SI's Jon Heyman on MLB GMs
I found this link through MLBTR, but SI's Jon Heyman ranks what he believes are the top ten GMs in MLB today. The full list looks like this:
- Theo Epstein, BoSox
- Billy Beane, A's
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers
- Mark Shapiro, Indians
- Brian Cashman, Yankees
- Pat Gillick, Phillies
- Josh Byrnes, Diamondbacks
- Omar Minaya, Mets
- Dan O'Dowd, Rockies
Now, some of these picks I agree with (Epstein, Dombrowski, Shapiro, and to a degree Minaya). But putting Kenny Williams on the list boggles me. The best thing that Heyman can say for Williams is that he was at the helm for the first White Sox championship team in decades, but then goes on to concede that a lot of Williams's recent moves have done more harm than good. Heyman doesn't mention any of the numerous bad trades Williams has made or the fumbles he made during the offseason (such as letting Torii Hunter slip through his fingers). If I were making a list of the ten worst GMs in baseball today, well, then I'd feel compelled to include Williams.
But this is not a diary entry solely dedicated to basing Kenny Williams (fun as that activity is). Other points worth noting from my perspective:
I'm not sure just how high I'd rank Brian Cashman solely because he so consistently overpays for FA's that end up redefining the term "horrible."
I'd rank Towers way higher than 10th, and certainly not in a tie with Williams--that's just an insult to Towers. Some say Towers may be one of the best GMs in baseball today, if not the best.
One of the warrants Heyman gives for ranking the Diamondback's Byrnes so high is the Haren trade. I'm willing to see this one pan out, but the D-Backs took a huge risk with that trade--they completely gutted their vaunted farm system for the guy. Heyman seems to like risk-taking GMs, but right now, I'm still neutral at best on the Haren trade.
It'll be interesting to see how Michael Hill does at the Marlins under the thumb of the cheapest franchise owner in MLB today.
Here's the link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/02/18/heyman.bestGMs/index.html
0 recs |
24 comments
Comments
Oh, and GMDM got mentioned as a
by DarthYoshi on Feb 18, 2008 7:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
i have a hard time considering theo first
yea right
the red sox wallet saves him from a lot of tough decisions, like resigning lowell and varitek to sweetheart deals
by LeoBloom on Feb 18, 2008 7:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Epstein is a pretty ruthless GM
by DarthYoshi on Feb 18, 2008 7:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Can't forget....
I agree that Epstein probably deserves to be on this list, given his keen eye for young talent, but let's make no mistake that he's overpaid on occasion for some pretty marginal talent.
by Royals Nation on Feb 18, 2008 10:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That's the difference
If you give the average knowledgeable baseball a $150-200 million payroll to work with and a merely competent front office and scouting staff, he'd put his team in contention every year, win some pennants and make it onto Heyman's list.
by NYRoyal on Feb 18, 2008 11:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I type too quickly
by NYRoyal on Feb 18, 2008 11:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That's One Smart
by philofthenorth on Feb 19, 2008 12:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Minaya - Bannister trade =
by doublestix on Feb 18, 2008 7:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
THANK YOU!
Reyes and Wright were already in the system when he got there.
Overpaid horribly for Delgado, Glavine, Alou, Kaz Matsui and Pedro.
Huuuge payroll advantage in the little boys' league and he has ONE playoff series victory plus the biggest stretch collapse of the divisional era.
What a frickin' joke.
by howserfan on Feb 20, 2008 11:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Kazmir for Zambrano
by NYRoyal on Feb 20, 2008 11:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Shapiro
by lordbyronk on Feb 18, 2008 7:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think these rankings are a joke
- Kenny Williams in the top 10 is laughable. Take this year for instance. He's gone for a win-now strategy which has dumped the best 5 prospects in the organization so that they can maybe have a .500 season. So, they won't contend this year and his trades have made sure they won't contend for the next 3+ years. Great job, Kenny!
- Cashman and Epstein. They have certainly been successful, but it is hard to be unsuccessful with $150-200 million payrolls which have been 25-100% greater than the #3 payroll in MLB and two to three times the average MLB payroll. How much of their success is their wise moves and how much of it is the fact that they can afford to buy and retain the best talent? How good of a job would these guys have done with $40-70 million payrolls?
by NYRoyal on Feb 18, 2008 8:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
In general
by DarthYoshi on Feb 18, 2008 8:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Gillick
I'd have Beane lower, Towers and Byrnes higher, and I'd probably have Friedman and Daniels up there and Williams around 27 or so.
by wildthang on Feb 18, 2008 8:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Agree
I think Jim Hendry is kinda underrated, I'd have him in my top ten.
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 19, 2008 9:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
huh
by doublestix on Feb 19, 2008 12:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
why all the love for Towers?
by LeoBloom on Feb 19, 2008 1:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pads are consistent contenders
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 19, 2008 9:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just for fun
The Good: Epstein, Dombrowski, Beane, Towers, Melvin, Byrnes, O'Dowd, Shapiro,
In-between: Gillick, Hendry (post-2006), Cashman, Ricciardi, Colletti
The Bad: Minaya, Krivsky, Williams, Bowden, Wade, Sabean, Flanagan (who runs the show in BAL these days? Does it matter?), Bavasi
Too soon, but leaning good: Huntington, Daniels, Friedman
Too soon, but leaning in-between: Mozeliak, Wren, Hill
Too soon, but leaning bad: Reagins, Smith
Moves such as trading for Santana and trading for Swisher do not make a G.M. good. Those are moves big-budget teams make. Heyman comes across as a homer for big-market G.M.'s, and one of those analysts who overcredits lavish spending as "aggressiveness" (which is good for ball).
by Royals Nation on Feb 19, 2008 1:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Baltimore GM
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 19, 2008 9:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It's a pointless exercise.
As for the GMs it's sipmly impossible to judge. they're working under different circustances, with different goals (short run anyway) , different budgets, different level of autonomy.
Brian Cashman will never be rated well even if he wins like 20 strait WS title . Dayton Moore should receive praise but no one is looking at KC. Ned Colletti and Bill Bavasi are abosalute morons but are saved by their big budget and carry over super talents from their predecossor or simply getting really lucky.
It's a pretty fruitless exercise. had luck shifted a little and the Red Sox say... not made the playoff last year (say if Curt Schilling blew out his shoudler before last year and not after and the Yankees didn't have such a poor start) wouldn't everyone be piling on Theo for spending 100M on a league average Dice-K and trading away Hanely Ramirez while having the likes of Julio Lugo at short?
by RollingWave on Feb 19, 2008 7:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I can't believe
Epstein traded Ramirez for a young ace who has now pitched two teams to the world series title (Josh Beckett) and one of the AL's best 3B (Mike Lowell). Epstein then had the foresight to buy out Beckett's first three years of free agency years with a ridiculously below market deal that covers his prime (age 28-30 seasons).
Matsuzaka at age 26 was better than league average last year, and actually pitched very well until the end of August -- his ERA was 3.88 on September 1. It is a little early to write him off.
And if Curt Schilling had blown his shoulder out, the Sox would have been just fine with Clay Bucholz and Jon Lester sitting around. The Red Sox player development system is one of the industry models. Every year, it produces a couple of above average major league regulars, who the team then pays close to nothing for the next few years. The depth, as much as the money, allows the Red Sox to survive bad deals like Julio Lugo, Joel Pineiro, and Eric Gagne.
by Gopherballs on Feb 19, 2008 1:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Most interesting GM
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 19, 2008 9:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

by 












