Cubs Interested in Andrew Friedman?

by Steve Slowinski on Aug 25, 2011 8:38 AM EDT

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has been gathering information about Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.

I'm beginning to find it humorous how many rumors there have been that Andrew Friedman is being coveted by other teams. First there was the hoopla earlier this year when the Houston Astros were up for sale, and now it appears the Cubs may try to poach Friedman.

Ignoring the fact that the Cubs seem to prefer Ned Colletti, who has every reason to jump ship from the Dodgers right now, I find these rumors laughable more than anything. Of course, any team owner worth their salt would want Friedman as his GM right now. He's without a doubt one of the best General Managers in all of baseball, if not the best. Other owners should be lining up, trying to lure him away from Tampa Bay. They'd be stupid not to do so.

So as Rays fans, we'd better get used to these rumors. Friedman has given no indication that he's unhappy with his situation in Tampa Bay and he refuses to comment publicly on all these rumors on principle, but that hasn't kept there from being more and more rumors about him. Friedman has been given a large amount of freedom here to put together the staff he wants and to work in the way he wants, so what incentive does he have for moving to another team and starting all over again? More money? Maybe it's just me, but I think another team would have to overwhelm Friedman with a huge deal in order to lure him away from the staff and environment he's created in Tampa Bay.

Even if Friedman left, there are enough other smart people in the Rays' front office that it wouldn't be a return to the LaMar days. Unless Friedman took the majority of his staff with him, we have little to nothing to worry about. Dan Feinstein is more than capable, and could easily step in if Friedman got pulled away. So get used to these rumors, and learn to ignore them. Friedman likely isn't going anywhere, and if he does, the Rays will still be in good hands.

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The Cubs would be foolish to "prefer" Ned Colletti.

I can’t see them hiring him, even though he does have Chicago and Cubs connections.

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by Al Yellon on Aug 25, 2011 8:41 AM EDT reply actions

Are you the programming director at 620WDAEEEEEE now, Esteban? Kowtowing to every stupid rumor?

AF is easy copy for a story like this because he doesn’t have a contract and its pick on the Rays time all the time. You really think he’d go anywhere but the Astros?

@thekidpow
Calm, collected, German.

by PlayOnWords on Aug 25, 2011 8:43 AM EDT reply actions

Eh, it's going to get talked about today regardless. I figured I'd try to set the tone.

I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously. -- @steveslow

by Steve Slowinski on Aug 25, 2011 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions

You never answered the question. Crafty.

@thekidpow
Calm, collected, German.

by PlayOnWords on Aug 25, 2011 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Probably one of the few times I've ever been described as crafty.

I’ll take it.

I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously. -- @steveslow

by Steve Slowinski on Aug 25, 2011 8:59 AM EDT up reply actions

It appears as the favorite is a guy named Rick Hahn

follow me on twitter @sternfan10

by sternfan1 on Aug 25, 2011 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

Um

Friedman has given no indication that he’s unhappy with his situation in Tampa Bay

You do realize that this is a business, right?

so what incentive does he have for moving to another team and starting all over again? More money?

See above.

I have a really hard time believing someone as shrewd and calculating as Friedman would balk at the guarantee of more money for sentimental reasons. And yes, I say sentimental, because as bad as the Cubs situation may be, they have the ability to spend their way out of problems in a way that we could only dream of doing here.

by GomesSweetGomes on Aug 25, 2011 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

Can you spend your way out of problems?

See Houston

Cubs farm system is easily one of the five worst
25 man roster has around $86M committed to 6 players, and that doesn’t include Castro.

People will expect an instant fix and Friedman spending on toxic free agent assets just doesn’t seem like a good mix. The first thing the Cubs fanbase will want is Pujols on a silver platter and when Friedman doesn’t want to offer 10/250 to get him, they’ll be hell to pay.

I'm not a fanboy, I'm a _______

by Jason Collette on Aug 25, 2011 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions

I guess he'd just have to wipe his tears with hundred dollar bills

I just have a hard time believing that someone who works with the cold hard reality of the power of money isnt going to see that as the most important factor for themself.

by GomesSweetGomes on Aug 25, 2011 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Or to put it another way

Do you think Werth left Philly because he thought the Nationals would give him a better shot to compete? Or that Pena went to the Cubs because he had grown tired of the situation here?

I’m just amazed at the ability of this site to objectively evaluate the market forces that limit this team, not blinking an eye when we speak of trading Shields/Upton, and then thinking our fearless leader is somehow immune to those same forces.

by GomesSweetGomes on Aug 25, 2011 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

My point is simply that there's more to making that sort of decision than just the money.

And that’s a poor example…a better one would be equating him with a free agent, since trades aren’t in the actual control of the player at all.

Yes, if the money is overwhelming, Friedman would be stupid not to leave. But GMs typically don’t see a huge salary as it is, and he’s in just about the perfect situation for him here: friends in Stu and Silverman giving him freedom and a hands-off approach, a staff he’s personally selected and crafted, and the competition and challenge of the AL East. RJ also pointed out on Twitter that rumor is he has a stake in the Rays’ ownership, making him even more invested in this team.

So yeah, if the money is overwhelming, then more power to him and we’ll get by fine with Feinstein. But you’re being too simplistic if you really believe money is the only variable and consideration in play here.

I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously. -- @steveslow

by Steve Slowinski on Aug 25, 2011 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

I think you're glossing over one thing

When you refer to money you’re only mentioning his personal salary. You’re not really talking up the fact that he would have a 100M+ payroll to work with for the first time ever. Combining his brains with that pile of dough would give him the chance to truly go to work in a hands-off setting. It’s one thing to not really have a boss breathing down your neck and it’s quite another to have that plus triple the amount of resources you’ve had to work with. A bunch of what you’re saying is poppycock. Do we have any idea that asks for and thrives on the challenge of the AL East. Would MLB force him to sell his shares in the team if he went to another? Couldn’t he bring his hand-picked staff with him? For triple the money and triple the resources I think he would jump at the ability to go work with an historic organization with a passionate fanbase that shows up. Of course this is just my opinion, much like you’ve laid out yours above.

