The Cubs' GM search has the potential to impact the Red Sox front office, if Theo Epstein or Ben Cherington are near the top of Chicago's wish list. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe leads his Sunday Baseball Notes by addressing the possibility of a mutual interest between Epstein and the Cubs. As one AL team president points out, even if that interest exists, the Red Sox don't have to grant the Cubs permission to talk to Epstein: "I don't see why they would [grant permission]. They have one of the best GMs in the game. I know if I were the team president of the Red Sox or in ownership, I wouldn't let that happen."
Here are the other highlights from Cafardo's piece:
- Brian Cashman's name has also come up in Cubs GM rumors, but Cafardo's source doesn't expect Chicago to land Cashman or Epstein: "My best guess is both stay where they are and get the paycheck they're looking for…. They're not going to make more money elsewhere. The Cubs may offer a lot, but both Boston and New York can offer more, and I think they will."
- Marlins right-hander Javier Vazquez is seriously considering retirement after this season, and appears to have made up his mind one way or the other, as he told reporters earlier this week.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak would like to see former first round pick Tyler Greene get some big league playing time in September so the club has a better idea of how to plan for 2012.
- The Red Sox were among the teams who put in a waiver claim for Jason Kubel, though they were blocked by the Indians.
hopefully Ben Cherington doesn’t get the job…with the way these buddies of Theo are, he’ll give away Starlin Castro for Jose Iglasias and two other mediocre/Peter Gammons’ favorites from the farm. Like good ol’ Jed Hoyer and the garbage deal he got back for A-Gon.
I have been rooting for Ben Cherington all the way, so I hope this could be true!!
Kubel to Boston? Who do they DFA to create a spot, Papi? Crawford? Surely, this was a TEE block (to coin a phrase from football).
Probably McDonald would be my guess.
LOL @ calling Theo Epstein “one of the best GMs in the game.” Like Brian Cashman, he has nearly infinite resources. A monkey could run those franchises. For every “smart” contract extension these guys work out (Jon Lester, Robinson Cano) they can afford to outbid for/overpay a mediocre pitcher (John Lackey, AJ Burnett), write off international mistakes (Kei Igawa, Daisuke Matsuzaka), and stomach the underperformance of overpaid free agents (Jorge Posada, JD Drew).
Sure, money certainly helps but if that was the only thing then any team with a $100M payroll could succeed. And yet the Angels and Giants are struggling to reach the playoffs, the Cubs were run by a monkey, and the White Sox, Mets, Twins, Cards, and Dodgers won’t make the playoffs.
The major fact that you ignore is both of these teams tend to maintain farm systems that are typically some of the best in the league.
I think those teams’ failures is due more to their mismanagement than anything else. The Cubs and Mets have continually made horrendous decisions in free agency. The Twins are cheap. Colletti is an idiot, but furthermore the Dodgers can barely even make payroll. The Angels too have made terrible trades and signings (Kazmir, Wells, etc).
I’m a New Jersey transplant living in Florida and root for both the Yankees and Rays so I see both sides of the coin, and it’s far easier to be considered a great GM when you’ve got the resources, financially. I’ll take Andrew Friedman over Epstein or Cashman any day, though.
I think Friedman is amazing too, but you really need to look past the money and see what these GMs have done.
As has already been pointed out, many high-payroll teams don’t have the same kind of sustained success like Boston and NY. You say “I think those teams’ failures is due more to their mismanagement than anything else.” Well, what is being a good GM other than good management? Not sure about your point there. Yes, Friedman has had to continually wheel and deal to keep his low payroll team competitive, but having a lot of money doesn’t always solve every problem. John Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Reddick, Ryan Lavarnway…these names don’t come to you only because Epstein has unlimited coffers. Yes, he’ll probably have a better chance at keeping a player like Ellsbury because of the money, but he still had to GET Ellsbury in the first place. And trades like the Nomar trade didn’t happen just because Epstein had tons of cash. In fact, Epstein’s track record on the free agent market, where money has the biggest direct effect, is pretty sketchy compared to a lot of his other endeavors. He’s always been a solid trader, and has a great crew working on sustaining the farm. It’s free agency where he slips up; Lackey and Crawford are currently making that pretty clear. Someone like Friedman doesn’t need to worry about a big contract going bust, because he never signs any big contracts. 😛
You forgot to add… lots of draft picks fall into the bosox hands because they ask lots of money to avoid being drafted by a perennial loser, and wait until the sox, who can afford them, offer them exactly what they were asking, as if they had been on it from the beginning… 😉
PSI wonder how the sox could pull off trades without people like Gammons and ESPN (George Mitchell, who didn’t include manny and ortíz in his PED report, part of the bosox front office, held a high rank position at ESPN and its parent company association, ABC/Disney) ovehyping their minorleaguers on national TV
The Red Sox get lots of draft picks because they won’t overpay for soon-to-be free agents. They would rather let them go instead of overpaying. Victor Martinez, Jason Bay, Pedro Martinez, etc. They would rather offer arbitration, lose them to another team that over pays them and then get the draft picks. That is smart management.
As for the hyping of prospects I think MLB teams and their GM’s do more than just watch ESPN and Peter Gammons in order to evaluate the Red Sox prospects. I think that is what their scouting departments are for.
With a payroll of $112M I’d hardly call the Twins cheap any more. But I think we’re arguing the same point, money isn’t everything.
As for Friedman over Epstein and Cashman, of course. I tend to think of Friedman as the best GM in the game.
“I think those teams’ failures is due more to their mismanagement than anything else. ”
“A monkey could run those franchises.”
Now, maybe I’m just not trying hard enough, but I am reasonably sure these two statements are completely irreconcilable.
Infinite resources are helpful, but they do not guarantee sustained success. Epstein and Cashman both have made their errors, but by and large both have been among the better GM’s in the game. Having money isn’t sufficient, being able to utilize it well is where it gets tricky.
As it currently stands, yes, I’d consider Friedman probably the best GM in the game, but I would be very curious to see how he handles a high payroll team like the Cubs.
too bad about vasquez, if he retires. he actually has been good down the stretch after a rocky start to the year.
And yet again Vázquez has been downright mediocre against teams above 0.500 winning percentage, a norm in his career (and a reason why in the caribbean series teams rejoiced whenever they were about to face him, a classic choker).
Vs teams at or above 0.500 winning percentage
Before 2011: 66-95
in 2011: 3-5, 5.08 ERA, 1.436
Lifetime: 69-100, 4.42 ERA, 1.304 WHIP
Vs teams below 0.500 winning percentage
Before 2011: 86-54
in 2011: 4-6, 4.13 ERA, 1.263 WHIP
Lifetime: 90-60, 4.13 ERA, 1.212 WHIP
In his last 10 games he has pitched against 3 teams with a winning record, his record is 6-4
TLR will put GM Mo in his place and play the players he wants that will allow him to reach his goal of being the 2nd on the win list.
Itll be Friedman, there’s not even much drama in it. Hell, it might be more likely that Joe Maddon and Friedman are working together next year with the Cubs than with the Rays,
I believe the top 3 GM candidates stay (Cashman, Friedman, and Epstein). Cashman will only use the Cubs as a bargaining chip. Epstein has years left on contract and owner won’t let Cubs speak to him. Friedman seems to have a close relationship with the owners. This will leave the second tier candidates (Hahn, Ng, or Cherington).