Alex Anthopoulos

by qwerty123 on Aug 29, 2011 2:14 PM CDT

Does anyone want Alex Anthopoulos to be the Cubs new GM? I really like Anthopoulos and he has made some really good moves like stealing Colby Rasmus from the Cardinals and Yunel Escobar from the Braves? He also got rid of Vernon Wells and his terrible contract. Do you think that he could maybe get rid of Soriano like he did to Wells? I think that Alex Anthopoulos would make a great GM for the Cubs. What do you think?

Notable deals that he made:

Roy Halladay for Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor and Travis D'Arnaud

Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez for Brandon Morrow

Alex Gonzalez, Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes

Vernon Wells for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera

Zach Stewart and Jason Frasor for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen

Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson, Marc Rzepczynski and cash or 3 PTBL for Colby Rasmus, PJ Walters, Trever Miller and Brian Tallet

Aaron Hill and John McDonald for Kelly Johnson

Poll

Should Alex Anthopoulos be the next GM?

yes

36 votes

no

35 votes

71 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

Tweet Comment 56 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

He sounds two things...

quality and unavailable.

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Aug 29, 2011 2:21 PM CDT reply actions

Yeah, but he is a good GM

Mike Quade is an idiot.

by qwerty123 on Aug 29, 2011 2:26 PM CDT up reply actions

He'd be good

I don’t think the Blue Jays would let him go though.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 29, 2011 2:37 PM CDT reply actions

OT but, I just looked at eric hanna's profile

And he still visits our site! He voted for Ned Colletti in the poll

by adam316 on Aug 29, 2011 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions

ha ha ha....of course he did.

by epsilon on Aug 29, 2011 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Wow

He totally did, too.

by WiscCubsFan on Aug 29, 2011 3:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Why wouldn't he

The guy is a living legend around these parts. I think the Internets would literally explode if he ever posted a comment or, god will, another post.

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 4:47 PM CDT up reply actions

*willing

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 4:48 PM CDT up reply actions

I must be too new for this

Dare I ask, who is Eric Hanna?

The sun is up. They sky is blue. It's beautiful, and so are you. Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play? ~Lennon & McCartney

by SouthWabashSoul on Aug 29, 2011 7:50 PM CDT up reply actions

It's like looking opening the Arc of the Covenant

try not to let your face melt off from the shear awesomeness:

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2009/6/30/931029/cubs-need-to-make-a-trade

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 7:57 PM CDT up reply actions

* into the

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 7:58 PM CDT up reply actions

A trade could always be worked out

Thats what was going to happen when the Red Sox tried to bring on Billy Beane as its GM before hiring Theo.

I think Billy Beane is actually the way to go though. He maximizes acquisitions, and if given the Cub payroll could do a lot of damage.

by backtocali on Aug 29, 2011 4:16 PM CDT reply actions

I would enjoy seeing that

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't think we'd have to trade for Beane

I think Oakland would just let him go. He’s given them 14 seasons.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 29, 2011 4:48 PM CDT up reply actions

Their owner said he would if Billy looked for greener fields he would support his decision

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 5:07 PM CDT up reply actions

trade for Anthoplous

by backtocali on Aug 29, 2011 8:39 PM CDT up reply actions

What is it you think they're going to trade to get him?

Is Beane even a good GM? Once you get past the hype, he seems kind of shitty.

"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane

by ol Pete on Aug 29, 2011 9:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Once you get past the backlash

He’s done a pretty good job considering what Oakland is going through.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 29, 2011 10:42 PM CDT up reply actions

I guess the good thing from him being GM

is that we would get guys who are good at getting on base.

I am just afraid that the game of baseball has caught up and now he is just a league average GM

by hansman1982 on Aug 30, 2011 6:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Not a big enough

step up?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Aug 30, 2011 7:38 AM CDT up reply actions

He's still one of the better GMs from a Wins per dollar perspective

But as we saw with Hendry, increasing the budget doesn’t necessarily lead to the GM’s performance there going up accordingly.

by madcow256 on Aug 30, 2011 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Well the new inefficiency

That he and Friedman discovered was defense.

I think overall, he is a pretty dang good GM. If it werent for half of his pitching staff last year developing injury issues, they would have been contenders, and with the payroll they put out year to year, that is a huge accomplishment.

