Ranking the GM's
8. Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers
General managers are always going on about the virtues of building a strong farm system, and what they generally mean is that they want to win major league games so they can keep their jobs. Daniels has actually built a preposterously good system (Justin Smoak, Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland) over the last few years, bringing in talent every way you can, and now has his team positioned to contend for the next several years. That he has kept the major league team perfectly respectable on modest payrolls while overseeing this rebuilding project is really very impressive, and with a good run over the next couple of years he could well move up on this list.
about 2 years ago
laxtonto
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Seems a little high
You would think you’d have to accomplish more at the major league level to crack the top 10.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
Seems about right to me.
He made some mistakes, but he’s learned from ’em and made a lot of good moves since then.
Plus, don’t you have to be graded on a bit of a curve when you have Tom Hicks breathing down your neck and live in constant fear of not being able to make payroll?
The 40 Trumps All!!!
Hell, he may have moved up a spot
If MLB wasn’t writing the checks and Purke was actually signed.
I don’t think the handcuffing he has received on payroll has enough legs around here. I mean, everyone hates on Hicks, but how the heck would you like to be the GM forced to bottom-feed, and knowing your peers, future employers, and your very job are/were relying on the performance of the team?
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
I have little problem with this list.
But, what has Zoidberg done that Daniels hasn’t? I do think he seems like a smarter guy, but I’ll ask the question because how smart I think they seem like isn’t necessarily relevant.
Beane should be higher
and Minaya should be #30. Yeah he’s had some good moves along the way, but the Mets are becoming the Knicks of baseball.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 6:41 PM CST up reply actions
I can see Wade being worse than Minaya.
As putrid as Moore, Colletti and Sabean are, I can’t see calling them worse than Omar.
Minaya
I remember this quote from a few weeks ago because it made me laugh a little. Good thing I’m not a Met’s fan.
But even under that scenario, one veteran agent asked, "How can you have that payroll and still not have a starting catcher or first baseman, a second baseman you hate and no legitimate starters after Johan?"
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 6:54 PM CST up reply actions
+1
Beane should be higher. And, wtf is the deal on cASShman at #3?!? Cashman is a friggin meat stick. The guy spends the GDP of some countries and still only pulled off a championship for the first time in 10 years. And, their farm system is a joke.
Epstein is rated too high as well. BOS is the new NYY with their payroll. Epstein was high on the charts a few years ago, but he’s slipping…and for the same reason as cASShman. There’s no greatness in building a team with a virtually unlimited budget.
Marchman is a tool.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 7:12 PM CST up reply actions
I've always thought
Cashman was pretty saavy. He always has a big stack of chips, but it’s also really easy to mess that up, see: Cubs, Mets.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 7:16 PM CST up reply actions
Yes, but....
saying that he doesn’t suck like Cubs and Mets does not justify #3 ranking on GM list. He’s average, at best.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 7:19 PM CST up reply actions
the only year
they didn’t make the playoffs under Cashman, they still won 89 games. And for all that money they have to throw around, off the top of my head, I can’t think of one really bad contract they’ve had. I thought the Posada extension was a mistake at the time, but he was great last year. Anyway, I’d put Cashman in the “pretty damn good” category of GMs.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 7:25 PM CST up reply actions
Seriously?
He’s pedestrian. You say there are no bad contracts. Well, it depends on your perspective. Did he sign very good players? Yes. A doorknob can figure out the top free agent each offseason and sign him (i.e., CC Fatbathia, A-Knob, TexASSeria, etc.). That’s not hard.
Was paying A-Knob the amount they paid him a smart deal? No. Did they pay TexASSeira the too much? Yes. Horrible contracts.
You watch…Cashman has hamstrung that franchise with massive contracts and a weak farm system. Their rotation, beyond CC Fatbathia and AJ Burnhead, is a complete friggin joke this year. And, with Halladay being taken by PHI before he can get on the market won’t allow NYY to plug those holes anytime soon like they planned to. They’ve got nothing to trade.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 7:33 PM CST up reply actions
they have
Vazquez and Pettitte as their 3 and 4. Probably the best 3-4 combo in baseball. Do a little research next time.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 7:40 PM CST up reply actions
Stop...
You are embarrassing yourself. Best 3-4 combo is baseball. That’s a joke. You need to do your homework.
