The text of Theo Epstein’s exit statement is at MLB.com.
My decision not to return as General Manager of the Red Sox is an extremely difficult one. I will always cherish the relationships I developed here and am proud to have worked side-by-side with so many great people, in and out of uniform, as together we [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:44 pm | Management | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 31, 2005
Dodgers Thoughts on Dodgers Tradition
Jon Weisman spells out quite nicely what traditions the Dodgers hold dear:
The record shows that DePodesta did not put the Dodgers in the playoffs again in 2005. Shocking, I know. Do you know what the Dodgers’ record for consecutive postseason appearances is in their 121-year history? Two. It is a Dodger tradition, like it or [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:53 pm | Management | Permalink | 14 Comments
October 31, 2005
Theo Epstein Resigns
The Boston Herald reports that Theo Epstein resigned from the Red Sox this afternoon. Theo shows he’s no Brian Cashman:
Epstein had done some agonizing soul-searching the past few days, torn between staying at the job he had always coveted since his childhood days in Brookline and leaving because of intra-organizational politics and power struggles [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:01 pm | Management | Permalink | 30 Comments
October 31, 2005
Pena to the Yankees?
The Daily News is reporting that the Yankees are interested in hiring Tony Pena as a coach.
The second benefit to adding Pena is that the Bombers currently are without a specialized catchers coach. Bench coach Joe Girardi worked with Jorge Posada, John Flaherty and the other catchers during spring training and continued that responsibility during [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:34 pm | Management | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 31, 2005
Haunted House
The Royals turned Kauffman stadium into a haunted house, and Joe Posnanski uses the tour as a chance to say what scares him about the Royals.
I?ve spent a lot of time thinking about Royals? defense lately, which is probably not too healthy. But I can?t shake this feeling that the biggest problem for the Royals [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:06 pm | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 31, 2005
You Can Always Go, Downtown
Here’s an interesting article on how Anaheim is trying to develop a downtown around its ballpark, instead of the other way around.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:58 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 31, 2005
DePodesta’s Moves
A Large Regular evaluates each of Paul DePodesta trades and signings and concludes the Dodgers GM did a pretty good job.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:57 am | Management | Permalink | 16 Comments
October 31, 2005
Globe Reports Epstein Signed
The Boston Globe has a different take from the Herald, reporting that Theo Epstein will sign for three years. Since the Globe has a vested interest in the Red Sox, you’d think they had the inside line on the story.
It is believed that Epstein, who made $350,000 last season, ranking him near the bottom of [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:46 am | Management | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 31, 2005
Appreciating Franchise
It looks like the World Championship resulted in a big increase in value for the White Sox franchise:
Forbes, using available business data and expert analysis, annually estimates the worth of major league teams. In the spring, it pegged the value of the team at $262 million, calling it “among the most poorly managed franchises in [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:27 am | Management | Permalink | 5 Comments
October 31, 2005
Hard to See, the Dark Side Is
The Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman reports there are no signs as to which way Theo Epstein will decide his future with the Red Sox.
According to sources close to the talks, Epstein had neither reached a decision nor indicated which way he was leaning late last night. He planned to sleep on it and reveal his [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:08 am | Management | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 31, 2005
Rating the Rookies
Tom Singer at MLB.com handicaps the NL Rookie of the Year. I’d go with Ryan Howard myself. His batting average wasn’t as high as Francoeur’s, but Ryan’s OBA and slugging percentage was better. Ryan was also pretty even home and road, while Francoeur was greatly helped by his ballpark.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:45 am | Awards | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 31, 2005
Off Season Preview
I’m a guest on today’s podcast of Without a Curse.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:30 am | Broadcasts | Permalink | No Comments
October 30, 2005
Al Lopez Passes
Al Lopez passed away today.
Lopez was best known for being the only AL manager to lead teams that finished ahead of the New York Yankees between 1949-64. He helped the Indians to the 1954 pennant and, until last week, was the last manager to lead the White Sox to the World Series — their 1959 [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:44 pm | Deaths | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 30, 2005
Welfare Reform
One thing we’ll need to deal with next year is an expiring collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA runs on on Dec. 19, 2006. I don’t know the time tables for striking vs. locking out vs. declaring an impasse, but my feeling is the 2006 season is in no danger. Anyone who [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:30 pm | Management | Permalink | 10 Comments
October 30, 2005
Replacing the Legend
Roger McDowell gets the nod as Atlanta’s new pitching coach.
