Yes, Farhan Zaidi had to go.
And, of course, Buster Posey is a San Francisco Giants legend.
But what the Giants did on Monday reeks of desperation.
Yes, hiring Posey to replace Zaidi as the team’s top baseball decision maker is a great bit of public relations — everyone loves Buster — but we don’t do PR here.
PR doesn’t win games. A good look isn’t a baseball strategy.
Sorry, I’m here to rain on the parade.
Luckily, Posey and Giants fans have memories of three better parades to fall back on.
Because once these positive vibes dissipate — once the initial scent of this fan-pleasing move wears off, this is the kind of play a floundering company makes as a last-ditch effort to stabilize its stock price.
In that world, they call it a “dead cat bounce.”
They don’t last long.
Related Articles
San Francisco Giants |
SF Giants must win out to finish .500 after loss to Cardinals
San Francisco Giants |
SF Giants’ Matt Chapman named 2024 Willie Mac Award winner
San Francisco Giants |
SF Giants can’t afford another season of Farhan Zaidi, and they know it
San Francisco Giants |
SF Giants ink Matt Chapman to 6-year extension
San Francisco Giants |
SF Giants continue plummeting as Zac Gallen tosses 6 no-hit innings
Let’s be clear: Posey could absolutely succeed in this new job. The Giants didn’t hire you or me to run their baseball roster — Posey’s qualifications, while not perfectly germane to his new role, are a Hall of Fame playing career and an impeccable reputation in the sport. If anyone can make this bold, perhaps even reckless, transition a success, it’s him.
But yesterday Posey was a Giants board member. Today, he is in charge of not just the Giants’ 26-man roster but also the 40-man roster and nearly 200 players throughout the organization. He’s calling the shots for a massive scouting department ahead of a critical offseason and Rule 5 draft in a matter of weeks.
I know Posey is smart. So was Zaidi. The latter also had done two of the best apprenticeships in the sport before taking over the Giants. We saw how that worked out.
So can a man whose totality in front-office expertise consists of finishing — just finishing — Matt Chapman’s contract extension be considered an improvement over the previous director of baseball operations?
Color me skeptical.
I’ll give Posey this: he has guts. He’s willing to put his unimpeachable reputation on the line for this franchise; this fanbase. He must know he’s heading into a perilous scenario, yet he volunteered anyway. What a dude.
But did Posey volunteer because no one else did?
A buttoned-up organization would have …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