Pettitte will need to wear depends this season. And, if you did your research you’d know that he was average last season. He had a good post season — that’s it. You should pay more attention to the regular season and just mimick what you see in the post season. Pfft…telling me to do research.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 9:19 PM CST up reply actions
Pettitte
Pettitte was better than average and he had a better FIP and higher WAR than AJ Burnett last year. He was a very good #3 pitcher and should make an even better #4.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 9:42 PM CST up reply actions
Phil,
I could prob list the five people that it could be. I doubt he is anyone new.
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
He has a UID 259
Only 39 post since Nov. 20 2005
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
yea vazquez is a slouch
only finished 4th in the NL Cy Young last year. you are embarrassing yourself. give me a better 3-4.
"They’ve taken the Illini to the woodshed."
-Steve Lavin on Mizzou v. Illinois
by Jason Brynsvold on Mar 4, 2010 11:10 PM CST up reply actions
I'm having trouble believing this isn't just fueled by your inability to not hate on the Red Sox and Yankees.
I’m not sure if it was the awful nicknames that tipped me off.
There's some truth to that...but
I actually like BOS. Just don’t like NYY. All kidding aside, I think Cashman is a chump. I think you could stick a monkey in his job and he’d do just as well.
Basically, he has an a$$load of money. He goes out each offseason and just pays whatever it takes.
I honestly don’t get why people actually say he’s “savy” and thinks he’s #3 GM. Look at Beane. Look at Shapiro. Heck, I think Daniels is a much better GM than Cashman. Daniels has done a heck of a job in the last couple of years without a lot of resource. Ok, so he screwed up on a few trades early on. Big deal. Now…at this point…ranking him against others…Daniels is money.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 9:23 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry...Sally Sensitive...
I didn’t realize that this forum was explicitly for “objective” opinions only. Although I don’t like NYY, I still think that my opinion is valid about Cashman. He’s not #3. He’s not at the bottom of the list, but he’s not #3. That’s all I’m saying.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 5, 2010 7:45 PM CST up reply actions
If Cashman has the $$ to fix any mistake, so does Boston...
There is much more skill involved with the GM’s Bos and NYY franchises just due to the ridiculous standards they are held to.
Cashman has been to the playoffs 9 times, won his division 8 times, and won 3 WS titles since he became the GM in the 99 season. That is an unheard of track record. If his success is predicated due to the finances of the club, then why did the Yankees not even make the playoffs from 82 to 94?
Is his job made easier due to his finances, sure. But to say that it is just $$ that push his amazing track record of success in ludicrous. There are very few teams in the history of baseball that can compare to the run the Yankees have been on under Cashman.
You are letting the perception that the NYY are always good, have always been good and should always be in contention cloud the fact that they are like every other team.
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
good stuff, great point.
I still hate the Yanks, even more so after you pointed out their recent successes.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Whats sad
is that I agree that Cashman is overrated on this list. I also think that Ned Collette is a bit underrated. However stupid his moves are, he is still winning with the Dodgers (three division wins in his four years there). And Melvin? uh… yeah.
There are some other odd rankings, Jocketty is a good gm, but he’s only been with the Reds for one year, and what do you do with the newer guys. is Z that good? shouldn’t we give him some time to prove that his changes have some longer term effect.
I think that Daniels is underrated, and he’s going to look like a bloody genius over the next 5 years as his farm system continues to produce results (both for the team and in trades).
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
+1
That’s all I was saying. Cashman is overrated and Daniels is underrated.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 5, 2010 7:49 PM CST up reply actions
Carl Pavano is insulted
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
forgot about that one,
definitely bad
by Randy Richardson on Mar 4, 2010 9:06 PM CST up reply actions
hell, he just signed chan ho park...
joba cant get through the order the 3rd time, we destroyed phill coke…
are they awesome? hell yeah. but really? we grab oliver and they run Francisco Cervelli out as their backup catcher to a 40 year old catcher? and look at their OF…
Outfielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
11 Brett Gardner L/L 5-10 185 08/24/83
27 Greg Golson R/R 6-0 190 09/17/85
14 Curtis Granderson L/R 6-1 185 03/16/81
73 Jamie Hoffmann R/R 6-3 235 08/20/84
33 Nick Swisher S/L 5-11 210 11/25/80
22 Randy Winn
REALLY?
for reference:
Outfielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
41 Brandon Boggs S/R 5-11 205 01/09/83
29 Julio Borbon L/L 6-1 180 02/20/86
17 Nelson Cruz R/R 6-3 230 07/01/80
68 Craig Gentry R/R 6-2 190 11/29/83
32 Josh Hamilton L/L 6-4 235 05/21/81
7 David Murphy L/L 6-4 205 10/18/81
27 Vladimir Guerrero R/R 6-3 235 02/09/75
which outfield do you want? that payroll and your running that OF out there?
