GM/Manager Interaction

[TruffleShuffle]

Just kicking around some thoughts in my head here...

 

How much say should a manager have in offseason transactions? How much say should the manager have in call-ups and demotions? how much say should a manager have in allotting playing time throughout his roster.

 

the reason i'm asking is because there's a sense that jim hendry has cobbled together his teams largely with the input of his managers, or at the very least he has attempted to appease his managers by shedding players that the managers don't like and bringing in the types of players that the manager is looking for. my gut tells me that this isn't a good way to run a team, but is it really better to saddle a manager with players that he doesn't like? just as a hypothetical, if jim hendry really likes felix pie and thinks that he's the CF of the future, can he just tell lou piniella that pie is to be in the lineup just about every game, rather than falling back on reed johnson against LHP and when pie is struggling for a few games?

 

it makes me think about what other strong managers/GMs have done. what was the balance of power between bobby cox and john schuerholtz, for example?

[Tracer Bullet]

I think this is a big fault of hendry, but he's certainly not alone in letting his manager have some input. It was just a couple years ago that DD acquired Neifi b/c Leyland asked him to.

 

But in Hendry's case, he seems to give too much power to his managers, both Lou and Dusty. Part of my problem with Hendry doing this is neither Lou nor Dusty were wild about playing young guys, even when the rosters were primarily veterans.

 

I think the GM and manager need to be on the same page with regard to how much time the kids are going to have to establish themselves. Pie should have had more time last year. And the way Hendry talked about him in the offseason, it seemed like he was going to get it. But 4 games of suck and he's yanked. That's a problem of communication, imo. It's also a problem of Hendry letting his manager run the store a little more than he should. Ultimately, it should be Hendry that controls, but I don't think he wants that responsibility. He wants to let the manager make those decisions. But if they aren't on the same page, you end up wasting young, cheap years b/c the players didn't get a chance at the ML level and now they're out of options (or whatever).

[NCCubFan]

Off-season transactions and in-season call-ups and demotions should be the responsibility of the GM, although the GM should be welcome to seek input from the manager if he so chooses. Playing time decisions should be the manager's. Basically, I see the GM's job to be assembling the roster and the manager's job to use the roster.

[The Other 15]

I would think that most managers would like the idea of a GM getting them the kind of player he likes. I'm sure it happens everywhere with role players. The idea that Baker and Lou haven't given young players a chance is a bit of a stretch. True, Pie never got a true chance and I don't know why the leash was so small on him, but when the young guys have produced, they have played. Patterson, Choi, Zambrano, Prior, Murton, Theriot, Soto, and some young pitchers like Wuertz, Wellemeyer, Hill, Mitre and Guzman evereytime he's been healthy. It looks like they moved a popular vet to give Fontenot a full time shot. The problem has been the quality of the young players, not opportunities for them.

 

Most good working GM/Manger relationships probably have many discussions about playing time for certain players vs the teams need for immediate production from the position. The manager is the one that's closest to the players and their habits so it would be irresponsible for a GM to insist upon playing time for someone when the team is winning.

 

It is a fine line, but more than that, it seems to be just another thing to complain about Hendry for some fans because the team has not won a championship. Fans are quick to jump on Hendry and/or Baker/Lou for some of the role players they had on their roster. Lord, another misguided post about Neifi,...nevermind. Much like having Pablo Ozuna, Timo perez, Willie Harris and Geoff Blum on your bench, all is forgiven if the main pieces perform and win a World Series.