Rick Hahn

[LittleHurt05]

He graduated from Duke in 1989 with a double major in philosophy and political science, and, later received a JD from Duke Law School in 1995 and an MBA from the Duke Fuqua School of Business in 1995.[7]

 

Sounds like nothing in common with Hahn EDUCATIONALLY. Northwestern and Duke are comparable. HLS is a step up from Duke, obviously. But still similar backgrounds.

 

I was pooh-poohed for questioning Hahn's playing career/athletic background...as if it wasn't important in the least in terms of being a good MLB GM, but I think a lot of people are starting to question what exactly it is that Hahn can do well.

 

If you are questions his athletic background, why would you compare him to a guy who played at the highest level of college hoops?

[Dick Allen]

He graduated from Duke in 1989 with a double major in philosophy and political science, and, later received a JD from Duke Law School in 1995 and an MBA from the Duke Fuqua School of Business in 1995.[7]

 

Sounds like nothing in common with Hahn EDUCATIONALLY. Northwestern and Duke are comparable. HLS is a step up from Duke, obviously. But still similar backgrounds.

 

I was pooh-poohed for questioning Hahn's playing career/athletic background...as if it wasn't important in the least in terms of being a good MLB GM, but I think a lot of people are starting to question what exactly it is that Hahn can do well.

You were pooh poohed because you made the claim that a HS Varsity letter was a requirement to be a GM in baseball. Laughable.

[caulfield12]

Where do you get your information?

 

He was at the forefront of paying minor league coaches, and has been instrumental in getting scouts more highly paid.

 

You really have no idea what you are talking about.

 

 

What has been the draft budget for the White Sox for the past 30 years?

 

It's either LOWEST, 2nd lowest or 3rd from the bottom depending on which research article you go by.

 

The manager for the White Sox has always been among the lowest paid in the majors, that still hasn't changed.

 

 

I guess he skipped sending the checks to those having anything to do with hitting/defense/position player development. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Hasler and JR Perdew and Britt Burns and the minor league pitching instructors getting paid more than their peers, because Don Cooper is one of the highest paid pitching coaches in the majors and his minor league staff is also known for being excellent in this regard of preparation/instruction/development.

 

If our scouts were so highly paid, then why they have been so terrible at their jobs for the last decade? And when I read about scouting departments, almost every team in the majors has a more extensive network than ours, particularly in Latin America. There's no way we haven't been in the bottom 25-30% over the last twenty years in TOTAL DOLLARS SPENT ON SCOUTING, both advanced scouting, amateur/collegiate and Latin American scouting.

 

 

 

 

[caulfield12]

If you are questions his athletic background, why would you compare him to a guy who played at the highest level of college hoops?

 

I SAID EDUCATIONALLY...

 

What does that have to do with playing basketball or baseball?

[Dick Allen]

What has been the draft budget for the White Sox for the past 30 years?

 

It's either LOWEST, 2nd lowest or 3rd from the bottom depending on which research article you go by.

 

The manager for the White Sox has always been among the lowest paid in the majors, that still hasn't changed.

 

 

I guess he skipped sending the checks to those having anything to do with hitting/defense/position player development. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Hasler and JR Perdew and Britt Burns and the minor league pitching instructors getting paid more than their peers, because Don Cooper is one of the highest paid pitching coaches in the majors and his minor league staff is also known for being excellent in this regard of preparation/instruction/development.

 

If our scouts were so highly paid, then why they have been so terrible at their jobs for the last decade? And when I read about scouting departments, almost every team in the majors has a more extensive network than ours, particularly in Latin America. There's no way we haven't been in the bottom 25-30% over the last twenty years in TOTAL DOLLARS SPENT ON SCOUTING, both advanced scouting, amateur/collegiate and Latin American scouting.

You are contradicting your previous post.

[caulfield12]

You were pooh poohed because you made the claim that a HS Varsity letter was a requirement to be a GM in baseball. Laughable.

 

Explain then, with this high and mighty education of his...why he has been so terrible.

 

I assume you haven't read Larry's SSS article or refuse to acknowledge it. Write the rebuttal or counter. You're good at doing that for Don Cooper and Robin Ventura, staking out devil's advocate positions against the majority opinion.