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
What's wrong with that OF?
I think they should’ve spent another mill and brought in a decent backup like a Reed Johnson, but their 3 starters are all pretty damn good.
It’s close, but I think I might rather have Gardner/Granderson/Swisher than Hamilton/Borbon/Cruz, though a lot of that is me not being sure just what the hell we have in Hambone.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on Mar 4, 2010 10:56 PM CST up reply actions
Miggy Velazquez
is going to blow them all away.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Please tell me you were trying to make a Miggy Velazquez shot somebody joke.
Cause if you were, I tip my cap to you once again, good sir.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
He will never be beaned
Ever.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Yup, the payroll certainly makes his job easier, but it doesn't make it autopilot.
He does a good job and he’s a savvy guy.
And the farm system was good very recently, it just had an unlikely number of let downs. Building a farm system and maintaining it at a high level year to year isn’t something that many GMs do; even the good ones usually have a down period. And the Yankees have less need to develop their prospects.
It helps that
you get Arod for .20 on the dollar too. Who knows how good Cashman is because there is no way you can judge him given his huge advantages.
It's true, it's pretty hard to judge him.
But just because he has a large payroll to work with doesn’t mean he’s “average at best” he does a good job with that payroll.
And he comes off as a bright guy interested in building teams based on the things that tend to translate in to winning, instead of being from the Dayton Moore or Kenny Williams school.
Some very good GMs couldn't handle the Yankees as well as Cash.
Cashman has done an incredible job of pulling away power from ownership, has reincorporated the amateur scouting and development departments into the real front office instead of being independent in Tampa, and also has continued to win. A lot of GMs can spend money, but they can’t deal with an owner like Cash has. He’s well-respected all around, and he’s a solid general manager on multiple levels.
I really don't think that was directed to you.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
Yeah...
…I think this is the point that the author of the original article was trying to get at. You could argue when he stepped into the situation that the players he had and money he had to spend made it easy for him to win. But the issue is, he had to have the ability to take the decision-making power away from George Steinbrenner. The year they didn’t make the playoffs was the culmination of the Steinbrenner way of doing things: overpaying stars who quickly pass their prime. Instead of continuing down that path, which would have been easy to do and would have earned him the all of the autopilot/monkey monikers, he got control of the team and changed the direction. Since then, the only huge contracts have been to younger guys (with the exception of A-Rod, but I think that’s a special case and they might have an opt-out) and they’ve focused on acquiring young guys in trades.
It’s hard to notice through the winning and the payroll that makes that of other big non-Boston teams look like minor league payrolls, but Cashman has done a pretty good job over the past few years.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Mar 4, 2010 10:37 PM CST up reply actions
Epstein is rated too high as well. BOS is the new NYY with their payroll. Epstein was high on the charts a few years ago, but he’s slipping…and for the same reason as cASShman. There’s no greatness in building a team with a virtually unlimited budget.
Marchman is a tool.
by Austin Ranger on Mar 4, 2010 5:12 PM PST
you use championships as a measuring stick for cashman and then completely ignore the fact that Boston has won them under epstein – who has not only won championships but has done so against the yankees and their “virtually unlimited budget”
defeatist pussy lives here
by sam in so cal on Mar 5, 2010 9:00 AM CST up reply actions
I think Melvin's a bit too high, but it's not like he's a true abortion or anything.
I’m trying to think of what moves of his I’ve hated.
Loved the contract they got Braun to sign. I liked flipping Hardy for Gomez. Liked the Wolf signing. Liked shocking the world and going with Laporta, then liked it when they flipped him for CC. Liked the Mike Cameron signing.
Hated the Suppan and Riske and Latroy Hawkins deals. He’s never been great at building a farm system.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
Yeah, his farm construction abilities are pretty sad.
But I’m also not dropping him out of the top half of the league, just out of the top 10.
The farm is in pretty good shape
I have the impression that he’s pretty hands off with the farm, although I sure don’t know. He’s been trading away a lot of pieces, most not that significant over the years.
Zduriencik
Ok, this guy is already overrated. Yes, he’s done well, made some smart moves, but Seattle was a bit lucky last year, he’s not the only GM paying attention to defense, and he was given a huge gift when Johjima walked away from his contract. And jeez, Philadelphia called him and asked if he was interested in Lee. Uh, yeah, I think I’m interested, duh.
