----- Original Message ----- From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 7:31 AM Subject: RE: Baseball Analysis: AL East
> Gautam Mukunda wrote: > > > AL East: > > Boston - Pedro Martinez - maybe the best pitcher in history. Nomar > > Garciaparra - one of the ten best shortstops in history. Manny Ramirez - > a > > Hall of Fame caliber right fielder. This team _should_ be good. It has > the > > misfortune of trying to compete with New York, having a GM with people > > skills that make George Steinbrenner look like Mother Teresa, a history of > > disfunctional clubhouse cultures, and so on. Give Billy Beane this team > and > > the Yankees would be eating his dust in 5 years. But it's not happening > > with Dan Duquette. A good team, but (like the 1996 Seattle Mariners) one > > that just doesn't have the supporting cast in place, and nothing to speak > of > > in the farm system to try and play with. > > What do you think of Boston now that Duquette is gone? Or is it too > early to make any predictions based just on his firing? > > Julia > > Well, I'd say that it is and it isn't. Isn't it amazing how decisive I am > :-) First, I don't know whom they will replace him with. If it were Beane, > for example, as some rumors have it, then I'd be very optimistic. On the > whole, however, I don't think (in the short term) that it matters very much. > In 1996 Duquette made a purposeful decision to ignore the farm system - as a > consequence, there's absolutely nothing there. It's as bad as the Orioles, > actually. They don't even have a first round draft pick this season, much > less any high-minors talent. Without that to work with, it's hard to see > how any GM could affect the outcome of this season's race all that much. > Maybe a little - someone like Beane could, say, swindle the Royals out of > yet another great player for replacement players. But I doubt that the Red > Sox will get anyone that good, and even someone like Beane probably couldn't > swing it given how little ammunition the Red Sox have. > Was I daydreaming or did the Sox fire their manager today? xponent Curiouser Maru rob
