December 14, 2006

Jim Bowden: Sooper Friggin' Geenious

Holy Crap, he did it again! Pending physicals (Big Money, Big Money, No Whammies, STOP!) Trader Jim fleeced another GM. We now have documentary proof that KaBowden is no more than the 3rd-worst General Manager in Major League Baseball. This is big news, people! Even if the whole Vidro deal falls apart tomorrow, and it may, (though I have to believe the Nats would take Snelling & Fruto if they were missing three limbs between the two of them,) just finding another human being to agree to this deal is a masterstroke? And the Mariners are picking up 3/4 of Jose's salary? That's rum raisin icing on the cake, baby.

Elsewhere is the Nat(m)osphere you'll find detailed analysis of the trade, profiles of the two soon-to-be-newest Nats, paens to the glory days of Jose Vidro, speculation about whether this frees up cash to pursue actual, honest-to-god pitchers (Short answer: NO), and lots of non-specific giddiness. All of it is worth reading. But what matters to me is that this is the first tangible evidence I've seen that the Nats are adhering to a plan.

Not necessarily "The Plan" (copyright, trademark, patent-pending), mind you. But a clearly understood objective supported by identifiable steps along the way. Clearing Vidro's contract off the books was an absolute prerequisite to accomplishing anything in the next two years. Jose was a great guy, but he was an albatross on and off the field. Trading him was good. Getting something in return was brilliant.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

With you 100%. Everyone has a "plan" but usually no one adheres to hit.

Take my wife (please).

I have a plan. Don't spend more than $20 on any one item without getting the other's approval. Makes sense -- keeps both of us from screwing up.

She follows the plan, except when she finds something she likes.

As long as Bowden isn't like my wife, and follows the plan (even when hurts), we'll be fine.

How could it hurt?

Ring-ring: Hi Jim, this is John in Atlanta. Listen, I'll trade you Andruw Jones for Ryan Chuch. Deal?

That would hurt. You'd love to have Andruw, he's better than Church, but the "plan" doesn't allow for another one-year rental at $17 million or whatever he makes.

I really enjoy your writing. Keep up the good work.

Farid - The Beltway Boys