Seattle had nowhere to go but up when he took over, it will be much more important to judge what he does from this point forward after all the obvious moves have been made.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
My thoughts as well...
I don’t think Zduriencik or Melvin should be in the top 10.
It’s way too soon to give Zduriencik this much credit.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
I'm fine with Zduriencik in the top 10.
But I definitely agree with t ball. He’s a smart guy who’s made some pretty intelligent moves that shockingly few GMs would, but that’s nothing that the Beanes and Daniels of the world haven’t already done, and he’s brand new and his team hasn’t actually done anything to validate his moves.
Doc Zoinks...
Personally I love the guy, and I hate that he’s in Seattle now.
I guess I can see trading for Lee as being obvious, as well as picking Ackley, but people have screwed up obvious draft choices before, and there plenty of other teams out there who could’ve traded for Lee.
Plus he’s made lots of not-so-obvious moves.
The Gutz trade was brilliant. The Pittsburg trade was pretty damn good. Getting Bradley while dumping some of Silva’s abortion was good. Aardsma worked out pretty well.
Don’t know how I feel about the deal they gave Chone Figgins or swapping Morrow for Brandon League, but I don’t hate either move.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I thought the Gutz trade was pretty obvious.
I was part of his fan club devoted to spreading his underratedness to the masses, though.
Okay, so what does pretty obvious mean, cause I think I'm reading it wrong.
I’m not trying to be a jerk, I really don’t understand.
I don’t see how he shouldn’t get credit for trading for Gutz.
How was it an obvious move?
Cause Gutz was obviously good? If that’s the case (which I don’t know that it is), wouldn’t he still get credit for being the guy who went out and, you know, traded for him?
The 40 Trumps All!!!
No, he should get credit.
I think he’s a good GM, too, Dirk, I just don’t think that was earth shattering or anything. I’m not taking credit away from him because it was a good move. I’m just not giving it the credit I would give someone for making moves that start charting ground in to new ways of team building (the M’s are not the first team to realize defense is cheap to get).
I definitely think he looks like a good GM, but I don’t think he’s done enough as a good GM to be ahead of a few other guys I think are good GMs, and he isn’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking yet.
he's apparently going to play Bradley in LF full time while Griffey Jr DH's
that can’t be considered smart
That is a little baffling to me.
Bradley is a good fielder. So my best guess is he figures he improves the defense and doesn’t think Bradley is actually prone to health problems when he’s in the field (which seems unlikely to be correct) and pretty much has to play the all-time face of the franchise no matter how sucky.
Doesn’t make it smart until it works out, but that’s the only way I can make it make sense.
Oh, god... I hadn't heard that.
I figured they’d roll with Saunders in LF, with Bradley getting some games out there just to clear some DH ab’s for Griffey and whichever of Garko/Kotchman isn’t playing 1b that day.
I hope they do that, though.
I’d much rather be proven wrong about thinking Zoinks is a good GM than have the M’s be good at baseball.
Fuck the Mariners.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I can't imagine they will do that
I think they’re delaying the inevitable with Griffey. Maybe they will let him suck for a while and let Bradley play some field. Then when Bradley gets hurt, they’ll just bring him back as the DH and waive Griffey. You gotta think Zoinks is thinking something like that.
But the one thing that I do find interesting is that Bradley worked out really well here under Wash but otherwise, managers just haven’t put up with his shit. I wonder if Wakamatsu is really prepared for Bradley telling him his knees are sore and letting him rest. Between Ichiro, Griffey, and Bradley – you have some real potential ego clashes. Our team was really the perfect situation for Bradley – the M’s might not be.
The Lee trade
my point is that Philly called him (I think) without contacting other teams or letting other GMs know he was available. And it doesn’t seem like Philly tried to hard to get a great price for him. It just seems like half the GMs in the league could have gotten a deal as good if they’d only had the opportunity. Maybe I’m wrong on the details.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I've wondered this, too.
This would be my biggest ‘regret’ of the offseason. I would gladly give up an equivalent package of talent, though maybe not an equivalent package based on rank (meaning I wouldn’t give up the Rangers #4, #8 and whatever prospects because I think JD could match the Mariner’s pieces without touching the top 4). Lee, Harden, Feldman, Lewis, Hunter with Holland, McCarthy, and Harrison in the wings not only dramatically increases the chances of winning the division, it also provides some decent matchups in the subsequent theoretical playoffs.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Mar 4, 2010 10:43 PM CST up reply actions
Well, Lee has made it known that he will go to the biggest bidder this offseason
and with the ownership situation, easy to see why nothing happened there.
