Nov 28
At this point, all signs point to Andrew Friedman being back with the Rays in 2012. But late last night, the Houston Astros announced that they have fired General Manager Ed Wade. And while it is certainly a long-shot, expect the Astros to reach out to Friedman sometime this week to gauge his interest.
Earlier this year we heard that the Astros new owner Jim Crane is “infatuated with the idea of prying [Friedman] away from the Rays.” And later, Richard Justice told us that Friedman was giving his friends the impression that he wants to be the Astros GM. And as recently as last week, the Astros still had Friedman on their list of candidates.
Will Friedman interview with the Astros? Well, he did interview with the Angels, and by all accounts, Friedman would be more interested in the Astros job.
With the Hot Stove season already in full-swing, you can imagine Crane will want to hire a new GM very quickly. So if something is going to happen with Friedman, it will probably happen this week. So hold on tight.
Nov 18
- Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
Major League Baseball has announced they will add a second Wild Card team to each league starting next season. We’ve known this was coming for a while, but the implications for the Rays could be huge.
Now it is possible that three teams from the same division can make the playoffs. The downside is that if a team does not win their division, they will likely be forced to play a winner-take-all one-game playoff against the other Wild Card team.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Smith writes about how the expanded playoff system could help the Rays. [TampaBay.com]
- Jim Crane was approved as manager of the Houston Astros. But to complete the sale, Crane had to agree to move the Astros to the American League. [BI Sports]
- Richard Justice says Andrew Friedman is still believed to be “under consideration” for the Astros GM position. [Houston Chronicle]
Nov 03
A lot of big teams have been looking for new general managers this off-season, so it is understandable if the Baltimore Orioles’ search has flown a bit under the radar. But that hasn’t stopped the O’s from aiming high.
According to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, the Orioles have requested permission to interview Andrew Friedman.
OK, OK…stop laughing. Yes, yes. We know. Friedman could just about have any job in Major League Baseball, so there is a better chance of the Rays signing Prince Fielder, than there is of Friedman leaving for the O’s.
But let’s be fair. The Orioles wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t at least call. Even UCF sends letters to the nation’s best high school football players.
Oct 28
- Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
Jon Heyman weighs in on the future of Andrew Friedman, by quoting a “high-ranking Tampa person”…
“as of now he is staying”
We assume that “high-ranking Tampa person” is somebody with the Rays. Of course, it could be Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn. Or maybe it is somebody with the Yankees, who actually have offices in Tampa. It is not clear.
Either way, this just adds to what we have heard and many others have said. Friedman will probably still be with the Rays in 2012.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Mike Scioscia called Joe Maddon to see if the Rays manager would have any interest in being the Angels general manager. Scioscia handles a lot of the GM duties and is probably looking for somebody that is used to working with him. [620WDAE.com]
- Dan Feinstein, the Rays director of baseball operations has taken over scouting duties for the Oakland A’s. [Oakland A's]
- Joe Maddon called the idea of banning beer in the clubhouse “asinine.” Of course, if MLB bans beer, that probably means JoeMa would have to give up his wine. So there’s that. [WEEI]
Oct 24
Back in September, Stuart Sternberg referred to Andrew Friedman as a “partner” which led us to speculate that part of Friedman’s handshake agreement with Sternberg actually includes ownership in the club.
And now we get confirmation from Scott Miller of CBS Sports (via Twitter).
Andrew [Friedman] has a sweet deal with Rays including stake in club
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise. With any young company without a lot of money laying around that is looking to build its infrastructure, one way to entice the talent is with equity. And so it would make sense that Friedman (and probably Matt Silverman also) would be given a piece of the team in lieu of an actual large salary.
And all of the sudden, the idea of Friedman’s free agent status (he does not have a contract with Rays) and the thought of him leaving for another club doesn’t seem so scary.
Oct 20
We have heard from a couple of people now that Andrew Friedman was seen recently having dinner in downtown Tampa with two people believed to be Angels owner Arte Moreno and Angels team preseident John Carpino. This would be significant because the Angels are looking for a new general manager after Tony Reagins was let go.
