As a Blue Jays fan I just have to say 'please, please, please hire him away from Tampa...please!'

But I heard right here this was unpossible

Going from Ed Wade to Andrew Friedman would be like upgrading from Mathis to Napoli.

Friedman isn't a natural catcher, you mean?

I think this is like when George asks Susan to sign a pre-nup.

"You want to talk to him about working for YOU? Sure, knock yourself out!"

But I heard right here this was unpossible

Money money muh-nay .... MUH-NAY

Why would Friedman turn down the Angels (it was him turning them down, right?) but be willing to talk to the Astros?

Is there any way in which the Astros' job is better than the Angels job? I can't think of one.

Well, he's from Houston, so I could see him being willing to leave to take over his hometown team but not for any other job. I don't buy it, but I guess it would be believable if he did it.

Friedman did talk to the Angels, but turned down the job. I think Friedman's always willing to talk. Actually leaving the Rays is a different story.

Well, he's from Houston, so I could see him being willing to leave to take over his hometown team but not for any other job. I don't buy it, but I guess it would be believable if he did it.

He either really wants to get home or he's simply interviewing out of consideration for the hometown team. From a strict baseball perspective, it's hard to see how he could take this job over a) the one he has, or b) a damn near pick of any other job once a club has an opening.

I think Friedman's always willing to talk.

Tell that to the Orioles.

The new CBA does make running a team with the Rays payroll less attractive than it was before. Houston has a better chance to eventually contend than Tampa does of doing it for more than a few more years. Of course, they could be really good for a few more years, which would be fun, and then Friedman could go to a bigger market team then. (The Angels job offer was before the new CBA, and he might not have thought that the new CBA would be so bad.)

The new CBA does make running a team with the Rays payroll less attractive than it was before.

It seems like we'll have to wait and see. The new caps seem restrictive, but it's not like the Rays were spending big money internationally or even in the draft (relative to slot values).

To the extent the Rays have been spending big in the draft, it's been because of the extra picks rather than by blowing past MLB's slot recommendations, and the new CBA allows higher caps for teams with more picks.

Do I need to sing a second chorus of #6?

I don't have a clue what Friedman is being paid in Tampa but if the Astros double it, he'd have a very good reason to leave Tampa.

I don't have a clue what Friedman is being paid in Tampa but if the Astros double it, he'd have a very good reason to leave Tampa.

Very true, but I bet Sternberg is paying him well, and given that Friedman left Wall Street for MLB, money might be even less of a motivator.

Anyway, Friedman is far and away the most inspiring name on the rumored list of candidates for Astros GM I've seen thus far, but there seems to be a disconnect in the typical storyline. The Friedman/Tampa model was to build internally via a lot of high picks (when Tampa was terrible) and a lot of compensation picks (in recent years). While Friedman certainly could go to Houston, I don't see how he could bring the so-called Tampa model with him vis-a-vis the draft. Houston might have some very high picks in the coming years, but they figure to have few or no comp picks, both due to their current personnel and to the new CBA. Except in the most general sense of teams needing to develop premium players internally, I don't see how the Tampa model could be applied in Houston in 2012 or '13. (The payroll-management aspect is a different story.)

Friedman does have a minority ownership interest in the Rays, under the very distressing possibility of him leaving, how is that handled?

I think you're all ignoring the fact that Friedman may be at the top of his "value". If the Rays get bad and stay bad, he'll be fired, and may not get the big payday. He has the hammer today, and if he gets a contract based on recent performance, I think he'll do really well.

I don't see how he could bring the so-called Tampa model with him vis-a-vis the draft. Houston might have some very high picks in the coming years, but they figure to have few or no comp picks, both due to their current personnel and to the new CBA. Except in the most general sense of teams needing to develop premium players internally, I don't see how the Tampa model could be applied in Houston in 2012 or '13. (The payroll-management aspect is a different story.)

I think it's overly simplistic to credit the high picks/comp picks for Tampa's success. Tampa has done an excellent job of drafting the right guys and developing them properly and quickly. Friedman looks like a smart guy who should be expected to do a good job wherever he is. Maybe he won't land Longoria/Price (though he's likely to have similar picks for the next couple of years in Houston) but he's also had success later in the draft, trades and with the low end free agent market.

I think it's overly simplistic to credit the high picks/comp picks for Tampa's success. Tampa has done an excellent job of drafting the right guys and developing them properly and quickly. Friedman looks like a smart guy who should be expected to do a good job wherever he is. Maybe he won't land Longoria/Price (though he's likely to have similar picks for the next couple of years in Houston) but he's also had success later in the draft, trades and with the low end free agent market.

Concur.

When looking at the cost-controlled Rays yes, you have Longoria, Price, Upton and Niemann as 1st rounders. All TB own picks.

But you also have Shields (16th Rd.), Jennings (10th), Hellickson (4th), Moore (8th), Davis (3rd), Zobrist and Joyce (trade).

I don't see anybody who comes from comp. picks.

