Worst GM Poll: Bill Smith vs. Jon Daniels

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE: This poll is now closed.

THE TOURNAMENT:

Round 1

Bill Smith (12) vs. Jon Daniels (5)
Dan O'Dowd (11) vs. J.P. Ricciardi (6)
Omar Minaya (10) vs. Jim Hendry (7)
Kenny Williams (9) vs. Wayne Krivsky (8)

Bill Bavasi (4), Ned Colletti (3), Ed Wade (2), Brian Sabean (1), bye

Today's matchup: Bill Smith (12) of the Twins versus Jon Daniels (5) of the Rangers.

I modified my seeds somewhat based on the responses in the previous thread. There was a little support for the Padres' Kevin Towers, which I mostly agreed with, so I took him out of the contest and replaced him with Smith, who hasn't been on the job long and who's already traded Johan Santana for scraps and signed Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer to dubious long-term contracts.

In Smith's defense, Santana could veto any trade and was pressuring him to make a trade quickly. PR was probably a factor in the Morneau and Cuddyer deals, which came right before the Santana trade. Smith also made a very nice deal with the Rays in which the Twins got a potential superstar in Delmon Young.

As for Daniels, his tenure so far has been defined by a series of horrible trades. First he sent Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, Termel Sledge, and Armando Galarraga. Then he sent Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez and Sledge to San Diego for Adam Eaton, Aki Otsuka and Billy Killian. That trade, in particular, was perplexing. Gonzalez and Mark Teixeira both were good defensive first basemen, so trading one of them rather than using one at first and one at DH did make sense, but Daniels should have gotten far more than an injury-prone, mediocre starter and an aging reliever. On top of that, Young has become a very good #2 starter for the Padres. That might not have happened for Young in Texas - he's an extreme flyball pitcher who's much better suited to San Diego's park - but Daniels still should have gotten much more. Daniels also sent John Danks to the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy, who wasn't very good last year. He also signed Michael Young to a long-term deal that could really hurt the franchise.

In Daniels' defense, the Soriano and Danks deals looked like much better ideas at the time. The Michael Young deal isn't a complete mess yet. Daniels traded Teixeira, Eric Gagne and Kenny Lofton for good prospects near the trading deadline last year; the fates of those prospects, plus Josh Hamilton (acquired for the Reds for Edinson Volquez) will probably ultimately define Daniels' tenure and may eventually save him.

Which of these two is worse? You decide in the poll.