January 22, 200719 yr http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6392576 Schuerholz tops list of general managers Dayn Perry / FOXSports.com Posted: 1 hour ago This winter's round of signings and trades are, for the most part, over and done with. So the time for assessment has arrived. It's not hard to find opinions on how each team's general manager has fared throughout the most recent Hot Stove season, but we're going to widen the scope a bit. What follows are the "GM Rankings" for MLB's current crop of top executives. The rankings are, of course, highly subjective, and they're based mostly on each GM's tenure with his current team (although, for those GMs who have toiled elsewhere we'll give minor consideration to their entire bodies of work). So let's light this candle ? 1. John Schuerholz, Braves On the job since ? October 1990 Playoff appearances: 14 The peerless GM running the peerless organization, so there's really no argument here. Schuerholz has, of course, won consistently and convincingly, and he's also managed to maintain a generally strong farm system over the years. 2. Walt Jocketty, Cardinals On the job since ? October 1994 Playoff appearances: 7 No GM is better at pulling off the big trade. Since coming to St. Louis, Jocketty has executed one-sided deals for players like Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria, Woody Williams, Mike Timlin, Darryl Kile, Admin Walker, Dennis Eckersley, Fernandos Vina and Tatis and Chuck Finley, among others. 3. Terry Ryan, Twins On the job since ? September 1994 Playoff appearances: 4 Billy Beane gets most of the ink when it comes to small-market success stories, but Ryan's work has been even more impressive. Under Ryan, the Twins have cultivated a tremendous eye for amateur talent and knack for identifying (and nabbing) projectable prospects in other organizations. 4. Billy Beane, A's On the job since ?October 1997 Playoff appearances: 5 Tight budget, much success. Now he's done it without two-thirds of the "Big Three" in the rotation, and the A's have finally won a playoff series. 5. Theo Epstein, Red Sox On the job since ? November 2002 Playoff appearances: 3 Epstein works with tremendous payroll flexibility, but he also does a fine job of vetting the "freely available talent" markets (see: Papi, Big). Under Epstein, the Sox have the occasional weakness for conspicuous consumption, but on the whole they've been quite successful since he took over. 6. Dave Dombrowski, Tigers On the job since ? October 2002 Playoff appearances: 1 Under Dombrowski, the Tigers have become one of most daring teams in baseball when the amateur draft comes around. They won the pennant last season, and with all those power arms in the system they're not going anywhere. 7. Kevin Towers, Padres On the job since ? November 1995 Playoff appearances: 4 He's in a class with Beane and Ryan in terms of succeeding without loosened purse strings. The difference is that Towers has been doing it for years. For the first time in franchise history, the Pads have reeled off three straight winning seasons. 8. Kenny Williams, White Sox On the job since ? October 2000 Playoff appearances: 1 Five years ago, Williams would've been near the bottom of this list. No exec in recent memory has evolved to such a degree. He identifies weaknesses and addresses them efficiently, and he often deals from a position of strength on the trade market. The Mets' Omar Minaya and the Braves' John Schuerholz are trying to one-up each other in the NL East. (Rich Pilling/MLB / Getty Images) 9. Omar Minaya, Mets On the job since ?September 2004 Playoff appearances: 1 Minaya trusts his youngsters and does well in terms of identifying premium talent and filling holes on the roster. He's also made the Mets the destination for Latin talent. Let's also not forget the solid work he did under impossible circumstances with Montreal. 10. Admin Beinfest, Marlins On the job since ? February 2002 Playoff appearances: 1 Perhaps the most underrated operator in the game today. Beinfest has a World Series ring, and he did a tremendous job of trading off vets for young talent at the behest of Jeffrey Loria. 