Omar Minaya had a lot of money and used it well over the past two years, incorporating Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner into a sizeable payroll. There is an art to figuring out whom to spend big dollars upon and if you donât believe that I will show you an awful lot of Bobby Bonillas, Kevin Appiers and Roberto Alomars that tanked in Flushing despite being paid incredibly well.
Omar Minaya had a lot of money and used it well over the past two years, incorporating Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner into a sizeable payroll. There is an art to figuring out whom to spend big dollars upon and if you donât believe that I will show you an awful lot of Bobby Bonillas, Kevin Appiers and Roberto Alomars that tanked in Flushing despite being paid incredibly well.
Yet Minaya is the NL Executive of the Year â at least to this blogger â for how he filled in around the stars.
He was criticized for trading two starters (Kris Benson and Jae Seo) for two relievers (Jorge Julio and Duaner Sanchez). But buried in that Benson trade was John Maine. And, when Julio failed early as a Met, Minaya turned him into Orlando Hernandez. Now here is a question: Would you rather have Benson and Seo working in a postseason rotation bereft of Pedro Martinez or Hernandez and Maine?
Paul Lo Duca was a terrific answer behind the plate, Jose Valentin was invaluable in becoming the full-time second baseman and Endy Chavez rose to become, perhaps, the best fourth outfielder in the majors. Pedro Feliciano and Darren Oliver were brought to spring training on non-guaranteed contracts and thrived, and Guillermo Mota was picked up as the season went along.
Minayaâs most dubious move was, perhaps, one that did not come until late in the year when he obtained Shawn Green. Minaya believed Green would prosper in New York. He hasnât and the Mets owe him, now, $6 million next year. But that is relatively minor compared to all the great work he did to make the Mets â at least for the regular season â the undisputed best team in the National League.
As for the NLâs worst job by an executive, the Cubsâ Jim Hendry deserves abuse. He never did figure out to bring in some players with on-base skills and continued to let his clubâs fortunes rest too much on the fragile bodies of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty and Cardinals ownership also should be criticized for failing to translate the additional income form a new stadium into a higher quality supporting cast around Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols.
The Yanksâ Brian Cashman deserves a pat for gaining power and using it to run a more cohesive, logical operation. He also had some nice little moves along the way â Brian Bruney and Aaron Guiel â and his patience helped the Yanks land Bobby Abreu for a pittance of his value.
Minnesotaâs Terry Ryan and Detroitâs Dave Dombrowski also did excellent work. But the AL Executive of the Year should be Oaklandâs Billy Beane.
He made a great low-cost risk, signing of Frank Thomas for a $500,000 base and Thomas rewarded the Aâs with an MVP-worthy season. In addition â and perhaps most important â Beane has forged a culture in Oakland in which the team expects to win despite low payrolls and significant turnover.
On the flip side, a disciple of Beaneâs way of doing business, Theo Epstein, went in 24 months from the euphoria of being the architect of the Red Soxâs first championship in 86 years to being cited for doing the worst job in the league. Like Cashman, he wrested great power last offseason. Unlike Cashman, he did not have a very strong year.
Either with Epstein serving as the GM or as an advisor while his status was being determined, the Red Sox dealt away three high-end rookies in Anibal Sanchez, Hanley Ramirez and Cla Meredith, a catcher with great promise in Josh Bard, plus a dependable starter in Bronson Arroyo, all of whom thrived in the NL. Josh Beckett (who cost Sanchez and Ramirez) had an enigmatic season. Doug Mirabelli (who cost Meredith and Bard) was abysmal. Wily Mo Pena (who cost Arroyo) was injury-plagued and continued to be mostly an all-or-nothing hitter.
The Red Sox believed Coco Crisp could adequately replace Johnny Damon. He couldnât. And Epstein could not make the big splash move at the trade deadline he was actively pursuing and failed to do anything on a smaller scale either to bolster a club that needed his support. And the Red Sox collapsed. Epstein responded publicly, at that point, by talking about all of the Yankeesâ financial advantages, as if he is the GM of the Royals rather than a Red Sox team that spends more than anybody but the Yanks.
Since this is an awards wrapup for the season, here are some quick thoughts on other categories:
AL BEST FREE AGENT SIGN â In a year in which injury has hindered Eric Chavezâs power, Thomas is just an ideal addition for the Aâs. But there were some worthy runners-up, including Johnny Damon (Yankees), B.J. Ryan (Blue Jays), Kenny Rogers (Tigers) and Ramon Hernandez (Orioles).
AL WORST FREE AGENT SIGN â There were some real clinkers, but the Indians hit the failure daily-double by signing Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson to deals. The horrible results by that duo went a long way to turning the Indians from the pleasant surprise of 2005 to duds in 2006.
NL BEST FREE AGENT SIGN â Wagner was shaky early, but turned out to be exactly what the Mets needed: a steadying, end-game force to push the memory of Armando Benitez and Braden Looper away.
NL WORST FREE AGENT SIGN â There were a lot of health and production concerns with Matt Morris, and the Giants ignored them in giving the righty a three-year, $27 million contract to watch him go 10-15 with a 4.98 ERA.
AL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR â There are so many great rebound stories. If I had to pick one, I would take Thomas, but strong bounce backs by Jim Thome, Rocco Baldelli, Curt Schilling and Mike Lowell also were impressive.
AL FALLDOWN PLAYER OF THE YEAR â- A trio of shortstops â Bobby Crosby, Juan Uribe and Jhonny Peralta â really regressed. But a big part of the Red Sox plummet had to do with middle-of-the-diamond failures of Crisp and Varitek. Boston is in a tricky spot with Varitek. He is just finishing the second year of a four-year contract and, unquestionably, is the leader and brains of the team. But there were sure signs of decline this year.
NL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR â There is a lot of support for the Metsâ Carlos Beltran and Jose Valentin. But the Dodgers contended to a large degree because Nomar Garciaparra returned to being such a fierce hitter.
NL FALLDOWN PLAYER OF THE YEAR â Perhaps nothing speaks to Beaneâs genius in Oakland more than getting rid of Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson in time. Mulder was terrible and hurt, Hudson just terrible.