[Giants]

I agree with Mick.  I stopped reading anything written by Bowden sometime ago.  Never one to allow facts to get in the way of a narrative he was pushing, his track record was decidedly poor.  The Athletic has a number of excellent baseball writers.  Bowden is definitely not one of them.  

And no, I did not read the article Lex referenced in his post.

I am not a Bowden fan either.  But he was a 16 year GM.  So, he has a little experience in this. The article focused on the process more than anything else. 

 I tend to take a little more stock of comments made by those that have actually done it.  

And it’s common sense.  The press conference is the coronation.  By scheduling they gave every impression it’s done.  That should not have occured prior to completing the physical, so as to assure it is done.  By doing so, they greatly shortened any time they had to renegotiate.  And made it much more difficult.  I suspect it also killed any chance they have now.  Although, I suspect it was slim anyway.

I’m not saying there would have been a different outcome.  I am saying they made a rather large “process “ error.  In an organization that talks a lot about process.  Course, there is, to my knowledge no analytic that might have helped give them the mathematical equation for what happens if they jump the gun on the presser and then learn of a real problem.  Maybe if someone asked Sabean, he would have had some input.  But what does he know.  He’s just a baseball lifer.  Weak computer skills, no doubt. 

Still. I get to some, Zaidi can do no wrong…….

Zaidi’s weakness, IMO, is his belief that his way is the only way (at least that is the impression I get from the guy).  While he may be the smartest person in the room, he certainly doesn’t have all the answers.  There are numerous paths to creating a sustainable winner.  The best decision-makers are those who surround themselves with individuals who bring different points-of-view to the process.  Being open to listening to those ideas is a critical factor in creating a successful management environment.  

Nope, I am definitely not in the “Zaidi can do no wrong” camp. 

Hubris might be too strong a word to use to describe the Correa screw-up.  However, it was a great example of cart/horse - which comes first.  Regardless, I don’t believe it would have mattered.  I think Correa/Boras would have moved on once SF said, “We want to take a second look at the deal”.

[Giants]

I agree with Mick.  I stopped reading anything written by Bowden sometime ago.  Never one to allow facts to get in the way of a narrative he was pushing, his track record was decidedly poor.  The Athletic has a number of excellent baseball writers.  Bowden is definitely not one of them.  

And no, I did not read the article Lex referenced in his post.

I am not a Bowden fan either.  But he was a 16 year GM.  So, he has a little experience in this. The article focused on the process more than anything else. 

 I tend to take a little more stock of comments made by those that have actually done it.  

And it’s common sense.  The press conference is the coronation.  By scheduling they gave every impression it’s done.  That should not have occured prior to completing the physical, so as to assure it is done.  By doing so, they greatly shortened any time they had to renegotiate.  And made it much more difficult.  I suspect it also killed any chance they have now.  Although, I suspect it was slim anyway.

I’m not saying there would have been a different outcome.  I am saying they made a rather large “process “ error.  In an organization that talks a lot about process.  Course, there is, to my knowledge no analytic that might have helped give them the mathematical equation for what happens if they jump the gun on the presser and then learn of a real problem.  Maybe if someone asked Sabean, he would have had some input.  But what does he know.  He’s just a baseball lifer.  Weak computer skills, no doubt. 

Still. I get to some, Zaidi can do no wrong…….

Zaidi’s weakness, IMO, is his belief that his way is the only way (at least that is the impression I get from the guy).  While he may be the smartest person in the room, he certainly doesn’t have all the answers.  There are numerous paths to creating a sustainable winner.  The best decision-makers are those who surround themselves with individuals who bring different points-of-view to the process.  Being open to listening to those ideas is a critical factor in creating a successful management environment.  

Nope, I am definitely not in the “Zaidi can do no wrong” camp. 

Hubris might be too strong a word to use to describe the Correa screw-up.  However, it was a great example of cart/horse - which comes first.  Regardless, I don’t believe it would have mattered.  I think Correa/Boras would have moved on once SF said, “We want to take a second look at the deal”.