 

Tell us why Rick Hahn is so good at his job and what he has done to deserve retaining his position any longer.

 

Since you don't believe he's being held back by KW, that they are basically one and the same philosophically...how can you justify keeping them, since they are the reason the talent level on the White Sox and especially in their minor league system is so poor. You say we can't fire Ventura because the players aren't good enough, so then who is responsible for that?

 

Are you going to blame it all on JR's budgetary constraints?

 

Then how can teams like the Rays, A's, Pirates, Astros, Twins, Royals, Indians, etc., manage to do a lot more with LESS MONEY?

 

Let's hear it, without blaming the fans or JR. Why should Hahn keep his job?

Edited June 21, 2016 by caulfield12

[Dick Allen]

Explain then, with this high and mighty education of his...why he has been so terrible.

 

I assume you haven't read Larry's SSS article or refuse to acknowledge it. Write the rebuttal or counter. You're good at doing that for Don Cooper and Robin Ventura, staking out devil's advocate positions against the majority opinion.

 

Tell us why Rick Hahn is so good at his job and what he has done to deserve retaining his position any longer.

 

Since you don't believe he's being held back by KW, that they are basically one and the same philosophically...how can you justify keeping them, since they are the reason the talent level on the White Sox and especially in their minor league system is so poor. You say we can't fire Ventura because the players aren't good enough, so then who is responsible for that?

 

Are you going to blame it all on JR's budgetary constraints?

 

Then how can teams like the Rays, A's, Pirates, Astros, Twins, Royals, Indians, etc., manage to do a lot more with LESS MONEY?

 

Let's hear it, without blaming the fans or JR. Why should Hahn keep his job?

I don't think spending a spring on the bench of a HS baseball team is the difference between being a good GM and a bad one. I have yet to see one successful GM, although maybe you can provide a link, that pointed to his HS varsity letter as the catalyst in his success.

 

BTW, the guy you never knew existed when you claimed the Sox didn't use sabermetrics, Dan Fabian, who you now say is one guy who shouldn't get fired, and maybe should get a crack at the GM job..............doesn't have a varsity letter.

[caulfield12]

I don't think spending a spring on the bench of a HS baseball team is the difference between being a good GM and a bad one. I have yet to see one successful GM, although maybe you can provide a link, that pointed to his HS varsity letter as the catalyst in his success.

 

BTW, the guy you never knew existed when you claimed the Sox didn't use sabermetrics, Dan Fabian, who you now say is one guy who shouldn't get fired, and maybe should get a crack at the GM job..............doesn't have a varsity letter.

 

 

We don't know exactly how much they rely upon it.

 

With the Pirates, it's very obvious. Jonah Keri wrote a book detailing the sea change.

 

So how can I advocate for his firing when I don't even know how much say he or Jeremy Haber have in the organization, versus, let's say, Buddy Bell or KW or Laumann.

 

I also never said Fabian should get the GM job, lol...where did you make that inference from? Just because I said they MIGHT be spared so there is some continuity going forward doesn't mean he should be a GM, or is qualified. And I questioned Haber because he seemed to be Hahn's advocate/progeny within the organization. Hahn is supposedly mentoring him, or has taken him under his wing.

 

 

[LittleHurt05]

I SAID EDUCATIONALLY...

 

What does that have to do with playing basketball or baseball?

 

All these people graduated from the Kellogg School of Management, just like Rick Hahn: RELEVANT!!!!

 

Professional Services[edit]

James L. Allen, Founder of Booz Allen Hamilton consultancy, and namesake of the Kellogg School's executive education center.

Arthur E. Andersen, Founder of Arthur Andersen.

Edwin G. Booz, Founder of Booz Allen Hamilton consultancy.