11. Brian Cashman, Yankees On the job since ? February 1998 Playoff appearances: 9 It's difficult to know which decisions Cashman is making and which are dictated to him from on high. The Yankees have won and won often on his watch, but those limitless coffers have more than a little to do with that. 12. Bill Stoneman, Angels On the job since ? November 1999 Playoff appearances: 3 Stoneman makes seriously questionable contract decisions from time to time (e.g., Darin Erstad, Gary Matthews Jr.), but there's no questioning the overall success he's had. 13. Mark Shapiro, Indians On the job since ? November 2001 Playoff appearances: 0 Outstanding job assembling the young talent that's now in place. Occasionally gets desperate in the search for relievers and is overly loyal to Eric Wedge. Still, the Tribe's poised for a nice run in the brutal AL Central. 14. Doug Melvin, Brewers On the job since ?September 2002 Playoff appearances: 0 Never deserved to be fired at Texas. Brewers farm system improved under Melvin, and they're now darkhorse contenders in the NL Central. 15. Pat Gillick, Phillies On the job since ? November 2005 Playoff appearances: 0 Since leaving Toronto, Gillick's success has mostly been a matter of good timing. Poor track record of building farm systems, but a capable "win now" exec. 16. Josh Byrnes, Diamondbacks On the job since ? November 2005 Playoff appearances: 0 Too early to make any lasting judgments about Byrnes, but he's one of the brightest young GMs in the game today. Nice work seamlessly integrating the wealth of young talent. Javier Vazquez trade was a masterstoke. 17. Brian Sabean, Giants On the job since ? September 1996 Playoff appearances: 4 The Giants have won a pennant and three division titles under Sabean, but his neglect of the farm system and his willingness to part with the few prospects the Giants have developed are not to his credit. Neither is his undying fondness for decline-phase veterans. 18. Tim Purpura, Astros On the job since ?November 2004 Playoff appearances: 1 The ?Stros have won a pennant under Purpura, but Gerry Hunsicker's fingerprints were all over that team. He's done little to distinguish himself, but he's kept Houston in the competitive fray. Purpura, like Towers, Epstein and Cashman, is skilled at blending statistical and traditional methods of evaluating talent. Long-term, he should become one of the game's best. 19. Dayton Moore, Royals On the job since ? June 2006 Playoff appearances: 0 Moore has made some nifty additions during his brief tenure, but the trade of Andy Sisco for yet another DH/corner defender type was highly dubious. Lots of work ahead in a ruthlessly tough division, but elite talents like Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are on the way. 20. J.P. Ricciardi, Blue Jays On the job since ? November 2001 Playoff appearances: 0 Last season, the Jays finished higher than third place for the first time 1993. He's made the organization more efficient, but the farm system has foundered badly under him, mostly because of his college-heavy drafts. Ricciardi's social skills and media savvy also leave much to be desired. 21. Ned Colletti, Dodgers On the job since ? November 2005 Playoff appearances: 1 The Dodgers netted a playoff appearance in Colletti's first season, but in the process he traded away a number of high-ceiling prospects. He learned his craft under Sabean, so the "prospects are bargaining chits" mentality was heavily inculcated. 22. Andrew Friedman, Devil Rays On the job since ? November 2005 Playoff appearances: 0 Very little track record to go on, but so far Friedman has failed where Chuck LaMar failed ? in finding pitching. That's the challenge going forward. 23. Jon Daniels, Rangers On the job since ? October 2005 Playoff appearances: Daniels has done some good things, but he's betrayed a questionable eye for pitching. The Rangers' front office needs to understand that groundball pitchers are a necessity, and chasing the likes of Barry Zito (thankfully for Texas he signed elsewhere) is not defensible. He also took the short end of the Alfonso Soriano trade with D.C. 24. Jim Bowden, Nationals On the job since ? October 2004 Playoff appearances: 0 Bowden is the depth and breadth of inconsistency. He's occasionally brilliant on the trade market (see immediately above and below), but he's a poor evaluator when it comes to signing upper-tier free agents. 25. Jim Hendry, Cubs On the job since ? July 2002 Playoff appearances: 1 Hendry was brilliant as a scouting director, but he's woefully overmatched as a GM. He's failed to identify pitchers well suited to work in Wrigley, and that trend continued this winter. Hendry's now operating with a high payroll, but it's not likely to make much of a difference. 