In the wake of Jim Bowden’s recent firing resignation from his position as general manager of the Washington Nationals, Buster Olney of ESPN took a look back at Bowden’s run with the team, and it wasn’t pretty (must have Insider account to read). Bowden’s firing resignation made me think about how strangely baseball teams handle the hiring of their most senior decision makers. It’s almost like you win the lottery if you get hired as a GM of a team because you’re likely to retain the job long after it’s been proven that you aren’t very good at it (Brian Sabean, I’m looking at you) and, if you actually do get fired, you’re probably going to get hired by another team just because you’ve been a GM before. Bowden is a perfect illustration of this dynamic.
Posts Tagged ‘dunderheaded GMs’
The Bowden Era(s)
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 by Nerdicus FinchWorst GM Moves, pt. 1
Sunday, February 8th, 2009 by Nerdini AlfredoWhen your team’s top two starters are Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood, you should realize your team is in trouble. How do you fix this, you might ask? Obviously, you don’t pick a name off of this year’s list of free agent pitchers. You could throw a dart at that list and it might land on names such as CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, AJ Burnett, Derek Lowe, or John Smoltz. Throwing a dart at a piece of paper to improve your team would be irresponsible. Instead, you think logically and sign Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel to minor league contracts.
I used to think Ned Coletti was the worst GM in baseball but the Rangers’ GM Jon Daniels just won my vote.
Dunn-derheaded General Managers
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 by Nerdicus FinchThe continuing free agency of Adam Dunn is perplexing. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney is reporting that Dunn may have to settle for a one-year deal for 2009. Let’s take a step back: a 28-year-old left fielder with no injury risk, who hit exactly 40 home runs in each of the last four seasons, and owns a career OPS of 899, may have to settle for a one-year deal. Tough economic times notwithstanding, this is crazy.
To help illustrate just how crazy this is, here are the details on some recent contracts signed by other corner outfielders who have similar offensive (lots) and defensive (not much) value as Dunn. It is important to note that these contracts were all signed prior to the current economic crisis, but even that does not explain the chopped-liver treatment that Dunn is getting this off-season.
In 2005, J. D. Drew, a right fielder, signed a 5 year/$55M deal with the Dodgers at age 29. After the 2006 season, Drew opted out of that deal and signed a 5 year/$70M deal with the Red Sox. Drew’s career OPS? 893. Granted, Drew is a defensive upgrade over Dunn, but he’s also an incredible injury risk (he missed 53 games in 2008), while Dunn routinely plays over 150 games each year (from 2004-2006, he played at least 160).
In 2005, Magglio Ordonez, another oft-injured, but great hitting, right fielder, signed a 5 year/$75M deal with the Tigers at age 31. Ordonez’s career OPS? 890.
In 2003, Bobby Abreu, a right fielder, signed a 5 year/$64M deal with the Phillies at age 29. Recent reporting on ESPN.com has indicated that Abreu is one of the worst defensive outfielders in the game. His career OPS? 902.
If we want to look to the future, Jason Bay, a left fielder, will be a free agent after the 2009 season, when he will be 31. Bay’s career OPS? 891. Any chance Bay will have to settle for a one-year contract next year?
What all of these comparisons tell us is that Dunn is not getting a fair shake this off-season and is incredibly undervalued by GMs throughout MLB. Most likely, the state of rational thinking in MLB is more to blame than the state of the economy. Here’s the proof: just last month, Raul Ibanez signed a 3 year/$31.5M deal with the Phillies. Yes, that Raul Ibanez. The 36-year-old left fielder with the 818 career OPS. The amazing thing about this deal is that the Phillies actually took a look at the free agent field and chose to fill their left field hole with Ibanez rather than Dunn. In looking ahead to defending their World Series championship, the Phillies consciously opted for the worse player.
Why the lack of love for Dunn? I don’t know. It could be J.P. Ricciardi’s nonsense comments about Dunn a couple of years ago or just the unwillingness of MLB GMs to understand that a one-dimensional player is supremely valuable if his one dimension consists of hitting home runs and getting on base. Either way, Dunn is getting screwed.
If I were a GM, I’d love to have 9 Adam Dunns in my lineup (in the AL, I don’t want Dunn pitching). Clogged bases lead to a hell of a lot of runs.
(4.88 out of 5)