Wheel of GM speculation
So Geoff Baker at the Times wrote something really interesting to me a while ago: he said that the M’s, if they fired Bavasi mid-season, would be looking for an interim GM, someone currently serving as a GM but with previous GM experience. Presumably, a name.
First, if they do, I’ll be shocked: firing the GM mid-season, especially ahead of the draft, is rarely done, and with good reason.
But second — who would that be? Who would want that job, and who would give their assistant GM permission to leave mid-season to take the job?
We can pretty reasonably assure no one in the AL West would be so generous.
So… assistant GMs who’ve served as GMs. Who was Baker hinting at?
Jim Duquette, of the Orioles?
Gord Ash, of the Brewers? Possible bonus points for previous Blue Jays (and thus, presumably, Baker) connection.
Dan Evans is right here, but he’s “Special Assistant to the GM”
Update-clarificaton: Dylan wrote
Baker actually responded to a comment I made via E-mail concerning the possible interim GM’s. He told me that the interim candidates were from within and had previous GM experience, with one of the candidates even having previous managerial experience. Who in our front office fits the bill?
Thatttt’s even more interesting.
And see Dave’s comments, below: he thinks it’d be likely to be Pelekoudas.
The problem with “great scouting directors” is that we have one as a GM right now. And while he has rebuilt the farm system (with a huge assist from Fontaine… OK, it’s been mostly Fontaine), he has been abysmal in a multitude of other ways.
It’s like buying a car because just because it has insanely good handling. Sure, it can turn on a dime, take corners tighter than you’d ever imagine, and move with the fluidity of a ballerina, but what if it got 10 MPG? Or went 0-60 in 45 seconds?
Look for the whole package. Look at strengths and weaknesses. Antonetti may be the best candidate, but it’s not because he’s an incredible talent scout or great at finding budget talent. It’s because he can do both.
But Seattle is the kind of town that could get behind it.
I believe the M’s had interest in Jim Beattie when they hired Bavasi, but he was under contract with the Orioles at the time. Because of his previous stints with the team as a player and as director of player development, I wouldn’t be surprised if they went that direction. He’s available and still has good relations with Armstrong and possibly some others in the organization. He could be the one Baker referred to (see comment 19)with previous GM experience from outside the organization.
Dave, I realize Antonetti’s high-profile and widely-respected; I just wonder whether the M’s ownership is open-minded enough to consider going that route.
16:
I do that all the time 😀
I don’t buy the argument that you can’t fire the GM in midseason because he’s “not going to be doing anything” until the next draft.
I’m certainly not an expert, but I’m quite sure there’s a lot more to being a GM besides sitting with your feet on the desk, smoking a big cigar, and pulling the trigger on big deals. A GM has to build an organization; the drafts and the deals don’t mean anything unless they’re part of a bigger framework. He’s got to gain an understanding of what players he has, at all levels, what coaching he has, at all levels, what other tools like scouting he has, and then mold those into something he can lead.
Hiring a new GM today — if he’s the right one, of course — wouldn’t just impact a deal or two this summer, or the next draft; it would set us up for a good future. The longer we go with management pointing the club off target, the further away we get. And management today IS off target; we’re doing better in some things than the old regime, like drafting, but we’re still doing a ton of things wrong. We’re still evaluating players wildly inaccurately, for one thing. If a new caretaker GM can at least avoid doing more Vidro deals in the next nine months, that’s a plus right there.
dw:
Bavasi wasn’t a scouting director with the Dodgers. He was the farm director. There’s a big difference.
While the Dodgers had nothing bad to say about Bavasi in that role, the man has never excelled at any baseball job the way Logan White has as the Dodgers’ scouting director.
I’m not necessarily saying the Ms should rush out to hire him as soon as the job opens up, but if Bavasi’s firing doesn’t trigger an organizational overhaul, White might be the best option of those candidates most likely to appeal to the front office.
Yeah, but with a caretaker GM, changes WON’T be done–it’ll be business as usual. That’s just part and parcel of being a caretaker—you don’t do major shifts in the way you go about business. And, as we point out, the organization needs some significant changes in the way they do business in a number of areas.