My biweekly guest post at the Brock & Salk blog went up yesterday, and in the chaos of having a baseball game on at 9:30 in the morning I forgot to throw it a link. So now I am throwing it a link! The topic: defending the front office against some of the criticism it's been getting after 2010 was a disaster and 2011 fell off in a snap. The first couple paragraphs:
When they aren't evaluating the relative merits of their favorite team's players, a common way for baseball fans to pass the time is by evaluating the relative merits of their favorite team's management. Basically, the people responsible for acquiring and retaining the players. Owners and scouts get some attention, but the bulk of it goes to the general manager. The GM is the face of a team's executive branch, and most Major League GMs stand as at least minor celebrities.
When things are going well, the GM is heaped with praise. He is recognized for his shrewd moves, both big and small alike. When things are not going well, however, we observe the opposite. The players are blamed for poor performance, but the GM is blamed for putting together that collection of players in the first place.
You can read the rest of the post here. Obviously, Jack Zduriencik and his team of scouts and assistants aren't perfect, but nobody's front office is perfect, and when it comes to keeping the Mariners on course for a successful destination, these guys still have my trust.