Financial Services[edit]

Joseph E. Hasten - President & CEO, ShoreBank; former Vice Chairman, U.S. Bancorp

Suzanne Iroche, CEO of FinBank[1]

Gary Parr, Deputy Chairman of Lazard

William A. Osborn, Chairman and former CEO of Northern Trust Corporation

Patrick Ryan, Founder and Executive Chairman of Aon Corporation

Thomas J. Wilson, President and CEO of Allstate Insurance Company

Consumer goods[edit]

Douglas R. Conant, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company

Betsy Holden, Former CEO of Kraft Foods

Tony Vernon, CEO of Kraft Foods Group

Retail[edit]

Brad Blum, CEO Emeritus of Burger King

Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot

Gregg Steinhafel, President, CEO, Chairman of the Board, Target Corporation

Media, Sports and Entertainment[edit]

Mallika Chopra, author, President of Intent

Cynthia Frelund, ESPN Analyst [2]

Eddie George, professional football player, Heisman Trophy winner

Industry[edit]

Kushagra Bajaj, Vice Chairman, Bajaj Hindusthan

Andrew Fastow, former CFO, Enron

Scott J. Freidheim, President and CEO of CDI Corporation

Christopher G. Kennedy, Chairman, Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises

David Kohler, President and CEO, Kohler Company

Chris Kubasik, former President and COO Lockheed Martin

Ellen J. Kullman, Chair and CEO, DuPont

Ivan Menezes, CEO of Diageo

Roshni Nadar, Executive Director and CEO, HCL Corporation

Government[edit]

Ali Babacan, Minister of State for the Economy, 2002-2007, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2007-2009, Deputy Prime Minister for Financial and Economic Affairs, 2009-present Republic of Turkey[3]

Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, 2015-present

Esteban Bullrich, Argentine National Deputy for Frente PRO, 2005-2009. 2010 to present, Minister of Education, City of Buenos Aires

John Cebrowski, member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives[4]

Alexander De Croo, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Pensions

Robert Dold, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois, 2011-2013; 2015-present

Jonathan Greenblatt, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the Domestic Policy Council for the Obama Administration, 2011 to present.

John Hoeven, Governor of North Dakota, 2000-2010; Senator, 2011 to present, United States

Randy Hopper Wisconsin State Senator, 2009-2011

Somkid Jatusripitak (PhD Marketing, 1984), Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, 2015 to present; former Minister of Finance and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, 2001-2006

Suvit Maesincee, Vice Minister for the Prime Minister and Adviser to the Minister of Finance of Thailand, 2015 to present

Susan Pamerleau, retired United States Air Force major general and the Republican sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, first woman elected to that office, 2012[5]

Cesar Purisima, Secretary of Trade & Industry, Republic of the Philippines, 2004-2005; Secretary of Finance, Republic of the Philippines, 2010 to present.[6]

Uttama Savanayana, Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Thailand, 2015 to present

[caulfield12]

STILL WAITING FOR AN ACTUAL DEFENSE OF RICK HAHN...which won't be forthcoming.

 

[caulfield12]

All these people graduated from the Kellogg School of Management, just like Rick Hahn: RELEVANT!!!!

 

Professional Services[edit]

James L. Allen, Founder of Booz Allen Hamilton consultancy, and namesake of the Kellogg School's executive education center.

Arthur E. Andersen, Founder of Arthur Andersen.

Edwin G. Booz, Founder of Booz Allen Hamilton consultancy.

Financial Services[edit]

Joseph E. Hasten - President & CEO, ShoreBank; former Vice Chairman, U.S. Bancorp

Suzanne Iroche, CEO of FinBank[1]

Gary Parr, Deputy Chairman of Lazard

William A. Osborn, Chairman and former CEO of Northern Trust Corporation

Patrick Ryan, Founder and Executive Chairman of Aon Corporation

Thomas J. Wilson, President and CEO of Allstate Insurance Company

Consumer goods[edit]

Douglas R. Conant, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company

Betsy Holden, Former CEO of Kraft Foods

Tony Vernon, CEO of Kraft Foods Group

Retail[edit]

Brad Blum, CEO Emeritus of Burger King

Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot

Gregg Steinhafel, President, CEO, Chairman of the Board, Target Corporation

Media, Sports and Entertainment[edit]

Mallika Chopra, author, President of Intent

Cynthia Frelund, ESPN Analyst [2]

Eddie George, professional football player, Heisman Trophy winner

Industry[edit]

Kushagra Bajaj, Vice Chairman, Bajaj Hindusthan

Andrew Fastow, former CFO, Enron

Scott J. Freidheim, President and CEO of CDI Corporation

Christopher G. Kennedy, Chairman, Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises

