King's diary, Hope for the Future, promoted to the Main Page:
If we get a rich owner, look at all the free agents we can sign:
Starting Pitchers
Jeff Weaver
Jason Marquis
Kelvim Escobar
Barry Zito
Vicente Padilla
Adam Eaton
Doug Davis
Jason Schmidt
Jeff Suppan
Relief Pitchers
Justin Speier
Danys Baez
Mike Timlin
Esteban Yan
Eddie Guardado
Offensive Players
1B/3B/OF Aubrey Huff
SS/2B Julio Lugo
1B/OF Ryan Klesko
OF David Dellucci
OF Frank Catalanotto
OF Carlos Lee
General Managers
Brian Sabaen (Giants)
Jim Hendry (Cubs)
Paul DePodesta (Dodgers)
* * * * *
This is a very timely topic, as we all know. Bud willing, tomorrow will mark the fifth and final Opening Day for this franchise under MLB ownership and operation. While recent months have provided the veneer of an independent operation---long-term contracts to mainstays Brian Schneider and Nick Johnson, reported contract offers to Jose Guillen and Alfonso Soriano---we must not accept the Nats' situation until Bud Selig formally hands ownership of the franchise to someone other than a member of the Club of the Other Twenty-Nine, a/k/a, MLB itself.
There are rumors circulating that the Seligulans are close to naming the Lerners as the winners of the ownership derby. That's good, on two levels:
- It seems that the Lerners are excellent candidates, especially if grouped with Stan Kasten.
- It's someone other than MLB owning the team.
* * * * *
As for the individuals on the above list, it will be interesting to see where the new owner---again, Bud willing---goes when it comes to front office leadership. Will Bowden stay? (Nooooooo!) If not, who runs the team?
The most interesting individual on the list is Paul DePodesta. Plainly speaking, in order for his rapid downfall in Los Angeles to be in any way justifiable, he'd better have the world's worst interpersonal skills this side of Hannibal Lechter. But, if that is so, then I'd much rather his estimable intellect be employed in an assistant GM capacity. However, that might require a man in charge who is at least relatively sympatico with DePo's stathead ways, even if such proclivities are only half as intense as portrayed in Moneyball. And you know what? We're not getting Billy Beane, and we might have missed our chance to get Theo Epstein. As for the other up-and-coming stats execs, well, we might as well just have the genuine article in DePodesta.
Thus, I'm sort of conflicted on the subject---but also keeping in mind that getting a dude my age to run the team would cheese off Thom Loverro, and that's a worthwhile goal in its own right.
Speaking of which, guess how old Jim Bowden was when he first became a GM . . .