During the American Civil War several Southern generals derided Northern General Ulysses S. Grant as a butcher who recklessly threw his troops against entrenched positions, resulting in an endless march of injury, death and carnage. The master of strategy himself, General Robert E. Lee, responded by saying that U.S. Grant was managing his affairs quite well.
The older guys started breaking down.
There was nobody left on the farm to fill in the gaps.
And what about Bonds? Sabean had the most prolific hitter in baseball approaching the all-time home run record. What could Sabean have done? Bail? Trade him away to rebuild? Turn him into a major-league babysitter and surround him with 19- and 20-year-olds that aren't quite ready for prime time? No, you do what Sabean did. You surround your marquee player with the best and most affordable talent you can find — even if there's not enough there to keep you on top. Here's why:
"THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA IS BUSINESS." That was Calvin Coolidge's assertion almost a century ago, and over the decades America's business scions have perfected that saying to an art form:
Show me the money.
Money talks and B.S. walks.
He who has the dough controls the flow.
Those are all slogans that have earned their place in the American Businessman's Hall of Fame. The goal of a business is to make money, and Sabean did such a good job. He was able to make money while losing on the field. He had the best draw in the game — Barry Bonds. Barry paid the freight at the gate. It would be folly to throw the mightiest home run hitter in the game out into flotsam and jetsam awash in the shallows of McCovey's cove.
There were a lot of challenges Sabean overcame to keep that modern-day meal ticket from self-destructing and spoiling the profits. Barry was quite a slugger, but he's never going to win any Dale Carnegie awards. He carried an attitude with him that turned off no small number of fans outside the Bay Area. Then came the steroid scandal. Sabean rode that horse as long as it could gallop, and the price he paid was a few losing seasons. I would think they were "money-making losing seasons."
It will be interesting to see if Giants owner Peter Magowan gives the unpopular Sabean a chance to rebuild again. Most GMs wouldn't get such a chance, and Sabean's rebuilding effort is sputtering early.
Zito was a good choice to build around, but he hasn't panned out yet. Aaron Rowand is a good centerfielder, but he's not the big-name draw that a large-market club needs to show strength. Alex Rodriguez would have been a good acquisition for the Giants, and perhaps Scott Boras was going to play the Yankees against the Giants to maximize A-Rod's salary before A-Rod panicked.
If I look at Sabean from a baseball fan's standpoint, I might have a lower opinion of him. If I look at Sabean from a Giants fan's viewpoint, I might consider him a GM on the downslide, whose magic has fizzled and should be replaced. But if I review Sabean's performance from a professional businessman's point of view (and if he's made Magowan as much money as I imagine he has), then I must concur with Robert E. Lee: "He has managed his affairs quite well."
