Alex Anthopoulos Departing

[Cyborg]

People weren't arguing he was great. The argument was that he was potentially useful and that two years of Napoli was worth more than one year of Francisco + cash + draft pick. A lot of people were making that argument. That being said, much like the Gomes swap and the Marlins deal, it's one of those trades whose negative impact was underestimated by all but the harshest critics.

I remember thinking "Wow we got a starting catcher that can mentor JPA over the next two years!"

[KingKat]

I remember thinking "Wow we got a starting catcher that can mentor JPA over the next two years!"

 

Isn't Napoli a total party animal? That mentoring would have just accelerated the decline (which in hindsight would have been for the best).

[BTS]

Well I remember him referencing underlying metrics while defending Loup on the radio. I think McCown or someone was questioning why they didn't add another lefty at the deadline and AA was talking about metrics like FIP and why they thought Loup was unlucky.

 

Was that before or after he optioned Loup to AAA?

[saskjayfan]

alex anthopoulos is bad at baseball...can we close the thread already

[Nafro]

The Dickey trade seems to often be characterized as celebrated on here. Most people hated the deal from a value perspective. But given the deal was already done, chose to focus on the excitement of getting a Cy Young pitcher. As I recall it, people were pretty bummed that we gave up d'Arnaud, then straight up furious we then second piece was Synder

 

Ummmm Becerra made it into BA's NY Mets top 10. Let's not forget the third piece of that deal!

[z3r0s]

Ummmm Becerra made it into BA's NY Mets top 10. Let's not forget the third piece of that deal!

 

but nobody was that butt hurt about him being included IIRC

[KingKat]

but nobody was that butt hurt about him being included IIRC

 

There was speculation that he might be a guy and it was weird that there even need for a third prospect given who the others were but yeah no one cries about a guy like this when a future ace and future starting catcher are the other two pieces.

Edited January 7, 2016 by KingKat

[z3r0s]

There was speculation that he might be a guy and it was weird that there even need for a third prospect given who the other were two but yeah no one cries about a guy like this when a future ace and future starting catcher are the other two pieces.

 

It will be sad to watch Synder throw to d'Arnaud for years to come.

[Laika]

It will be sad to watch Synder throw to d'Arnaud for years to come.

 

Darno would look great on Toronto's DL, agreed

[Dick_Pole]

If everyone had only the bad decisions they made at work highlighted in one argument, they'd look pretty s***** at their job too. Some good moves made by AA in the early years:

 

Locking up Bautista, EE, Escobar, dumping Wells' contract (yeah, yeah I know someone is going to say he was the beneficiary of the Angels' stupidity...but if it wasn't AA, I'm sure someone else would have had a former good player with a bad contract to dump onto them, credit goes to AA for being there first), Morrow trade,

Delabar trade, good drafts with reasonable signing bonuses and taking advantage of the comp pick loopholes.

 

The fairest way to compare his tenure is to take all the excess value from the good, subtract the negative value from the bad and see how things pan out. The Marlins trade is going to make it an uphill battle for him though.

[Dick_Pole]

It will be sad to watch Synder throw to d'Arnaud for years to come.

 

Neither will last 500 games. For the starting pitcher that's pretty good. For the position player not so much.

[TheHurl]

What would make him a fraud? Is there something I'm missing behind the scenes?

 

Nope, I just don't like the man.

[TheHurl]

And yeah, the Napoli trade was criticized by anyone smart the moment it was made.

 

yeah I was the dumb one. I hated Napoli, called him platoon guy on the wrong side of the split.

[JaysAllMighty]

So Alex got his team to the World Series Championship. Do you miss him?

[Jimcanuck]

So Alex got his team to the World Series Championship. Do you miss him?

 

No. The Braves core was formed by the previous GM during the team's rebuild, and the team was expected to become very good before AA arrived.

[Krylian]

AA I guess will never get any credit for anything

[Jimcanuck]

AA I guess will never get any credit for anything

 

Signing players to team friendly contracts.

[glory]

No. The Braves core was formed by the previous GM during the team's rebuild, and the team was expected to become very good before AA arrived.

 

Exactly. AA's done well with supplementing the core guys with vets (Donaldson, Ozuna, Morton, all his trade deadline moves this year), but he inherited great young talent and a top farm system. It was almost impossible to f*** that up. If he stayed after 2015, he would have had to build from scratch after having to see the remnants of the 2015-16 teams go away. No chance I would have trusted him with that process after what we saw him do in 2010-15.

 

He definitely learned and got better after his stint with the Dodgers, though. Working with Friedman was the right call for his career.

[BTS]

So Alex got his team to the World Series Championship. Do you miss him?

 

We've missed you in the NHL thread. You should post more there!

[saskjayfan]

No. The Braves core was formed by the previous GM during the team's rebuild, and the team was expected to become very good before AA arrived.

