KW MLBs craftiest GM

[Frank_Thomas]

With another surprise, Ruben Amaro starts rivaling Ken Williams

Yahoo! Sports - Tue Dec 14, 1:47 PM EST

 

 

 

With due respect to the other newsmakers of this baseball offseason, Ruben Amaro of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox continue to show why they're the craftiest and most surprising general managers in the majors.

 

Theo Epstein adding Carl Crawford (notes) and Adrian Gonzalez (notes) at the winter meetings was stunning, but only to a point. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are supposed to get the best players; they're certainly in better position than the rest of the league to do so.

 

Amaro (pictured left) and Williams, while playing in big markets, have less margin for error than Brian Cashman and Epstein. Going for any player who earns top dollar is a bigger risk for Philly and Chicago.

 

The Phillies leaped from the bushes on Monday to get Cliff Lee (notes) in free agency a year after they traded him away in a deal that brought Roy Halladay (notes) to town. From MLB.com:

 

" We're like, 'Whoa ,'" center fielder Shane Victorino (notes) said. "I had heard about this mystery team. I was like, 'There's no way it's us.' Then I heard the Phillies were back in it. [...]"

 

And like he did with Jake Peavy (notes) in late 2009, Williams pounced on Adam Dunn (notes) earlier this offseason when nobody considered Chicago to be a player. And he managed to keep Paul Konerko (notes) in the fold, too.

 

Further, the plucking of pricey Alex Rios (notes) from waivers in '09 seemed a mistake to many , but Rios was one of Chicago's best players in 2010.

 

Said Williams (via MLB.com):

 

"It's uncomfortable sometimes, but you either are all in or you are not. And if you are not, then present that message to your fans. Be straight and say, 'I don't think we are going to do very much and here's the plan going forward.' If you are in it, stand up and show you are."

 

White Sox fans and Phillies don't have to worry about that, because of who's in charge of their teams.

 

Per yahoo sports.

[Leonard Washington]

Antholpoulos is another crafty guy, which is good because he'll need to be.

[Steve9347]

It may have been crafty to acquire Peavy, but it certainly wasn't smart.

 

However, in Kenny I Trust.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

It may have been crafty to acquire Peavy, but it certainly wasn't smart.

 

However, in Kenny I Trust.

 

Why?

[Steve9347]

Why?

Why what?

 

Why do I trust in Kenny? Because I love the man.

 

Why was trading for Jake Peavy dumb? Because he has a mammoth contract, a long history of injury, and was injured at the time of acquisition. I think we all knew that the percent chance that that deal paid off was quite low (regardless of what we traded, those pieces could have been used to acquire someone else or we just save the huge Peavy contract).

 

However, Peavy is funny, because as much of a fail as he's been for the White Sox, I still love him. Hopefully he can come back healthy and return to the form we saw with the Padres in his early days, but I'm not holding my breath.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Why what?

 

 

Why was trading for Jake Peavy dumb? Because he has a mammoth contract, a long history of injury, and was injured at the time of acquisition. I think we all knew that the percent chance that that deal paid off was quite low (regardless of what we traded, those pieces could have been used to acquire someone else or we just save the huge Peavy contract).

 

That's what I meant. I don't think it was necessarily a dumb move. He was trying to win and acquiring him while hurt I don't think even mattered much. He knew he wouldn't be ready right away. Maybe he thought the price might be the lowest it would be at that moment? What we gave up is looking like it wasn't all that much. Obviously what happens to the team in the next couple seasons while make the trade look much better or worse than you can really judge at the moment.

[bschmaranz]

a long history of injury

 

Before the year we acquired him, where is this long history of issues? 27 or more starts in the 6 seasons previous.

[Steve9347]

Before the year we acquired him, where is this long history of issues? 27 or more starts in the 6 seasons previous.

Peavy was on and off the DL with elbow concerns his entire tenure with the Padres. He spent most of 2008 with pain in his elbow, and for a power pitcher, that's not good. He's been on the DL in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, and 2004.

[ScottyDo]

Peavy was on and off the DL with elbow concerns his entire tenure with the Padres. He spent most of 2008 with pain in his elbow, and for a power pitcher, that's not good. He's been on the DL in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, and 2004.

Note the year not included in that list, and what he did that year (yeah, 2005's not on there either, but whatever!)

 

I don't think the move was un-smart, but rather high-risk, high-reward. You can't mind a couple of those moves, since low-risk, high-reward moves are rare.