If the Cubs want to be a serious big market player, they have to follow the Red Sox mantra of drafting very well, and fixing holes with FA signings where need be.

by backtocali on Sep 1, 2011 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions

This is hype invented

to cover the fact that the initial hype turned out to be just hype. Defense wasn’t an “inefficiency.”

Are you actually going to claim that Beane drafts well?

"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane

by ol Pete on Sep 2, 2011 8:55 AM CDT up reply actions

Might want to go and re-evaluate the A's Drafts

Before making that statement. The A’s have done a pretty good job with the draft in the past 10 years or so. And unlike certain NL Central GM’s knows how to run a successful rebuild.

Beane would be a solid choice for the Cubs.

by backtocali on Sep 2, 2011 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Your sig line is wrong

Billy Beane did not say “Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s.” Michael Lewis did. He was not quoting Beane. Unless you’re really Joe Morgan and you think Billy Beane wrote Moneyball.

by Josh Timmers on Sep 2, 2011 6:12 PM CDT up reply actions

He has as much or more money in Toronto than he would with the Cubs

And better/younger/cheaper talent. And he’s Canadian. I just don’t think he’s going anywhere any time soon.

by subtle on Aug 29, 2011 4:17 PM CDT reply actions

Also, let's see the Jays win something before we jump on the new flavor of the month

by subtle on Aug 29, 2011 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Toronto

really is a great gig, enough money for a GM to dabble in expensive FA’s but if you dont win, thats ok, just blame it on the AL East and not having Yankees/Red Sox money.

by hansman1982 on Aug 30, 2011 6:34 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm convinced if the AL East was split one team in each other division the division winners would probably all be former AL East teams.

The Blue Jays are a good, good team. I’d love to have somebody that regularly contends (or tries to) in that division.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Aug 29, 2011 5:14 PM CDT reply actions

Even the Orioles?

by Bradsbeard on Aug 29, 2011 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions

Bring back Andy MacPhail!

by Josh Timmers on Aug 29, 2011 5:51 PM CDT up reply actions

Those mid-2000s teams were pretty damn good, dude.

They have Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, Erik Bedard, Nick Markasis. Those teams were 10 or 15 games below .500; try telling me they wouldn’t have competed in the crappy NL Central. A team that’s only 15 games back in the hardest division in baseball could compete in the easiest.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Aug 29, 2011 6:45 PM CDT up reply actions

I assumed you meant this year

but even still, the last time the Orioles finished within 15 games of 1st was 2000. Here are their games behind finishes in the 2000s:

2000: 13.5 GB
2001: 32.5 GB
2002: 36.5 GB
2003: 23.0 GB
2004: 23.0 GB
2005: 21.0 GB
2006: 27.0 GB
2007: 27.0 GB
2008: 28.5 GB
2009: 39.0 GB
2010: 30.0 GB

During the time Bedard was a full time starter there (2004-2007) the Orioles had a team WAR of 79. During those same years, the Cardinals were third in the majors with 121.9, the Cubs had 99.6, the Astros 92.7, and the Brewers had 89.1. They might get a bump moving to the NL, but I doubt it would be that much. I can’t find a year by year breakout, but since interleague started the Orioles have a .437 winning percentage, while the Cards have a .532 percentage, the Cubs a .480, the Astros .479, the Brewers .467 (and that includes the late 90s when the Orioles were last decent, especially their 98 win 1997). So yeah, that would be a lot for the Orioles to climb over.

by Bradsbeard on Aug 29, 2011 8:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Reading fail

I thought you said 15 games behind first, not 15 below .500. It’s obviously the 2004 and 2005 teams you’re referring to. Of course, the Cards won over 100 games each of those years.

by Bradsbeard on Aug 29, 2011 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Sweet.

I love statistical analysis. This isn’t a conversation that requires one, however. The analysis I did for this post: none. You’re missing my point, methinks.

My point isn’t to put Baltimore head-to-head with whomever won the NL Central (or whatever division). My point is that the GMs of the AL East are pretty decent top to bottom. The Blue Jays draft and produce excellent farm system players, the Orioles churn out a good amount of successful players, and clearly the other three have seen success. If you’re going to try to compare the records of the Orioles with other teams, there needs to be some sort of SOS involved to counterweight for the powerhouses in that division. I mean, 9 of the last 20 World Series participants have come from the AL East. NL Central? 2.