26. Mike Flanagan, Orioles On the job since ?December 2002 Playoff appearances: 0 The O's these days aren't as miserable as they're often made out to be, and the farm system is improving. However, the pointless ? and expensive ? patch job remains the hallmark of this once-proud organization. Flanagan has the smarts, but he lacks the autonomy to run the organization his way. 27. Dave Littlefield, Pirates On the job since ? July 2001 Playoff appearances: 0 If you haven't had a winning season in almost 15 years, then you'd at least hope the farm system is brimming. That's not the case with Littlefield and the Pirates. In particular, he's done a poor job managing his 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. There's no discernible plan in Pittsburgh. 28. Wayne Krivsky, Reds On the job since ? February 2006 Playoff appearances: 0 Krivsky hasn't been in Cincy for very long, but he's already done damage. In particular, the 2006 trade that sent Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner to the Nationals in exchange for Bill Bray, Gary Majewski, Royce Clayton, Brandan Harris and Daryl Thompson was, from Cincy's perspective, one of the worst trades of the decade. Like a lot of GMs whose teams toil in hitter-friendly parks, Krivsky acts out of desperation when trying to find pitching. 29. Dan O'Dowd, Rockies On the job since ? September 1999 Playoff appearances: 0 One of the modern world's great mysteries is how O'Dowd is still employed as a Major League GM. He discards prevailing strategies like used tissue, and the farm system has churned out precious little on his watch. He's the guy who gave Mike Hampton the 15th-largest contract in sports history and signed Todd Helton through 2011. ?Nuff said. 30. Bill Bavasi, Mariners On the job since ? November 2003 Playoff appearances: 0 No GM is worse when it comes to identifying free-agent targets, and on the trade market he's also played a little fast and loose with the organizational depth. He'll leave the M's as an organization that's in demonstrably worse shape than when he arrived.
January 22, 200719 yr No GM is better at pulling off the big trade. Since coming to St. Louis, Jocketty has executed one-sided deals for players like Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria, Woody Williams, Mike Timlin, Darryl Kile, Admin Walker, Dennis Eckersley, Fernandos Vina and Tatis and Chuck Finley, among others. And was amazingly lucky that giving up Haren, Calero, and soon to be hot shot Barton, for Mark Mulder didn't cost him the world series. What a joke. That was probably the 2nd worst trade of the last 15 years (AJ/Liriano, Nathan, and Boof). Jocketty, Dombrowski, Williams, and Minaya should all be down 5-10 spots per their ranking. Shapiro and Stoneman should be in the 6-9 range. Melvin and Moore up a few slots. Beinfest is just fine.
January 22, 200719 yr Dayn Perry wouldn't know baseball if you hit him over the head with a bat and then clobbered him in the nuts with a ball! Have you read any of his other previous baseball columns? The guy just regurgitates whatever other columnists write in other hometown fish wrappers. He is sometimes truly clueless.
January 22, 200719 yr Dayn Perry wouldn't know baseball if you hit him over the head with a bat and then clobbered him in the nuts with a ball! Have you read any of his other previous baseball columns? The guy just regurgitates whatever other columnists write in other hometown fish wrappers. He is sometimes truly clueless. Thank you for saving me the trouble :thumbup
January 22, 200719 yr I have a hard time putting guys with limitless budgets in the top-10, because unlike the NFL or NBA, big money teams are also at a substantial advantage when drafting, too. My top-5 would be Scheurholz, Ryan, Shapiro, Beane and Williams.
January 22, 200719 yr I have a hard time putting guys with limitless budgets in the top-10, because unlike the NFL or NBA, big money teams are also at a substantial advantage when drafting, too. My top-5 would be Scheurholz, Ryan, Shapiro, Beane and Williams. Ken Williams makes me want to throw up in my mouth, but I couldn't agree more with your 1-4. I'd probably put Stoneman 5 even if he does random bonehead contracts (Matthews Jr.), and isn't very good with minor trades (losing Callaspo to DBacks for nothing, etc). Very good talent evaluator. They are freaking loaded in the farm.
January 22, 200719 yr whats wrong with williams? he drafts safe low ceciling pitchers that add value to his system, and he isn't afraid to throw his hat in the race when it comes to big trades(garcia), hes also very good at addressing undervalued power arms(Jenks, Thornton, and soon to be Aardsma, Masset, and Sisco). I agree with Tswifts top five sans Shapiro. i think Beinfest should've been top 5, and Theo is an over rated GM.