David Kohler, President and CEO, Kohler Company

Chris Kubasik, former President and COO Lockheed Martin

Ellen J. Kullman, Chair and CEO, DuPont

Ivan Menezes, CEO of Diageo

Roshni Nadar, Executive Director and CEO, HCL Corporation

Government[edit]

Ali Babacan, Minister of State for the Economy, 2002-2007, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2007-2009, Deputy Prime Minister for Financial and Economic Affairs, 2009-present Republic of Turkey[3]

Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, 2015-present

Esteban Bullrich, Argentine National Deputy for Frente PRO, 2005-2009. 2010 to present, Minister of Education, City of Buenos Aires

John Cebrowski, member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives[4]

Alexander De Croo, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Pensions

Robert Dold, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois, 2011-2013; 2015-present

Jonathan Greenblatt, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the Domestic Policy Council for the Obama Administration, 2011 to present.

John Hoeven, Governor of North Dakota, 2000-2010; Senator, 2011 to present, United States

Randy Hopper Wisconsin State Senator, 2009-2011

Somkid Jatusripitak (PhD Marketing, 1984), Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, 2015 to present; former Minister of Finance and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, 2001-2006

Suvit Maesincee, Vice Minister for the Prime Minister and Adviser to the Minister of Finance of Thailand, 2015 to present

Susan Pamerleau, retired United States Air Force major general and the Republican sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, first woman elected to that office, 2012[5]

Cesar Purisima, Secretary of Trade & Industry, Republic of the Philippines, 2004-2005; Secretary of Finance, Republic of the Philippines, 2010 to present.[6]

Uttama Savanayana, Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Thailand, 2015 to present

 

 

There is a conection. None are more famous than Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa or Joe Torre...therefore, Northwestern sucks.

 

But you've hit upon a great idea. If the Browns could hire DePodesta, we should hire Eddie George and bring KW's football mentality/Chicago "toughness" back to the Southside.

 

 

P.S. I'm now going to play with my 16 month old son and his grandparents and then watch Silicon Valley for approximately 30 minutes. It's 915 pm China time, so the fact that I have no compelling desire to argue this any longer doesn't mean I am avoiding you, but rather that I will go to bed and then turn on the Sox game in approximately 10 hours, at 7 am China time.

Edited June 21, 2016 by caulfield12

[FT35]

What has been the draft budget for the White Sox for the past 30 years?

 

It's either LOWEST, 2nd lowest or 3rd from the bottom depending on which research article you go by.

 

The manager for the White Sox has always been among the lowest paid in the majors, that still hasn't changed.

 

 

I guess he skipped sending the checks to those having anything to do with hitting/defense/position player development. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Hasler and JR Perdew and Britt Burns and the minor league pitching instructors getting paid more than their peers, because Don Cooper is one of the highest paid pitching coaches in the majors and his minor league staff is also known for being excellent in this regard of preparation/instruction/development.

 

If our scouts were so highly paid, then why they have been so terrible at their jobs for the last decade? And when I read about scouting departments, almost every team in the majors has a more extensive network than ours, particularly in Latin America. There's no way we haven't been in the bottom 25-30% over the last twenty years in TOTAL DOLLARS SPENT ON SCOUTING, both advanced scouting, amateur/collegiate and Latin American scouting.

 

 

This is spot on...if what Dick Allen is saying is true--which I believe it is...JR probably DID dump a lot of $ into his system at one point. However, the results have not quantified those dollars spent. And if our system IS as good as JR thinks it is or is paying for...then WHY ON EARTH do we keep trading these guys away before they make it up!?!? Where are they!?!?!? Outside of Chris Sale (granted, he's a rare talent and Chris Sales don't come around often), we really haven't drafted well. You have Semien and Trayce...but really those guys aren't exactly MVP candidates. For every Trayce, there are 50 Brent Morels.....

 

[Chicago White Sox]

STILL WAITING FOR AN ACTUAL DEFENSE OF RICK HAHN...which won't be forthcoming.

Theo Epstein, Andrew Friedman, Jon Daniels, etc. Did those guys have varsity letters? Some of the best GMs & team presidents in the game right now have little to no experience playing baseball.

 

Rick Hahn's educational or sports background has no bearing on his performance. It's his poor free agent signings & trades that are why he's failed as GM if that's what you believe.