I think all the AL East teams could be competitive year in and year out for any other division titles because they are used to a quality and excellence that’s unparalleled in other divisions. The Orioles might not win every division every year, but in a weaker division they would be better.

Dan

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Aug 29, 2011 9:24 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, you said those Oriole's teams were pretty good

which they were not. Sorry, just got carried away looking at the numbers. It was a bit of overkill!

I think the WAR accounts more or less for the differences in league/division, but even assuming a bump, I don’t see any of those Orioles team in the last 10 years being any better than say the Astros in any respective year. Obviously they might have built those teams differently if they played in the NL central, but any team would be more competitive in the NL Central than in the AL East. We are talking about Andy MacPhail, who has not exactly been a world beater as a GM even when he was in the NL Central.

I do agree that the Rays and Blue Jays would be competitive in most and dominant in some other divisions. The Orioles would certainly have a better chance to go on a run like the Padres did last year and contend.

by Bradsbeard on Aug 29, 2011 9:46 PM CDT up reply actions

To be honest

when you trade the best pitcher in baseball, Halladay, and get no one major league ready I do not consider that a good deal. He got beat bad on that deal.

by Grockcubs on Aug 29, 2011 7:21 PM CDT reply actions

Wrong.

He got some great prospects and Kyle Drabek is almost major league ready

Mike Quade is an idiot.

by qwerty123 on Aug 29, 2011 8:30 PM CDT up reply actions

The key word is prospects.

Halladay has already won 36 games in less than two years. Drabek has been up to the bigs twice and is 4-8. Sure he is 24 years old, but Toronto got screwed on the deal.
Halladay is a beast. Toronto should of gotten Drabek and a guy like Madison.

by Grockcubs on Aug 29, 2011 8:54 PM CDT up reply actions

They weren't competing that soon anyway, and not only is Drabek almost major league ready...

They’ve got the 2nd best catching prospect in the high minors from that trade in D’Arnaud. He’s having a hell of a year and will be an extreme value for awhile.

by bdlugz on Aug 29, 2011 9:13 PM CDT up reply actions

You must not be following Kyle Drabek very closely

He’s been terrible. His delivery is all messed up. A 6.51 ERA. 37 BB against 37 K in 65 innings.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 29, 2011 10:44 PM CDT up reply actions

Drabek has entirely broken his delivery

As a Jays fan it’s been a frustration, but with the two other parts of the trade coming good (D’Arnaud now a top 30 prospect, Eastern League MVP, etc… Gose having developed into a Devo like CF defender in need of sharpening his contact skills, borderline top 50).

Given that Halladay decided he would only accept a trade to Philly (he had a no-trade clause he had to waive) it was a pretty impossible point to deal from, the fact we got even average value was a miracle to many fans.

by TtD on Aug 30, 2011 7:22 AM CDT up reply actions

Well I knew he had a fall this year, but had no idea how massive it was.

Yikes.

by bdlugz on Aug 30, 2011 8:40 AM CDT up reply actions

considering what other teams have been getting for ace pitchers

I think Toronto did pretty well.
Drabek, D’Arnaud, and what ended up as Gose was quite a haul.

"Playoffs?!" -Jim Mora

by Castro Por Presidente on Aug 31, 2011 1:29 AM CDT up reply actions

Cherry picking

I’m not sure how that Hallady trade will ever end up on the positive WAR side for Toronto. True, he was backed into a corner in having to trade Halladay.

And why does everyone ignore that he traded Napoli for Frank Francisco?

Let some of these deals for prospects play out before you call anything a win.

Speaking of deals not turning out so well, how about the Adrian Gonzalez deal for SD? They might not have much to show for trading him when it all plays out.

by OakParkErnest on Aug 30, 2011 9:06 AM CDT reply actions

The Jays lost 6.6WAR from Halladay last year

And then his deal was up and he was gone. I’m still pretty confident that D’Arnaud will be worth much more than that alone over his six years . Gose and Drabek would merely be a bonus.

The Napoli/Francisco deal is ignored so far because it’s at year end the results become clear on the jays side, Napoli has had an amazing year, but by clearing the logjam at 1B/DH/C in a year when the jays were unlikely to compete and by grabbing Francisco the Jays are set to get three type-B compensation picks (Francisco/Molina/Encarnacion). If it were a straight up talent for talent thing the Jays lost the deal, but as they were pick hunting they’ve done very well out of it.

by TtD on Aug 30, 2011 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions