Results tagged ‘ general manager ’
Ed Wade KNEW IT
Well, not to get all I-told-you-so on you, but I did tell you so.
Let’s flash back to July 30th, 2011 at about 5:03 pm, when I posted a blog post titled, “An Epic Gathering of All 30 General Managers for a Round Table Chat About the Trade Deadline”. In it, all the GMs basically talked smac- that is, shop- with one another. What were Ed Wade’s words?
Ed Wade, Astros- I’ve loved working with all of you. Really, I have. If my job, ahem, something, ahem, happens to it. You all are the best. (At this point he takes out a blue and white checkered hankie and dabs his eyes.)
Theo Epstein, Red Sox- (Looking at Wade with distaste.) You know, Ed, your name has always reminded me of that odd Johnny Depp movie, Ed Wood? Remember it? It’s about the arguably worst film maker even. Ironic. (He smirks and pauses.) [cont.]
And while that may seem like it was Wade predicting his own demise, no, it was me. He didn’t really say that, I came up with it. Or at the very least, Theo did. Theo, who is now with the Cubbies. Huh. Times have changed.
Anyway, today it was announced that the ‘Stros have indeed fired him and are potentially, maybe, kinda-sorta considering Thad Levine for the job. I am selfish and want Levine to stay in Texas (wait, that doesn’t work. I mean, stay with the Rangers) forever after, but at the same time, I think he’s pretty fabulous and would probably do good things for the Astros. Now that they’re in the AL, my Giants-half is just fine with them doing well.
And did you hear about CJ meeting with the Marlins? I will spare you another player-meets-with-team script, but… those Marlins. Phew. They are courting with a capital C. Will it work? Will it flop? Tune in to [station] at [time] to see.
Diamond Girl
The Orange and Black Attack Team is Discriminatory and Why Little League Needs General Managers
So today my father was digging through his drawers and found an Orange and Black Attack Team t-shirt that was thrown to me at the stadium last summer. Why was my t-shirt in his drawer? Because it’s an Adult Large. All the shirts they throw are that size. I personally am 5″1 and it goes down to my ankles. Which makes it totally useless to me, aside from a super-fashion-faux-pas-dress-thing. I am offended. Short people are baseball fans too. So here’s my proposal: throw coupons. Then people can go claim their shirts at a stand in the size of their shirts. Hey, they might even save some money with people forgetting to claim their t-shirts. And short people wouldn’t feel discriminated against.
I went to my brother’s first Little League scrimmage the other day and I started thinking that Little League needs General Managers. Hear me out before you start snickering. Here’s why:
There are no trades or free agents in Little League, but starting at AAA level there is a draft. We all know coaches aren’t really equipped to be drafting, so why not use the GMs for that? During the season they could sometimes assist the manager about on-field operations and they could walk around in suits with cell phones looking bothered and self-important. We already have a good number of parents who do that (not pointin’ any fingers here, but…).
The General Manager might also serve to diffuse the management system which can become a little dictator-like at times. The manager would handle the real live baseball and the GM would handle the politics. That’s a full time job in Little League, you know.
So diplomacy skills, a suit and a Blackberry would be required.
Who would be perfect for this job? Well. Me. Cue the duhs.
And I don’t even require a suite of my own. A little patch of metal bleachers will do. And some free licorice from the Snack Shack.
Diamond Girl
Michael Young and Jon Daniels Channel Their Inner Teen Girl
For lack of a better phrase: What the hell? No way can the Desperate Ballplayers of San Fran live up to this.
You know how teenage girls do this thing where they have a fight and then start relaying cryptic, snide messages to each other via a willing mutual friend? Yeah. I have a little experience with this.
Anyway, if you squint, then it would seem like Michael Young and Jon Daniels are getting in touch with their inner teen girl. And relaying their cryptic, snide messages through a willing mutual friend; the press.
I was inclined to take Michael Young’s side on all this, even though I like Jon Daniels a lot, but after seeing his list of the eight teams he could be traded to I changed my mind. Three NL West teams. Rockies, Dodgers and Padres. But not the Giants. If Young is that intent on avoiding my two favorite teams, I have a hard time siding with him on this. San Francisco is a beautiful city with a good team, nice(ish) management with a minimal history of pushing 6″1 guys into corners (big corners, huh?) and we harbor no hard feelings about him helping us win the World Series.
So I am wearing my Team Jon shirt, eating popcorn and enjoying the show.
