Saturday, December 09, 2006 |
The Campaign To Unhorse Bavasi Begins
That is, once again, he was in over his head. The trades he made were exactly of the wrong kind. Jolbert Cabrera for Ryan Ketchner? He should have been stockpiling young pitching, and instead he was frittering it away on replacement-level utility infielders. Willie Bloomquist, a low-average, low-OBP, no-power fourth outfielder not only continues to have a job, but a multiyear extension. In all probability, he will also get in excess of 200 at-bats, torpedoing the team's chances of winning anything.
Quixote rides again
I am not the only one to make this observation, as I see in the comments of that post:
So, I’m curious. What sets him apart from Paul DePodesta — how would those differences help his chances of getting hired on as a GM?Having watched while the lazy, prejudiced LA media filleted Paul DePodesta from without (starting on the very first day), and very likely, Tommy Lasorda busied himself undermining DePo from within, I note in passing the author presents no evidence to support this assertion. While I imagine the Seattle reporters are far tamer than the abject hacks and character assassins masquerading as newspaper writers down here, at some point, the wins have to flow or else blood will.DePo lacked basic interpersonal skills. People hated working for him, and he avoided the media like it was a disease. DePo just doesn’t have the personality to be a public figure. He’s a great behind-the-scenes guy, but he can’t be the face of your organization.
Antonetti can.
Some of that is always chance; if you get lucky, your opponents have their own afflictions, and worse than yours. But Seattle is uniquely unlucky now, in that Arte has a big bankroll and is plying his trade in ever-wider swaths of the largest media market in the division, the A's hope to harvest the fruits of their new park soon, and the Rangers have a sort of idiot Roman emperor as an owner, willing to spend with or without result. The hook, no matter who they haul in to replace Bavasi, perhaps as early as the middle of next year, will be shorter in coming than it was for the job's current occupant. Giving that to someone of unknown press relations skills is perhaps asking for even more trouble.
Great stuff, Rob.
: 12/09/2006 09:36:00 AM
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