[Y2Jimmy0]

We don't know exactly how much they rely upon it.

 

With the Pirates, it's very obvious. Jonah Keri wrote a book detailing the sea change.

 

So how can I advocate for his firing when I don't even know how much say he or Jeremy Haber have in the organization, versus, let's say, Buddy Bell or KW or Laumann.

 

I also never said Fabian should get the GM job, lol...where did you make that inference from? Just because I said they MIGHT be spared so there is some continuity going forward doesn't mean he should be a GM, or is qualified. And I questioned Haber because he seemed to be Hahn's advocate/progeny within the organization. Hahn is supposedly mentoring him, or has taken him under his wing.

 

 

The Pirates book was written by Travis Sawchick FYI. Keri wrote The Extra 2% about the Rays.

[Y2Jimmy0]

STILL WAITING FOR AN ACTUAL DEFENSE OF RICK HAHN...which won't be forthcoming.

 

 

Probably not enough but a few things:

 

1. Signs Pre-Arb or Arb players to great below market extensions: Quintana, Sale, Jones, Eaton

2. Acquired Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu

3. Peavy trade return was solid without eating $$

4. Marco Paddy was hired and Nick Hostetler promoted under his watch

5. Great at talking to the media. He appears to be extremely transparent even though he basically says nothing.

6. The last 4 drafts have been pretty good overall.

 

Obviously, most moves from last offseason on have been pretty bad and when weighing the bad vs the good, an argument can be made that he should be fired even though I wouldn't be on board with that.

[FT35]

Probably not enough but a few things:

 

1. Signs Pre-Arb or Arb players to great below market extensions: Quintana, Sale, Jones, Eaton

2. Acquired Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu

3. Peavy trade return was solid without eating $$

4. Marco Paddy was hired and Nick Hostetler promoted under his watch

5. Great at talking to the media. He appears to be extremely transparent even though he basically says nothing.

6. The last 4 drafts have been pretty good overall.

 

Obviously, most moves from last offseason on have been pretty bad and when weighing the bad vs the good, an argument can be made that he should be fired even though I wouldn't be on board with that.

 

 

Good point about the arb bargains. We often overlook these types of things when we see losses piling up. Just wonder how much of it is mastermind negotiating or done out of necessity because of financial restrictions. But either way, this is a good example of the RESULT being there. Regardless of how it got there, it's a plus for him.

[TaylorStSox]

In this thread, Caufield and Dick Allen will post a lot.

[footlongcomiskeydog]

Having a HS varsity letter for baseball or playing at the college level doesn't mean anything. As other people have already pointed out there are plenty of successful GM's who played very little baseball growing up.

 

Successful baseball Executives and GM's do have something in common though. They always surround themselves with people who are extremely good if not the best at what they do This is where the Sox FO office has failed big time over the past decade or so in my opinion. We have some of the dumbest guys in the room when it comes to scouting, drafting, and player development. No postseason appearances in the past 8 years is proof of this.

 

Hahn is good at contract negotiation but appears to be way in over his head at everything else. He also isn't surrounding himself with people who excel at the aspects that he is bad at and the results are there for all to see.

[bigruss]

Having a HS varsity letter for baseball or playing at the college level doesn't mean anything. As other people have already pointed out there are plenty of successful GM's who played very little baseball growing up.

 

Successful baseball Executives and GM's do have something in common though. They always surround themselves with people who are extremely good if not the best at what they do This is where the Sox FO office has failed big time over the past decade or so in my opinion. We have some of the dumbest guys in the room when it comes to scouting, drafting, and player development. No postseason appearances in the past 8 years is proof of this.

 

Hahn is good at contract negotiation but appears to be way in over his head at everything else. He also isn't surrounding himself with people who excel at the aspects that he is bad at and the results are there for all to see.

I think Nick Hostetler is a prime counter argument to you. Hahn is building up his staff, remember how loyal this org is, it'll take time to get his people in.

[Texsox]

Just because a move works out doesn't mean it was a good move and just because a move doesn't work out means it was a bad move. Consensus top draft picks haven't panned out, low round draft picks have had Hall of Fame careers. As a fan we don't know all the parameters that a GM has to work with. Having set that premise I wonder how to accurately judge the GM.