We spoke with a source close to the Angels. When Reagins was first let go, they got the sense that Friedman wouldn’t be interested in the Angels job. We were also told that Friedman is an east coast guy and is not likely to take a job on the west coast.
On the other hand, the source did mention that the Angels think “very highly” of Friedman’s partner-in-crime, Gerry Hunsicker. However, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the Angels have six candidates set to interview, and Hunsicker is not among those names.
If Morena and Carpino did have Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 14
Andrew Friedman made an appearance yesterday on “The King David Show” where he talked about the Rays run in 2011, the lack of offense, Matt Moore’s future, and his own future with the club. [The King David Show]
Oct 07
- Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
The White Sox hired Robin Ventura to be their new manager. This is significant because Dave Martinez was considered a top candidate, if not the top candidate. But it turns out Martinez never even spoke with the White Sox. He may still be a candidate for the Red Sox job, although it is not clear yet if he will even be asked to interview.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon met with the media yesterday and spoke about the 2011 and 2012 seasons. JB Long has a solid roundup of their thoughts. [BayNews9]
- And you can see the entire press conference here. [The Heater]
- Andrew Friedman had little to say about his rumored links to the Cubs and Astros general manager jobs. [TampaBay.com]
- Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon sound like Matt Moore will at least have a shot at making the rotation next spring. [TBO.com]
- John Romano says Stuart Sternberg may be the Bay Area’s best friend right now, but his patience is growing thin. [TampaBay.com]
- My new friend Maury Brown appeared on “The King David Show” yesterday to discuss his piece on Rays attendance. You can listen to that discussion here. [TheKingDavidShow.com]
- A little late, but Evan Longoria topped ESPN.com’s all-sport power rankings earlier this week. [ESPN]
Oct 04
In today’s Chicago Sun-Times, Gordon Wittenmyer speculates that Terry Francona and Theo Epstein could reunite as manager and general manager of the Chicago Cubs. But Wittenmyer also points out that Andrew Friedman remains on the Cubs radar and notes that the Cubs job is the only other job that interests Friedman…
But the perception that Friedman wouldn’t come to Chicago given the synergy of the Rays’ owner-GM-manager dynamic might not be as airtight as many think. While those close to him believe he won’t leave, the Cubs job is the only other GM job that’s said to intrigue him.
In the same article, one “rival executive” of the Cubs described Friedman as the “best choice” for the Cubs and Epstein as the “safe choice.” Wittenmyer adds that his sources are saying that the Cubs have not attempted to contact Friedman yet.
This seems to contradict a Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 04
We have heard all summer about how both the Cubs and the Astros may want Andrew Friedman to be their next general manager. But what if the Cubs go after, and land Theo Epstein? Would the Red Sox then set their sights on Friedman?
Gordon Edes of ESPN.com thinks it is possible…
What would the Red Sox do if Epstein left?…The Red Sox could take another run at Oakland Athletics president Billy Beane, whom they hired once only to have him turn down the job hours later, a sequence that led to Epstein’s hiring. Or they could see if someone like Tampa Bay’s Andrew Friedman has grown weary of competing with the big-money teams in the AL East and becomes available. But [Epstein's top assistant Ben] Cherington would offer a degree of continuity that might prove decisive if Epstein leaves.
What is interesting with the Red Sox situation is that some believe Joe Maddon’s bench coach, Dave Martinez, is a candidate for the vacant managerial position. Could the Red Sox try to steal both from the Rays with both going north as part of a package deal?
Of course, this all seems like a long-shot at best. But it also shows the level of interest and respect Friedman has in the baseball community. Eventually somebody is going to offer Friedman a big payday that will test his loyalties. Let’s hope it is not enough.
At this point, all signs point to Andrew Friedman being back with the Rays in 2012. But late last night, the Houston Astros announced that they have fired General Manager Ed Wade. And while it is certainly a long-shot, expect the Astros to reach out to Friedman sometime this week to gauge his interest.
