Bowden should not get a free pass. He did nothing in Cincy and has done nothing in DC.

promising so far after what Cam and LittleFailed had previously destroyed?

when he took the Nats job and signed Christian Guzman and Vinny Castilla to multiyear contracts, I would have voted for him against anybody in a Worst GM contest. Part of this was the horror of the actual contracts, which of course turned out badly, and part of this was because the mainstream media practically threw Bowden a parade.

Since then he’s drafted Ryan Zimmerman, stolen Alfonso Soriano from the Rangers, Austin Kearns from the Reds and Lastings Milledge from the Mets. He dumped Jose Vidro and much of his contract on the Mariners. He’s built up the Nats farm system and refrained from signing mediocre free agents at positions where good, young (and durable) players would be blocked.

Jim Bowden, I applaud your turnaround. The fact that I am not sure you should replace, say, Kevin Towers on a list of the 12 potentially Worst GMs in baseball is something I never would have predicted in 2005.

how few (half dozen by my count) GMs have even a good track record, but I suppose out of any 30 people in any endeavor you’ll find a half dozen pretty good ones, a half dozen really bad ones, a half dozen new ones and a vast sea of mediocrity among the rest.

I see fully half the NL Central GMs will be in play. Let the game begin!

On a side issue, since reading “Moneyball” I’ve wondered if much of the backlash from the baseball establishment wasn’t so much that it made Beane look like some kind of genius but that it made Omar Minaya, for one, look like an idiot. I just have a feeling that in baseball, where huge egos are rampant, it’s no sin if you puff yourself up, but it’s considered terrible form to do it at the expense of a guy a lot of people probably like, competent or not. Especially if those “lot of people” are NYCers.

Just musing here.

Have to agree in principle, but Lastings and Dukes are big time gambles. One cancer (a la Stephon Starbury) can kill a team. Imagine what two could do. Their histories point to ability but also to big time headaches.

I have no idea who the worst GM is—or the best, for that matter. But I have a couple of thoughts:

Fans, bloggers, critics and sportswriters are gambling with someone else’s chips. I tried to keep track of the organizational changes after McClatchey left and Littlefield and Tracey were fired, and finally just couldn’t keep up. The number of scouts, cross-checkers, coaches, marketers, support staff and administrators surely must exceed the 40 players on the roster. Are their salaries counted against the $50-odd million the Pirates are alleged to spend on salaries? Somehow I doubt it.

Whether your name is McClatchey or Nutting, it must be galling to read the harsh criticism - however well-merited - from those whose investment in the team is limited to the price of admission, as compared to a contractual obligation to a player whose physical skills or frame of mind may change in an instant. Well, presumably, they knew what they were getting into.

For the record, I think that Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield are two of the worst GMs in Pirate history; and that Pirate ownership since the days of the Galbreaths has lacked both financial capability and an understanding of changes in the game and how they affect competitiveness on the field.

Leaving aside players’ talent, the competence, stability and commitment of ownership, not the general manager, seems to me to be the key to a successful franchise. Of course the game has changed since I was growing up in the late 40’s and 50’s (expansion, free agency, competition from other sports and leisure activities). But the objective is still to win now (or in the very near future) not to relive past glories.

These days, it seems to me that the appropriate question regarding success as a General Manager should be who best utilizes the resources he has available - fan and community support, budget, management commitment and competence - to maximize the contribution of his baseball operation to the continued competitiveness and financial viability of the franchise—including, but not limited to, drafting, player development and trades.