Rex Hudler Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 We can agree to disagree Jason. There are many woulda, coulda shouldas involved in baseball. He could have signed Alomar and Robby could have come out and hit .230 and been terrible and then he would have been looked upon as bad for that deal. I am telling you Everett is an average offensive player. The guy averages 18 HR and 65 RBI for his career even with the good years averaged in. I don't like the acquisition of Weaver either, but if he had to do it to get rid of Brown's contract then I can live with it. Burnitz bounced back last year and was solid for the Mets in a half season. They traded for him and he sucked, hitting .203. Green hit 20 less HR's than the two years before. Thurston failed to win the job they thought he would. As a GM, you can't control everything. I also completely disagree that you need to manage a team to try and get them into the playoffs every year. If things don't go your way or you are on the edge of just getting in, sometimes you just have to go with what you have rather than alter your long term plan. I know fans don't want to hear it, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do and stay the course, even if that is not the popular decision. The bottom line is their organization is now set up for success. Evans had a big part of that, both in what he did and who he hired. The key to being a good GM is hiring a guy like Bavasi who will work with you to run the system to fit into your long range plan. So giving Bavasi all the credit is very narrow-minded. The Dodgers will succeed and they should thank Evans for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 See, I don't got a problem with rebuilding, but if the Dodgers are going to go that direction, then they should go that direction. Guys like Nomo won't be around at that time, so you should get value for them, clear your payroll, gives those younger playres the shot, keep the better players that will be around when the team is ready and then be ready to make a splash in FA in a year or two. But if your going to have guys like Nomo, etc around who aren't going to be there in the 2-3 years it will take for the Dodgers to rebuild properly, then I don't see the point in keeping them around. I just think Evans always had one foot in the door and one foot out the door the entire time. Now teams can rebuild and be competitive at the same team, but in the Dodgers instance, they have to know that there is no way that pitching staff is going to duplicate what it did last year so if they were going to go for it, then would of been the time. I also think it was foolish for them to stick with Tracy who along with Manuel is one of the worse managers in the game. Of course if I ran the Dodgesr I'm not going to say they would be great, but they seem to be playing for 2nd place and I'm not a proponent of that, unless you have a young up and coming team. I say you either are building a team to get to first, or you doing all you can to get your team into first. Some years, your not going to be doing enough, but your mindset should always be on getting there, sometimes taking 2-3 years to get the foundation reset and get the payroll back in control, ridding yourselfs of bad contracts (Which Evans did well at times) but then at the same time, he'd go out and spend money on getting players and it always had me (I'm the minority thinking) are you trying to win this or rebuild cause in this situation, you really can't do both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 There is a difference between rebuilding, going for it and maintaining competitiveness while building for the long run. I believe Evans did the latter and had no problem with that. He had two full seasons as a GM and the organization is better now than when he left it. I'll take that any day from a GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 There is a difference between rebuilding, going for it and maintaining competitiveness while building for the long run. I believe Evans did the latter and had no problem with that. He had two full seasons as a GM and the organization is better now than when he left it. I'll take that any day from a GM. I'd agree with that assessment, it is definately better then when he inherited it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 in salute to Dan Evans, like me a graduate of Lane Technical High School Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 I'd agree with that assessment, it is definately better then when he inherited it. Man, Jason if you agree with that, then you need to re-think your thoughts on Evans. If after two years, the organization is better than it was before, yet you think he is a "terrible" GM, what do you want? What else can you ask for? I know you are young, but don't sell out into the "must win now" mindset fueled by the media and message boards like this one. Sometimes the long-term approach is necessary and preferrable. I am confident that if you are ever in a position of importance such as Evans was, you will laugh at people like us who second guess your every move. You will find that real life isn't as easy as suggesting a trade or a free agent signing on a message board. Real life is not as easy as playing Monday morning quarterback and college textbooks. I am not meaning to talk down to you here, but just offering a few words of wisdom. There is no way you, nor I, nor anyone else on this board can know everything a Major League GM goes through or every bit of information he processes. No matter what the GM does, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people out there think they know better. You are a bright guy, but please understand things aren't always as easy as they seem from afar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I realize they aren't that easy, so I Try not to get into the resources Evans did or didn't have. Who is to know whether he could of signed Vladdy but he never got the approval (I for one don't buy that, because Vladdy and his people have long said they wouldn't go to the Dodgers, but they also said they chose Anaheim because its a smaller town and thats what he likes). Your right, he probably isn't a terrible gm, I do think everything a gm does should be for the wins (Whether its acquiring a top prospect to help set your foundation for a playoff caliber team in a few years or to acquire a star at the risk of a top prospect because your going to be fighting for the series). But while Evans improved the team, I don't really know how the team could of been any worse off then they were just a few years ago. I think to truly assess Evans, he would of needed a time when he actually had the ability to make some signings. I think the biggest reason I didn't like him, was this offseason and how he backed himself into a corner (Then again, ownership may of never allowed him to make any move). I'll say this though, I believe Depodesta will do a solid job in LA, although I doubt he will be as good as JP Rippaldi is. And Rex, I definately see where your coming from and what your saying makes sense. But I just never liked the type of moves Evans made, although I give him credit, cause Alvarez, Martin and a few others panned out. But I don't believe that Evans would of ever led the Dodgers to the World Series. I have no idea if Kenny will either and some of it really is out of the General Managers hands cause a lot of things can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggio202 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 kw out , evans in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I realize they aren't that easy, so I Try not to get into the resources Evans did or didn't have. Who is to know whether he could of signed Vladdy but he never got the approval (I for one don't buy that, because