Friedman would likely have 3-4 years of top-5 picks (if he came to Houston). I don't see any reason he couldn't replicate his Tampa model, and have more budget to keep/sign more expensive guys when they get good.

If I were him, though, I'd want a 6+ year contract. Houston is horrific. It's going to be a loooooong turnaround.

I think you're all ignoring the fact that Friedman may be at the top of his "value". If the Rays get bad and stay bad, he'll be fired, and may not get the big payday. He has the hammer today, and if he gets a contract based on recent performance, I think he'll do really well.

It's not that easy to fire a part-owner. It's a lot more expensive to do that than to fire a regular GM. As for what would happen if the Rays got bad and stayed bad, look at Billy Beane. The A's have sucked for five years, he's been utterly mediocre and whiny, and yet he seems nowhere near being fired.

"Fired" may have been melodramatic. But I don't think there's any question that if Beane wanted control/money or whatever, he would have been in a much stronger position to demand this in the early Aughts than he is now. If Friedman has baseball ambitions (I believe he's a relatively young guy, and I'd be surprised if Tampa was his last stop), he may be able to parlay them better now than he ever will be in the future.

Maybe the Astros chances of landing Friedman are low. But perhaps the combination of money and the chance to become a hometown hero by turning around the franchise would be appealing to him. His father is chairman of the Harris County Sports Authority which owns Minute Maid Park. Reportedly, he was a big fan of the Astros as a kid, and went to game after game at the Astrodome, asking for so many autographs that the players got to know him. Different things make different people tick.

Lots of variables that is for sure. I remember when Pat Gillick 'retired' from the Jays after the 1994 season (it was known well in advance). A few years later he moved to Baltimore, Seattle, and finally Philly for a final WS win before retiring again. That shuffling around is what probably locked him up for the HOF - winning with multiple teams shows he wasn't a one trick pony who counted on a few lucky breaks. If Friedman has a goal of getting to the HOF then moving from Tampa at this point would probably be smart - build up another team from hopeless (and who was more hopeless than the Rays) to winners and he'd up that resume drastically.

Tell that to the Orioles.

He's always willing to talk to MAJOR league teams.

I think it's overly simplistic to credit the high picks/comp picks for Tampa's success. Tampa has done an excellent job of drafting the right guys and developing them properly and quickly. Friedman looks like a smart guy who should be expected to do a good job wherever he is.

Chuck Lemar drafted BJ Upton, Niemann, Shields, Hellickson, and Davis. Chuck also drafted Delmon Young, Elijah Dukes, Reid Brignac, Sonnanstine, and Townsend.

And Friedman only got Price and Longoria because he had the 1st and 3rd over-all picks his first two years, again thanks to LaMar.

I guess the "Tampa Way" is to take over after a GM who was good at drafting, but bad at putting together teams so you start with one of the leagues deepest farm systems.

Andrew Friedman and Sam Fuld to the Astros
Jeff Samardzija and Jed Lowrie to the Devil Rays
John Farrell and Wandy Rodriguez to the Red Sox
Josh Reddick and DJ LeMahieu to the Blue Jays
Theo Epstein to the Cubs

And Friedman only got Price and Longoria because he had the 1st and 3rd over-all picks his first two years, again thanks to LaMar.

I guess the "Tampa Way" is to take over after a GM who was good at drafting, but bad at putting together teams so you start with one of the leagues deepest farm systems.

That's a pretty cynical view of things. I think you need to give credit to Friedman for getting those picks right. Longoria was drafted after Luke Hochevar and Greg Reynolds which maybe says as much about the Royals and Rockies as it does the Rays but you then need to credit him for not screwing up the Price pick.

Not to mention guys like Zobrist, Jennings, Moore and others. This is a deep and talented team and Friedman deserves the lion's share of the credit for it. It's not like he inherited a great system then gave it away in bad trades or let it whither and die. He has continued to use the system to strengthen the club (e.g. dealing Delmon Young for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, a crime he has yet to serve any time for) and has continued to be successful drafting though of course recent drafts remain an unknown quantity.

Andrew Friedman and Sam Fuld to the Astros
Jeff Samardzija and Jed Lowrie to the Devil Rays
John Farrell and Wandy Rodriguez to the Red Sox
Josh Reddick and DJ LeMahieu to the Blue Jays
Theo Epstein to the Cubs

Jed Lowrie would probably break Ripken's record playing for Tampa.

Is this the same guy who chose Tim Beckham with the first overall pick in the draft, and watched the Giants choose Posey a couple of picks later? Is Friedman just a great money guy or is he also a great talent evaluator? I leave these questions for you to ponder.

Is this the same guy who chose Tim Beckham with the first overall pick in the draft, and watched the Giants choose Posey a couple of picks later? Is Friedman just a great money guy or is he also a great talent evaluator? I leave these questions for you to ponder.

While not exactly a positive on Friedman's resume I think this points out the problem with saying a team is just built on high draft picks, or sure he drafted well, but he always had a high spot.

