Let me preface this by stating that if asked to grade Jim Bowden’s two-year performance as general manager of the Washington Nationals, I’d likely give him a “B.”
The bulk of the blame for this season’s abysmal won-lost record lies with Major League Baseball, which effectively sandbagged the franchise by dragging its feet on naming an ownership group.
Not to imply Bowden has been flawless. No GM bats 1.000. It’s impossible. But weighing the deals he made against what he had to work with, it’s hard to believe anyone could have done a whole lot better.
As much as I liked Brad Wilkerson, getting Alfonso Soriano — even if it’s only for a single season — is a laudable deal. The in-season trade that brought Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner to D.C. also seems pretty one-sided in his favor. For what it’s worth, I believe him when he says the Reds were fully informed on the physical condition of the players he sent to Cincinnati, namely reliever Gary Majewski. The Livan Hernandez trade with Arizona has genuine potential, too.
It would have been nice if the club could have retained Esteban Loaiza and Hector Carrasco, but MLB really wasn’t concerned about it. Generally, they weren’t concerned about the club at all last winter, effectively spending nothing on offseason marketing. You can’t blame Bowden for that, either.
Bowden’s style reminds me of the small room Vegas comic who tells the occasional joke that falls flat, but keeps going: “Hey, if you don’t like that one, try this one …”
His enthusiasm for the job and relative ease in pulling the trigger on a deal is legendary. All in at the poker table? No problem.
But I should point out my endorsement means, in the words of Edwin Starr, “absolutely nothing … unh, say it again, y’all.”
And, based upon comments I’ve gleaned from various people in and around MLB the past month, Bowden’s future with the Nats is still in question.
Between numerous pro scouts and various management types I’m acquainted with, I can’t find anyone who believes Bowden will still be in charge when the Nats move into their new ballpark. No one was willing to be quoted directly in print for obvious reasons and I purposely avoided asking anyone the Nats currently employ.But the consensus opinion isBowden and Nats’ president Stan Kasten are basically oil and water.
“Stan’s not used to a GM with Bowden’s kind of personality,” said one source. “Jim is basically the antithesis of a (Braves GM) John Schuerholz. I would think he’d want someone with a similar temperament who’d be around for awhile.”
Another put it somewhat differently. “Bowden is kind of ‘out there’ as far as baseball executives go. He enjoys being high profile, and I doubt that works for Stan.”
Bowden worked for ESPN prior to taking his current position and they’d likely love to have him back. When the Lerner family group was awarded the team, Kasten indicated Bowden was still the GM, with an indeterminate length contract.
Can everyone else in the game be wrong on this issue? I’m sure we’ll find out.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years.
