(the guy in the middle)
Glass Half-Full: Keeping the Braintrust Intact
A week or so ago, when I read that Chris Antonetti was interviewing for the GM position in St. Louis, I thought "This is it...This is one position which will be too lucrative to pass on". Boy, was I pleased to be wrong as he has apparently turned down the position.
With Neal Huntington recently accepting a position in Pittsburgh, it would have been quite a blow to the front office with the off-season already upon us. Personally, I would prefer to have Mark Shapiro's full attention on the task at hand: Improving the team on the field to provide the final pieces necessary for a World Series Championship.
Glass Half-Empty: Please Don't Go Mark!!!
Not only with Antonetti be staying on board, but it looks like he has a promotion coming in the immediate future. According to letsgotribe.com, Shapiro will become the new team president and Antonetti, the new GM, in addition to receiving more money. How this will effect the decision making remains to be seen. Should there be any concern for the end of the Mark Shapiro era in Cleveland? Perhaps not anytime soon. Shapiro seems to have every intention of seeing this thing through. He has done a magnificent job of doing more with less and building a winner from the inside out. However, once we win a World Series, and yes, we will win a World Series (and dare I say, "or two"), will Shapiro walk? Why would he you ask? Well, if he can win this thing with a payroll in the bottom of the league, imagine what he could build with significant dollars to spend in addition to his genius.
OVERALL: I Will Focus on the Half-Full
Thanks for staying Mr. Antonetti. If Mark Shapiro says he is "ecstatic" you are staying, then so am I. Now lets go get a stud corner outfielder and end this platoon idea.
Gooooooooooooooo Tribe.
Cheers!
2 comments:
So in the classic "GM" role the GM usually makes all of the baseball decisions, except in NY, so how is this dynamic going to work? Is Antonetti going to really be the "GM" or is Shapiro going to have the final say on baseball decisions? What will be different in regards to last year when Mark was the GM and Antonetti was the Assistant? Is it merely a title change, albeit I'm sure a fairly profitable one for both involved?
Of course only Dolan and Co. know the real answer to your question, however, I think you are right to assume that more than anything, it is just a title change.
That is not to say however that roles and responsibilities have not been impacted at all. Personally, I have no problem with Mr. Antonetti receiving more power, so long as Shapiro still maintains final say. Perhaps Antonetti will do more travel and player analysis, which Shapiro used to do. One thing is certain, for this decision (promotion) to take place, Shapiro and Dolan most certainly had to be the driving force and surely in approval of the move.
Once again, I just hope this doesn't mean Shapiro is going anywhere anytime soon. His ability to destroy and rebuild this team with limited resources cannot be underestimated.
Cheers!
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