Gerry Hunsicker to help turn Tampa around.

[Steff]

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Hire Gerry Hunsicker

FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer

1 hour, 4 minutes ago

 

 

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays hired Gerry Hunsicker as their No. 2 baseball man on Thursday, giving the team a proven front office executive to work with the club's young, inexperienced head of baseball operations.

 

Hunsicker, 55, spent nine seasons in Houston as the Astros' general manager, helping assemble the team that went to the National League championship series in 2004 and the World Series this year.

 

With Tampa Bay, he'll be responsible for helping 28-year-old Andrew Friedman turn around a franchise that's never won more than 70 games in a season and finished last in seven of its eight seasons.

 

"I'm here to support what Andrew wants to do," Hunsicker said, emphasizing that he has no problem with settling into a No. 2 role after running the show from 1996 to 2004 in Houston, which went 701-595 and made the playoffs five times while he was GM.

 

Hunsicker takes on the title of senior vice president of baseball operations. Andrew Friedman was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations after serving as director of baseball development for the past two years.

 

Friedman and 29-year-old team president Matt Silverman have assumed larger roles in the organization since new principal owner Stuart Sternberg took over control of the team last month from former managing general partner Vincent Naimoli.

 

The young executives have been conducting the search for a new manager, interviewing 10 different candidates before paring the list to three finalists — former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, Los Angeles Angels bench coach Joe Maddon and incumbent Devil Rays bench coach John McLaren.

 

A second round of interviews are planned during next week's general managers meeting in Indian Wells, Calif., and Hunsicker will assist Friedman is making a decision on Lou Piniella's successor in the next two weeks.

 

"I'm rejuvenated and re-energized," Hunsicker said, adding that he been looking for the right opportunity to return to baseball almost since the day he stepped down as Houston's GM.

[Kyyle23]

Excellent overseer of the operation. It is encouraging to see Tampa actually try for once

[Milkman delivers]

Ha, now can we get Aubrey Huff?

[ChWRoCk2]

it doesnt matter either way the tampa bay devil rays will still take last in their division, they still need to add maybe two allstar starting pitchers, an infielder that is good, and perhaps a bullpen

[DBAHO]

Ha, now can we get Aubrey Huff?

If they're serious, they should trade him for some good young pitching. Considering they have an OF of Crawford, Baldelli and Gomes, with Young waiting in the wings, and Joey Gathright, move Huff while his value is still quite high.

 

Hopefully for the franchise's sake, the payroll starts going up with the new ownership as well.

[Steff]

it doesnt matter either way the tampa bay devil rays will still take last in their division, they still need to add maybe two allstar starting pitchers, an infielder that is good, and perhaps a bullpen

 

 

Uh yea... I'm pretty sure that's why they brought Hunsicker on board.. because the last regime sucked and he has the experience to turn it around logically.

[YASNY]

Good for Tampa. That franchise was heading nowhere but contraction. I hope they can have some success.

[DBAHO]

Uh yea... I'm pretty sure that's why they brought Hunsicker on board.. because the last regime sucked and he has the experience to turn it around logically.

He built a winner in Houston, and personally I thought he would have been a real good fit with the Dodgers, so it's an excellent get for the D-Rays.

 

It'll be interesting to see where they go on a manager from here, whether they go with Maddon the bench coach from Anaheim, or Bobby Valentine (who could also get the Dodgers job).

[Milkman delivers]

I just hope that Bobby Valentine gets a managerial job again. I just really like that guy.

[DBAHO]

I just hope that Bobby Valentine gets a managerial job again.  I just really like that guy.

I think the Dodgers will take a long hard look at him. Seems like McCourt wants some veteran winners in there.

[Balta1701]

I think the Dodgers will take a long hard look at him. Seems like McCourt wants some veteran winners in there.

I don't think McCourt has a clue what he's doing running that team. He's doing fine with the business aspects of it...but in terms of actually running a baseball organization...no.

[Heads22]

Umm...if Tampa can play like they did in the second half they won't have a stranglehold on fifth anymore.

[Chisoxfn]

Hunsicker aside, they got some really young individuals running that team.

[CWSGuy406]

I don't think McCourt has a clue what he's doing running that team.  He's doing fine with the business aspects of it...but in terms of actually running a baseball organization...no.

 

^^^^

[Chisoxfn]

^^^^

Frank McBroke is a joke.

[Balta1701]

Frank McBroke is a joke.

