Email a copy of 'Ranking Mets GMs All-Time' to a friend
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By Howard Megdal | at
Email a copy of 'Ranking Mets GMs All-Time' to a friend
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Mark S
If Omar and Steve Phillips are 5 and 6, you know you haven’t had that many good GMs…
HerbertAnchovy
Sandy Alderson will only be their 12th GM in history.
FarmerErnie
So much for Medgal for GM. You could have been ranked 12th one day Howard…I’m sure the Wilpons teared as they crossed you off their list of candidates. What a clown.
basemonkey
Interesting topic idea. Who would like to see this done for other teams?
penpaper
Was thinking the same thing. Pretty much everything these guys put up is a joy to read. Maybe top 5 gms of all-time for each organization..?
Sniderlover
Yeah I’d love to read that.
Keep at it guys.
HerbertAnchovy
Count me in.
The_Silver_Stacker
There would be some hilarious comments. One thing I find odd is there is a large group of Red Sox fans that love to rag on Epstein, but he is really their best GM ever afterall he brought them 2 Rings and numerous playoff appearances. Just like Cashman who gets ragged on by my fellow Yanks fans
MetsEventually
Not a very strong history with Minaya on that list…
Smrtbusnisman04
Objectivity tends to gloss over the horrible details of history. The below market acquisition of Johan Santana is what saves him (Shame on Minnesota!!).
I thought the Heath Bell and Matt Lindstrom trades were far worse than the Scott Kazmir one.
The_Silver_Stacker
they took less talent from the mets just to get him out of the league
fanofcleonjones
Only in retrospect. At the time Kazmir was traded he was regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. If the Mets had seriously considered shopping him around, they could have gotten a lot more than Zambrano. That Heath Bell has turned out to be a more successful major leaguer is besides the point.
That said, the Bell trade was certainly foolish in its on right.
Infield Fly
I am one fan who is OK with Alderson’s plan to pass on free agents this year. You can’t bring change by doing business as usual, and the payroll is already bloated with agents who never lived up to their billing. Let’s get ’em off the books before bringing in any more, and find more effective ways to build a real and lasting contender.
moonraker45
Great piece Howard. well done.
CitizenSnips
Was McDonald sent in to purposely sabotage the team? Good god some of those trades were terrible.
Just_MLB
Minaya really should be 3rd on this list.
mrmet128
one day it’ll say:
1. Sandy Alderson
2. Frank Cashen
Just_MLB
not if jeff wilpon has anything to say about it !
mrmet128
so far its looking like the Wilpons are staying out of it
but can we all just shut up about these rumors about the Wilpons meddling? if you owned a team, wouldn’t you wanna know what’s always going on?
Just_MLB
its way to early to tell. they did the same thing when Fred hired Omar. as a matter of fact, the big story behind Omar taking the position was the fact that it was with the condition of “full autonomy”. granted, fred i think gets it now, but lets wait til year 3 and see if Sandy still has the same amount of power/influence. ( im hoping he does )
mrmet128
i think Omar lost his full autonomy because he started making bad moves and was making the team look bad so Jeff got tired of it
Alderson doesn’t look like the type that will call out a news reporter in a press conference, fight with Carlos Beltran over surgery, etc
i think he’ll make smart moves which is something Minaya stopped doing after 07
Just_MLB
hmm…i think he lost it in winter of 2006. when ownership declined the manny/lastings trade. that told me he had lost some pull already.
then the wilpons constantly pushing players to play through injuries ( reyes, beltran, santana ) in fear of fans running away from Citified. constantly telling the public that said injured player was 1-2 weeks away. ( in 2009 ). Braden Looper/JJ Putz/Brian Schneider even said in interviews that players were told not to report injuries to the public.
Infield Fly
You are right – Alderson does not look like he starts conflicts in a press conference, but the Wilpons history of interference started before Omar. Meanwhile, Alderson is just starting his tenure as GM and we’re just getting to know him. Optimism is a good thing but let’s avoid the tendency to declare victory before the first down (excuse the football analogy – Jets postgame in the background!). Give him the time to develop his plan, make moves and get a groove going with ownership and with the team. Only then will we know what we’ve got in him — and how the Wilpons will respond.
icedrake523
Enough with these rumors. Everyone who would know about it has denied it. It’s a baseless rumor the media continues to circulate. But when do they care about facts? The team is a business that the Wilpons own. They have a right, as owners, to have input on the decisions their business makes. The difference now is that instead of having a bumbling moron guide them, it will be someone intelligent, articulate, and experienced.
