Commentary: Critics of local baseball GMs caught off base

The Angels' Stoneman is receiving mostly criticism for refusing to part with
the pitching the team is built around, while Colletti is praised despite
failing to find the power hitter most believe the Dodgers still need.
By Mike Waldner
Daily Breeze

There once was a baseball general manager named Frank Lane. Trader Frank
they called him because wheeling and dealing provided him with oxygen.

Bill Stoneman, the Angels GM, is much, much, much more deliberate. He
changes his roster about as often as Vladimir Guerrero takes a pitch.

Ned Colletti, the Dodgers GM, bounces back and forth. He'll do the Lane
thing. But only to a point. Then restraint kicks in.

So it is that during baseball's season for signing free agents and trading,
Stoneman has tweaked his team while Colletti has reworked his blueprints.

And so it is that Stoneman has been charged with sleeping while Colletti has
been applauded for his dynamic leadership.

But even Colletti is criticized by those who believe a GM is only as good as
his next deal. They grumble because he has yet to acquire the power hitter
they covet.

Those who applaud change for the sake of change love to hate Stoneman. They
ignore his record -- 99 wins and second in the American League West in 2002
followed by winning the World Series, third in the West in 2003 with 77
wins, first in '04 and '05 with 92 and 95 wins, respectively, and second
last summer with 89 wins.

And those who zing Colletti for not adding power ignore the numbers from
last summer -- the Dodgers were next to the last in the National League in
home runs but fourth in scoring runs.

Do not be all that quick to insist Stoneman should trade for a first baseman
and/or a third baseman when the price no doubt will be Scot Shields or Ervin
Santana. Shields, the Angels setup man, is viewed in American League dugouts
as an extension of closer Francisco Rodriguez. Santana is a young starter
who has pitched well and could become a star.

Operating pretty much under the radar, Stoneman has strengthened a strong
pitching staff by signing Justin Speier, trading for Chris Resop and signing
Darren Oliver.

At the moment, Casey Kotchman is the first baseman and Chone Figgins the
third baseman. Kotchman went to spring a year ago with a star-in-the-making
tag only to fade out of the picture with mononucleosis. Don't be so quick to
assume he will not reacquire the hitting stroke that made him such a hot
prospect. Figgins is trade bait. Or he's your leadoff hitter. If he does
return, he needs to regain the discipline and focus he had previous to last
summer.

Deep in the shadows is former third baseman heir apparent Dallas McPherson.
A bust because of assorted injuries, he's another semi-warm body to include
in a trade. Or he could be the surprise of the spring. Or he could be
released.

Stoneman's big move has been signing center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. The
32-year-old career .249 hitter woke up, smelled the roses and hit .313 last
season. This prompted the Angels to give him a five-year, $50 million
contract. So much for fiscal restraint.

Don't complain. It was market value.

Stoneman took a deep breath, rolled the dice and now he will keep his
fingers crossed that Matthews was just a slow learner at the plate.

That's what general managers do.

Meanwhile, Colletti has been busy. He signed center fielder Juan Pierre for
$44 million for five years. He signed left-handed pitcher Randy Wolf. He
signed right-handed pitcher Jason Schmidt. He signed left fielder Luis
Gonzalez.

There was rhyme and reason behind each move. Pierre provides great speed.
Think Maury Wills or Davey Lopes. He also has trade value if and when the
small army of prospects Colletti is nurturing forces some changes.

Too much money for too little power? Like Matthews, it's a matter of market
value.

Wolf is something of an unknown commodity because he had surgery a year and
a half ago. His record before he pitched for more than a year with a bad
arm, coupled with the manner in which pitchers bounce back from surgery
these days, indicates he will be a good hire.

Schmidt slots in with Derek Lowe and Brad Penny at the top of the pitching
rotation. Tag him a very good hire. And, please, do not be in a rush to
trade Penny just because some critics do not value his passion.

Gonzalez is a reach at the age of 39. So was Nomar Garciaparra coming off
injuries a year ago. He finished 12th in the National League in batting
average. Gonzalez is worth the gamble, and it definitely is a gamble,
because he's another smart, competitive veteran who will take pressure off
and provide time for Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andy LaRoche to grow into
jobs.

It's not an exact science.

"You end up chasing your tail," Colletti said.

It's life as a general manager.