[Steve9347]

Note the year not included in that list, and what he did that year

Well, yeah, no one said "dude sucks when healthy".

[ScottyDo]

Well, yeah, no one said "dude sucks when healthy".

I know, I'm just sayin there was a huge potential reward component to the risk you rightly pointed out

Edited December 15, 2010 by ScottyDo

[Balta1701]

There are also consistent rumors that there is some sort of a large insurance policy on Peavy's contract that covers for some of the downside risk.

[Steve9347]

I didn't want to turn this into a Jake Peavy thread, I just found it funny that of all the awesome deals Kenny Williams has made (there are many), the writer points out Jake Peavy.

[ScottyDo]

I didn't want to turn this into a Jake Peavy thread, I just found it funny that of all the awesome deals Kenny Williams has made (there are many), the writer points out Jake Peavy.

Yah, good point. I guess it was his highest profile move, and that's usually what national writers glom onto.

[greg775]

Why what?

 

Why do I trust in Kenny? Because I love the man.

 

Why was trading for Jake Peavy dumb? Because he has a mammoth contract, a long history of injury, and was injured at the time of acquisition. I think we all knew that the percent chance that that deal paid off was quite low (regardless of what we traded, those pieces could have been used to acquire someone else or we just save the huge Peavy contract).

 

However, Peavy is funny, because as much of a fail as he's been for the White Sox, I still love him. Hopefully he can come back healthy and return to the form we saw with the Padres in his early days, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Great post.

It's excellent on too many counts to even comment on. Both Kenny and Peavy are likeable even though Kenny shoulda never acquired Peavy. Strange, but I agree.

[DukeNukeEm]

Jake Peavy just shows Williams' determination in getting a player he wants. Maybe the deal is good, maybe its bad... but not many GM's are capable of completely missing out on a guy then turning around and picking them up months later. It gets even harder with big name players, yet KW has pulled it off twice in the last two seasons with Dunn and Peavy.

[Ranger]

Why what?

 

Why do I trust in Kenny? Because I love the man.

 

Why was trading for Jake Peavy dumb? Because he has a mammoth contract, a long history of injury, and was injured at the time of acquisition. I think we all knew that the percent chance that that deal paid off was quite low (regardless of what we traded, those pieces could have been used to acquire someone else or we just save the huge Peavy contract).

 

However, Peavy is funny, because as much of a fail as he's been for the White Sox, I still love him. Hopefully he can come back healthy and return to the form we saw with the Padres in his early days, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

The move is risky, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad move. Were Peavy 32 at the time of acquisition with multiple years left on the deal, I would think differently. But I was happy with the deal, because a healthy Peavy makes the rotation better. The ankle injury I dismiss because it's not an indication of anything long term. A freak injury. And if the guy is capable of making 30+ starts a season (which he typically does), I'm all for it.

 

[Steve9347]

The move is risky, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad move. Were Peavy 32 at the time of acquisition with multiple years left on the deal, I would think differently. But I was happy with the deal, because a healthy Peavy makes the rotation better. The ankle injury I dismiss because it's not an indication of anything long term. A freak injury. And if the guy is capable of making 30+ starts a season (which he typically does), I'm all for it.

In 8-full Major League seasons, Jake Peavy has reached 30 starts 4 times. So if by typically you mean "half the time" then alrighty. After 2011, his percentage of full Major League seasons with 30 or more starts will be at 44%.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Steve9347

[soxrwhite]

Its not about individual players. Its about championships. Kenny has one. Another one and he will be even smarter and craftier and any other adjective you want to use.

[Big Daddy Kool]

Its not about individual players. Its about championships. Kenny has one. Another one and he will be even smarter and craftier and any other adjective you want to use.

 

If he does hopefully get another ring, some people will still b**** that he sucks, lol

[Dick Allen]

If he does hopefully get another ring, some people will still b**** that he sucks, lol

I think its KW's job to put together a team that makes the playoffs. Twice in ten years in the AL Central doesn't exactly make him crafty to me. It makes him about average.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I think its KW's job to put together a team that makes the playoffs. Twice in ten years in the AL Central doesn't exactly make him crafty to me. It makes him about average.

 

Pretty much. Yeah, we've never sucked (save 2007). But second place finishes don't do much for me. Though Kenny gets big props for getting Adam Dunn.

[Balta1701]

Jesse Crain agrees with KW being quite the crafty guy.