There are duds selected in the top 5 all the time. Making a mistake there doesn't necessarily make you a poor drafter in the grand scheme of things, and neither does perennially having picks in the top 5 guarantee a contending team (though obviously it helps).

The problem with Beckham was that it was a pick chosen because he would sign at slot.

That's a pretty cynical view of things. I think you need to give credit to Friedman for getting those picks right. Longoria was drafted after Luke Hochevar and Greg Reynolds which maybe says as much about the Royals and Rockies as it does the Rays but you then need to credit him for not screwing up the Price pick.

Maybe we should credit the Royals and Rockies for saving Friedman from himself?

And I'm not trying to deny him credit for a job well done. I was just responding to a post that effusively praised Friedman for his drafting, and listed mostly LaMar picks. There seems to be some sort of myth developing that Friedman and the Rays have done some amazingly magical job, when in truth they've done a good job after being handed a huge haul of talented minor leaguers and high draft picks.

The problem with Beckham was that it was a pick chosen because he would sign at slot.

Posey signed for 6.2 mil, Beckham signed for 6.15 mil. Thats basically the exact same bonus, a 50k difference in bonus money means just about nothing when you're talking about top 5 picks.

Granted, MLB let the Rays spread Beckham's bonus out over 5 years (despite the fact that Beckham was a baseball only player, usually the 5-year spread out is reserved for 2-sport guys), which gave the Rays a little more financial flexibility but money was hardly the reason Beckham went before Posey. Plus, if the Rays wanted to pick Posey but spread his money out over several years they easily could have given him an MLB deal.

The Rays just made a mistake, it happens.

Friedman does have a minority ownership interest in the Rays, under the very distressing possibility of him leaving, how is that handled?

This might be more speculation than fact. I believe Rosenthal or one of those guys reported that despite Sternberg referring to Friedman as a "partner," he's not an actual part-owner.

Friedman looks like a smart guy who should be expected to do a good job wherever he is.

I don't disagree with this at all, and I hope people didn't infer otherwise from my #15. I have no doubt Friedman would do a great job wherever he might go. My point is simply that the so-called Tampa model can't simply be brought across the Gulf to Houston. Tampa had suffered through seven or eight years of futility by the time Friedman took over, but the (Devil) Rays had a lot more premium talent at the ML and MiLB levels in 2005 (when Friedman took over) than the Astros do now. The Astros might have top-5 picks for the next 3-4 years, but even if the 'Stros go 4-for-4 with such picks, which is unlikely, the Astros need a lot more premium talent than that.

I don't see anybody who comes from comp. picks.

The Rays had 10 of the first 60 picks (and 12 of the first 89) in the 2011 draft, while the Astros will be lucky to have 3 picks in the top 60 and 4 in the top 100 in 2012. To the extent this type of draft haul is part of the Tampa model, it's not transferable to Houston.

To me, one of the interesting things about Friedman this fall was how he was 2011's anti-Epstein. If the Sox had won just one or two more games in September, the Rays would have missed the playoffs, at which point decisions like leaving Desmond Jennings in 3A until late July — and Matt Moore in 3A until mid-September — would have looked much worse in hindsight. In a sport obsessed with objectivity and sample sizes, it's crazy how a couple games in September were able to change perceptions so drastically. (I.e., in late August, I would have thought Epstein leaving Red Sox Nation would have been unthinkable. Then, a month later, there were Sox fans happy about it.)

In a sport obsessed with objectivity and sample sizes, it's crazy how a couple games in September were able to change perceptions so drastically.

Unfortunately, we're going to be seeing a lot more of that in the coming years. The annual Red Sox vs. Rays/Jays/Angels game on the day after the season will completely determine the perception of those teams' seasons for the media and most fans. Objectivity and sample size are out the window.

the rays in 05 had a brighter future than the astros in 2012.

crane is lowering payroll as much as possible - he's gonna trade wandy, and if he can, the ol WB, brandon lyon and clank lee. he is NOT going to allow any spending on the ML team unless it is some cheapo FA. he has said so to the few media who have bothred to be there and he has said so all over baseball.

the remainder of the players on what is left of the astros are, well, bottom of the barrel at best. the "top" prospects are guys who were obtained for bourn, berkman, oswalt nd pence and not one of them is exactly top quality. none of them were top prospects of the teams who traded them.

friedman would have no major league team, no real minor league prospects, only 1 major leaguer who could be traded for anything good, IF crane was willing to eat any salary, which, i hear, he is not. he also wouldn't have much of any fan base left. if crane and buddy boy think that long time astros fans who have waved byby (like, say, my mama) are gonna come back if they hire friedman to be the GM or president of a team that not only has no future but will have a DH in it next year, they are more than a few cans short of a 6 pack

and the new CBA does not exactly benefit a team like the astros. having a low payroll and an empty stadium guarantees the owner nice profits as long as he doesn't spend any money and rakes in the MLBAM/revenud sharing cash