Okay, I’m going to try to speak for the team and stem the torrent of email. As a group, we believe:
– The potential trade for Aaron Boone was insane and should never have been on the table
– It was good the team did not make that trade, but you get no credit for being saved from your own stupidity
– While there was little movement of the kind of players the M’s needed, there are always deals available and the Mariners as in past years were greatly limited by thier own lack of creativity and team philosophy when it came time to improve the team
– With Edgar retiring, this was the last good chance for the team to take some risks, and trade potential major-leaguers for impact players, and make a run for the Championship
As Jeff Woods, frequent emailer from France, points out, one stumbling block to a deal for Ventura might have been the Yankees’ reluctance to improve a possible playoff competitor.
And Dave’s right about the team — Theo Epstein had an IV drip of coffee set up in his office. Paul DePodesta was so delirious from working the phones without sleep he called me up at 4am on Wedesnday and wanted to know if I had any left-handed pitching prospects he could throw into a deal with Kaiser Wilhelm in return for which I would receive a set of Tom Brunansky baseball cards. Gillick was moving. What kind of moron schedules a move at the trade deadline? That’d be like Neal Armstrong scheduling a dentist appointment at the same time as the Apollo lift-off. “Sorry guys, I didn’t think anything important would happen, and I haven’t had a cleaning in six months.”
Derek’s not the only one who will be coming through your speakers this weekend. You can cruise on over to to the Aquasox broadcast tonight (and every Friday) and listen to me jabber with Pat Dillon on the pregame show tonight. Unlike Derek, I come on the air when reasonable people are still awake (6:45 pm pacific time). Then, you can stick around and listen to the game, as Pat brings you short season ball in all its glory. Go Frogs Go.
Mark your calendars, tie a loop around your finger, you can listen to a rare radio appearance by me on Baseball Prospectus Radio this week. Unfortunately, it’s 9am Eastern, which if I do my time conversion right means that it’s way too fricking early for us. Folks, if you thought the Mariners gave Ken Griffey Jr. both barrells as he left town, you haven’t heard anything yet. I intend to give Pat Gillick *hundreds of barrells*. Yes, I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off, but I think it involves standing at the top of a construction platform with a hostage of some sort and throwing them down at him. There’s no way Gillick will be able to ascend the various tilted levels and ladders while I toss barrells at — well, now, here’s the problem with writing down the road from Nintendo’s lawyers, they’re only a minute or two away… Oh well.
I wanted Robin Ventura! He bats left-handed and hits, he’s good defensively, he’s expensive but I don’t care. He’s hugely better suited for Safeco than Aaron Boone. And the bounty on him wasn’t that high at all — Crosby and a 28-yr old reliever.
It’s the morning after, we just swept the Tigers, Joel Pineiro hasn’t allowed a run since sometime last year, and I’m moving on.
Well, almost. If the reports in the P-I and Tribune about the M’s offer for Aaron Boone (Freddy Garcia, Rett Johnson, and $1.25 million in cash) are true, then we all owe George Steinbrenner more than we can ever repay. That deal has Varitek/Lowe for Slocumb potential. That is a ridiculous offer, and there is no justification for giving up that much for as mediocre of a player as Aaron Boone.
Okay, now I’m moving on. We’re still better than Oakland. We’re just as good as New York. And the Red Sox still play in Boston.
Go M’s.
The game has passed Pat Gillick by.
Dave, I think that’s about the best I’ve ever seen it put.
Whenever someone slams Gillick, the natural response from his supporters is something along the lines of, “He can’t be a bad GM. He’s been around the block. Look at the teams he’s built over the years. And he’s well-respected by his peers!” Those of us who bash Gillick — well, most of us I think — aren’t saying he’s a bad GM, we’re saying he just isn’t the right man for the job in this point in baseball history.
You remember the movie Swingers? Near the beginning of the movie, Trent and Mike drive to Las Vegas in search of some late-night hijinx. Upon entering the casino, Mike comments that it looks a bit dead. He says some of the newer places up the strip are supposed to be the money. Which leads to this exchange:
Trent: Oh Mikey. You don’t want all that “Pirates Of The Carribean” horseshit, or the “Rock and Roll Grunge Tip.” Guys like you and me gotta kick it here, old school.
