Pat Gillick will interview tomorrow:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2208758
The 68-year old affectionately called "Stand Pat" doesn't come across as someone with a long-term vision and more the type who will gut the farm system to make a quick impact. Given that the last GM was shoved into a cannon and catapulted out of town twenty months into his tenure, can you blame whoever comes in next if they feel they have very little time to make an impact of some sort and mortgage the long-term for short-term gain?
posted by John @ 8:31 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I hope your campaign works.
I think it came down to Collins.
McCourt realized that the hiring of Collins, a manager with a record of strife, the manager the Angels didn't want -- whom they replaced with a Dodger great, would be too big of a PR hit.
If that's true, then McCourt has a valid point. However, certainly Depo wanting to hire Collins does not justify the firing of a young, progressive general manager after only 20 months on the job.
You really don't know any of Gillick's history, do you? Gillick was known as "Stand" Pat in Seattle for his refusal to make deadline trades. It didn't hurt the team in 2001, but it assuredly did in 2002 and 2003.
If Gillick is being brought in, he isn't going to just sit there. Pat earned his nickname from sitting around at the deadline and always believing the team he put together in January was as good as the team he had in late July. However, the nickname may be unjustified, as Gillick picked up David Cone and Rickey Henderson at the deadline for Toronto during their 92-93 World Championship years. I understand that Seattle fans feel he should have done more at the deadline in 2002 and 2003, but that's a feeling 90% of teams' fans feel on August 1st. If he didn't make moves for fear of gutting his farm system, then he can't be faulted too much for that. It's not like he was Chuck Lamar, who refused to do anything unless he was ripping someone off.
Every GM who takes over a team does something, generally, because they feel they are being brought in to change things. I wouldn't expect Gillick to be any different. With money and prospects to play with, it'll make his ability to make changes that much easier, but not necessarily for the better (short or long term).
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