 

So it seems to me there aren't objective data points to praise the GM. So it becomes subjective by the owner. We seem to dislike wins as a statistic that matters. However, if there is one person who should be judged by wins and loses, it's the GM. The more I think about this in a fair and calm manner the more I come to the conclusion that K-Dub and Hahn-man should probably head on down the road and start over with a different franchise. K-Dub has had ten years to either maintain a championship team or to build one and he has failed.

 

Once the new GM and VP Ops is in place they should have an opportunity ti hire an new manager who in turn should have the opportunity to bring in a new staff. Yes, that means that Cooper may be gone. The dominoes just keep falling. But there is a success level that has been established, a WS appearance, and after 10 more attempts it is just time to restart. I an usually the last person to believe a wholesale house cleaning is in order, but it just seems like the time.

[FT35]

Is it me or does this story sound way too like the movie "Major League?" The way they assembled the roster based on who was available at the time...the way the team has performed with their pieced together roster, the way they pulled their manager out of a day job with no experience managing, the way they have continued to faithfully roll out the same people who are sinking the ship--the current state of the franchise and its fans. It's almost so bad that it could be intentional...like to justify a move to a different market...like away from the glorious Cubs. Soon to be sold as "a fresh start" that most of what's left of the fan base is calling for. Only thing is, that fresh start could be happening elsewhere. Sad to think about but can't help but go there with the thoughts these days.

[Lip Man 1]

A poster at another Sox web site, compiled a list of positive and negative items in their opinion Hahn has done.

 

I submit it here without comment for discussion purposes since that seems to be a running debate right now.

 

"There are basically 4 things I think Hahn has done well, and 2 of them are contract based.

 

1.) Sale's contract

2.) Quintana's contract

3.) Sign Abreu

4.) Trade for Eaton

 

The rest of his timeline as GM is a mess.

 

1.) Chose Flowers over Pierzynski

2.) Jeff Keppinger for $12 million

3.) Traded Matt Thornton (who was still productive last year and has played in the postseason) for no MLB talent.

4.) Traded Jake Peavy (who went on to contribute for 2 World Series champs) into Avisail Garcia

5.) Traded Alex Rios (who went on to contribute for a World Series champ) into Leury Garcia.

6.) Extended Robin Ventura

7.) Paul Konerko's last 2 years for $16 million

8.) Addison Reed for Matt Davidson

9.) Rushed Rodon to MLB

10.) Traded Dunn, Beckham, and De Aza (2 of the 3 having an impact on postseason games) for no MLB talent

11.) Adam LaRoche for $25 million

12.) Jeff Samardzija for Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley, and $10 million

13.) Melky Cabrera for $42 million

14.) David Robertson for $46 million

15.) Todd Frazier for Trayce Thompson, Micah Johnson, and $16.5 million

16.) Mat Latos

17.) Jimmy Rollins

18.) Waiting at least 2 years too long before releasing John Danks

19.) James Shields for Erik Johnson and $27 million

20.) Has refused to fire the coaching staff.

21.) Spent five million on utility infielders Beckham and Bonifacio who did nothing."

 

Feel free to comment on what you think. I agree with some of the items, disagree with some others.

 

Mark

 

 

[Quin]

A poster at another Sox web site, compiled a list of positive and negative items in their opinion Hahn has done.

 

I submit it here without comment for discussion purposes since that seems to be a running debate right now.

 

"There are basically 4 things I think Hahn has done well, and 2 of them are contract based.

 

1.) Sale's contract

2.) Quintana's contract

3.) Sign Abreu

4.) Trade for Eaton

 

The rest of his timeline as GM is a mess.

 

1.) Chose Flowers over Pierzynski AJ isn't a good choice either. Bad options all around.

2.) Jeff Keppinger for $12 million Made sense at the time, Keppinger just busted.

