Jim Bowden ALREADY Gave Out Offseason Grades

In case you missed it, last week I dismantled ESPN’s chief idiot writer Jim Bowden’s piece on five possible trades for Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters.  I went line by line and pointed out the lack of logic rampant throughout Bowden’s conjured alter-universe that foresaw a world where Brian McCann signed with the Orioles and the team was suddenly overstocked with catching.  McCann signed with the Yankees shortly after the former GM’s post.  Still, the Orioles may be shopping Wieters as he climbs the arbitration ladder and the proposed trades could come to reality for reasons entirely outside of Bowden’s logic train.  Now, the ex-GM’s office has come up with something even worse.

Bowden thought it was a good idea to give out offseason grades to every one of the 30 MLB teams.

I’m having a hard time not cursing in describing how out-of-touch, baseless, ill-founded, and indefensible this exercise is before the offseason is even close to over.  

Judging by the titles of the other ESPN pieces that have been published in recent days, those with a clue are trying to save face.  Buster Olney wrote today on the many teams capable of a big move. David Schoenfield spelled out his 10 predictions for the rest of the offseason.  Jerry Crasnick wrote about the unfinished offseason business that lies ahead for many teams.

Not Bowden.  Bowden’s out there freely handing out grades for unfinished products before their due dates.  Forget for a moment that judging trades and offseasons in the moment is an inherently silly exercise because of the multitude of factors at play, development of players across the board, and differing windows of success between organizations.  Bowden still thought it intelligent to hand out grades while many players remain unsigned and deals are still in negotiation.

Here’s a brief list of issues yet unresolved this offseason:

• Shin Soo Choo has yet to sign anywhere
• Nelson Cruz has yet to sign anywhere
• Potential Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka has yet to be posted by his Japanese team
• David Price has not been traded
• The Tigers haven’t done anything following the Doug Fister or Prince Fielder trades
• Ervin Santana has yet to sign anywhere
• Matt Garza has yet to sign anywhere
• Ubaldo Jimenez has yet to sign anywhere
• AJ Burnett has yet to decide if he will play for the Pirates
• The Scott Feldman deal has yet to be announced as an elaborate hoax

Do you think that maybe any team’s offseason might be percieved differently if they were to sign or trade for one of the guys mentioned above?  There’s 10 bullet points listed up there.  Assuming each bullet involves a different team, we’ve got over a third of Major League teams with moves left to be made that could shift the organizational outlook.

Most people who know baseball know that the Winter Meetings are the most important event of the offseason.  It’s a time when deals are made, ideas exchanged, and seeds planted for future negotiations.  Not Bowden.  For Jim, the end of Winter Meetings signals the end of the offseason and the a perfect time to hand out unwarranted report cards.

#FireJimBowden

-Sean Morash

Stat of the Day: Bowden’s first trade as a GM, back in 1992, sent outfielder Paul O’Neill and IF Joe DeBerry to the Yankees in exchange for OF Roberto Kelly.  Kelly had a good year in 1993, making the All-Star Game and hitting .319.  He never made another All-Star Game, and hit just 68 more home runs in his MLB tenure.  Paul O’Neill?  He made four more All-Star Games and hit 185 home runs in pinstripes.