Ultimately the goal of every team is to win the World Series. However, I am not convinced that this is a sign of a good GM. Guys like Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees, who get a bunch of blank checks every season seem to have an advantage over the little guys. Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics who is one of the most hyped GM’s in the game and is a poster boy for “spending money wisely” has never won a pennant in his 12 years at the helm in Oakland.  Marchman argues that Andrew Friedman of the Tampa Bay Ray’s is the best GM based on  dollars per win and his signing of Evan Longoria to a very club friendly contract. So who do you consider to be the best GM in baseball?

Tim Marchman’s GM Rankings going into the 2010 season:

1. Andrew Friedman, Tampa Bay Rays
2. Theo Epstein, Boston Red Sox
3. Brian Cashman, New York Yankees
4. Larry Beinfest, Florida Marlins
5. Jack Zduriencik, Seattle Mariners
6. Doug Melvin, Milwaukee Brewers
7. Dan O’Dowd, Colorado Rockies
8. Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers
9. Kenny Williams, Chicago White Sox
10. Billy Beane, Oakland A’s
11. Josh Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Andy MacPhail, Baltimore Orioles
13. Dave Dombrowski, Detroit Tigers
14. Walt Jocketty, Cincinnati Reds
15. Tony Reagins, Los Angeles Angels
16. Jim Hendry, Chicago Cubs
17. Frank Wren, Atlanta Braves
18. John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Ruben Amaro Jr., Philadelphia Phillies
20. Neal Huntington, Pittsburgh Pirates
21. Bill Smith, Minnesota Twins
22. Mark Shapiro, Cleveland Indians
23. Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals
24. Alex Anthopolous, Toronto Blue Jays
25. Jed Hoyer, San Diego Padres
26. Omar Minaya, New York Mets
27. Ned Colletti, Los Angeles Dodgers
28. Brian Sabean, San Francisco Giants
29. Ed Wade, Houston Astros
30. Dayton Moore, Kansas City Royals

Baseball America

After a record breaking 17 consecutive losing seasons, the Pirates do not seem to be any closer to breaking out of their funk.  General Manager Neal Huntington took over the reins toward the end of the 2007 season and went about doing what has been a common occurrence in the steel city as of late. He traded away the majority of his major league talent, but it was for good reason. The Pirates had few talented players at the major league level, but what was even scarier was that the minor league system seemed to be just as devoid of it as well. Thus, Huntington has the gargantuan task of trying to pull what some say is the most pathetic franchise in the major leagues out of the cellar.

Huntington acquired a lot of new talent during the 2009 season through trade. In June and July alone he sent 8 players packing and received 15 in return. Among those that left were second baseman Freddy Sanchez and shortstop Jack Wilson. The 5 remaining players that were on the team when Huntington took over were Matt Capps, Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and Steve Pearce.  Owner Bob Nutting is renowned for being miserly with the purse strings. The moment a player starts to command a larger salary they are usually sent packing. However, Nutting has loosened the grip on the wallet some to improve the scouting and player development areas of the ball club. The Pirates have surprisingly been very generous to their draft picks having spent more money then any other team to sign their prospects. They also opened a new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic this past April. One bright spot for the Bucs is Andrew McCutchen who emerged and showed great potential last season. McCutchen posted a .286 BA, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 22 SB and an OPS of .836 in 2009 all while earning the Baseball America Rookie of the Year award.

Pirates fans have been angry and upset with their team for quite some time as the team continues perform poorly in the week NL Central. Cincinnati and Milwaukee have both taken positive steps in improving their clubs and have seen some success all while Pittsburgh’s ownership seems content to sit at the bottom. Hopefully there is some improvement to come. But Buc’s fans will have to wait, hope, and take some solace in the fact that at least the Steelers can put together a championship caliber team.

Baseball America’s Top Ten List of Pirates Prospects

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3b
2. Jose Tabata, of
3. Tony Sanchez, c
4. Brad Lincoln, rhp
5. Chase D’Arnaud, ss/2b
6. Starling Marte, of
7. Tim Alderson, rhp
8. Zack Von Rosenberg, rhp
9. Rudy Owens, lhp
10. Gorkys Hernandez, of