If you can't say something to someone's face then it's not worthy of being said behind their back.

by Sandy Kazmir on Aug 25, 2011 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions

He would also have the opportunity to be Chicago's Theo Epstein

The guy who puts together the team that finally breaks the curse will be legendary.

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by nomoredevil on Aug 25, 2011 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions

This is a better comp

BA had the Red Sox as one of the 5 worst minor league systems in baseball the season before Epstein took over.

Manny was 30 and making $15.5
Pedro was 30 and making $14
Nomar was 28 and making $9
Damon 28 and making $7.3
Darren Oliver 31 and making $7
Jose Offerman 33 and making $6.8
Urbina 28 and making $6.7
Hermanson 29 making $5.8
Burkett 37 making $5.5
Clark 30 making $5.0

Cubs deals for 2012:
Soriano $19
Zambrano $19
Aramis $16 (if option picked up)
Dempster $14
Byrd $6.5
Marmol $7
Marshall $3.1

That’s ~$81M for an over the hill outfielder, a mental case pitcher, a good 3B, a middle of the rotation pitcher, a 4th outfielder, a toxic closer, and a swing man.

Ramirez is the only one on that list that is tradeable assuming a team will trade something of value for one season of a $16M 3rd baseman.

I'm not a fanboy, I'm a _______

by Jason Collette on Aug 25, 2011 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Clearly, the man likes a challenge

It’s not like the Rays team he inherited was stocked with ready ML talent

If you can't say something to someone's face then it's not worthy of being said behind their back.

by Sandy Kazmir on Aug 25, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Well..

He was in player development in 04 and 05 and the Rays farm system was ranked in the top 10 from 2003 to 2005 and I don’t believe they’ve been out of the top 5 since then. Additionally, the team already had CC, BJ, Rocco, etc at the MLB level while the Cubs have just one guy that shows that potential.

Everything off the diamond looks appealing for the Cubs job, but in between the baselines, it’s not a good situation and rebuilding that team would start from the junkyard and it would be a minimum 5 year process IMO.

I'm not a fanboy, I'm a _______

by Jason Collette on Aug 25, 2011 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I guess I just don't see the added payroll as that large of a draw.

Maybe to some degree, but personally, I’d take the free workplace and more control over a larger payroll any day. (Not to say that Chicago would be less free, necessarily.) But I may have different values than others.

I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously. -- @steveslow

by Steve Slowinski on Aug 25, 2011 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

But you're creating a strawman, because you're assuming that he couldn't come in and dictate terms.

If their choices are truly Frieds or Colletti they will offer Andy the moon to bring him in including whatever level of oversight he wants.

If you can't say something to someone's face then it's not worthy of being said behind their back.

by Sandy Kazmir on Aug 25, 2011 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions

Gillick in the fold as well

Cubs want someone that will build from within…..but Friedman isn’t that one man show. The support staff behind him here is a big part of that magic while Friedman has the chops to do the creative deals and working to get market inefficiencies (if they even exist these days).

I'm not a fanboy, I'm a _______

by Jason Collette on Aug 25, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

He's Don Draper. He could go somewhere else and build a front office similar to the current situation in 12 months

Getting that team focused on building pitching is job 1, you can always get a bat out of free agency that pays for itself over time by outperforming a contract early. Fans and management would be willing to go through two lean years if it means a complete reformation to how they conduct business. All he has to do is build some name cache in his prospects and moves by year three and start winning by year four. Cubs fans are sick of being a .500 team and would be willing to go through a down year if it actually brings long term improvement.

If you can't say something to someone's face then it's not worthy of being said behind their back.

by Sandy Kazmir on Aug 25, 2011 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Winning with the Cubs would make you a God there.

I do this for free

by SRQman on Aug 25, 2011 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Pena was overpaid, Werth was overpaid

That’s what free agency is. You are paying for past performance, not future performance. Given Friedman’s financial groundings on Wall St, he knows rule 1 is that past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Farm systems are not rebuilt overnight and the contracts are not in place to trade 25 man assets to rebuild the farm system. The same problem exists with the Astros – both organizations are going to suck ass for the next 3 seasons because the farm system was pillaged or in the case of Houston, completely ignored, for the sake of the 25 man roster and its bloated contracts.

The Reds are the best positioned team in that division followed by the Pirates. The Brewers are all-in for this season, but they’re going to be the Cubs soon as their farm is completely shot as well.

Here, you have team friendly contracts all over the 25 man roster and the best farm system in all of baseball. You just have apathetic fans who base their desire to show up to games on the standings or the quality of the visiting opponent rather than the home town team.

I'm not a fanboy, I'm a _______

by Jason Collette on Aug 25, 2011 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

How are the Reds in the best position? Who do you think they’re going to run out as a starting rotation next season? Who’s going to play 3rd or LF?

Other than Prince, what key losses happen in Milwaukee?

by Salty on Aug 25, 2011 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I've been wondering about this myself. Sure, the Brew Crew's farm is depleted, but their Major League talent is top notch

As long as Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Braun, Weeks, are together you can find pieces to fit around that core. I like their team this year and in the future even if they aren’t stocked to the gills with players that might someday become average or better.

If you can't say something to someone's face then it's not worthy of being said behind their back.

by Sandy Kazmir on Aug 26, 2011 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions