Deadspin: Front Office

J.P. Ricciardi Meets The Jerky Boys

Will Leitch — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:40:10 EDT

OK, so, to bring you up to date:

1. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said, “We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn."
2. Dunn responded, "I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is."
3. Ricciardi apologize.

And then something strange happened.

Ricciardi said he apologized to Dunn — it was a pretty stupid thing to say in the first place — and figured the matter was dropped. But, it turns out, the guy who called Ricciardi's cellphone, claiming he was Dunn, wasn't Dunn at all.

"I'm just so sick and tired of this first and foremost, but the real truth is no, I have not talked to him," Dunn said. "Again, I'm not going to go out of my way to apologize or get an apology from a guy I don't even know. So no, it didn't happen and I hope this is the last time I have to talk about it because I'm sick and tired of it. If he said he talked to me, then it's a lie."

Ricciardi was upset when Dunn's denial was presented to him.

"All I know is the person I talked to said it was Adam Dunn," said Ricciardi, who questioned Dunn's commitment to the game in an on-air discussion with a caller. "That's quite a prank to pull."

We love the idea of some sort of sports superhero prankster, who goes around prank calling players and executives to exacerbate already raw nerves and tensions. This superhero could have a lot of fun with Kobe and Shaq right now.

Are Howard Stern's Minions Calling The Toronto Blue Jays? [The Meaningful Collateral]

Another Freaking GM Who Doesn't Need To Shave

Leitch — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 10:36:50 EDT

Honestly, at some point, we're gonna end up seeing baseball owners sitting at the bedroom window of high school Strat-o-Matic games, wearing sun visors, peering through binoculars and feverishly scribbling in a notebook. After Rangers general manager John Hart resigned yesterday, the team hired 28-year-old Cornell graduate Jon Daniels as the new GM. Daniels is 10 months younger than Red Sox wunderkind Theo Epstein was when he was hired in 2002. (To make you feel real old, Daniels was 25 then — just hired by the Rangers himself — barely old enough to rent a car.)

Daniels — who by all accounts is very sharp fellow — has a close relationship with Rangers blogger (and lawyer) The Newberg Report, where there will almost certainly be an interview later today. Meanwhile, you can check out an old Baseball Prospectus interview or just chew on this quote from yesterday's press conference: "I'm ecstatic about this. This is what I've aspired to be for a long time." The Dallas Morning News seems likely to have some fun with Daniels.

Daniels does not have the thinnest resume of a front-office operative in baseball history. Stanley Burrell had an equally meteoric rise with the Oakland Athletics, going from teenaged clubhouse attendant to "executive vice president" for eccentric owner Charles O. Finley in 1980.
Burrell quickly got out of baseball to pursue a career in music. He had a brief run of fame a few years later as MC Hammer. The list of less-experienced baseball higher-ups stops with Hammer.

Some Thoughts On The Regime Change [Lone Star Ball]
Jon Daniels Q&A [Baseball Prospectus]
Rangers Go Young At GM [Dallas Morning News]

Isiah Thomas Freaks Us Out Sometimes

Leitch — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 13:32:21 EDT

We're watching the Knicks press conference introducing Larry Brown as the team's new head coach. General manager/demolition expert Isiah Thomas introduced him by saying, "when I first met Larry Brown, Russia was invading Afghanistan." Uh ... Isiah ... what?

Knicks Introduce Brown As Coach [Associated Press]

Who Has Larry Brown Mania? Anyone? Anyone?

Leitch — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 11:12:41 EDT

The time was 1:30 in the morning, and we had just finished a failed attempt to talk our girlfriend into having sex with us. In our frustration, we turned on ESPNews, and apparently the world had exploded. Graphics were flashing everywhere, anchors were jumping up and down on their desks and Linda Cohn had ripped off her shirt to show a tattoo of Jimmy V. The big news: Larry Brown had agreed to coach the New York Knicks, a lower-tier team that no one really — not really cares about.

Rather than mark the occasion by looking at Larry Brown s old jobs, like everybody else, we re actually going to take a look at ESPN NBA analyst Chad Ford s reports about Larry Brown s career.

· May 29, 2005: Brown ready to leave Pistons for health reasons
· May 30, 2005: Brown Set To Take Cavs Job
· June 2, 2005: Brown Confirms Cavs Discussions
· June 27, 2005: Cavs Hire Danny Ferry As New GM
· July 26, 2005: Expect Roster Shakeup In New York

Knicks Hire Brown As Coach [NY Times]
Chad Ford Archive [ESPN]

The Most Pointless Job On Earth (And You Can Still Get Fired From It!)

Leitch — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 14:23:42 EDT

ESPN is reporting — and apparently they're actually reporting it this time — that the Minnesota Timberwolves have hired former Suns guard (and notorious dater of black chicks) Rex Chapman to be the new general manager of the team. He replaces current general manager Jim Stack, a former Northwestern basketball player most famous for attacking a guy at a Little League baseball game. Stack, who had been helping the team prepare for tomorrow's draft, will look for his fifth different job in five years when his contract runs out Thursday.

This begs the question: Isn't Kevin McHale the general manager of the Timberwolves? Like, isn't he the guy in charge over there? Is Chapman going to be any more of a general manager than Stack was, who was essentially McHale's toady (when he wasn't bashing in people's faces in front of nine-year-olds)? We're just wondering. We're very confused.

Chapman Joining T-Wolves As New GM [ESPN]
Stack Apologizes For "Incident" [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

HOORAY!

Leitch — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 14:30:39 EDT

The NBA and the Players' Union have agreed to a deal. So come on, fans, let's head on back to the stadium! What could possibly go wrong?

NBA, Players Agree On Deal [USA Today]

Isiah Finally Turns To The WNBA

Leitch — Mon, 23 May 2005 17:15:53 EDT

You know it had to happen eventually. Isiah Thomas, whose plan seems to be to single-handedly rampage everything he comes across, Godzilla-like, is now looking for coach candidates from the WNBA. According to the Newark Star-Ledger (that's the paper with Jimmy Hoffa buried underneath), Bill Laimbeer, "title-winning coach of the WNBA's Detroit Shock," has talked to Thomas about potentially taking over the Knicks. We suppose this makes sense. No one on the roster is particularly tall, everyone's always complaining and we think Michael Sweetney has breasts. It's a genius fit, we think. If only they played as few games as the WNBA ...

Knicks: Laimbeer Has Talked To Isiah [NJ.com]

Breaking News From The Couch

Leitch — Mon, 23 May 2005 17:09:03 EDT

ESPN resident lunatic Stephen A. Smith reports that 76ers coach Jim O'Brien has been fired by the 76ers. We had this news first, because we can type faster than the drones at ESPN.com.

[UPDATE]: Maurice Cheeks has been hired as the new coach. We had that first too.

We Love The Fat Basketball Players

Leitch — Wed, 18 May 2005 12:00:34 EDT

With ESPN's Chad Ford crying Chicken Little about the potential of an NBA lockout, we got to thinking about the last NBA lockout. Remember that one? Like hockey, nobody really missed the NBA when it was gone, but that didn't stop the players from putting together a Pay-Per-View game in Atlantic City for all those drooling fans. Anybody else remember this? No one showed up, no one bought the PPV and all the players showed up about 40 pounds overweight, particularly Shawn Kemp, who was never the same afterwards.

The real question: Back then, the proceeds from the game were originally announced as being "for the players' families," before public "outcry" forced the players to stage the game for charity. If there's another lockout, will that happen again? Think you can get Sprewell to play for charity?

Is A Lockout Looming? [ESPN.com]
NBA Lockout Game [Hoopsklyce.com]