THE BELTWAY BOYS: BoSox "Go Another Direction," Bowden Loses Out

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BoSox "Go Another Direction," Bowden Loses Out

[December 12th]-- For better or worse, he's still a National.

As expected, the Boston Red Sox went in-house and named a dual-headed general manager in the form of assistant general manager Jed Hoyer and director of player development Ben Cherington. Bowden, along with former Orioles' GM Jim Beattie had been considered the two most likely candidates to succeed "wunderkind" Theo Epstein, who left abruptly following the end of the 2005 season.

I know that most bloggers don't like Jim Bowden. And that's being "kind." He's made some questionable trades over the years and tends to be too loyal to his former Cincinnati players. But I like him. He has a passion for the game of baseball, and is always looking for ways to improve his team [hence the moniker "Trader Jim."] He has pulled the trigger on far more good trades than bad ones. He is a well known name in the world of baseball, and he gives the team a respected and recognizable presence in the media. Who is the Royals GM? How about the Tigers? See? Bowden brings more to D.C. than just his dozens of years of experience running a major league baseball team.

I doubt that new ownership will bring in their own guy this close to spring training. While Bowden might be jettisoned after the 2006 campaign, he should be safe for now.

And that's a good thing. Really.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 3:19 PM

Comments:

Good that Bowden will be staying. The Nats need stability more than anything at this point.

By the way did you know that the letters are almost impossible to read?

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:50 PM

Thanks for the note -- the letters on the pictures are there to give the impression of someone having written on them -- I purposefully chose a font that was difficult to read.
Farid

# posted by

Farid Rushdi : 2:16 PM

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Rasner Rocks For Yanks

What was it that Jim Bowden said when he lost Darrell Rasner to the Yankees through waivers last winter? Wasn't it something like, "C'mon, it wasn't like he was going to make an impact at the major league level?" Well Jimbo, it seems like some of your "minor" transactions are coming back to haunt you.

Rasner, a 6'3" righty from Carson City, Nevada, was waived February 11th by the Nationals, just a couple of weeks before the start of spring training. He was picked up and assigned to 'AAA' Columbus. He had some injuries this year, but it didn't effect his pitching. In 58 innings for the Clippers, Rasner went 4-0, 2.76. But wait. There's more.

Pitching on Sunday against the Twins, Rasner pitched 6 strong innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. In two starts, he's now 1-0, 1.17.

What do you always like to say, Jim, something about "You can never have enough pitching?" Let's see, you waived Rasner, and he's starting for the Yankees. You waived Claudio Vargas, and he's starting for the Diamondbacks. You waived Byung Young Kim, and he's starting for the Rockies. You traded Tomo Ohka for a guy no longer in the major leagues, and he's starting for the Brewers.

Jim, if I were you, I'd stay away from the waiver wire. Seems like you haven't figured it that it's supposed to help the team, not hurt it.

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Big Changes, Little Names

Big happenings? Nah. Just happenings. Zach Day was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies and Capitol Punishment is reporting that the Nats have claimed him off the waiver wire. So we ended up getting Preston Wilson for nothing. That's nice. Billy Traber, he of the tight leash, was sent down to New Orleans and replaced by Mike O'Connor.

That's all well and good, but don't look to any of these moves making a difference in the play of the team. But hey, it's something to talk about. Right?