Just kidding.
It seems inevitable at this point that Young will indeed leave Texas and that’s probably for the best with how much bad blood there is. I hope the Rangers are able to fill that hole, because I think it could make or break the team in 2011. It’s sad, Michael was a quintessential Ranger, but I hope it works out as amicably as possible in the end and Young is happier where he ends up.
Baseball is a business. Rinse and repeat. 3.0.
Diamond Girl
Oops.
And here was me thinking my conversation with GM Extraordinaire had gone well.
Oops. Note to self: be more convincing next time.
Diamond Girl
Script: My Conversation with Brian Sabean
Time: The Present
Setting: Post-apocalyptic San Francisco with red tinged sky and eerie silence, except for bats flying around. Okay, fine. It’s an office at AT&T Park. I was trying just to liven things up. Brian Sabean and Diamond Girl are sitting in the office. Sabean is wearing a grey suit, minus jacket. DG is wearing a sweater dress, jeggings and boots. Her perfume is Amber by Prada and her purple eyeshadow is from MAC.
DG: Hello, Brian!
Sabean (looking slightly suspicious): Hello, Diamond Girl.
DG: You know, I’m so glad to meet you. I’ve always been a huge fan of yours.
Sabean (Looking very suspicious): Huh. Funny I saw on your blog that you stopped rooting for the Giants in the World Series because you were unhappy with me.
DG: Uh, no. That totally didn’t happen.
Diamond Girl subtly pulls out iPod Touch and deletes the post he is referencing.
DG: Anyway, Sabes.
Sabean: Brian. Or Mr. Sabean. Or GM Extraordinaire. Whatever. Just not that horrible nickname. I can’t stan–
DG: Okkkkaayyy. Moving right along. What I was trying to say is just that I think you’ve done a great job at setting up your team to repeat in 2011.
Sabean: Who gave you this meeting? I have better ways to spend my time than listening to fangirls tell me why my team is awesome.
DG: I have my ways. Of getting meetings.
The scene fades and there is a flashback of DG in a witch hat over a cauldron saying an incantation to get a meeting with Brian Sabean. Scene flashes back.
DG: Actually, GM Extrordinai–
Sabean: Please. I wasn’t being serious. That was just an example.
DG: Oh. Sorry. Okay. Mr. Sabean. I actually have an idea for y’all.
Sabean: Do enlighten me.
DG: You know how you’ve always had that sort of loser-hanger-oner-starter the past few years?
Sabean: Like Wellemeyer or Joey.
DG: Right. Who do you think is going to fill that role this year?
Sabean: We’re World Series champs, Diamond Girl. We don’t need loser-hanger-oner-starters.
DG: I beg to differ. And the great part is that this interesting, talented, only slightly loser-hanger-oner-starter was just DFA’ed.
Sabean: That’s too good to be true!
DG: But it is true. His name is Armando Galarraga and the Tigers DFA’ed him. Sure, there’s a 2.5 million dollar contract there, but we got money, right?
Sabean: Wow, Diamond Girl! What a great idea!
Sabean turns to phone and calls Dave Dombrowski . Within a few minutes, the deal is complete.
Exeunt DG and Sabean. Scene fades.
The Real (or Desperate?) Ballplayers of San Francisco, Feat. Lincecum with Snooki Hair
This just in: the Giants are going to have their own reality show next season. Reality show. Diamond Girl is mildly disgusted but also mildly intrigued. I do have a few questions:
Who’s going to rock the Snooki hair-do? Barry? Or Timmy, since he’s half-way there already?
Is it going to have an alliterative name like, “Geeping up with the Giant-ashians”? Or they could name it the Real Ballplayers of San Francisco (as opposed to, you know, the fake ballplayers. And the fake housewives, for that matter). Will there be the quintessential meltdowns there always are on contest shows? If so, my money is on J-Sanch as the perfect candidate. Will there be fights between the neat freaks who want the clubhouse clean and the guys who couldn’t care less? Will the cameras be let into closed door meetings with Brian Sabean? Because that may be the only thing that will incite me to watch.
J-Sanch next season…?
I’m going to have to get on YouTube or Hulu and watch some Hard Knocks to get a sense of what this is all about. Somehow I don’t know if the “poof” would fit underneath a football helmet, so I doubt they included that mandatory aspect of reality TV.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Rangers? If you’re out there reading this, I respectfully suggest that you extend JD’s contract. Pronto. I think it’s a very important thing y’all need should deal with sooner rather than later. But that’s just me.
