The best-run organizations, and a night with Bernie Williams and Joe Girardi
I wrote this column for today's Newsday, on how Jerry Manuel's stated desire for a fast start reflects poorly upon the Mets as an organization.
I also wrote this news story from the Mets' mini-camp. But let's focus on the column.
I'd generate no controversy, I think, by contending that the Mets are clearly not one of the best-run teams in Major League Baseball. They appear to lack both vision and good evaluation skills.
Which got me to thinking, which are the best-run organizations? This isn't quite the same as the best general managers, as some of those GMs work for teams that don't run the smoothest of operations. Also, I considered "body of work" in that list, whereas, in my mind, "best-run organizations" is more of a current snapshot, if that makes sense.
Don't have time for a comprehensive list with explanations; gotta get to the big throwing sessions for Johan Santana and Oliver Perez. But in my opinion, these are the organizations that presently a) operate in near-full synchronicity; and b) tend to make thoughtful decisions.
In alphabetical order:
1. Baltimore
2. Boston
3. White Sox
4. Colorado
5. Florida
6. Angels
7. Milwaukee
8. Minnesota
9. Yankees
10. Oakland
11. Philadelphia
12. St. Louis
13. Seattle
14. Tampa Bay
15. Texas
Quick thoughts: Yeah, I guess I'm saying that half of the organizations in the industry are very well run. But the American League has 10 to the National League's 5. ..I almost didn't include the Phillies, as many of their moves (the Placido Polanco commitment, giving up Cliff Lee when it didn't appear necessary) confuse me. But hey, two straight World Series appearances are what they are...The teams with "best GMs" I didn't include were Cleveland (too many poor decisions lately) and Detroit (too many bad contracts on the books)....I can see adding Pittsburgh here in a year, if the Pirates finally show some progress at the big-league level in 2010.
Fire away with your disagreements/agreements/questions. We're all about the discussion here.
--Bernie Williams hosts an annual dinner, "Neighbors Helping Neighbors," to benefit the Hillside Food Outreach. This year's dinner is Saturday night, at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle, and Joe Girardi will be Williams' special guest. Click here for more information about purchasing tickets.