“We are absolutely thrilled to add Roger to our staff,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “Roger was a great competitor as a player — he started, he relieved and he even fought through arm problems, so he comes in a with great level of experience that [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:47 am | Management | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 30, 2005
The DePodesta Aftermath
Steve Henson writes the news article for the LA Times. With all around him chaos, DePodesta manages a dignified quote on his way out the door:
DePodesta learned that he would be fired from a reporter Friday. McCourt did not speak to him until Saturday morning, but by the afternoon DePodesta seemed to have come [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:27 am | Management | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 29, 2005
Finn on Free Agents
Chad Finn at Touching All the Bases looks at this year’s free agent class and who out there might help the Red Sox.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:17 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2005
Will Carroll Interview
Will Carroll offered me a chance to interview him about the steroid rumors, and I was more than happy to oblige. I submitted questions to Will by e-mail, and here are his replies.
Baseball Musings: You’ve helped confirm a rumor about an AL playoff outfielder testing positive for steroids. How did you come to have [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:59 pm | Cheating | Permalink | 13 Comments
October 29, 2005
Fired
Here’s the official firing story from the AP.
He had been an assistant to Oakland GM Billy Beane since 1998 when he was hired by McCourt at age 31. DePodesta worked for the Cleveland Indians for three years before joining the A’s.
Beane, under tight payrolls restrictions in Oakland, lead the revolutionary change in player evaluation that [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:46 pm | Management | Permalink | 11 Comments
October 29, 2005
Blowing in the Wind
Now Manny Ramirez wants to be traded.
Gene Mato, one of Manny Ramirez’s representatives, communicated to Red Sox owner John W. Henry yesterday that Ramirez wants to be traded, and will not report to spring training if his wish to be dealt is not met, according to a team source.
Except maybe he doesn’t (emphasis added).
Ramirez is [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:29 pm | Players | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 29, 2005
DePodesta Out?
The LA Times is reporting that DePodesta is on his way out as Dodgers GM. I’m a bit surprised by this and am taking the report with a grain of salt. After all, why fire the manager because he doesn’t get along with the GM, then fire the GM?
On Oct. 3, the day after [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:46 pm | Management | Permalink | 6 Comments
October 29, 2005
No Agent
I thought this was interesting:
Negotiations have at times grown strained and awkward between Epstein and president/CEO Larry Lucchino, a situation that has not been helped by the club not allowing Epstein to use an agent. However, no new snags were believed to have developed yesterday.
What did the Red Sox say, “If you get an [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:17 am | Management | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 29, 2005
Less Than Glamourous
I am being chided for leaving Paul Konerko and Johnny Damon off the list of glamorous free agents. Have you looked at Paul Konerko’s stats, instead of listening to pundits? Carlos Delgado is a much better baseball player, and there was very little interest in him last year. Konerko is 30 and [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:12 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 29, 2005
Narrowing the Field
Mr. Irrelevant posts more on the latest steroid rumor, eliminating the White Sox from the mix. I have also received this same information from another source. It appears there is substance behind this rumor, as opposed to the 50 players testing positive one we heard earlier this summer.
The Lehigh Valley Yankees Fan Club [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:49 am | Cheating | Permalink | No Comments
October 28, 2005
Will Leitch Speaks
Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com interviews Will Leitch of DeadSpin.com on the role of blogs in sports. You can download the podcast at the link.
Posted by David Pinto at 4:54 pm | Interviews | Permalink | No Comments
October 28, 2005
Free Agent Time
ESPN posts its list of potential free agents. Looks to me like there’s slim pickings unless you’re interested in a closer. Bengie Molina, Rafael Furcal, Brian Giles, A.J. Burnett and Jason Schmidt seem to be the only glamorous players that might be worth big bucks. This is going to be a market [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:48 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 8 Comments
October 28, 2005
The Moneyball Club Grows
It’s being reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks are hiring Josh Byrnes to replace Joe Garagiola Jr. as general manager. Byrnes currently is assistant GM to Theo Epstein in Boston.
The evolution of the baseball GM continues. We’re seeing a version of mammals replacing dinosaurs. At first, there was one tucked in a corner. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:16 am | Management | Permalink | 7 Comments
October 28, 2005
Cashman In Charge
Brian Cashman not only negotiated himself a big contract, he also negotiated himself a power boost:
During negotiations, Cashman said, he wrote out a “document of philosophy” explaining how he believes the chain of command should be and got full agreement from those above him, including team president Randy Levine, chief operating officer Lonn Trost, general [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:07 am | Management | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 27, 2005
Baseball Musings Radio Show
If you missed last night’s show, you can hear the recorded version here. It’s also available on demand at TPSRadio.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:58 pm | Podcasts | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 27, 2005
Red Sox Blog
Sox1Fan has a lengthy post on his feelings about the GM negotiations.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:58 pm | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
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