Who is the best General Manager in Baseball?

[cjkalt]

Who is the best general manager in baseball right now?

My vote goes to Theo Epstein, he has made the Sox into one of the best teams with the top farm systems. MLB guys that have come from our system include Pedroia, Lowrie, Masterson, Lester, Delcarmen, Papelbon to name a few. Also he signed free agents Ortiz, Dice-K, JD Drew to name a few and made the Beckett/Lowell and the Manny/Bay trade.

Who do you think the best GM in MLB is?

[love_that_reefer]

I had to go with Epstein too. He structured two WS teams and they have overtaken the Yankees in AL power since he got there. No signs of slowing down either.

[missionhockey21]

I have immense respect for Epstein and he would normally be who I would vote for, but I am giving Andrew Friedman a vote here. Even though the Rays are struggling early this season, to build a core like they have in Tampa Bay and compete amongst the biggest of boys in baseball is simply amazing. Friedman has made some pretty big non-draft talent finds as well and while I think the Red Sox have a front office system in place that will be viewed as the template to copy for years to come, Friedman gets the edge for showing that ANY team can compete in this league with the right management. As a small market team fan, I have respect for that.

If we were talking about the sure bet, I'd go with Epstein as he would be my pick if I was starting a team.

[love_that_reefer]

Friedman would be my 1b to Esptein being 1a.

[realmofotalk]

I don't understand the Josh Byrnes nuthugging. I really don't. He gave up a future MVP candidate for a prospect, ffs.

[Saber]

Bill Stoneman. He's so good people still think he's a GM.

[Kingdom]

Byrnes' new giveaway... Alberto Callaspo. He's a generous guy.

[Providence A's]

I had to go with Epstein too. He structured two WS teams and they have overtaken the Yankees in AL power since he got there. No signs of slowing down either.

one cannot deny the importance of Henry taking over the team the year prior to hiring Epstein. New ownership increasing streams of revenue, expanding the stadium as much as possible, increasing the payroll, increasing money for the draft / farm, etc. gave Epstein the ideal situation to succeed (along with key pieces already there such as Damon, Manny, Pedro, Lowe, etc).

due to these factors, I will vote for the TB guy as Mission did.

I can't help but think Beane was left off on purpose either lol. Until the A's win a WS, he won't be the best in my mind, but the guy has done more with less than anyone.

[love_that_reefer]

One can't deny the deals Epstein made and the huge difference he made in that one year. Sure he had money but its what he did with that money. Cashman has all the money in the world at his finger tips but doesn't make the best choices. Look at the difference Epstein made in that one year and ever since and the choice should be clear but there is nothing wrong with choosing Freidman. I just think you give Epstein too little credit.

[realmofotalk]

Let's not get carried away with giving Friedman all the credit for Tampa's success last year. While getting Garza and Bartlett was huge, Shields, Upton, and Crawford were all drafted while Friedman was still working for Bear Stearns. Kazmir was acquired by Chuck LaMar.

[Providence A's]

One can't deny the deals Epstein made and the huge difference he made in that one year. Sure he had money but its what he did with that money. Cashman has all the money in the world at his finger tips but doesn't make the best choices. Look at the difference Epstein made in that one year and ever since and the choice should be clear but there is nothing wrong with choosing Freidman. I just think you give Epstein too little credit.

people give him more credit than he deserves and really, this discussion has been had numerous times on this site so I expect forum police office Porter to suggest locking this up as well since "we can argue until the day we die" about this topic, too.

also, what the hell has Jim Hendry done to even be in this question?

[love_that_reefer]

He gets the credit he deserves. He built that championship team. The difference between 2003 and 2004 are the moves Theo made.

[Providence A's]

no, he helped build it. that's the difference. they wouldn't have won without his moves or without the people that were already there (Pedro, Manny, Lowe, Damon, etc).

[cjkalt]

I put a representative from each division into the poll... he would be the best the NL Central has currently.

Friedman had a lot of help from before just like Theo did, the question is which one did MORE to take their team to the next level. Is going from 70-90 to the WS more impressive than going from the ALCS to winning the WS

[HollywoodLeo]

I put a representative from each division into the poll... he would be the best the NL Central has currently.

You have 2 NL Central GMs on the poll.