SI’s GM Rankings

SI’s Tim Marchman posted this gem earlier today.

In his ranking of MLB GM’s, he has three AL East teams in the top four.  Tampa Bay’s Andrew Friedman is pretty good at what he does and has reached the postseason approximately once.  Epstein and Cashman have the benefit of Scrooge McDuck vaults to spend.  I could be as good as Cashman at my job if I had unlimited resources and the ability to sign Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira in the same off-season.  Anything less than a World Series victory would have been an embarrassment.

I immediately discredit any ranking that features Billy Beane in the top 10.  This isn’t 2007 anymore, the A’s have sucked for a few years now.

Ruben Amaro Jr. comes in a distant 19th.  Admittedly he doesn’t have a complete body of work from which to judge and the Ibanez signing could, as soon as this year, be proven a questionable move but Marchman had this to say:

I honestly have no idea how to rate Amaro. One pennant in one year is a nice record, and having landed two of baseball’s five best pitchers — Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee — in trade within a few months is even better given that these were moves he alone gets credit for. On the other hand the truly strange trade sending Lee to Seattle and the odd, if so far successful, decision to sign 37-year-old designated hitter-masquerading-as-an-outfielder Raul Ibanez to a long-term contract have to count heavily against him.

How exactly does it count heavily against him?  I can only assume Epstein or Cashman would have been lauded as geniuses for getting such a dominant half season out of an aging outfielder.  Too bad we didn’t sign Milton Bradley to lose his mind and call us all racist, like the “16th best GM” Jim Hendry.

Marchman has also fallen under the Mariners’ spell, ranking second year GM Jack Zduriencik the fifth best in baseball.   A light hitting, defensive minded lineup with a great 1-2 and no other pitchers is a foolproof formula for American League success!

Placido Polanco hits for average and Jose Contreras will be adequate!

Tags: brian cashman, flawed rankings, ruben amaro junior, sports illustrated, theo epstein, tim marchman