Just_MLB
hmmm…u mean like the doctor for the LA Dodgers who came out and called Jeff Wilpon a liar ( with regards to Reyes medical reports ) ?or Nelson Doubleday ( see quotes from 2002 ) ?or the handful of other NL exec’s who have made statements about the Wilpons?Not sure why u would blindly defend someone who is pretty much the MLB equivalent of Charles Dolan. since firing Cashen, the avg shelf life for a GM in Queens is about 2-3 years….just sayin…
just sayin…
icedrake523
None of them knew anything about how much power Minaya had which is what we were discussing. Even if Minaya did lose power, it was because of what happened in 2009, the underperformance, Tony Bernazard, and then the spat with Adam Rubin.
The Wilpons are no where close to being as bad as Charles Dolan despite how much some Met fans want to think.
Just_MLB
of course, no one really knew about omar’s declining power. all this innuendo about the wilpons are just rumors. ignore everything u have heard for the past 15 years.
Just_MLB
how many people have to come out and say the same thing, before u actually start to believe there is truth to it?
icedrake523
You need to work on your reading comprehension. You’re not getting my point at all.
Just_MLB
just because i don’t agree with your statement, doesn’t mean I didn’t understand it.
I have several links to people who have all pretty much said the same thing about Jeff Wilpon.
(none of that matters, since u will shake ur head like a 12 year old and say it isn’t true)
icedrake523
I’ve never denied anything. I said the people who would know about Omar’s autonomy have denied everything the media has said. What Doubleday, the LA doctor, or anyone else have said about Jeff Wilpon is irrelevant to the issue I brought up.
mrmet128
thank you icedrake. thats what i’ve been trying to say.
Just_MLB
and who would “those people” be ?
Just_MLB
Re: manny ramirez – “Omar and the baseball staff aren’t interested,” Jeff Wilpon told Bloomberg News Thursday.
Wilpon said he thought there was a perception that the team’s ownership “said no.” But, Wilpon pointed out, “I don’t have the opportunity to say no because Omar hasn’t brought it to me as an option.”
do u really believe that after 5 years of coveting Manny Ramirez…and no one in LF signed for 2009…that Omar never mentioned Manny ????
if u cant see how ownership refused to be transparent in the way they operated, aside from video-taping the wilpons, nothing will do.
Just_MLB
..
angryredmenace
Don’t start tooting the Aldersons’ horn just yet.He didn’t do much in San Diego except get in the way from what i’ve been reading on Padres message boards…
icedrake523
He was the CEO in San Diego, not the GM.
TapDancingTeddy
Gil Hodges! Another manager traded for player. I’d say it worked out well for the Mets. He was just what they needed.
Even if he wasn’t, Bill Denehy never did anything to make them regret the move.
mattmosher
Alderson himself said it on WFAN the other day. “‘Full autonomy’ is a myth perpetuated by the media…not one general manager has it.”
Marshal DiGiovanna
No matter who is GM the owner is going to have a say in where the money is going, its their money, Repeat “full autonomy is a myth perpetuated by the media… not one general manager has it” and no GM ever will, the idea is a dumb one, “lets just let some one have a free run with my check book” um never going to happen
Just_MLB
in between full autonomy and what the wilpons do is a balance…how far toward each side is almost negligible. what people really want is transparency and accountability. not using GM’s as a scapegoat. have clearly defined lines of authority. If Jeff Wilpon tells Omar, no u cant absorb Billy Wagner’s 2009 salary when trading him, dont lie to the public and say that the idea was never proposed. rather, justify your decision even in hindsight and say that u didn’t want to because ( insert excuse here ).
same goes for the kazmir trade, the non-manny trade, and a host of other decisions the wilpons have their hands in.
John Q
This seems kind of incomplete and several omissions were made and some mistakes as well..
First Off, Sheffing was the worst, he traded Ryan with 3 other guys for Fregosi, then he traded Ken Singleton, Jorgensen, Foli for a past his prime Staub. Staub was a nice guy but I still don’t understand why it’s not considered a terrible trade by Mets fans. Singleton went on to be one of the best offensive players in baseball from 1975-1981. Then to make it worse Sheffing hired Yogi Berra to be the manager instead of Whitey Herzog after Hodges died in ’72.
Why does Omar Minaya get credit David Wright and Jose Reyes? Those two players were signed when Steve Phillips was the G.M. Phillips might rub people the wrong way but he was a great G.M. for the Mets, He should be ranked 2nd/3rd.
Minaya was terrible. He spent tons of money on Pedro, Moises Alou, El-Duque, Ollie Perez, Luis Castillo and got little to nothing back in return. He gave too much money to Delgado. He let players like Delgado and Julio Franco run the team. He turned the team into a complete joke by ’08-09. He traded Bell, Bannister, and Keppinger and got nothing back in return. He should be close to the bottom.
