blitz consulting | major league baseball | manager | marcus stroman | meetings | mlb | operations | organization | out of my league | ped | performance enhancing drugs | process | six sigma | sports | standardized | tampa bay rays | toronto blue jays | twitter | work | writer Full disclosure: I am a big Dirk Hayhurst fan. Dirk is a former Major League pitcher (who is presumably trying to get back to the bigs), but is probably better …Continue reading →

College Football and the Lack of PDCA TAGS: act | activity | alabama | ann arbor | appalachian state | check | college baseball | college basketball | college football | continuous improvement | crimson tide | cupcake | defects | do | errors | exhibition | football | inferior | lean blitz consulting | michigan | mlb | nba | nfl | nhl | nick saban | operations | opponents | pdca | plan | preseason | process | production | risk | scheduling | six sigma | south carolina | sports | waste Pretend for a moment you’re a company with a few manufacturing lines. Some are big, some are small, some are complex, and there’s one that gets a lot of attention …Continue reading →

A Link from ESPN, a Contribution, and Guest Post That Ruffled Some Feathers TAGS: baseball | baseball think factory | ben hill | ben's biz | blog | charleston | collegiate wood bat league | david schoenfield | diamond sports | draft | espn | feathers | home run derby | home runs | insidethebook | lean blitz consulting | leanblog.org | links | major league baseball | mark graban | minor | mlb | mlb.com | operations | pace of game | process | professional | quality | ruffle | scout | south atlantic league | south carolina | sports | statistics | summer | sweetspot | tangotiger | uss yorktown In the last few weeks I’ve been fortunate to provide contributions to some notable blogs and outlets. First, my analysis of the Major League Baseball pace-of-game regulations was shared by …Continue reading →

The Melky Cabrera Suspension and Why Continuous Improvement Principles Matter TAGS: 2012 | 50 games | 5S | audit | banned substance | baseball | blitz | buster olney | concessions | consulting | continuous improvement | equipment | espn | games | lean | level playing field | london | melky cabrera | mlb | notre dame football | olympics | operations | outfielder | ped | process | ryan braun | safety | san francisco giants | sports | stadium | steroids | testing | ticket sales | toyota way When I first started to write about lean and continuous improvement applications in sports, I was more focused on the business operations – ticket sales, concessions, stadium upkeep, equipment manufacturers, …Continue reading →

Enforcing Standardized Process & Major League Baseball Pace-of-Game TAGS: activity | agreement | andre | association | audit | bargaining | baseball | baseball tonight | basketball | batter | beckett | blitz | boston | bud | business | cba | chicago cubs | cincinnati | classic | cobb | collective | collective bargaining agreement | consulting | dawson | eric | espn | fantasy | fines | football | game | graban | hits | hours | insider | jonathan | josh | league | lean | lukas | major | mark | measure | mlb | mlbpa | official | operations | pace | padres | papelbon | paul | pete | pitcher | play | players | procedures | process | record | red sox | reds | rose | rotisserie | rules | ryne | san diego | sandberg | selig | show | six sigma | slow | sports | sportscenter | stephen | strasburg | suspensions | ty | umpire | uni-watch | violation | waiting | waste | wgn I first started watching Major League Baseball on television back in 1988 with the Chicago Cubs on WGN. At the time I was just a cursory fan – loved watching …Continue reading →

NCAA Tournament Instant Replay and Inconsistent Officiating TAGS: asheville | basketball | blitz | consensus | governing body | instant replay | jack cooley | lane | lean | mlb | nba | ncaa | nfl | notre dame | officials | operations | process | scoop jardine | sports | syracuse | tournament | unc | violation | xavier In Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament action, history was nearly made with a 16 seed almost knocking off a 1 seed for the first time ever. With the assistance of some questionable …Continue reading →

Process Breakdown Means Ryan Braun Isn’t Suspended TAGS: arbitration | arizona | associated press | baseball | blitz | braun | brewers | cdt | comprehensive drug testing | controle | cornwell | das | david | detroit free press | diamondbacks | dopage | downstairs | drug agreement | espn | espn.com | federal express | fedex | fox sports | jeff passan | laboratoire | laboratory | lean | major league baseball | mark fainaru-wada | miller park | milwaukee | mlb | montreal | most valuable player | mvp | national league | operations | outfielder | panel | playoffs | process | refrigerator | ryan | shyam | specimen | sports | suspension | synthetic | t.j.quinn | testosterone | usa today | wada | wisconsin | world anti-doping agency | world series | yahoo Fresh off his National League MVP campaign in which he led the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs, outfielder Ryan Braun tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which is a banned substance …Continue reading →

What Moneyball Can Teach Us About Lean TAGS: art howe | baseball | billy beane | blu-ray | boston red sox | brad pitt | carlos pena | change management | cleveland indians | continuous improvement | dvd | five whys | general manager | grady fuson | inefficiency | jeremy giambi | jonah hill | lean | lean blitz | major league baseball | mark shapiro | michael lewis | mlb | moneyball | movie | new york yankees | oakland athletics | paul depodesta | peter brand | philip seymour hoffman | poka-yoke | scott hatteberg | scouting | theo epstein | world series The book Moneyball by Michael Lewis was a paradigm-shifting revelation to the way baseball front offices evaluated and valued players – greater focus on specific statistics (on-base percentage) and valuing the …Continue reading →