二人の若いGM

「DePodesta, Epstein stand strong」
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1850438
が面白い。ボストンとL.A.のGM二人がものすごく若いから、失敗を恐れずに大型トレードで勝負に出たという論。

Neither man is old enough to be president, played even in the minor leagues or chewed tobacco. They are Harvard and Yale, draped in the perceptual gowns of "Moneyball," educated in the baseball academies of Dan O'Dowd, Mark Shapiro, Billy Beane and Kevin Towers and together have less combined professional service time than Julio Franco.

DePodestaはこのトレードをこう語る。ポストシーズンに勝つにはいいローテーションがカギを握り、Pennyがどうしても欲しかったのだ。とにかく信ずることを実行しなければならない。

"To say I'm getting killed is an understatement," says DePodesta, "but we did what we did to try not just to make the postseason, but to go deep. In this job, you have to do what you believe is right."

Critics say the Dodgers, a team notorious for bad chemistry, was a magical club. They were 20-6 in July at the time of the trade. They had the best bullpen in baseball. But DePodesta weighed regular-season success against what it takes to win in October, and made his decision. "We think we upgraded our rotation with (Brad) Penny, who is 26 and someone who proved last season what he can do in October," DePodesta said. "We needed that."

"We needed to upgrade the offense, and I look at it this way: Finley is an upgrade (over) Lo Duca, Choi is an upgrade from Encarnacion and Brent Mayne and Dave Roberts are somewhat of a standoff." Of course, originally the idea was to get Charles Johnson from the Rockies, who would pay $9 million of his salary, but Johnson passed on catching in a pennant race and demanded a $3.5 million extension, folly.
Milton Bradley apparently agreed to move to left field for Finley, and Jayson Werth is an invaluable asset at all three outfield positions as well as first base, as Choi struggles against left-handed pitching.
DePodesta is gambling that the extra innings that Penny brings and the additional offense will make up for the loss of Mota.

Motaを放出したことを批判されている件についてはブルペンのデプスを考えてやったこととこう語る。

"We believe Dreifort, who has been throwing very well, can pitch the eighth inning. Duaner Sanchez has also been very good, throwing 95 to 97. What is overlooked is Yhency Brazoban. We have wanted to get him to the major leagues for a while. We thought about (bringing him up straight from) Double-A, then he went to Triple-A and had 17 strikeouts and one walk (in 12 1/3 innings pitched). He could be an important part of our bullpen down the stretch. That gives us four pitchers at the end of our bullpen who throw 95 or better, and it could be that when Edwin Jackson returns, he could move into the bullpen."

ランディ・ジョンソンをめぐるアリゾナとL.Aの交渉決裂の様子はこう分析されている。

Now, Johnson would have been nice, and he was willing to go to the Dodgers. But while the Diamondbacks assumed DePodesta would give up Penny, Jackson and Werth, they were wrong. When Arizona GM Joe Garagiola told the Yankees they were out earlier in the week, he told them that he could have a deal with L.A. But while DePodesta would have traded Penny and prospects, he could not give up Jackson and Werth, valuable players who are minimum salary guys in 2004-2005. "To afford Randy," says DePodesta, "we need (Jackson and Werth) at $300,000 (each)."

さて、ボストンとガルシアパーラの確執について詳しく語られているが、これではEpsteinとしても、トレードに出すしかなかったろう。

He signed a below-market contract after his historic rookie season, then when he sat down with owner John Henry, team president Larry Lucchino, et al, in spring training, 2003, he rejected a four-year, $60 million deal. Last fall, that offer dropped to four years and $48 million, and not only was Garciaparra angry about that, but while he was on his honeymoon he found out he was all but traded.

2003年春の4年$60milの契約を蹴ったのはガルシアパーラ。ここから運が逃げていったようだ。Epsteinは、

"We knew that our process would entail things getting ugly because the fans, understandably, get attached to great players, It's ugly right now, but we addressed a situation and our most glaring need. I do not think we could win in the postseason with our defense, as it was. I think we have a better chance now."

と言う。Epsteinは選手とのケミストリーを重要視するGMなのだ。

Understand, Epstein is not some professor sitting in front of his laptop 21 hours a day. He is a people person whom the players like and relate to; Foulke came to Boston because of what he liked about the general manager. So did Schilling. Epstein listens to players, and had the pulse of the way they felt about this situation.