I'm cool with taking as much time as he needs. Rather hi, be fresh for October. Maybe go on the Clemens plan and come ready to roll in June.
This - Dana Brown has proven over and over again that he says whatever suits him at a particular point in time. I had people with the Astros telling me that Crane really wanted Hader... that they were going to trade for him, and then after the season ended that the owner personally touched base with his agent. Dana Brown goes on the radio and says the Astros are not looking for pitching, but want a bat.... He then a few days after that says that the Astros don't have the budget for a high level reliever. A week later Hader and his wife are talking about intending to live in Houston long term and that Ryan Pressly and he will figure out closing duties. Sometimes Brown just lies - that can be for strategic decisions or it could be that Brown just doesn't like to publicly talk team business but knows he has to give interviews.
Yes I'm sure the second highest person in this organization has zero clue what players the organization is interested in. I wish he would take the path of vague non answers instead of lying, but I've never taken a GM's word to mean anything because they almost never say anything of actual consequence. It doesn't do them any real benefit to do so.
Nah - he knows. Look at his comments before the Verlander trade and then his comments afterwards..... afterwards he discussed the process and timing of the deal. This was something that Crane and he had been working on for awhile. The same thing is true with Hader. Now - if your position is that Brown wasn't the driving force behind Verlander or Hader, that is possible - but he was well aware of what was going on. He is just one of those people that is very good at talking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to baseball decisions and discussions. He will sometimes be overly optimistic when there is no real downside (signing existing players) but is the opposite when it comes to possible trades or free agency. He didn't have an amazing pedigree when he entered scouting, he was a college player and was black in a time period when there were few black scouts and even few front office executives. He, like most scouts - was pigeonholed as only a scout.... he started out in the era where former big time players and corporate "yes men" ran front offices in baseball and then he survived the era of 30 year old Ivy League kids being fast tracked into the front office...... he was one of the few to break out of "only being a scout", by being arguably the best scout in big league baseball and going to the Braves with the understanding that he would have some front office responsibilities - and he knocked that job out of the park and now is a GM of the best team in baseball. I am not saying he is going to a great GM (too early to tell), but he knows what is going on, and he quickly figured out Crane - who typically is known for liking and respecting direct people.
If I remember correctly Browns degree was communications/media relations. It doesn't help at all to lose your leverage in FA negotiations, I think if they were going to sign Snell/Montgomery they'd have done it before announcing JV missing Opening Day.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned the schedule but right out of the shoot it's brutal. Better have their stuff together or they can dig themselves a huge hole early. Yankees 4 Toronto 3 @ Rangers 4 @Royals 3 Rangers 3 Braves 3
I remember when he first got hired I really liked the cut of his jib, then I realized soon thereafter that the guy really is a bulls***er. However, I think he is a bulls***er with purpose...meaning he lies as a means to protect the inner workings of things that require protection (e.g. negotiation leverage), not to just blow smoke up asses.