3.) Traded Matt Thornton (who was still productive last year and has played in the postseason) for no MLB talent. Brandon Jacobs was part of the Eaton trade

4.) Traded Jake Peavy (who went on to contribute for 2 World Series champs) into Avisail Garcia Agreed here. But Garcia was highly touted. Should have gone for Iglesias. Turned two of those trade chips into Frazier and Lawrie

5.) Traded Alex Rios (who went on to contribute for a World Series champ) into Leury Garcia. Literally everyone wanted Rios gone. This as a complain is dumb

6.) Extended Robin Ventura Agreed

7.) Paul Konerko's last 2 years for $16 million Agreed

8.) Addison Reed for Matt Davidson You do this trade every time. Declining closer for a highly rated prospect

9.) Rushed Rodon to MLB Rodon is doing just fine for a softmore

10.) Traded Dunn, Beckham, and De Aza (2 of the 3 having an impact on postseason games) for no MLB talent This is a foolish argument. Getting warm bodies was a win.

11.) Adam LaRoche for $25 million Looked good at the time, not like LaRoche was expected to bomb.

12.) Jeff Samardzija for Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley, and $10 million Traded for an All-Star. Not working in retrospect.

13.) Melky Cabrera for $42 million This deal is fine.

14.) David Robertson for $46 million This deal is fine.

15.) Todd Frazier for Trayce Thompson, Micah Johnson, and $16.5 million Until Frazier's cold spell, this deal was fine/win

16.) Mat Latos No real harm in this move

17.) Jimmy Rollins No real harm in this move

18.) Waiting at least 2 years too long before releasing John Danks It's nearly impossible to eat that much money

19.) James Shields for Erik Johnson and $27 million EJ was bad, but this deal is bad.

20.) Has refused to fire the coaching staff. Parent got fired.

21.) Spent five million on utility infielders Beckham and Bonifacio who did nothing." Utility infielders at that rate isn't a really big problem.

 

Feel free to comment on what you think. I agree with some of the items, disagree with some others.

 

Mark

 

Added comments in bold.

[Black_Jack29]

A poster at another Sox web site, compiled a list of positive and negative items in their opinion Hahn has done.

 

I submit it here without comment for discussion purposes since that seems to be a running debate right now.

 

"There are basically 4 things I think Hahn has done well, and 2 of them are contract based.

 

1.) Sale's contract

2.) Quintana's contract

3.) Sign Abreu

4.) Trade for Eaton

 

The rest of his timeline as GM is a mess.

 

1.) Chose Flowers over Pierzynski

2.) Jeff Keppinger for $12 million

3.) Traded Matt Thornton (who was still productive last year and has played in the postseason) for no MLB talent.

4.) Traded Jake Peavy (who went on to contribute for 2 World Series champs) into Avisail Garcia

5.) Traded Alex Rios (who went on to contribute for a World Series champ) into Leury Garcia.

6.) Extended Robin Ventura

7.) Paul Konerko's last 2 years for $16 million

8.) Addison Reed for Matt Davidson

9.) Rushed Rodon to MLB

10.) Traded Dunn, Beckham, and De Aza (2 of the 3 having an impact on postseason games) for no MLB talent

11.) Adam LaRoche for $25 million

12.) Jeff Samardzija for Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley, and $10 million

13.) Melky Cabrera for $42 million

14.) David Robertson for $46 million

15.) Todd Frazier for Trayce Thompson, Micah Johnson, and $16.5 million

16.) Mat Latos

17.) Jimmy Rollins

18.) Waiting at least 2 years too long before releasing John Danks

19.) James Shields for Erik Johnson and $27 million

20.) Has refused to fire the coaching staff.

21.) Spent five million on utility infielders Beckham and Bonifacio who did nothing."

 

Feel free to comment on what you think. I agree with some of the items, disagree with some others.

 

Mark

 

While many of these negatives are definitely Hahn's fault, Robertson and Melky have both been worth the money, Frazier was a smart trade, and Rodon performed well for a guy who was "rushed." There are a lots of legit gripes about Hahn, but this list goes way overboard. Also, if Kenny hadn't turned the Sox farm system into a mess, Hahn wouldn't have had to hold on to a mediocre John Danks to anchor the #5 spot or gamble on Jimmy Rollins or Mat Latos.

 

Edit: Sorry, I thought that this was your list. I didn't read your post closely enough.

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by Black_Jack29

[Black_Jack29]

Added comments in bold.

 

I pretty much agree with your comments. Hahn's big screw-ups were Shields, LaRoche (nobody saw that coming), Sharks (again, nobody saw that coming), and letting Konerko collect too much money while in severe decline. The other moves that he made that didn't work out are far less consequential, IMO.