Vladdy and his people have long said they wouldn't go to the Dodgers, but they also said they chose Anaheim because its a smaller town and thats what he likes). Your right, he probably isn't a terrible gm, I do think everything a gm does should be for the wins (Whether its acquiring a top prospect to help set your foundation for a playoff caliber team in a few years or to acquire a star at the risk of a top prospect because your going to be fighting for the series). But while Evans improved the team, I don't really know how the team could of been any worse off then they were just a few years ago. I think to truly assess Evans, he would of needed a time when he actually had the ability to make some signings. I think the biggest reason I didn't like him, was this offseason and how he backed himself into a corner (Then again, ownership may of never allowed him to make any move). I'll say this though, I believe Depodesta will do a solid job in LA, although I doubt he will be as good as JP Rippaldi is. And Rex, I definately see where your coming from and what your saying makes sense. But I just never liked the type of moves Evans made, although I give him credit, cause Alvarez, Martin and a few others panned out. But I don't believe that Evans would of ever led the Dodgers to the World Series. I have no idea if Kenny will either and some of it really is out of the General Managers hands cause a lot of things can happen. I just liken dumping a GM after two years, when he made the organization better to firing a college coach after two years and never giving him an opportunity to coach with his own players. I don't think Evans got a fair chance to be evaluated on his own merit. I truly think their coming success will have as much or more to do with the foundation Evans laid, than anything Depodesta does, and that is not a knock on Depodesta at all. And the way he was treated by McCourt is laughable. About as laughable as Texas management making ARod the "team captain" knowing they still wanted to trade him. What kind of credibility does that give you with your existing players? Both situations were brutal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 A letter from Dan Evans to Dodgers fans on the MLB Message Board: Dan sent me this message that he wrote for the board: I have been visiting this message board frequently over the past two-plus years, and have enjoyed meeting and talking with many of you during my time as the Dodgers' General Manager. First off, I want to thank Fox, Bob Daly, Bob Graziano, and Dave Wallace for the tremendous opportunity two and one-half years ago. I was honored to have had the chance to be the Dodgers' GM, and I wish we would have had the opportunity to complete our job here. My staff deserves a huge compliment for their work, especially during this very difficult transition process. I know it has been a stressful offseason, and I wish them the very best and thank them for their support throughout. I want to thank Dodger fans, because I have seen and felt your passion for your favorite team. My good friend Don Drysdale used to tell me great things about the Dodgers and their fans, and he was so right. You have been great, and while I know the past few months have been frustrating, the organization will benefit from the work our staff accomplished. I feel good about what we had done in only two seasons -- we inherited the oldest roster, an inflexible one with over $200 million committed, and an organization rated 28th in talent -- near the bottom for the fifth consecutive year when we started. After only two years, the Dodgers are now in the top four in talent as a result of great work by the amateur, international, and professional scouting staffs, along with an excellent, innovative player development staff. As a result, the Dodgers are on the right track for long-term success and you the fans will be the real winners. This entire offseason has been extremely frustrating for everyone in the Dodger organization. The offseason is the worst possible time for an organization to go through an ownership change, since nearly all of the key personnel and financial decisions are made during that period. It has been very difficult and the entire organization was affected during the long process. Everyone in our baseball decision-making group, including Bob Daly and Bob Graziano, knew that we needed to use the increased flexibility obtained in the Kevin Brown trade to the Yankees to improve our offense, and there is no question that we would have accomplished our goal of acquiring a prolific offensive player in his prime -- without giving up any of our prospects -- had it not been for the circumstances surrounding the ownership transition. We always took into account the best interests of the Dodgers, both short and long-term, whenever we made a baseball decision. The fans and the organization deserved that. I knew it was our responsibility to make the unpopular decisions which were actually in the best long-term interests of the Dodgers. We developed a gameplan and adhered to it in order to achieve our goal, and our philosophy had the complete support of upper management. Lastly, I never realized that one pink shirt would cause so much discussion! Best wishes to all of you and thanks. Dan Evans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggio202 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 think KW will ever write a letter like that to us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 think KW will ever write a letter like that to us LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Wow. That was a very classy thing for Dan Evans to do. Most GM's wouldn't even acknowledge these message boards exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 think KW will ever write a letter like that to us F@ck you B!tches. Love Kenneth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 F@ck you B!tches. Love Kenneth LMAO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 think KW will ever write a letter like that to us If there's a God he will... and hopefully sooner rather than later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Wow. That was a very classy thing for Dan Evans to do. Most GM's wouldn't even acknowledge these message boards exist. he is a Lane Tech grad - we are all classy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 If there's a God he will... and hopefully sooner rather than later I thought it, but you posted it..... we thinking alike Steff? Is that good or bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I thought it, but you posted it..... we thinking alike Steff? Is that good or bad? Great minds.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I don't know how to break this to people -- there is a God but God does not get involved with baseball, or with any sports sorry ---- all those people praying to win or for another team to lose or thanking God because they think God helped them win a game - wasting their time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I don't know how to break this to people -- there is a God but God does not get involved with baseball, or with any sports sorry ---- all those people praying to win or for another team to lose or thanking God because they think God helped them win a game - wasting their time cw, I don't think that was meant so literally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 cw, I don't think that was meant so literally. Eh.. he's just bustin my eggs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Eh.. he's just bustin my eggs.. now that is an interesting phrase it was just a idle comment by me in a very stressful day at the office - Rex and Steff, don't take me so literally - just a random idle comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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