GMs with the hardest offseason jobs
Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2008 9:02 PM
1. Brian Sabean, Giants…New management from within the same ownership group changes the dynamic for this team. After reporting to the same people for 11 years, there are new bosses for Sabean. And with that, a clear mandate for a new way to do business.
It started last winter with the arrival of John Barr to supplant Dick Tidrow in amateur scouting. Barr's first draft was regarded as outstanding. The bottom line in San Francisco: There is hope. For the first time in a decade, the Giants’ farm system has produced some promising position players. Tim Lincecum won a Cy Young in his first full season. The ballpark isn't so new anymore but is still an attraction. Yet, the Giants have four straight losing seasons, attendance dropped in 2008 and the economy won't help the hope of a rebound, and they are saddled with Barry Zito's contract. Still, the NL West is relentlessly mediocre, assuming Manny Ramirez is not back with the Dodgers, thus with the right moves, Sabean could put the Giants back into contention more quickly than imagined.
As first suggested here a month ago, don't be surprised if they aggressively kick the tires on CC Sabathia. They have sales points: his hometown, a pitcher's park and the National League allows Sabathia to pursue his second love, hitting.
2. Jon Daniels, Rangers…At some point, owner Tom Hicks will want to see his team close the gap with the Angels. After the free spending of the A-Rod era, Texas has managed to go with a consistent payroll in the high $60-million range over the last three years.
The Rangers have traded for many young players in the hopes of avoiding the vagaries of the free-agent market. They have changed managers, allowed cornerstone player Mark Teixeira to leave, and still there has been no progress.
The American League is key here: the Rangers can't get anyone out. They play in a hitter's paradise but at some point they have to find a way to pitch in their own yard. Texas was dead last in AL in pitching with a particularly bad bullpen. And the new team president is Nolan Ryan. How long do you think he will stand for that?
3. Jim Bowden, Nationals…He’s still in limbo while the feds investigate possible bonus skimming from the Dominican Republic. The first question is how many of the shots are called by Bowden? Assume he is still the nominal GM and realize that Washington had the lowest attendance and TV ratings for any team in the first year of a new ballpark. The team was horrible with little hope. The farm system still reels from its neglect during the final Montreal years. Washington was a success story in its first few years but MLB cannot afford to have the franchise lose any more momentum with the fans.
4. Ned Colletti, Dodgers…He was astounding in acquiring Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake without spending a dime of the owner's money. Now, though, the populace has been energized and Ramirez may end up elsewhere. If the owner won't spend to keep Ramirez, what is Colletti's Plan B? There is the trove of young talent but hanging over the GM are the Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones deals.
5. Brian Cashman, Yankees…No list involving GMs and their challenges this winter could be legitimate without including the Yankees’ GM. Cashman has a new stadium that should prove recession-proof (although reports this week indicated some suites are still unsold) and substantial money has come off the 2008 payroll. He can outbid anyone for a free agent if he so chooses. He still has faith in his young pitchers. The path Cashman chooses this winter can only have one end for him to survive: October baseball in the Bronx.
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. NOV. 14 IS OPENING DAY FOR FREE AGENTS…and Scott Boras fired the first salvo by announcing that he will entertain bids for Manny Ramirez, or in other words, that the Dodgers can't be serious with their initial bid. Here's the interesting twist: Angels owner Arte Moreno went on his own radio station Wednesday and praised Ramirez. Thus were born mountains of rumors that the Angels will bid for Ramirez. Just think of this: If Ramirez signs elsewhere, the Dodgers will have paid ZERO for two and a half months of inspired hitting that revitalized the franchise. Perhaps their getting Ramirez is the best trade in recent memory – obtaining a future Hall-of-Fame player for virtually nothing!
2. NO FREE AGENT IS AS INTRIGUING…to me as Francisco Rodriguez. In the aforementioned interview, Moreno declared that the Angels were ready to turn the page of the closer. The point: In an era when mediocre starting pitchers land multi-year contracts of at least $10 million per year, a premier closer may not find a similar market. How do teams value a closer, not for the short term but as a long-term investment? K-Rod will provide the clearest answer to that question.
3. CLOSERS, PART TWO…Kerry Wood is looking for a multi-year deal and the Cubs said no through the acquisition of Kevin Gregg from Florida. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry admitted the team was unwilling to give the fragile Wood a long-term commitment, although Wood thrived in the closer's role. Between K-Rod and Wood, Mets general manager Omar Minaya has two veteran options available to fill such a role in the Mets' bullpen. Again, how does a team, in this case the Mets, value a closer?
4. WORDS TO REMEMBER…after the free agent mania has ended in February: "You almost never get fair value on a free agent…If you have to go to the market. You're going to have to pay more than the player is really worth." Those quotes were by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to the New York Times. Although Cashman's devotion to player development is clear, it is likely he will lead the team that breaks spending records this winter.
5. AND THE YANKEES’ SPENDING HAS STARTED…with the trade for Nick Swisher. He replaces an Oakland predecessor, Jason Giambi, at first base. The Yankees inherit $22 million over three years for Swisher, almost the cost of Giambi's final season. This seems to close the door on a Giambi return to the Bronx but does the Matt Holliday trade eliminate a potential reunion between Giambi and the A's?