E-mail your thoughts to Mike Waldner at Mwsptcol.RemoveThis@aol.com.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/4902296.html

"LACountyRefugee" <LACORefugee.TakeThisOut@spamsux.net> wrote in message
news:CeWfh.2118$yC5.1643@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
> The Angels' Stoneman is receiving mostly criticism for refusing to part
> with the pitching the team is built around, while Colletti is praised
> despite failing to find the power hitter most believe the Dodgers still
> need.
> By Mike Waldner
> Daily Breeze
>
> There once was a baseball general manager named Frank Lane. Trader Frank
> they called him because wheeling and dealing provided him with oxygen.
>
> Bill Stoneman, the Angels GM, is much, much, much more deliberate. He
> changes his roster about as often as Vladimir Guerrero takes a pitch.
>
> Ned Colletti, the Dodgers GM, bounces back and forth. He'll do the Lane
> thing. But only to a point. Then restraint kicks in.
>
> So it is that during baseball's season for signing free agents and
> trading, Stoneman has tweaked his team while Colletti has reworked his
> blueprints.
>
> And so it is that Stoneman has been charged with sleeping while Colletti
> has been applauded for his dynamic leadership.
>
> But even Colletti is criticized by those who believe a GM is only as good
> as his next deal. They grumble because he has yet to acquire the power
> hitter they covet.
>
> Those who applaud change for the sake of change love to hate Stoneman.
> They ignore his record -- 99 wins and second in the American League West
> in 2002 followed by winning the World Series, third in the West in 2003
> with 77 wins, first in '04 and '05 with 92 and 95 wins, respectively, and
> second last summer with 89 wins.
>
> And those who zing Colletti for not adding power ignore the numbers from
> last summer -- the Dodgers were next to the last in the National League in
> home runs but fourth in scoring runs.
>
> Do not be all that quick to insist Stoneman should trade for a first
> baseman and/or a third baseman when the price no doubt will be Scot
> Shields or Ervin Santana. Shields, the Angels setup man, is viewed in
> American League dugouts as an extension of closer Francisco Rodriguez.
> Santana is a young starter who has pitched well and could become a star.
>
> Operating pretty much under the radar, Stoneman has strengthened a strong
> pitching staff by signing Justin Speier, trading for Chris Resop and
> signing Darren Oliver.
>
> At the moment, Casey Kotchman is the first baseman and Chone Figgins the
> third baseman. Kotchman went to spring a year ago with a
> star-in-the-making tag only to fade out of the picture with mononucleosis.
> Don't be so quick to assume he will not reacquire the hitting stroke that
> made him such a hot prospect. Figgins is trade bait. Or he's your leadoff
> hitter. If he does return, he needs to regain the discipline and focus he
> had previous to last summer.
>
> Deep in the shadows is former third baseman heir apparent Dallas
> McPherson. A bust because of assorted injuries, he's another semi-warm
> body to include in a trade. Or he could be the surprise of the spring. Or
> he could be released.
>
> Stoneman's big move has been signing center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. The
> 32-year-old career .249 hitter woke up, smelled the roses and hit .313
> last season. This prompted the Angels to give him a five-year, $50 million
> contract. So much for fiscal restraint.
>
> Don't complain. It was market value.
>
> Stoneman took a deep breath, rolled the dice and now he will keep his
> fingers crossed that Matthews was just a slow learner at the plate.
>
> That's what general managers do.
>
> Meanwhile, Colletti has been busy. He signed center fielder Juan Pierre
> for $44 million for five years. He signed left-handed pitcher Randy Wolf.
> He signed right-handed pitcher Jason Schmidt. He signed left fielder Luis
> Gonzalez.
>
> There was rhyme and reason behind each move. Pierre provides great speed.
> Think Maury Wills or Davey Lopes. He also has trade value if and when the
> small army of prospects Colletti is nurturing forces some changes.
>
> Too much money for too little power? Like Matthews, it's a matter of
> market value.
>
> Wolf is something of an unknown commodity because he had surgery a year
> and a half ago. His record before he pitched for more than a year with a
> bad arm, coupled with the manner in which pitchers bounce back from
> surgery these days, indicates he will be a good hire.
>
> Schmidt slots in with Derek Lowe and Brad Penny at the top of the pitching
> rotation. Tag him a very good hire. And, please, do not be in a rush to
> trade Penny just because some critics do not value his passion.
>
> Gonzalez is a reach at the age of 39. So was Nomar Garciaparra coming off
> injuries a year ago. He finished 12th in the National League in batting
> average. Gonzalez is worth the gamble, and it definitely is a gamble,
> because he's another smart, competitive veteran who will take pressure off
> and provide time for Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andy LaRoche to grow into
> jobs.
>
> It's not an exact science.
>
> "You end up chasing your tail," Colletti said.
>
> It's life as a general manager.
>
> E-mail your thoughts to Mike Waldner at Mwsptcol.TakeThisOut@aol.com.
>
>
>