January 22, 200719 yr I have a hard time putting guys with limitless budgets in the top-10, because unlike the NFL or NBA, big money teams are also at a substantial advantage when drafting, too. My top-5 would be Scheurholz, Ryan, Shapiro, Beane and Williams. Ken Williams makes me want to throw up in my mouth, but I couldn't agree more with your 1-4. I'd probably put Stoneman 5 even if he does random bonehead contracts (Matthews Jr.), and isn't very good with minor trades (losing Callaspo to DBacks for nothing, etc). Very good talent evaluator. They are freaking loaded in the farm. Williams hasn't done anything to remove his name from consideration. He won a title two years ago, has kept his club in contention and hasn't had one of those "you've got to be kidding me" trades in recent memory. Everyone else who'd deserve top-5 merit (Beinfest, Stoneman) all have had "what the hell were they thinking" moves, and recently. Plus, part of the Angels depth comes from a system in place that provides absolutely no benefit for low-budget teams to rebuild quickly. Both the amateur draft and international scouting allow the big boys to keep up, if not pace, the competition.
January 22, 200719 yr Williams hasn't done anything to remove his name from consideration. He won a title two years ago, has kept his club in contention and hasn't had one of those "you've got to be kidding me" trades in recent memory. Everyone else who'd deserve top-5 merit (Beinfest, Stoneman) all have had "what the hell were they thinking" moves, and recently. Plus, part of the Angels depth comes from a system in place that provides absolutely no benefit for low-budget teams to rebuild quickly. Both the amateur draft and international scouting allow the big boys to keep up, if not pace, the competition. Trading Brandon McCarthy for junk isn't a what the hell were they thinking moment? Acquiring SP not as good as Garcia? Sisco isn't that good either, although I do like Aardsma but moving Cotts makes it pretty lateral, and he continues to block Field at 3B when he should be moving Crede for anything. And quite possibly, the worst thing Ken Williams does is have Scott Posednik as his LF. That's just unacceptable. Williams got phenomenally lucky with the WS. I'll take any GM in his division over him, Beane, Stoneman, Theo, Cashman, and then I'd really have to think about who I hate less, Williams or Riccardi, for the next slot in the AL.
January 23, 200719 yr Epstein, Jocketty, and Minaya should not be placed above Beinfest. Completely agree. How is Minaya this high? I understand everyone wants to give him credit for the Delgado/LoDuca acquisitions, but it wasn't as if the Marlins were fleeced in those deals, particuarly if Petit and/or Jacobs are flipped for an up-and-coming CFer. Also, he really can't be given credit with what are considered the top prospects in their organization (who were pretty much all acquired prior to Minaya coming on board). P,lus, Minaya could have had Delgado without giving up any prospects if he didn't try to "out-Latin" the Marlins a year earlier with his FA sales pitch. I guess it is really a vote for his work prior to joining the Mets, which I cannot characterize as better than what Beinfest has done with the Marlins. I am a Jocketty fan though.
