Isn't it bizarre the way nature allows some flukes to happen? Like the worst GM in baseball somehow winning 2 world series in 4 years and building one of the deepest farm system in baseball, all while being an incompetent idiot.
im not so sure you can call someone the worst GM in baseball, when they win 2 world series in 4 years. Talk to Mr. Zambrano for Kazmir for that title.
Sarcasm alert. dubagedi is a Sox fan who strongly disagrees with devil the Sox fan's very negative opinion of Epstein. Correct?
He may have chosen the wrong team to root for...but he's FAR from an idiot. He knows more about Baseball than anyone I know. And he deserves credit for it.
I fail to see the big deal with Epstein. He's now made TWO trades to get rid of stars for pennies on the dollar, was against the Beckett trade, signed Drew (who I like) to an absurd deal, signed Renteria and gave up on him, traded for Pena and gave up on him, signed Lugo, was a party to the Mirabelli fiasco, and has consistently failed to build a reliable bullpen. He's done some good things, like the farm system and Ortiz, but he didn't know what Ortiz would be and the farm system has more to do with the scouting department than it does him. He also hasn't shown the ability to evaluate MAJOR LEAGUE talent in trades or free agent signings. It's not that I really think he's the WORST GM, but I don't think he's the god he's made out to be. He's average at best.
To his credit, no one valued Ortiz, which is why his original BoSox deal was a relative bargin. He has a string of succesful deals and signings, which is more then ALOT of teams can say about their GM. He got rid of Nomar right before he crashed and burned. He dumped Pedro, who isn't worth the money he demanded. He got rid of AIDS in Ramirez, and Bay so far has been STELLAR. Drew was probly paid too much, that I'll agree to, but he was having a very good season before the injury bug hit, I've seen no evidence on his percieved, "lack of effort" that has dogged him his career. I'd put Theo in the Top 10, maybe even Top 5 if the Sox repeat.
plus you cant call beckett for hanley a complete loss, i mean id rather have a great young shortshop but a great young ace isnt bad either.
they also got lowell in that deal who everyone was sure was done, and he's had some very good years for them.
With Ortiz, he doesn't get much credit for that. He didn't sign him saying "we need a great hitter", he signed him to back up Jeremy Giambi. Hardly a Nostradamus-like move. Like I said, I like Drew, and I don't think he has any lack of effort. But the team was competing against itself and drove up the price. No one else was bidding, so there is no reason he should have gotten the contract he did. I don't have a problem with him getting rid of Nomar or Manny, but I have a big problem with what they got in return. In both trades, they failed to maximize the return. Manny for Bay would have been OK, but to then give up Hansen and Moss as well and get NO relief help was inexcusable. Pedro is a different story for me. I know he was declining, but I wanted him to stay just because I like him. I don't think it was a bad move to get rid of him though. Bottom line is, there hasn't been a "string of successful moves". There have been equal parts good and bad, and that, to me, equates to average at best, not some genius god.
Personally I'd take a 26 year old ace with a World Series MVP over a minor league shortstop every single time. Not that it matters, because Epstein not only had nothing to do with the move (he was not with the team at the time), but he wouldn't have made it.
It's immeasurable, but I have to credit Theo with not packaging up every bit of young talent and sending it off to mature somewhere else. It's not that I don't like free agent acquisitions - I do. However, teams around MLB have been playing the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets in free agency and it would have been easy enough to empty the farm system. Lester is a pretty good example of someone that may have been player number two in a three player deal for Santana. He was obviously valued pretty high and, at this point, it looks like you'd have to credit Theo for NOT dealing him.
Ya, the BoSox should have gotten more in return for Manny, but they still came out very good. Bay, who has numbers comparible to Manny, has 2 years on his contract and makes what? 13 million dollars LESS then Manny? They've cleared salary, so they have that money to go after bullpen help(Frod!), plus they dont have to worry about filling a spot in the outfield.
If it was Manny for Bay I'd have no problem with it. But it was Manny AND two prospects/lesser players for Bay. If they were going to include other guys, they should have insisted on some bullpen help in return.
How do you know he wouldn't have made the move? In Feeding the Monster Seth Mnookin wrote that Jed Hoyer was basically in constant communication with Epstein who was advising him. Considering that following Epstein's return in April he signed Beckett to a long term deal, I don't know how you can say with any authority that he wouldn't have made that deal. You are forgetting the fact that the Red Sox absolutely had to move Manny at any cost. He was openly telling anyone that would listen that the Sox didn't deserve him and he thought it was funny to say he was going to get traded to Green Bay the eve of the trade deadline. None of his teammates have defended him. The fact that the Sox got a relatively young, cost controlled player who at this point isn't dramatically worse player than Manny should make you ecstatic when everyone in baseball was aware of how badly the Sox F.O was trying to dump him. Of the two players we gave up, one of them is looking like he won't be in baseball much longer and the other is looking like a career 4th outfielder. The point is that under those circumstances getting hung up the value is silly when the trade off was pretty close. You can't analyze a G.M on a move-by move basis and just say that because a good number of his moves haven't panned out he isn't a very good G.M. Ultimately what it comes down to is how well the team assembled as a whole performs on the field, as Epstein has consistently built very good teams.Boston is about to make their 5th trip to the playoffs out of 6 years under Epstein and make a run for their 3rd World Series in 5 years.
