With his death this week, Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad was described as the man who "saved" major league baseball in the Twin Cities. True, sort of.
While he did buy the team from Calvin Griffith, don't overlook the fact that in 2001, when baseball considered contracting two teams, the original idea was to get rid of the Expos and Angels, with the Oakland A's moving to Anaheim.
The thought of getting $150 million for folding the team, however, appealed to Pohlad, who volunteered to be contracted, along with the Expos, although that never happened.
The strength that Pohlad had as the Twins owner was that he did not mess with day-to-day operations. His only concern was that the team didn't lose money.
As a result, Terry Ryan, who became the general manager in 1995, was never under pressure when the Twins suffered losing records his first six years on the job. That allowed Ryan a chance to develop consistency in the organization, and the residual was that in the next seven years, the Twins not only had a winning record in six of them, but won four division titles.
Stability is rare in Major League Baseball.
Colorado's Dan O'Dowd is about to embark on his 10th season as general manager of the Rockies, and he ranks fifth in terms of continuous service with his current team.
Consider that in the first nine seasons of the 21st century, the 30 major league teams have employed 72 general managers.
Four teams have had four different men in the general manager's job since O'Dowd took over in Colorado -- Baltimore, Washington/Montreal, Cincinnati and the Dodgers.
Notice a common thread?
The Dodgers, who are either No. 1 or No. 2 in the National League in payroll each year, have reached the postseason three times in the past nine seasons but have advanced past the first round only once.
The Orioles, Nationals and Reds, meanwhile, have been absent from postseason play.
The Orioles have suffered 11 consecutive losing seasons. Cincinnati has had eight losing seasons in a row and has finished in fifth place in the NL Central in four of the past six years. The Nationals have suffered a losing record in six of nine seasons this decade and have finished in last place in the NL East in four of the past five years, including the majors' worst record last year.
The division with the most continuity has been the NL West, where the Rockies, Padres and Giants have each had one general manager this decade. Arizona has had two. And then there are the Dodgers, with four.
INFIELD CHATTER
-- The Mets' three-year, $36 million offer to right-hander Derek Lowe isn't the length the 35-year-old pitcher wants, but the Mets remain optimistic in light of a lack of a stronger offer from another team.
-- Both the Dodgers and Brewers offered all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman a one-year contract with an option. Surprisingly, the Southern California native chose Milwaukee's $6 million offer.
-- Left-hander Andy Pettitte appears to have cut ties with the Yankees. The Cubs, Atlanta and the Dodgers are mentioned as possible teams of interest.
THE ROTATION
The five general managers with the longest continuous service:
General manager, Team, Date hired.
-- Billy Beane, Athletics, Oct. 17, 1992.
-- Kevin Towers, Padres, Nov. 17, 1993.
-- Brian Sabean, Giants, Sept. 30, 1996.
-- Brian Cashman, Yankees, Feb. 3, 1998.
-- Dan O'Dowd, Rockies Sept. 20, 1999.
OUT IN LEFT FIELD
Good luck to the Chicago Cubs.
They wanted a left-handed-hitting outfielder and decided to gamble on Milton Bradley, a talented switch-hitter with a spotty track record in terms of health and ability to control his emotions.
The Cubs will be Bradley's seventh big-league team, the fifth in five years. They gave him a three-year, $30 million deal. Bradley did not spend three seasons with any of the previous six teams.
CLOSING STATEMENT
Baseball is showing a concern about the nation's economic uncertainty.
It is obvious in the offseason activity on the free-agent market.
Only 78 of the 271 players with two-plus years of big-league service who found themselves on the open market this offseason have signed contracts, and only 10 of those received deals of three or more years.
The three longest deals were handed out by the Yankees -- Mark Teixeira, eight years; CC Sabathia, seven years, and A.J. Burnett, five years.
Ryan Dempster received a four-year deal to return to the Cubs.
Signed to three-year contracts were Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal with the Dodgers, Bradley with the Cubs, Raul Ibanez with the Phillies, Francisco Rodriguez with the Mets and Juan Rivera with the Angels.
MARQUIS WATCH
Jason Marquis gives the Rockies what they need -- stability at the back of the rotation.
He's not a big-name, dominating pitcher. He is a solid workhorse, though.
In five full seasons, Marquis has worked 167 innings or more and earned 11 victories or more each season. Each time he has been in the regular-season rotation for a team that made it to the postseason. He often has found himself the odd man out in October, having pitched in only five of the 10 postseason series in which his team has played.
But he has played a key role in helping the team through the regular-season grind.
While his 28 starts for the Cubs last year were the fewest he had made in five years, he worked into the sixth inning in 24 of those starts. In the past five years, he has worked into the sixth inning in 117 of 158 starts.
BY THE NUMBERS
-- 13: Wins vs. 43 losses last season for the Seattle starting trio of Carlos Silva (4-15), Jarrod Washburn (5-14) and Miguel Batista (4-14). They combined to make $30.85 million and are a big part of what led to the firing of general manager Billy Bavasi.
PAYING FOR ACTIONS NOW
Agent Scott Boras continues to look for a four- or five-year deal worth $25 million a year for outfielder Manny Ramirez, but teams aren't in a hurry to make a long-term commitment after the way Ramirez quit on the Red Sox last year. He forced a trade to the Dodgers because he was upset at the options for $20 million for 2009 and 2010.
Ramirez was an asset with the Dodgers, but that doesn't erase his actions in Fenway.
HE SAID IT
"With how the economy is right now, I would be very selfish or ungrateful if I come out and complain that I don't have a contract for 2010 when 2009 just started. I won't complain about that kind of stuff. I'll give my best every single day."
-- Washington manager Manny Acta on being in the final year of his contract.
(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)
Post new comment