January 23, 200719 yr Trading Brandon McCarthy for junk isn't a what the hell were they thinking moment? Acquiring SP not as good as Garcia? Sisco isn't that good either, although I do like Aardsma but moving Cotts makes it pretty lateral, and he continues to block Field at 3B when he should be moving Crede for anything. And quite possibly, the worst thing Ken Williams does is have Scott Posednik as his LF. That's just unacceptable. Williams got phenomenally lucky with the WS. I'll take any GM in his division over him, Beane, Stoneman, Theo, Cashman, and then I'd really have to think about who I hate less, Williams or Riccardi, for the next slot in the AL. McCarthy wasn't traded for Junk, Jon Danks isn't junk, hes a bit younger and his arb clock hasn't started and hes a lefty too boot, add to the fact that at every level he struggles and then precedes to dominate, he will be taking over for Mark after he leaves for FA. Nick Masset is going to be an 1337 BP arm for a long time, hes a tick below jenks in terms of "stuff". The white sox BP is the best overall in MLB in terms of raw "stuff" now its up to don cooper to get them to produce. Garcia struggled mightily last year and only during the second half after he found a splitter did he begin to dominate, he very well could wind up like Loaiza after developing a new pitch. Floyd could very well justify his draft status and turn around his career hes only 23; two other "late bloomers" come to mind(Halladay & Carpenter), and Gio is going to be reunited with JR Perdew and far away from reading; thats huge. Sisco has a ton of potential, people were saying Matt Thornton was junk too, until last season, the only difference is Sisco is 23yrs old and has better secondary stuff, and he was had for a back up 1B blocked by Konerko and Thome, thats a steal anyway you look at it. I'm with you with regards to Crede, and he recently signed with the sox, you can't trade what you don't own. With the angels loosing McPhearson for all of 07 and in need of a GG 3B capable of hitting 30 HR, the sox and angels look to be good trade partners, Aybar and Sean Rodriguez come to mind for crede. Your right about podsednik but players comparable to his skill lvl are making millions more. Williams didn't get phenomenally lucky with the WS, the sox lead wire to wire and won 16 of their last 17 games, going 11-1 in the post season, only one other team comes to mind that did that, the 98 yankees. The sox also hit over 200HR in 05, so it wasn't "small ball".
January 23, 200719 yr McCarthy wasn't traded for Junk, Jon Danks isn't junk, hes a bit younger and his arb clock hasn't started and hes a lefty too boot, add to the fact that at every level he struggles and then precedes to dominate, he will be taking over for Mark after he leaves for FA. Nick Masset is going to be an 1337 BP arm for a long time, hes a tick below jenks in terms of "stuff". The white sox BP is the best overall in MLB in terms of raw "stuff" now its up to don cooper to get them to produce. Garcia struggled mightily last year and only during the second half after he found a splitter did he begin to dominate, he very well could wind up like Loaiza after developing a new pitch. Floyd could very well justify his draft status and turn around his career hes only 23; two other "late bloomers" come to mind(Halladay & Carpenter), and Gio is going to be reunited with JR Perdew and far away from reading; thats huge. Sisco has a ton of potential, people were saying Matt Thornton was junk too, until last season, the only difference is Sisco is 23yrs old and has better secondary stuff, and he was had for a back up 1B blocked by Konerko and Thome, thats a steal anyway you look at it. I'm with you with regards to Crede, and he recently signed with the sox, you can't trade what you don't own. With the angels loosing McPhearson for all of 07 and in need of a GG 3B capable of hitting 30 HR, the sox and angels look to be good trade partners, Aybar and Sean Rodriguez come to mind for crede. Your right about podsednik but players comparable to his skill lvl are making millions more. Williams didn't get phenomenally lucky with the WS, the sox lead wire to wire and won 16 of their last 17 games, going 11-1 in the post season, only one other team comes to mind that did that, the 98 yankees. The sox also hit over 200HR in 05, so it wasn't "small ball". McCarthy is better then every pitcher mentioned. Terrible trade. McCarthy is amazingly cheap for years, and Danks is not near the pitcher he can become. Rangers made a steal - and that's really saying something when they are idiots themselves who give away guys like Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for starters a year away from FA and a decent setup man. The White Sox can have all the "raw stuff" in the world, but production is what wins. There is no guarantee any of them develop, and if you look at Bobby Jenks whip (1.39), I'm not scared. He's going to blow up one of these days. They'd have been much better served keeping Freddy for another season (or dealing Garland, who they actually signed, whose terrible. Jon Garland. Honestly? You're trading McCarthy for prospects, but keeping Garland at $10 mil a season. Really?), and dishing the aforementioned Crede. Always huge oversights with Williams. He also did a good job alienating the best player in Chicago White Sox history by not giving him a straight answer. Great class, then he gets into a pissing match! No wonder his manager is out of control. He has no control himself. They'll be last place in their division within 2 seasons. If you don't believe me, I'll be more then happy to detail why Cleveland and Minnesota are freaking awesome, and how the pitching heavy Tigers, and hitter heavy Royals, will start destroying them longterm. Good GM's don't destroy their team after peak years, and Williams will easily prove this. He got phenomenally lucky with say, his pitchers pitching out of their absolute minds in the playoffs (where they all regressed to normalcy soon after), AJ being a "consummate pro" and running to 1B on strikeouts, and Posednik hitting his first HR of the year to decide games, etc. The best team in baseball doesn't always win the world series. Kudos to Williams for defeating all odds and sneaking through, but he is no where near the pedigree of the last few WS winners - Theo, Beinfest, Stoneman, Jocketty. NOWHERE near them.