We need to not always make hard work out of sex- Rick Carlisle.
That's pretty maddening.
I know Halladay is better, but I’d much rather have Lee at the price the M’s paid for this year.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Mar 4, 2010 10:51 PM CST up reply actions
Would've been nice.
Aumont bombed in his debut yesterday or today.. I can’t remember.
We need to not always make hard work out of sex- Rick Carlisle.
I think the big thing with Z
is that he has gotten rid of a lot of very bad contracts very quickly. Sure, part of that is Johjima walking away, but it’s also getting something of value back for Silva and his ilk. Acquiring Gutierrez has been a pretty incredible move, but while they might have predicted the insanity of his CF defense, I’m not sure they thought he would be as good as he was offensively last year. So I don’t know how much ‘credit’ he should get for it-I mean, they did target him, so it counts for something. I agree about the Lee trade being, if as reported, kind of fluky as far as evaluating him as a GM.
The most interesting thing to me about the Mariners is that they are basically a team of stars plus players with underrated skills. And since they have more 4+ WAR guys projected for this year than anybody else to go with some pretty mediocre players (even counting the underrated stats), it makes me wonder if they will be in position to rapidly and dramatically improve their team via trade. The Figgins signing looks good (at least for the first half, probably more), but it just replaces Beltre. It will be interesting to see what comes next. It seems like that is an easier team to upgrade than say, the Rangers, who have decent players spread all over and whose improvement most likely has to come through patience in letting young guys develop.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Mar 4, 2010 10:50 PM CST up reply actions
The only explanation is that he's infinitely better than his predecessor
which isn’t hard to do when your predecessor has zero intrinsic value. Bill Bavasi made John Hart look like Connie Mack
Go Rice Owls!
On the other hand...
I think he has the worst 5 GM’s dead on. You can argue about which order they should be in, but those would be the 5 worst GM’s on my list as well.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
melvin 6?
yeah, you really can’t take that list seriously.
JD should be top 3
"Clearly, I've been wrong. VY is awesome." - AJM
Melvin
Clearly, the extent of the research on Melvin for this piece was asking Grandpa Urine and Reevo what they thought of him.
by LoneStarBallUser on Mar 4, 2010 7:22 PM CST up reply actions
Top 3?
Ok, fanboy. Melvin is definitely too high, but Daniels should be somewhere around 8-10.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Melvin
The article clearly loves the Brewers, since their justification for Zduriencik being #5 was basically for building Milwaukee’s farm system through the draft (I don’t think the author has read Adam’s take on Milwaukee’s drafts)
Go Rice Owls!
I would certainly rank Zoorent above Melvin
just not quite that high. I’m actually not that upset with Z’s ranking, just some of the verbiage that’s being thrown around about him these days.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Josey after reading such a glowing review...
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
34 posts out of almost 5000? I'd say that's pretty reasonable.
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
Says the guy with 27 dedicated to you know who.
by TooLegitToQuit on Mar 4, 2010 9:44 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Yes...
but how many does he have dedicated to the race of 7-11 employees?
That’s the key factor.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Do you cry yourself to sleep on your huge pillow?
I think you widen your search; there’s got to be way more comments than that.
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
by Brian Thomas on Mar 5, 2010 10:31 AM CST up reply actions
Are you asking me if I'm gay, Longhorn?
Is that your question?
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
by Brian Thomas on Mar 5, 2010 11:01 PM CST up reply actions
I guess putting together a team that actually
wins at the major league level wasn’t very important in this evaluation.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Yes the last two years were an abortion
The team has improved the last 3 years in wins. You hate JD as much as 90% of LSB hates you.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
you have to look at all aspects
not just the last josey booger you pulled
out of your nose.
Who gives a shit what Josey says.............................
by Lil' Jonny Donuts on Mar 4, 2010 8:11 PM CST up reply actions
Emphasis is mine...
The most important is success. That doesn’t necessarily mean winning, but it does mean meeting a reasonable goal, be that winning championships, cleaning up the mess your predecessor made, building a quality farm system or just putting a good team on the field with little money to spend.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
you forgot
cleaning up the mess your predecessor made,
"My expectations today are that we're going to be extremely competitive and if we don't win our division, I'll be disappointed." Nolan Ryan
To be fair, I don't think JD gets credit for cleaning up the mess his predecessor made. . .
. . . because his first act was to make a different mess. So he’s kind of cleaning up his own mess.