George Weiss was a racist and cost the Mets Reggie Jackson when he wouldn’t pick him first overall in 1966 because Jackson had a mixed-race girlfriend.
Why does Joe Mac get so much love? Because he made the Zinter for Brogna trade????
How about Kent for Baerga?? How about Burnitz for Dipoda, and Milicki? Saberhagen for Acevedo? Bonilla for Ochoa? Plus he kept Dallas Green as the manager for 3 1/2 years for some odd reason. Then he let Green basically destroy the young pitching staff of Wilson, Izzy and Pulsipher. The only good move he made was the Olerud trade.
Harazin was terrible He spent tons of money and overpaid for Coleman and Bonilla then he made a bunch or pointless trades hired Dallas Green and the team was a disaster. He made one good move he signed Edgardo Alfonzo in ’91. The Saberhagen trade was a toss up.
Just_MLB
“George Weiss was a racist and cost the Mets Reggie Jackson when he wouldn’t pick him first overall in 1966 because Jackson had a mixed-race girlfriend.”
wow…i never knew this…
Just_MLB
then again after reading up on Weiss now, it makes all too much sense…
too bad there are alot of met fans who still have those xenophobic tendencies wrapped up inside.
fanofcleonjones
I believe you’re confusing George Weiss for Bing Devine who, I think, was in charge when Steve Chilcott was drafted in 66.
John Q
This seems kind of incomplete and several omissions were made and some mistakes as well..
First Off, Sheffing was the worst, he traded Ryan with 3 other guys for Fregosi, then he traded Ken Singleton, Jorgensen, Foli for a past his prime Staub. Staub was a nice guy but I still don’t understand why it’s not considered a terrible trade by Mets fans. Singleton went on to be one of the best offensive players in baseball from 1975-1981. Then to make it worse Sheffing hired Yogi Berra to be the manager instead of Whitey Herzog after Hodges died in ’72.
Why does Omar Minaya get credit David Wright and Jose Reyes? Those two players were signed when Steve Phillips was the G.M. Phillips might rub people the wrong way but he was a great G.M. for the Mets, He should be ranked 2nd/3rd.
Minaya was terrible. He spent tons of money on Pedro, Moises Alou, El-Duque, Ollie Perez, Luis Castillo and got little to nothing back in return. He gave too much money to Delgado. He let players like Delgado and Julio Franco run the team. He turned the team into a complete joke by ’08-09. He traded Bell, Bannister, and Keppinger and got nothing back in return. He should be close to the bottom.
George Weiss was a racist and cost the Mets Reggie Jackson when he wouldn’t pick him first overall in 1966 because Jackson had a mixed-race girlfriend.
Why does Joe Mac get so much love? Because he made the Zinter for Brogna trade????
How about Kent for Baerga?? How about Burnitz for Dipoda, and Milicki? Saberhagen for Acevedo? Bonilla for Ochoa? Plus he kept Dallas Green as the manager for 3 1/2 years for some odd reason. Then he let Green basically destroy the young pitching staff of Wilson, Izzy and Pulsipher. The only good move he made was the Olerud trade.
Harazin was terrible He spent tons of money and overpaid for Coleman and Bonilla then he made a bunch or pointless trades hired Dallas Green and the team was a disaster. He made one good move he signed Edgardo Alfonzo in ’91. The Saberhagen trade was a toss up.
Just_MLB
Minaya was asst. gm and in charge of scouting when reyes, wright were signed. ( he also was responsible for nelson cruz but clinton traded him in 2000 )
LIMETSFAN1
Give more credit to Joe McDonald. He drafted Allen, Reardon, Scott, Backman, Wilson, Brooks. Traded for Orosco. Most of the trades he made, Seaver, Kingman, etc, were forced on him by ownership DeRoulet and Grant. He also traded for Joe Torre in late 1974 with him in mind as a future manager.
LIMETSFAN1
Give Joe McD more credit. He traded for Joe Torre because he envisioned Torre a future manager when Yogi was still on-field boss. He traded for Orosco. McD drafted Allen, Reardon, Scott, Backman, Brooks, Mookie to name a few. It was ownership via penny pinching, Grant and DeRoulet who order trades of Seaver, Kingman, etc. Cashen inherited quite a bit of talent thanks to Joe McD. Remember, it was Cashen who traded Scott for Heep and Cashen who traded Reardon for Ellis Valentine.
Rob Stumpf
A sale of the team? Nonsense. The Wilpons have zero interest in selling.