Monday, March 01, 2004
MASTER STRATEGIST
Wow. I don't know what to say but, Wow.
Here's what Bill Bavasi said when asked why he didn't pass on resigning Freddy Garcia and instead spend that cash acquiring a top free agent like Guerrero or Ivan Rodriguez. From BP Premium:
We felt we could consider that and go with a young guy (in the rotation), but a Rodriguez or Guerrero, they're not coming here for $7 million; we'd already signed Raul and Scott...
That's his real honest to goodness answer, folks.
Which means if I'm a Mariners fan, I'm scared shitless. Because as bad as this off-season was, it's only going to get worse.
This is a club without a plan, operating without any foresight whatsoever.
Imagine your GM telling you he couldn't sign Vladimir Guerrero because he already signed Raul Ibanez. That's how Bill Bavasi's mind operates. It doesn't matter that a monkey could tell you that Ibanez and Spieizo's combined contracts plus $7 M saved by not resigning Garcia is more than what the Angels are paying Guerrero. Sure, Guerrero might have gone to the Angels anyways. That's not the point. It's that it's clear Bill Bavasi and his entourage can't think two moves ahead.
I mean, say I've got my eye on buying a new car. Let's say it's a nifty new Prius. Now, the sticker price of a Prius is firmly out of my budget, right? (They're about $30,000 Cnd.) I've got just enough money to afford a Cavalier ($20,000 Cnd.). But if I draw up a plan, I see that I won't be buying a bus pass every month, so that will save me $100 a month. And if I factor in the hybrid powerplant, I can conservatively guestimate my gas bill will be about half what I'd pay driving the Cavalier. In other words, I can afford a Prius. I've just got to look beyond the sticker cost and adjust my budget accordingly.
But ask Bill Bavasi why he didn't buy a Prius, and he'll tell you it's a great car but he can't afford one because he just bought the Cavalier and renewed his bus pass the week before.