Not that “ability to adapt and learn” isn’t another good trait.
So didn't JD
inherit a young team one year removed from winning 89 games that brought almost everybody important back and then receive a very nice 21% bump in payroll not to mention a farm system with AG, Kinsler, Eddy V, Danks and CJ Wilson about to barge thru the major league door?
I thought so.
Why the fuck does JD have one winning record (which was only accomplished when Nolan Ryan held his hand) and why did attendance drop by nearly 600,000 three years after the stupid sonofabitch was given the keys to the car?
Thank God Nolan raised the bar to 92 wins this year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
this should be fun.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Elephants In The Room
Nobody Should Dwell On in LSB kicks off with JD’s ability to build a team that wins in The Show.
Nelson Cruz Defensive Fuck Ups comes in with cleats high second followed by Ron Washington speaking.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Not trying to start anyting.....
….but your inability to get past the early mishaps of JD + all your other Daily Cut and Paste Jobs totally contradicts the Walesian “Let the Healing Begin” meme…….you know that right?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Ryin
Can JD have at least two winning seasons out of five before we talk about healing?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Wasn't my ?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
The...
wheels on the bus go round and round.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
We're also
supposed to really STFU when Chris Davis rolls a 3 for 44 with 24Ks because you know, he’s helping us with his “defense.”
Don’t you dare talk about that in LSB!!!
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
So Josey...
I’ve got this sister who has these really radical opinions yet she’s really convinced that she’s right all the time. No one really gets along with her and she just doesn’t really understand why b/c her opinions are dead on and everyone else is crazy. I was talkin to my wife the other day and we were trying to figure out how she doesn’t catch on and realize she’s the idiot. Sound familiar?
am i the onl person that thinks nolan
probably puts a lot more pressure on the coaching staff than JD? maybe im reading this differently but i get the feeling nolan may always completely let his eye off JD but trusts him. i think nolan feels he may have to push wash to get the most out of him. i just dont think nolan kicks JD to the curb even if they won 75 games if certain people get hurt. we can al visualize sitations where enough went wrong that this club fought bravely and played well but given their situation won 79 games and did well in doing so. nolan may have high expectations, he may know how to use his texas spur on his boot just right to put pressure on the right places in an organization, but he isnt stupid, i think even he understands the ranger of wins this club could vary in and regardless of talk i dont think he is impatient enough to just chop off every1’s head.
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
Nolan knows what the hell he's doing.
JD is on the clock this year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
You have been on the clock for years now
Yet here you are.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
Yes the clock is ticking
I agree that the Rangers must win right out of the box this year. If they struggle in April and May then Wash is gone. If Wash gets the boot JD won’t be far behind (probably the end of the season). JD should not be in the upper half of the GMs until he has watched his team in the playoffs. The whole farm system development has been great but it is not what defines your major league team. His supporters like to frame the issue by claiming he made mistakes in the past but is so much better now. But I consider each year his team fails to make the playoffs as a continuing failure. Every year of Wash is a continuing failure. And on and on. This team has had incredibly weak leadership with Hicks, JD and Wash and they all need to be memories. New ownership – good, Nolan in charge – good, JD/Wash gone – good.
Foolish consistency is the hobgobblin of little minds - Emerson
Second place not good enough for you the last two years? Seeing the farm produce and the team getting better last year not good enough for you? JD has put this team in a position to be very good for some time. Maybe you would like to have John Hart back.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
"Second place not good enough for you the last two years"
What an idiot.
JD was the sole architect of a team that gave up 967 runs and committed 132 errors and you’re making that some kind of bullet point for JD!?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Was the team getting better Josey?
I guess you liked last place. In my world idiot second place is much better than last place and This Thing is getting better.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
Problem with replacing Daniels
I can see that if the team struggles we should replace Wash. Not that I don’t like him, or that its any of my business, but there’s an old saying, easier to replace one coach than 25 players.
OTOH, replacing Daniels says that you are unhappy with the direction the team is going, and that’s just not true. After having a joke of a farm system (sure two all stars, but Volquez and Danks are no better than mid rotation pitchers and Wilson is really not much better than Joaquin Benoit only left handed). we now have the recognizably one of the best farm systems in baseball. (Elvis is a future all star, Borbon is at least a solid major leaguer, Holland and Feliz are TORP talents, as is Perez, and Scheppers is certainly closer level talent, maybe Font too, with another dozen pitchers who could contribute at the major league level in the system, plus an all star talent like Smoak, solid hitter Moreland, and the potentials of Profar and others, like Difazio and Teagarden).