 

Yeah, but Acuna is on the IL and he is the core of that team...so..lol. Give AA some credit. He's a good GM. We have a good GM. We don't need to endlessly debate who is better. I'm glad the Braves are in the World Series. Freddie Freeman is the man. I love that guy. I can't stand the dodgers. I'm glad they lost.

[Eat My Shatkins]

AA is lucky the rest of his division is a f***ing steaming pile of monkey s***, or else he wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs this year, never mind going to the world series.

[Jimcanuck]

Yeah, but Acuna is on the IL and he is the core of that team...so..lol. Give AA some credit. He's a good GM. We have a good GM. We don't need to endlessly debate who is better. I'm glad the Braves are in the World Series. Freddie Freeman is the man. I love that guy. I can't stand the dodgers. I'm glad they lost.

 

Never said AA is not a good GM. I said No in response to the question, do I miss him?

Edited October 24, 2021 by Jimcanuck

[Dr. Dinger]

No. The Braves core was formed by the previous GM during the team's rebuild, and the team was expected to become very good before AA arrived.

 

AA hoodwinked Acuna and Albies into by far the most team-friendly contracts in baseball, creating a game-breaking level of value and payroll flexibility.

[Cynical]

Exactly. AA's done well with supplementing the core guys with vets (Donaldson, Ozuna, Morton, all his trade deadline moves this year), but he inherited great young talent and a top farm system. It was almost impossible to f*** that up. If he stayed after 2015, he would have had to build from scratch after having to see the remnants of the 2015-16 teams go away. No chance I would have trusted him with that process after what we saw him do in 2010-15.

 

He definitely learned and got better after his stint with the Dodgers, though. Working with Friedman was the right call for his career.

 

It is not impossible to f*** that up. GMs f*** that up all the time. Look at the Leafs. A great GM like Masai if the Raptors, uses their assets and puts together a team. A team becomes what it is based in the GM's feel for the game.

 

AA knows what he's doing.

[BTS]

AA hoodwinked Acuna and Albies into by far the most team-friendly contracts in baseball, creating a game-breaking level of value and payroll flexibility.

 

I don't really think this should be celebrated, but AA convinced Acuna and Albies to sign for like $300M less than their value. It's easily the most impactful thing he's done as GM in Atlanta.

[glory]

It is not impossible to f*** that up. GMs f*** that up all the time. Look at the Leafs. A great GM like Masai if the Raptors, uses their assets and puts together a team. A team becomes what it is based in the GM's feel for the game.

 

AA knows what he's doing.

 

AA is a good GM, but the only way he could have messed up the situation he inherited was if he operated like 2015 AA and traded every prospect under the sun for vets, and he had no reason to do that because (unlike his final year in Toronto) he had stability in his contract with Atlanta, and there was no urgency to win with the Braves when he took over. Like I said, he's done very well supplementing the roster, so that's a plus for him, but the team itself was mostly built before he got there. Although there is no shame in being 1998-2000 Brian Cashman if the Braves end up winning a WS or two.

[Jimcanuck]

AA is a good GM, but the only way he could have messed up the situation he inherited was if he operated like 2015 AA and traded every prospect under the sun for vets, and he had no reason to do that because (unlike his final year in Toronto) he had stability in his contract with Atlanta, and there was no urgency to win with the Braves when he took over. Like I said, he's done very well supplementing the roster, so that's a plus for him, but the team itself was mostly built before he got there. Although there is no shame in being 1998-2000 Brian Cashman if the Braves end up winning a WS or two.

 

Agreed 100%. Don't miss him though, Shatkins is at least as good, Dumtoyo notwithstanding.

[Dr. Dinger]

I don't really think this should be celebrated, but AA convinced Acuna and Albies to sign for like $300M less than their value. It's easily the most impactful thing he's done as GM in Atlanta.

 

It's mortifyingly awful for Albies and Acuna, but I can't imagine a GM making any two moves that could possibly result in as much surplus value. AA is literally a god tier GM on this alone.

[John_Havok]

It's mortifyingly awful for Albies and Acuna, but I can't imagine a GM making any two moves that could possibly result in as much surplus value. AA is literally a god tier GM on this alone.

 

It's beyond disgusting how he got those guys to sign for such amazingly team friendly deals. The best part for the Braves is that as time goes on, the deals get even better due to salary inflations. Can't even really apply the "if he get's injured" caveat, that's how gross these deals are for the players and how amazing they are for the team.

[Krylian]

It's beyond disgusting how he got those guys to sign for such amazingly team friendly deals. The best part for the Braves is that as time goes on, the deals get even better due to salary inflations. Can't even really apply the "if he get's injured" caveat, that's how gross these deals are for the players and how amazing they are for the team.

 

Locked up Bautista with a sweet deal here too. This is what he's great at. Identify opportunities to lock players up before they explode.