Monday, March 15, 2010

Bring me the head of the nearest GM

Take a look at this article by Alex Speier (fullcount.weei.com) on baseball's GMs (h/t to Harball Talk). His point--mainly--is that GMs aren't any younger or any more educated than they were 10 years ago, despite the high-profile success of wunderkinds like Theo Epstein in Boston. There are only four guys on the list who have been with the same team from 2000-2010, and one of them is Brian Sabean. The other three are Dan O'Dowd (Rockies), Billy Beane (A's), and Brian Cashman (Yankees). Mark Shapiro, GM of the Indians, discusses the state of the job (emphasis mine):
“When I say the quality, intelligence, aptitude and capability of front offices across the board has increased, it’s not just because some guys from Ivy League schools have become general managers. It’s because the standards have been raised, the competition is greater and people are adapting.”

Here's my question for you long-suffering Giants fans--is our FO adapting? Has it raised the standards? Does it recognize that the competition is greater today than it was yesterday? Or is there someone on that list you'd rather have manning the helm? Sabes gets his share of lumps here at RMC--does he deserve it? When I see a lineup like this one I can get pretty excited about our future. But then I remember that this lineup is the one we are going with, and my balloon deflates. What say, mates?

--M.C.

(quote from Profile of a GM in 2010 by Alex Speier)

11 comments:

Brother Bob said...

Why are our links hidden? I put some cool ones in my piece (of left-wing propaganda)but you wouldn't know it.

Zo said...

A GM is kind of like a principal. No matter how badly the kids are fucked up, as long as he can sweet talk the Board, he has a job and a raise. So, yes, Brian Sabean has been successful and adapted.

M.C. O'Connor said...

I like that, GM = principal, that's good.

M.C. O'Connor said...

@Bob:

What links do you mean?

Anonymous said...

It could be worse, the Giants could have Omar Minaya.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Good point.

Brother Bob said...

The links aren't apparent until the cursor is upon them.

M.C. O'Connor said...

The link color is now the same as the text color and so only the underline shows up. So, if it is underlined, it is a link.

Brother Bob said...

They're not underlined either.

M.C. O'Connor said...

I can see all your links in the Bunning article . . . you can't?

Brother Bob said...

Nope.