Organizational Rankings: #1 - 美國職棒

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Organizational Rankings: #1

by Dave Cameron - March 27, 2009


And we reach the end - the healthiest organization in baseball.

Rankings So Far

#30: Washington Nationals
#29: Florida Marlins
#28: Houston Astros
#27: Kansas City Royals
#26: Pittsburgh Pirates
#25: San Diego Padres
#24: Cincinnati Reds
#23: Colorado Rockies
#22: Detroit Tigers
#21: St. Louis Cardinals
#20: Toronto Blue Jays
#19: San Francisco Giants
#18: Minnesota Twins
#17: Chicago White Sox
#16: Baltimore Orioles
#15: Seattle Mariners
#14: Philadelphia Phillies
#13: Los Angeles Dodgers
#12: Texas Rangers
#11: Oakland Athletics
#10: Los Angeles Angels
#9: Arizona Diamondbacks
#8: Atlanta Braves
#7: Chicago Cubs
#6: Milwaukee Brewers
#5: New York Mets
#4: Cleveland Indians
#3: New York Yankees
#2: Tampa Bay Rays

#1: Boston Red Sox


Ownership: A

There are lots of not-so-flattering stories about John Henry and Larry Lucchino
that make the rounds, and given Henry’s involvement in the shady three way
sale of the Red Sox/Marlins/Expos and Lucchino’s issues with Theo Epstein, they
’re pretty easy to believe. However, those stories don’t undo the fact that
Henry’s ownership group has breathed life into the Red Sox franchise -
upgrading Fenway Park, adding new revenue streams, and investing in the team in
ways that simply weren’t happening before. They flex their significant
financial power every winter, and have leveraged the Red Sox brand to give them
non-monetary advantages as well. They want to win, they back it up with
significant capital, and they’ve built the Red Sox into a team that can
sustain high level payrolls and make a profit.


Front Office: A

Theo Epstein gets a lot of credit for building the Red Sox roster, and he
should, but more than that, he should get credit for building a front office
that brings many different voices together. It’s far from a one man show in
Boston. Allard Baird and Bill James, Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, Tom Tippett
and Craig Shipley - lots of voices with different ideas, all working for the
same goal. The Red Sox aren’t just an organization of stat-nerds pushing their
Ivy League degrees on people - they look for every advantage they can find, and
will go to anywhere from Japan to the Independent Leagues to find talent.
Having a significant amount of money certainly helps, but the Red Sox spend it
well, and the results are a franchise that is run as well as any in baseball.


Major League Talent: A

The offense is going to be one of the best in the league. The starting rotation
is strong and deep. The bullpen is even stronger and deeper. There are question
marks about the roster, but they aren’t the kinds of fatal flaws that will
sink a team. There’s depth behind the question marks, and so much excess
pitching that swinging a deal to patch a hole won’t be particularly hard. The
core of the team isn’t exactly young, but they don’t have any onerous
contracts on the books that will keep them from reloading in future
off-seasons, and the ‘09 roster is certainly good enough to win right now.


Minor League Talent: B+

The system has more quantity than high level quality, with Lars Anderson as the
elite prospect and then a bunch of good but not great prospects after him.
Michael Bowden, Daniel Bard, and Josh Reddick are talented players but not
likely to become stars. Junichi Tazawa opened some eyes in spring training, but
questions about his role linger. Ryan Westmoreland, Michael Almanzar, Casey
Kelly, Nick Hagadone and Ryan Kalish provide some long term hope. The farm
system is good but not great, but when this is the weak spot of your
organization, you’re doing a lot right.


Overall: A

Well capitalized owner who wants to win and invests in the product? Check
A cohesive front office that combines scouting and statistical analysis? Check.
A major league team that can win immediately and has pieces to build around?
Check.
A minor league farm system that will replenish the major league roster? Check.

The Red Sox are the cream of the crop in baseball right now. There’s a reason
players are taking discounts to sign with them, that they aren’t experiencing
a brain drain in their front office, and that they win a lot of baseball games.
They’ve built a baseball juggernaut, and it’s going to take some pretty large
mistakes to bring down the Evil Empiore 2.0. Get used to the Red Sox winning,
because it’s going to be a frequent theme going forward.




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