A mixture of both

[klaiggeb]

I am conflicted, and not just by a little

On the one hand I'm pleased we can at LEAST compete for a playoff slot.

On the other, by doing what he did, Farhan probably bought himself another 2 to 5 years with the Giants.

I would gladly have sacrificed yet another season to get his fanny out the door.


Between him and Captain Ego we, as Giant fans, have sacrificed too many seasons already.

He did well this off season, but he's still a problem and he's still a putz.



It wasn't his "patience" that gets credit for signing Soler, Snell and Chapman.

It was dumb luck. Nothing more, nothing less.

[reedonly]

Zaidi has a three year contract and so he has bought himself that amount of time, at least. I still don't like the guy but I grudgingly admit he did a good job making signings while limiting the Giants' long term obligations. Now, there are more checks and balances in place on him than before. Buster is now on the ownership team and Putlia is on board so now he cannot simply do whatever he wants.

[Islandboagie]

It all depends how the Giants fare on the field. If they're not competing this October Farhan will be gone. Just because we got Snell doesn't guarantee us a spot in the post-season, although on paper it does feel like we have a better chance now.

[reedonly]

I think it is not going to matter how they do on the field. He managed to get players and not rack up long term contracts. In essence, he did what the ownership wanted. All media sources local and national said he did a good job and even some of the more critical blogs (McCovey Chronicles, Whenthegiantscometotown) say the same.

I know I am being obstinate. I admit I don’t like the guy and I may have some issues with Zaidi that may or may not be legit. He talks and acts like a lot of people I don’t like such as my work managers or bankers and so forth. I think his communication skills are poor and he has shown he will stab loyal players such as Crawford or Davis in the back. I do not like people like that because I value integrity, loyalty, and honesty. Ownership probably likes Zaidi’s dog and pony show so he’s probably going to go at least the three years remaining on his contract. To me, having good ethics and integrity is most important but I realize what I value is not what the ownership values.

This message board tends to be the most critical of Zaidi than anyone else.  Most of us are older guys who have watched the game for a long time and not necessarily swayed by analytics.  I don't like him but he did exactly what ownership wanted him to do so I'm afraid he's going to be around a while.  

[klaiggeb]

Reed, You summed up my thoughts and feelings perfectly! Honesty and integrity are at the top of my list

[reedonly]

What Zaidi probably did not realize was that all that was needed was to slow down for a few minutes and explain his side of the story. It is not clear whether or not he did that with Crawford but I"m guessing he did not because Zaidi did not tell Crawford about his plans for Correa last season. It seems he ghosted Davis during the arbitration process.

I think Zaidi would have been better received if he were up front with players and talk them through the various steps. His interviews on the radio are usually hyped but I pretty much figured out that he usually does not say much or anything revealing during the interviews. I guess you might say that he uses a lot of weasel words. This kind of approach might be good for dealing with snakes like Boras but we know he's not good at PR and probably not good on the player relations side.

The thing that irritates me is that being an ethical person does not cost anything. I think players prefer that the GM types be up front with them and it does not cost a thing to say "thank you" or "let us know how we can help" or extend an honest handshake. As a side note, the Renel situation is not under Zaidi. Renel is not a player so this is not under Zaidi's jurisdiction. However, Rod Brooks and other KNBR announcers felt that the timing of the Renel announcement and the Snell signing announcement was not a coincidence.  

You don't hear complaints about the previous GMs because they were better at handling people. Bobby Evans was not a good GM but he is a good man and very honest. Sabean and Colletti were more old school and tried not to say much until the deals were made but for the most part, they did things the right way. Zaidi probably felt he did not need Sabean as a mentor so he never approached him.

As I mentioned before, Zaidi probably impresses guys like Baer and Johnson. This does not speak so much to the intelligence of Zaidi but you have to question anyone who is dazzled by Zaidi's s--- show.

[Islandboagie]

Zaidi has done a good job at revamping the team this offseason, but it would appear that they're taking a "win now" strategy. Partially because Zaidi's early scouting and development hasn't really paid off yet.

If they don't win now, someone will have to go. If not Zaidi, who do you think will be blamed? Kapler was thrown under the bus after last season, Zaidi cannot keep deflecting blame when it's quite clear he has wanted to control every aspect of the organization.

He still missed out on Ohtani. He still created bad blood between Crawford and the organization. How do you think Posey sees that?

I think Zaidi bought some time for now, but his latest decisions need to pay off asap, not a few years from now. I'm fairly certain, if the team on the field doesn't start showing results this season, the ownership will cut bait on Zaidi and Co.

[reedonly]

They went in to the luxury tax level this year so the pressure is on to produce. Also, second and third round draft picks (and corresponding slot value money which is about 25% of their signing money) were forfeited due to the signings of Chapman and Snell as well as international bonus pool money $1 million. Second and third rounds have yielded Schmitt, Whisenhunt, Black, Martin, and Harrison in recent years so the loss of those picks could be significant and the effect will be felt a few years down the line.  They have their eyes on a SS named Josuar de Jesus Gonzalez, and they are saving most of the international money for him.  

Zaidi was compelled to go for it, probably because his job is on the line and because the team seems ready to graduate a lot of their prospects.  I was afraid that Zaidi was backed into a corner and would pull a "hail Mary" then sign all the Boras guys to long term deals but to his credit, he did not.  Also, he did not trade away any young talent. 

He did miss out on Ohtani but now it is pretty apparent that the biddings set up for Ohtani and Yamamoto were just a facade as both likely had chosen the Dodgers even before the bidding started. One thing now is that Zaidi has run out of other people he can throw under the bus so he no longer has any buffer between himself and ownership. Maybe Crawford can purchase into the ownership group and can Zaidi.

[reedonly]

I realize we probably will not be rid of Zaidi in the near future but the best we can hope for is that he is on a tighter leash with more scrutiny.  From listening to Buster this morning, I gather that Zaidi did everything ownership wanted him to do so that buys him time.  If he lays low and lets Melvin manage, his job is safe. If he starts pushing the analytic agenda and the team falters, then he will be in trouble.  If he has an ounce of common sense, he will lay low.