~~But, any team with a top-three draft pick for ten straight years should be able to build a winner, right?~~

See: Pirates, Pittsburgh.

Thanks for shooting yourself in the foot.

You write: “Not a fan of Bill Bavasi anymore, Steve?”

And, then you find a quote from me that says “I’ve never been a huge fan of M’s G.M. Bill Bavasi.”

Classic.

And, yes, I said “you have to love a G.M. who’s able to build a great pitching staff.” And, I stand by that…but, since Bavasi didn’t do that, in the end, there’s nothing to change my opinion towards not being a fan of his, is there?

Steve, your words:

“I’ve never been a huge fan of M’s G.M. Bill Bavasi. However, you could claim that he laid the groundwork for that Angels team that won in 2002 (with great pitching) and now he’s built a potentially great staff in Seattle. And, you have to love a G.M. who’s able to build a great pitching staff.”

Do you REALLY have to love Bill Bavasi? Seems like he created a TERRIBLE pitching staff up there in Seattle.

Also, from the article you had referenced in that post, it goes to show how clueless Mel Stottlemeyer really is about coaching. Man, Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn. What a scary tandem of pitchers.

Cashman was letting A-Freud walk, until Hankenstein threw the checkbook at him.

Signing Posada was an error. Not saying it because of what happened in 2008, but was saying it last year. You have to know when to hold ‘em, and when to fold ‘em. They should have said *bye* to Posada.

I agree with you, Raf. Having different variables makes it tough to compare big and small market teams, and not just because of the money. Terry Ryan and Larry Beinfest can get away with the “I can’t spend- Small Market!!!” excuse when they sell Johan Santana and Josh Beckett. This replenishes the farm system and sets the team up to rebuild.

Teams like the Yankees can’t do that– we like to keep our young players who are about to become stars, because we can afford to keep them. Could Beinfest and Ryan build and maintain a team that has made the playoffs for ten consecutive seasons, the way Brian Cashman has? As I said before, I don’t think there’s any evidence of that; there are restrictions on big market teams in addition to the advantages.

Some will call the Rays’ success an indication of supreme genius in the Tampa Bay front office. But, any team with a top-three draft pick for ten straight years should be able to build a winner, right?

I think the question about Shapiro was in context with the results of the Indians’ on field success.

Ranking GM’s is difficult given that each team and market has different variables. Like field managers, the players either make them look like geniuses or idiots.

Then again, until we give them $209 million for a payroll…
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The reason why the payroll is so high is guys like Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, etc, etc, etc.

I don’t think any GM would let those players walk intentionally.

~~Why Mark Shapiro?~~

He’s universally considered as the best, brightest, etc., of all the younger GMs. If you don’t know why, you’re not paying attention.

http://tinyurl.com/5ntm6p

http://tinyurl.com/6d9837

Funny. I just did a search of this blog using the terms “Bill Bavasi” and could not find anything even close to what you claim.
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Maybe he got his Bill’s mixed up and is referring to Bill Stoneman?

~~Evidence any of the latter three men would be capable of running a big-market franchise: zero. ~~

Then again, until we give them $209 million for a payroll, and several more millions to spend in the draft and Latin America, you’ll never know about that zero, for sure.

And, were is the evidence that shows Brian Cashman can excel at running a big-market franchise?