But, if you replace Daniels, then the next guy you bring in might change the drafting philosophy, or the develpmental philosophy or how we value our prospects and trade them, or whatever.
Don’t blame Daniels unless the team starts to regress from a talent portion, and he starts doing stupid shit like trading Smoak, Perez, and Feliz for Juan Pierre.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
Hell no!
Did you see where Ned Colleti ended up? Now that the wallet’s closed for the Dodgers, that team is going to fall apart.
"Jurick Profar is tired of practice!! I wanna play I wanna play….waiting for march 12 to go to spring training! to kill some pichers:D:D I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!" - Jurickson Profar
Tony Reagins
should drop 2 spots for giving that terrible contract to Fernando “I don’t pitch, I throw” Rodney.
"Jurick Profar is tired of practice!! I wanna play I wanna play….waiting for march 12 to go to spring training! to kill some pichers:D:D I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!" - Jurickson Profar
My main 2 issues were Melvin at 6 and Shapiro at 22
I’d put Shapiro in the top 12 or so, and he used to be higher.
Melvin is the epitome of middle of the pack mediocrity.
And I agree w/ the others above, Cashman is a badass.
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Yeah, I missed Shapiro being that low.
I’ve never actually ranked all the GMs, but I find it hard to believe I wouldn’t put Shapiro in the top 10.
I think this smells of bias, as he seems to take a rather overtly "Nuh-Uh, you guys!" tone in his blurb for him.
…he has to be the most overrated executive of the last few years. His Indians were widely praised as one of the best-run clubs in baseball for years, but despite immense reservoirs of talent they’ve had two winning seasons in his eight years at the helm
Seems like he’s being punished for other people thinking he’s super great and awesome.
I like Shapiro overall, though.
The Colon deal is one of the all time epic wins. (But do we discount it at all cause the guy he ripped off was Minaya?)
Getting Carlos Santana for Casey Blake.
Flipping an expiring CC and getting Laporta.
Shin Soo-Choo for Ben Brousard (Giggles), etc…
I’ve hated some of his moves, though.
Gave up Brandon Phillips.
Thought he got piss poor Gutz and Lee (though he may have been hamstrung on Lee by the number of teams willing/able to add payroll this July).
The Hafner extension is a heavy burden for that franchise to bear and will be for a long time.
Found picking shitty Beau Mills when Jason Heyward on the board to be pretty dumb at the time, and it looks like an epic fuckup now.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
People make the mistake
of judging the “moves” a GM makes instead of judging the practices and processes of the front office he runs. Shapiro runs a good front office. Some of their moves didn’t work out, doesn’t automatically make him a bad GM. A GM can make the right trade for all the right reasons at the right time for the right price and it could still turn out terribly. It doesn’t mean it was a stupid trade and it doesn’t mean he’s a bad GM. I like your though about him being punished for what people thought he was going to be, seems about right. I no longer think he’s top notch, but at the same time I realize the Indians have had some bad luck.
Same thing with almost any GM. Kenny Williams gets too much credit in my book. I think he’s benefited from a very unusually healthy pitching rotation the last several years. I think Williams is not a bad GM, but he’s not in the top third for me.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
by t ball on Mar 4, 2010 10:17 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
Woah.
I thought Shapiro stepped down? I think he is still the team president but not the GM anymore.
"There's not a man alive who can whup me. I'm too fast. I'm too smart. I'm too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked." --Muhammad Ali
Makes more sense.
"There's not a man alive who can whup me. I'm too fast. I'm too smart. I'm too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked." --Muhammad Ali
OT:
"Two years ago, I played, and I was good," Bradley said. "I go to Chicago, not good. I’ve been good my whole career. So, obviously, it was something with Chicago, not me."
Wow…that’s one special kinda douche bag right there.
"We pitched, we caught the ball, we ran the bases, we had good days where we out-fundamentalized the other team." - Ronald Washington
Likewise
I’m still kinda ticked we didn’t go after him, actually. Vlad is a nice consolation prize, but Milton woulda been perfect for our needs.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
Do you think he will do well for the Mariners?
"We pitched, we caught the ball, we ran the bases, we had good days where we out-fundamentalized the other team." - Ronald Washington
by Pocket Ninja on Mar 4, 2010 10:54 PM CST up reply actions
Don't see why he wouldn't
Though if they really plan to play him in LF he’ll hopefully he’ll be taking some of his usual DL trips for our sake. But he’s a damn good hitter when he’s healthy.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
I think he'll have to spend half
his playing time as DH to be productive. It seems like any more than that a he breaks down pretty quickly. I hope he sucks ass like he did as a Cub.