January 23, 200719 yr No wai, you mean Beinfest really isnt the best GM baseball? Blashphemy. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I would put him in front of Minaya, but thats about it.
January 23, 200719 yr McCarthy wasn't traded for Junk, Jon Danks isn't junk, hes a bit younger and his arb clock hasn't started and hes a lefty too boot, add to the fact that at every level he struggles and then precedes to dominate, he will be taking over for Mark after he leaves for FA. Nick Masset is going to be an 1337 BP arm for a long time, hes a tick below jenks in terms of "stuff". The white sox BP is the best overall in MLB in terms of raw "stuff" now its up to don cooper to get them to produce. Garcia struggled mightily last year and only during the second half after he found a splitter did he begin to dominate, he very well could wind up like Loaiza after developing a new pitch. Floyd could very well justify his draft status and turn around his career hes only 23; two other "late bloomers" come to mind(Halladay & Carpenter), and Gio is going to be reunited with JR Perdew and far away from reading; thats huge. Sisco has a ton of potential, people were saying Matt Thornton was junk too, until last season, the only difference is Sisco is 23yrs old and has better secondary stuff, and he was had for a back up 1B blocked by Konerko and Thome, thats a steal anyway you look at it. I'm with you with regards to Crede, and he recently signed with the sox, you can't trade what you don't own. With the angels loosing McPhearson for all of 07 and in need of a GG 3B capable of hitting 30 HR, the sox and angels look to be good trade partners, Aybar and Sean Rodriguez come to mind for crede. Your right about podsednik but players comparable to his skill lvl are making millions more. Williams didn't get phenomenally lucky with the WS, the sox lead wire to wire and won 16 of their last 17 games, going 11-1 in the post season, only one other team comes to mind that did that, the 98 yankees. The sox also hit over 200HR in 05, so it wasn't "small ball". McCarthy is better then every pitcher mentioned. Terrible trade. McCarthy is amazingly cheap for years, and Danks is not near the pitcher he can become. Rangers made a steal - and that's really saying something when they are idiots themselves who give away guys like Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for starters a year away from FA and a decent setup man. The White Sox can have all the "raw stuff" in the world, but production is what wins. There is no guarantee any of them develop, and if you look at Bobby Jenks whip (1.39), I'm not scared. He's going to blow up one of these days. They'd have been much better served keeping Freddy for another season (or dealing Garland, who they actually signed, whose terrible. Jon Garland. Honestly? You're trading McCarthy for prospects, but keeping Garland at $10 mil a season. Really?), and dishing the aforementioned Crede. Always huge oversights with Williams. He also did a good job alienating the best player in Chicago White Sox history by not giving him a straight answer. Great class, then he gets into a pissing match! No wonder his manager is out of control. He has no control himself. They'll be last place in their division within 2 seasons. If you don't believe me, I'll be more then happy to detail why Cleveland and Minnesota are freaking awesome, and how the pitching heavy Tigers, and hitter heavy Royals, will start destroying them longterm. Good GM's don't destroy their team after peak years, and Williams will easily prove this. He got phenomenally lucky with say, his pitchers pitching out of their absolute minds in the playoffs (where they all regressed to normalcy soon after), AJ being a "consummate pro" and running to 1B on strikeouts, and Posednik hitting his first HR of the year to decide games, etc. The best team in baseball doesn't always win the world series. Kudos to Williams for defeating all odds and sneaking through, but he is no where near the pedigree of the last few WS winners - Theo, Beinfest, Stoneman, Jocketty. NOWHERE near them. Yep, agree 107%
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.