If This is What 2011 is Like, I Want 2010 Back and Why I Am Okay With the World Ending in May
Everyone is probably totally over 1-1-11, by now, but I just looked at my web stats and saw that I had 111 visitors to my blog that day. Isn’t the just one of those things that makes you smile? It makes me smile, at least.
Anyway. If this is what 2011 is like, I want 2010 back. I’m sure I’ll change my mind soon, but this year has been pretty hellish so far. One violent cold and an undisclosed number of bowls of potato leek soup later, I’m finally ready to start the new year. In Diamond Girl Land, it is now January 1st. And every day is National Cupcake Day there too, because I could really use a cupcake right now. Because aside from my cold, the endless parade of slow news day are enough to make anyone need some cupcakes. I guess a few things did happen.
The Rangers made their deals with Webb and Rhodes official.
And Jon Daniels said something vaguely incoherent at the press conference.
The Giants did God-only-knows-whatever-they-do-all-offseason.
Looks like it’s boring for Sabean too.
A-Rod sported a particularly atrocious fedora in Vegas.
And Armageddon is coming in May. Good thing Ashton Kutcher is ready.
Bad shades and all.
In a little bit of good news, only 41 days until catchers and pitchers report and the 2011 season comes a little closer to reality. Even if judgment day does come in May, we’ll get a month of the new baseball season in before then. I am no longer afraid.
Diamond Girl
p.s. MLBlogs is doing that thing with the bolds again. Sorry for the weirdness.
Why Barbra Streisand is a Better Awards Show Host than Harold Reynolds and Greg Amsinger
They should have just re-named the This Year in Baseball Awards the Giants Rule the Universe Awards, for 2010. Seriously, we stole the show. I agreed with most the selections, although I think Madison and Cain are overlooked way too much. In my mind, one of them should have been Postseason MVP (or, you know, that guy named Cody Ross who hits homeruns obsessively?) instead of Timmy. Not to say Lincecum didn’t do well- even very, very well- but in my mind he wouldn’t be the postseason MVP.
Cain and MadBum seem happy enough, though.
And then I sort of think looking at the 2010 payrolls (from US Weekly’s website) tells its own story: one of the teams in the World Series had the ninth highest payroll, one had the 27th. Sabean was brilliant about handling his team, no doubt, but I think Daniels should have been Executive of the Year.
The dorky player photo thing obviously transcends the field. It applies to the front office too.
What really annoyed me about the Gibby’s, though, was how the hosts of the presentation show, Harold Reynolds and Greg Amsinger, announced a winner and then explained who they thought should have won and showed a highlight reel for that person. Then they talked briefly about the actual winner. Can you imagine if Barbra Streisand had announced Kathryn Bigelow as Best Director and then explained why James Cameron should have won and shown clips of Avatar? Not cool, MLB. Not cool at all.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Utterly off-topic, but The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the best Narnia movie yet. King Caspian lost the Spanish-ish accent (and upgraded from his title of Prince) and it’s absolutely beautiful and very funny. It’s slightly overdone at points, but if you need some offseason distraction, Diamond Girl says check it out.
And the Teenage Girl with Ichiro Being the “Ultimate Teenage Girl” should have won Fan Moment of the Year. Ichiro ran into her trying to catch a ball and she is decked out in tons of Mariners gear. Bo the Bailer has a lame nickname and no girlfriend. Obvious winner much?
Brad Pitt as Billy Beane is like Hayden Christensen as Stephen Glass + Three Pearls of Wisdom from Moneyball
And the Winter Meetings are flyin’ by… I am loving the fact that baseball is once again at the forefront of people’s minds although, as numerous people have noted (Mychael Urban and TR Sullivan both wrote great articles about this) there seem to be a lot of weird rumors coming this week, perhaps perpetuated by bored beat writers. No matter. It’s very fun for me to watch general manager after general manager interviewed because I’m a player transaction geek. I am now stalking Jed Hoyer.
But who chose the hotel? There are so many shots of it on the MLB Network and pictures of it everywhere. They could at least have chosen a pretty building. To me, the happiest place on earth would not have hideous architecture.
I would also just like to say that I think Brad Pitt as Billy Beane is ridiculous. Billy is more charming and better looking, to boot.
