More Awards: Executive of the Year

[TimmeH]

I expect this one to cause a little debate...

Mark Shapiro of the Cleveland Indians was voted MLB Executive of the Year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-executive-shapiro&prov=ap&type=lgns

I love what they're doing in Cleveland, but with how much Kenny Williams revamped the ChiSox this offseason(Iguchi signing, Podsednik trade, Pierzynski signing, Orlando Hernandez signing, Dye signing, etc.) I can't see how he couldn't win it.

[soxboy7]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

I agree Marwinner. Shapiro did a nice job, but Kenny made MANY moves that directly led to the Sox winning the World Series. IMO Shapiro wasn't even close to Kenny as an executive this year.

[Dice]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

In the preseason one publication had the Podsednik for Carlos Lee trade as the 4th worst trade in the off-season. And they said the Sox got the raw end of the deal.

Now I'm not saying that the Brewers got screwed NOR the White Sox made out like bandits but it was probably the best trade for both teams.

And who initiated this trade? Kenny Williams. He also let Ordonez go to free agency and signed injury-prone Jermaine Dye to play RF, which at the time was also a controversial move. And he signed inconsistant Jose Contreas and injury-prone Orlando Hernandez. All his moves last off-season has turned into gold and he doesn't get Executive of the Year?

Not saying Shapiro wasn't deserving BUT a stronger case is made for Mr. Williams.

[dieselboy]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

The Brewers still got the better end of that deal IMO.

Look at the numbers Lee put up, he was a huge part of the turn around of the Brewers.

[soxboy7]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

The Brewers still got the better end of that deal IMO.

Look at the numbers Lee put up, he was a huge part of the turn around of the Brewers.

You obviously didn't watch the Sox this year. Pods made all the difference in the world for them. Plus getting Lee and his attitude out of the clubhouse was an added bonus.

[rpac44]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

The Brewers still got the better end of that deal IMO.

Look at the numbers Lee put up, he was a huge part of the turn around of the Brewers.

i dont think you can say that-both teams got better because of the deal, IMO the sox would NOT have won the world series with lee in left, we would have been lacking a leadoff hitter and relying on the longball (look at the last few season' results to see how that would have turned out) plus lee would have run us out of about 20 innings over the course of the season with his baserunning decisions and he was rumored to be a bad clubhouse guy

on the other side, lee and his power righty bat were a good fit for the brewers, and it showed in their improvement this season

while you say lee was a huge part of the turn around of the brewers, i will say the same of podsednik and the turnaround of the sox, except ours resulted in a world championship

EDIT: and regarding the topic of this thread, im disappointed, i thought kenny was a lock for exec of the year

[GBrushTWood]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

Let me guess- White Sox fans are upset about something else.

Why don't we create an all purpose "White Sox fans who think the world revolves around the White Sox" thread? Come see riveting topics such as "Why did the Twins trainer win trainer of the year?" and "Doesn't our groundskeeper create the best patterns in all of baseball?"

[Misfit]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

The only thing Podsednik improved upon for the White sox was with defense in left and better speed on the bases. White Sox fans have been brainwashed by the media and this notion of small ball with the White Sox that is a farce. They won in the postseason with the long ball, not small ball. The media hype on that style of play was such a joke. Podsednik wasn't even a great lead-off hitter for the Sox this year. He had a .700 OPS and only drew 47 walks. He did steal 59 bases, but he was also caught stealing 23 times. His on base percentage was an unspectacular .351, and factoring in that he took himself off base 23 times, his "true" OBP (hits plus walks minus CS divided by TPA) was .309. He may have hit .290, but he did it with a .349 SLG and only collected 147 hits. His offensive production was bad, there's no way around it. The White Sox would have been a better offensive team with Carlos Lee.

And as for Williams, Hernandez was terrible during the regular season so that's not exactly a case for him to be Executive of the Year. And while Dye worked out, he was not spectacular. The White Sox had success this year because the guys from last year (Buerhle, Garland, Garcia, Contreras) exceded expectations and they had some surprises in the pen while their offense was good enough. You can't give someone an award for Executive of the Year when his best moves were made last season. Shapiro was the right choice.

[Tha Dynasty]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

wait...im not an indians fan what what did they actually do during the offseason and during the season...they seem to have the same team from last year?

[bjf1377]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

I think they're basically giving Shapiro this award for what he's done with the Indians over the past few years instead of just this year. The only real major deals this off season were getting Arthur Rhodes, Kevin Millwood, Aaron Boone, and Scott Sauerbeck......although those apparently did some good cause we won more games than last year

[southside_hitmen]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

And no one has even mentioned his pick-up of Iguchi, who Ozzie has repeatedly said was his MVP. The fact is that the Indians didn't even make the playoffs, while the White Sox won the world series. Let's not forget that the Indians were the "sexy" pick to win the Division this year while the sox were supposed to finish 4th behind the supposed up-and-coming Tigers. So why should Shapiro get the award while his team underachieved, when Kenny's team exceeded all expectations. The White Sox were in first place all year long, so what exactly did the Indians do?

[Diadem]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

And no one has even mentioned his pick-up of Iguchi, who Ozzie has repeatedly said was his MVP. The fact is that the Indians didn't even make the playoffs, while the White Sox won the world series. Let's not forget that the Indians were the "sexy" pick to win the Division this year while the sox were supposed to finish 4th behind the supposed up-and-coming Tigers. So why should Shapiro get the award while his team underachieved, when Kenny's team exceeded all expectations. The White Sox were in first place all year long, so what exactly did the Indians do?

Well that's ESPN for you.

[RahKhem]

Re: More Awards: Executive of the Year

Oh please, the Indians were not the pick to win the division, that team is the Twins. Actually, the Twins were picked to win the whole thing by some pundits.

The reason Shapiro won the award, is that most of this team stems from the moves he made awhile ago, and it seemed that a great majority of them panned out. I also believe that part of it was his willingness to keep steadfast with the team he had coming into the season, which in turned provided the amazing second half that the Indians had.