"We pitched, we caught the ball, we ran the bases, we had good days where we out-fundamentalized the other team." - Ronald Washington
by Pocket Ninja on Mar 4, 2010 11:02 PM CST up reply actions
I think the issue with ranking GM's is...
…what question are you trying to answer? Are you trying to answer who would be the best GM for an average team in an average market with average talent level to inherit? If that’s the case, then Cashman and probably even Theo move down a few pegs because we have little to no evidence to prove that they could be successful in this environment. At the same time, there’s no guarantee that a guy like Beinfest for the Marlins would excel with more resources because there’s no guarantee that they would use them wisely.
It’s one of the negatives of JD: we know he’s learned a lot and developed as a GM during his tenure, but we’re still not positive that once he’s given more funds and the pressure that comes with them that he will be able to perform capably. You could argue Zduriencik falls into this same category, but he’s pulled off enough moves that have brought in very talented major league players (Lee, Figgins, Gutierrez) without depleting the farm system (like the rumored Halladay trade would have done last summer).
The truth is, it’s hard to rank the GM’s because they’re all asked to perform in different environments, so how do you compare them to each other? What’s your base?
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
It is simply ridiculous that Zduriencik is ranked #5
There is simply no basis for that ranking at all.
Go Rice Owls!
I'd wait another year
before ranking him that high, but so far he’s done nothing to make me want to rank him much lower. I think people have been too quick to anoint him a genius because things have worked out well for him so far, but he definitely belongs in the top third for me because I think he’s running a very good front office that is making smart decisions with a good plan.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Except that his team won 85 games
the year after they lost 101 games….in The Show.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Dayton Moore
isn’t a great GM, but the Royals’ minor league system is pretty stocked. I predict that he will be fired in the next year or so, and his predecessor will reap the benefits Moore’s restocking the Royals’ system.
That's why they call them business sox
I don't know that I'd call it pretty stocked.
It doesn’t suck, but it’s no great shakes, either. It manages to be decent thanks to some good depth and potential, but Goldstein doesn’t give them a single five star and “only” 10 guys above two stars. Sickels doesn’t give them a single A. Keith Law ranks them 9th.
It’s also had a decent number of disappointments recently. It’s a solid to good farm system that could help the MLB team if they’d stop giving up good prospects for nothing and stop having set backs, but I don’t think anyone should call it stocked. Maybe that’s semantics, but, to me, a stocked farm system is one like the Rays or the Rangers.
And, of course, he does do things like trading those players for the Yuniesky Betancourts of the world. He has a reputation as a solid talent evaluator, but with the understanding he’s shown of baseball in his time as GM, I’m willing to bet a lot of that minor league strength is luck. You saw that GM’s Corner video, right?
I think
I think it’s a very underrated system, and it’s pretty deep in terms of pitchers.
Montgomery is vastly underrated, Crow will be a 2 or 3, and Melville and Duffy could shake out as middle of the rotation guys. On the offensive side, who knows about Moustakes and Hosmer, but Myers looks like a great bat — of course, so did Max Ram.
It’s not an elite system, but, in my opinion, it’s going to produce some good major league talent — if Moore doesn’t trade them all for Aaron Boone.
That's why they call them business sox
Moore is such a strange case.
On one hand, he has drafted pretty well, and the farm system is approaching “loaded” status (love Hosmer, Crow and Moustakous).
On the other hand, some of his MLB moves have been absolutely baffling. A two year deal for Jason Kendall? Yuniesky Betancourt? Kyle Farnsworth as a starter?
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
Jose Guillen
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 5, 2010 8:06 AM CST up reply actions
Hosmer & Moustakas
Neither one of them had a very good year last year, fwiw.
"Jesus, Spanish- our jobs aren't enough, now you want our words?"
-- Sterling Archer
OT: Neftali
It’s always bothered me.
Is it pronounced NEF tuh lee, or nef TAL ee, or ?? I’ve heard at least these two variations. Someone should ask him for the official correct pronunciation.
Although, he’s such a badass, it would be disrespectful to refer to him as anything other than Mr. Feliz.
You are correct
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
In his defense, you are a retarded cuntbag by LiamP on Mar 4, 2010
Yes he is
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
The call me
MR TIBBS!!!!!!!
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
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