Slow Newsday. Nothing New to Report.

How about RANDOM THOUGHTS OF THE DAY!

"RANDOM THOUGHTS OF THE DAY!!!"

Something has been on my mind for many a year since I started watching baseball in '03 (YES, I got interested when the Royals started winning, but I've been hooked since!!!). Hypothetically speaking, if I were a GM (and I am, on a computer game!) or a GM prospect I guess, like a Dayton Moore or JP Riccardi once were, I honestly think I would wait for a job like the Royals (as DM did). Why? Here are my thoughts; and I won't act like I know anything about the situation when DM turned down the Red Sox when Theo "retired", but here are my general thoughts on the matter if I were in DM or JP's shoes; consequently, this is also why I think JP is a moron (and also he bashed the Royals and ended up sounding really stupid, which makes me angry b/c Buddy Bell DID AN AWESOME JOB putting JP down and it was hilarious, which makes me ANGRIER b/c I began to have respect for Buddy, and I HATE BUDDY!). That was quite the tangent.

OK. Back to the point, and a fairly easy one to see, I think. Why would anyone want to take a position of power in the Yankees division as long as Georgie Steinbrenner is still footing the bill? A GM will never EVER win there as long as they aren't Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein (and only the Red Sox b/c they committed themselves to the dark side over the past few years as they spent more and more money, thereby matching the Spankees).

So, for arguments sake, maybe DM didn't want to be in an environment in which he wasn't in competition for a championship, he was only in contention with the Yankees. B/c, to me, that is ALL their rivalry is. Who can outdo the other? It's not REALLY about winning championships, that's a byproduct of spending big money on good players. It's one-up-manship. I would not want to GM in that environment, where if the Yankees make a move, I would have to make a move (smart or not; i.e., JD Drew, Matzusauka).

The Royals may be a bad, bad team, but DM (only after Allard was made a martyr) has financial and personnel freedom that he would not have had in Boston. He can choose (wisely or not) to make a move based on his perception of scouting and need; not make a move b/c the Yankees dictated him to. It may be a longer process to winning, but doesn't it seem more pure? The Yankees have JUST recently gotten back to the farm system (true baseball, one could argue, where you deliver training, and relationships with young men) rather than buying OLD men and hoping they pan out (Randy Johnson).

DM understands, and may actually like this brand of baseball (a brand the Yanks and R. Sox couldn't deliver). Plus, he has a chance to put HIS mark on the Royals, the mark he could have put on the Red Sox would be that he spends ownership money on big name guys. He would have been CRUCIFIED for trying to implement the "Braves Way" in Boston, a way in which you develop players and try not to frivolously spend money.

That all being said, this is why I think JP is an idiot. He knew all of this and was once a respected GM prospect, a Billy Beane "Moneyball" disciple. Now he is a joke. He can't win, he never will before he gets fired. He may back in via Wild Card if the rest of the league is down so there will be a Boston, Yank, and Jays playoff race, but other than that, he doesn't have the ability (mainly TIME) to develop players the way Moneyball/Braves Way dictate. Maybe that is why Billy Beane backed out of the Red Sox job a few years ago. He realized he couldn't do things his way. Sure, it'd be a challenge trying to outdo the Yankees, but it wouldn't have been his way. He would have failed, just like most GMs would in a situation like that.

Which leads me to another point. It must be that difficult to become a GM or Manager if someone is willing to accept a job with any team not Yanks or Sox in that division (which is too bad, b/c the Rays have some AWESOME talent, but won't ever contend with "Steinbrenner Ball" in that division). maybe that is why all the leagues have the retread policy. Maybe a fired Manager/Coach should have another chance, if only b/c he was handicapped by circumstances.

I don't think I couild wake up everyday and go to work knowing that I was in a division with "SB" (Steinbrenner Ball) b/c in my heart of hearts, I know Steinbrenner and Theo would never let me win. EVER.

That is why, though the Royals suck, I am happy they are in the Central. The Twins are small market, the Indians are small (small as in less than 100 million), and I believe the Sox are (though I may be wrong). Detroit probably isn't, but they aren't so extravagant in their spending. All the Royals need is a jump start to get back into contention with these other players. If they can do that, they can go to the playoffs more consistently, and may not compete when they play the Yanks, they'll at least get there year in and year out.