Nick Cafardo: Dan Duquette Is 'One Of The Best GMs In The Game'

[Can_of_corn]

More than 336 wins (i did that in my head)? Yes I'd wager they do better than that.

Done.

[El Gordo]

I like Cafardo. His column in the Sunday Globe is one of the few reasons why I read that liberal left-wing rag. But in all honesty, he has a man-crush on Duquette, who is largely mediocre in my opinion and was not much better in Boston, Pedro aside. I think sometimes Nick confuses John Henry's spending habits with that of Peter Angelos. The Red Sox carry a $197m payroll this season. Baltimore i$ not Boston and never will be.

Pedro, Manny, Lowe, Damon, and Varitek aside? Imagine if he brought comparable players to the O's.

[joeyc]

Draft picks are precious, but nothing more than lottery tickets. With the return DD has had off Rule 5 picks and Asian imports, not too concerned with missing a few picks.

Yes, a few mediocre signings. Ubaldo essentially earned his contract last season, and Gallardo's book is not written. Compare that to the last 25 largest free agent signings. Most are DISASTERS. He hasn't signed a crippling deal, and has competed every year. For those around from 1999 to 2012, I'd think you would have a bit more perspective.

MacPhail never would have had this success. He never thought outside the box, never embraced roster management the right way, never focused on undervalued skills while punting on overvalued skills. The goal of the GM is to put together a winning team without mortgaging the future. A+

I don't know, I think that Davis signing is going to cripple us for the future. That was horrible, 7 years of a 200 hitter with tons of strikeouts and some homeruns, alot of the homers he hits are meaningless homeruns. He strikes out a ton in the clutch. I view that as a possible Albert Bell signing all over again.

[Can_of_corn]

More than 336 wins (i did that in my head)? Yes I'd wager they do better than that.

You've invoked the Phillies in the past. They've had three losing seasons since their run, but only once under 70.

That would be one of the reasons I didn't like the 70 win threshold. Those O's teams won 69 twice and 68 once during that spread.

[El Gordo]

I don't know, I think that Davis signing is going to cripple us for the future. That was horrible, 7 years of a 200 hitter with tons of strikeouts and some homeruns, alot of the homers he hits are meaningless homeruns. He strikes out a ton in the clutch. I view that as a possible Albert Bell signing all over again.

You can't blame the CD contract on Dan.

[Can_of_corn]

I don't know, I think that Davis signing is going to cripple us for the future. That was horrible, 7 years of a 200 hitter with tons of strikeouts and some homeruns, alot of the homers he hits are meaningless homeruns. He strikes out a ton in the clutch. I view that as a possible Albert Bell signing all over again.

The Belle signing wasn't that bad.

He performed well when healthy and the O's got paid when he got hurt.

Biggest issue was losing the 40 man roster slot.

[brianod]

You can't blame the CD contract on Dan.

Do you have facts to back this opinion up? By the way, I'm glad we signed Davis.

[Redskins Rick]

Do you have facts to back this opinion up? By the way, I'm glad we signed Davis.

I believe the owner had some involvement in this particular case.

[Frobby]

I don't know, I think that Davis signing is going to cripple us for the future. That was horrible, 7 years of a 200 hitter with tons of strikeouts and some homeruns, alot of the homers he hits are meaningless homeruns. He strikes out a ton in the clutch. I view that as a possible Albert Bell signing all over again.

As of yesterday, Davis had the third-highest Win Probability added on the team. That means his hits are coming at important times, contrary to the bolded statements.

I do worry about that contract, but not because of what Davis is likely to do in the next 3-4 years. It's the back half of the deal that scares me.

As to Duquette overall, I think he's had his pluses and minuses. He's been especially good at finding guys who can contribute for a year or two. I do think he's been a little too willing to trade away prospects and that his drafts (for which he bears responsibility even if Rajsich is making the calls) have been uninspiring on the whole. I think it all may catch up with us in a couple of years, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the ride.

[backwardsk]

I don't know, I think that Davis signing is going to cripple us for the future. That was horrible, 7 years of a 200 hitter with tons of strikeouts and some homeruns, alot of the homers he hits are meaningless homeruns. He strikes out a ton in the clutch. I view that as a possible Albert Bell signing all over again.

What is a meaningless homerun? Is a two run homer when you are up two meaningless when you save your closer from getting up? Was Trumbo's HR down 7-0 meaningless? Was Alvarez's down 7-1? Without that comeback Miller pitches on Sunday.

[backwardsk]

That would be one of the reasons I didn't like the 70 win threshold. Those O's teams won 69 twice and 68 once during that spread.

Sure, but even the Phillies are likely to do better in their five years from their peak: 81, 73, 73, 63 wins. This year they are currently two under.

[Machado13]

I think both ownership and duquette share blame.

Ownership because duquette is constrained in what he can do. Maybe this past offseason they relaxed the purse strings a little but over the years he has had to bargain hunt and sign mediocre pitching because ownership won't pay top end starters.

Duquette is to blame for being distracted and linked to multiple places...Jays and Nats

[Can_of_corn]

Sure, but even the Phillies are likely to do better in their five years from their peak: 81, 73, 73, 63 wins. This year they are currently two under.

They also have the Braves in their division.

[backwardsk]

They also have the Braves in their division.

We'll have the Yankees. Boom!

[Spy Fox]

But the fact is this:

Since the day DD was hired, there is not a team in ALL of baseball that has won more games.

Not in all of baseball, because there are several NL teams who have won more during that time frame.

As for the general premise of the thread, I think it's pretty clear that so far Duquette's tenure has had a positive effect on the franchise. The stars of our team may have been brought in before Duquette, but we likely wouldn't have made the playoffs twice if not for the solid group of supporting players Duquette has managed to consistently bring in. There have been some bad decisions and there are reasons to be concerned about the future but it's too soon for my tastes to pass judgement on those concerns just yet.