Though I know I am obviously in the overwhelming minority of the female population when I say that. It’s like Hayden Christensen playing Stephen Glass. Except I like Christensen, so I don’t mind. And Shattered Glass is an incredible movie so I can forgive it. I’m not really sure how Moneyball will be as a movie, but I’m looking forward to it.
The real Stephen Glass on the left, Hayden Christensen, of wood-board Anakin Skywalker fame, on the right
So this all reminded me how much I love the book Moneyball and the three pearls of wisdom I always remember from it.
“‘Why should noise have any more effect on the hitter than the pitcher?’ says Billy, a little testily. ‘If you’re playing away, you can just pretend they are cheering for you.’
Haven’t we all wondered this? I sure have.
“‘In the last ten years guys started covering their lips with their gloves,’ snaps Billy. ‘I’ve never known a single lip-reader in baseball. What, has there been a rash of lip-reading I don’t know about?’
And last but not least…
“The new pitcher, Ricardo Rincon, gets two quick outs and gives up just one run on a sacrifice fly: 11-7. With two out and runners on first and third, Art Howe [the manager], walks out yet again. This time he calls for right hander Jeff Tam, newly arrived from AAA, to face the right-handed Mike Sweeney, who is, at the moment, leading the American League in hitting.
“‘ Why? [says Billy] They take all this lefty-righty crap too far. What’s wrong with leaving Rincon in?’”
Now I’m looking at the movie’s IMDB listing and seeing that someone named Sergio Garcia is playing Jorge Posada. This is getting weirder by the second. I need to go back to reading that Alex Rodriguez is going to get traded for Joe Martinez.
Diamond Girl
Baseball is a Business. Rinse and Repeat.
Repeat it one hundred times and you may start to feel a little better about Uribe signing with the Dodgers. As lovely as it would be if he had looked at $21 million over three years to wear Dodger blue and said no, it’s not reality. Rinse and repeat. This is therapeutic for me.
As I get my therapeutic shampoo, I chant one last Oooo-ribe in my head. I’ll never forget doing that with 40,000 other people. Magical.
The question this all brings, of course, is, Who now? I vote for Ryan Braun at shortstop. Kidding! The Wall Street Journal reported that the Giants and Jeter’s agent have been in contact but I think that’s an atrocious idea. For starters, no one really knows how he’d react out of the beautiful place that is NYC and additionally he’s not, um, extremely young. He’s also looking for a lot of money which the Giants might be able to give, but you know, just because one has money doesn’t mean one should spend it. Then there’s Miguel Tejada who batted .269 with 15 homers last year. Not exactly a tremendous amount of pop at shortstop.
I’m honestly not totally sure what Sabean’s plan is for 2011. It’s very early in the offseason, of course, but the odd way the team meshed was, well, odd. And magical. It’s hard to repeat magic and even if Sabean re-signed everyone, it wouldn’t be the same. Perhaps he’s planning to start the year like he did in 2010, with a mediocre set of fielders and bullpen and hunt down some new mis-fits during the year. If so, it’s a gamble at best. If he’s trying to form a solid team with some big names, then the large contract Huff got is just the beginning. What do you think Sabean’s 2011 plan is?
If I were Sabean, I think I’d be looking ahead towards 2012 when several prospects are projected to be ready for the majors. While I understand baseball is business (rinse and repeat) and the win-now mindset is prevalent, I think signing older players into multi-year deals isn’t a good idea. The Giants may contend in 2011, but I think 2012 is the year they will be contenders again and the long-term success of the team is more important, in my opinion, than the win-now thing. But baseball is a business (okay, I won’t say it) and I think the Giants will be trying to defend the title it 2011. We shall see.
In Texas news, the Rangers signed Torrealba to a two year deal. I was thrilled to see that. While everyone’s been saying Lee is really important for the Rangers- and I don’t discount that he is- I’ve been saying, Catcher, catcher, catcher. It seems to me that the toehold of Wilson and Lewis is still a little wobbly and a veteran catcher who can handle that staff is a top priority. Good news down south. Now I’m hoping Lee will, out of the goodness of his heart, sign with Texas. And mostly that the Rangers keep that core strong and I think they will contend in 2011.
Those’re my wish lists for my teams. What are yours? Just remember: Baseball is a business. Rinse and repeat. Be realistic. And give it to Santa in time for Christmas.
Hugs to all and enjoy the end of your Thanksgiving leftovers, if you still have any. I think I’m all through. I miss cranberries already.
Diamond Girl
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