He's a joke in terms of a baseball owner.

 

What he is doing is...he saw a team that was not making as much revenue as it could every year. A team with quite a legacy, a team with a great ballpark, etc.

 

So, he's immediately finding new ways to add to the revenue stream. Higher fees for things around the stadium, new seats in the stadium for much higher costs, little marketing tricks to try to bring people in, new staff, etc.

 

Once he gets all these things in place, if he can hire someone who can build him a playoff team 1 year on a nearly $100 million a year salary...he can look at the Forbes list and discover that he's increased the value of the team like $50-$100 million. And then sell and cash out.

 

He's not in that for the baseball.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

Doesn't it seem like Bobby V is using the D-Rays for leverage to get more out of the Dodgers? I think Tampa wants to use Bobby V for credibility in its search. I think their link is a dual-mirage

[Balta1701]

Doesn't it seem like Bobby V is using the D-Rays for leverage to get more out of the Dodgers? I think Tampa wants to use Bobby V for credibility in its search. I think their link is a dual-mirage

Why shouldn't he? McCourt's going to try to low ball him no matter what, he's got to have some sort of negotiating too.

[DBAHO]

Speaking of the Dodgers;

 

According to the Dallas Morning News, former Rangers GM John Hart has taken himself out of the mix for the GM vacancy in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers will likely hire Orel Hershiser in a front-office capacity, though not necessarily as the general manager, VP Tommy Lasorda indicated on Friday. It's possible that Hershiser and Kim Ng could share GM duties. Nov. 5 - 4:07 am et

[DBAHO]

Newsday Article bringing up Dave Wilder's name again;

 

The Dodgers look like even bigger dunces than I suspected (as one baseball exec said, "They lower the bar every day"). The folks at MLB are red-faced for picking the incompetent McCourt family to run the team with the second-greatest tradition and history.

 

The McCourts are more known for their firing, but it's time for hiring now. They'll interview Kim Ng (but not Bill Singer) and fine baseball man Roy Smith for GM but are focusing on experienced folks such as Epstein, Larry Beinfest, John Hart and Jim Bowden. Given that they have yet to make a correct move, the guess here is Hart (if they can get him off the golf course).

 

Tommy Lasorda has regained power and is trumpeting Dodger tradition. What better way to honor their own great tradition than hiring a minority GM (how about White Sox exec David Wilder)?

 

Lasorda actually is pressing for Bobby Valentine as manager, Orel Hershiser as assistant GM and Bowden as GM (while he has nothing to do with Dodger tradition, he made the career move of a lifetime by loudly announcing at the 2001-02 winter meetings, "This meeting will not start until Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers arrives").

[Chisoxfn]

He's a joke in terms of a baseball owner.

 

What he is doing is...he saw a team that was not making as much revenue as it could every year.  A team with quite a legacy, a team with a great ballpark, etc.

 

So, he's immediately finding new ways to add to the revenue stream.  Higher fees for things around the stadium, new seats in the stadium for much higher costs, little marketing tricks to try to bring people in, new staff, etc.

 

Once he gets all these things in place, if he can hire someone who can build him a playoff team 1 year on a nearly $100 million a year salary...he can look at the Forbes list and discover that he's increased the value of the team like $50-$100 million.  And then sell and cash out.

 

He's not in that for the baseball.

Sorry balta, you couldn't be more wrong when it comes to McCourt. He's came in and fired guys that have been doing an awesome job in LA for 15-20 years and replaced him with his wife, who knows nothing about baseball. This is a team that has been totally dismantled by ownership.

 

McCourt owns nothing but a piece of land that he lucked into and that he hasn't been able to sell for 15-20 years because of continuos lawsuits on the land. He was lucky enough to finance the Dodgers purchase off the equity in his land (essentially).

 

He will probably make some money on the franchise, but thats because he's going to eventually say he can't put together the resources to win at chavez ravine (even though they consistently draw 3 mill plus, 3.6 this past year) and that he needs a new stadium downtown.

 

He'll get a new downtown stadium and than develop the land which sits on Dodger stadium, making a huge profit in that area.

 

The guy is a total jag when it comes to running the team and has done nothing right when it comes to the management of the Dodgers. If he doesn't get the land to develop, he's not going to make butkus as an owner and the Dodgers will not consistently win. He has no idea what he's doing and he's continuously gotten rid of good baseball people (and treated long time members of the organization like s***).