Mike: Yeah, this is definitely old school.
And that’s Pat Gillick. He may have been money back in the day, but now he’s old school — and not in the good way.
Go Dave go!
Derek, I wouldn’t worry too much about Sanchez not starting last night. Apparently he only got to the park around 4pm after traveling, so Melvin decided to let him have the rest of the day off. No big deal.
Er, no pun intended there.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well, you know the rest. I really expected the Mariners to make a trade today. Actually, I expected them to make a couple of trades. Clearly, I just haven’t been paying attention. So, without further ado…
Dave’s 2003 Rant Against Pat Gillick
With any luck, this will be the last one I ever have to write. For the second consecutive year, I sit here on July 31st, disappointed that my hope for a trade has been crushed, and now look forward to a new hope; the hope that Pat Gillick will not return as General Manager of the Seattle Mariners next year.
The game has passed Pat Gillick by. The Mariners are run by a man who has not adapted, changed, or adjusted to the new century of baseball. 10 years ago, Pat Gillick was a great general manager when compared to his peers. He evaluted talent well, built solid clubs, and took the Blue Jays to two world series titles. 10 years ago, Theo Epstein was trying to figure out how to sneak into sorority parties and find people to buy him alcohol. How things have changed in a decade.
In 2003, Theo Epstein was busy adding a 4th starter, a left-handed reliever, and two quality relievers to anchor his bullpen. Pat Gillick, meanwhile, was in Toronto. Scouting? No. Moving. Theo Epstein wants to win a world series. Pat Gillick wants to spend time with his wife and grandchildren. I’m glad he has his priorities in order. Unfortunately, the job description of a major league GM requires you to not have your priorities in order. You are asked to live at the office, eat and breathe baseball, and sacrifice everything to make the team better. There are people willing to do this for the opportunity to win a ring. Pat Gillick is not one of them. That puts the Mariners at an inherernt disadvantage.
I’ve covered in the past my disagreements with Pat Gillick’s player assessments and what he values in a ballplayer. That doesn’t matter today. The issue is Gillick’s ability to compete with the current crop of general managers. He simply cannot do it. He does not have the creativity to work a three way trade or the willingness to take a risk by giving up a potential major league player. He cannot convince management that investing $1 million into the club now will net them $5 million in playoff revenues in October. He contuously fails to set his club up for success in the post season by spending every last dime of his allotted budget before March rolls around.
The Mariners pride themselves on being old school. Gillick, Jongewaard, and Pelekoudas are baseball men. They have no use for statistical analysis. They trust their scouts. They believe in character, team chemistry, and that pitching and defense is 80 percent of the game. Unfortunately, in this case, being old school also means being wrong. The Mariners are run by a man whose beliefs are antiquated and philosophies incorrect. His risk aversion repeatedly proves to be penny wise and pound foolish, while the team alianates its fan base under the guise of “contention.”
The Mariners attendance has fallen more than 10% this year, and it isn’t because Safeco Field is less attractive than a year ago. Fans are fed up. Fans want a world series. Fans don’t want to contend. Fans want to win. Pat Gillick would like to win, but it isn’t a necessity.
We can only hope that the Mariners take the 2003 offseason as an opportunity to change the guard. With the track record that Howard Lincoln has established though, that is a pretty slim hope.
I was really looking forward to October. I still am, to a degree. We’re still in first place, and Oakland didn’t do enough to overcome their offensive problems. But now, I’m more looking forward to November. Because that is when Pat Gillick’s contract expires again, and the M’s have another chance to hire someone like Theo Epstein or Mark Shapiro or J.P. Ricciardi. Someone who is willing to think outside the box. Someone who wants to win a championship. Someone who cares.
It appears that the Mariners have stood pat, once again. Once I get official confirmation that they did not make a trade, Dave’s Annual Rant Against Pat Gillick will commense. For those who missed it last year, don’t make the same mistake.
Five minutes until the deadline. Keep in mind, it usually takes some time for word to leak to the public, so we may not hear about a trade that was completed for an hour or more.
July 31st is one of the coolest days on earth.