"There are probably lots of things you can criticize us for."
(Stan Kasten, via Washington Times, 8/16/2008)
Ready to cut and run? Stan Kasten fed up?
An interesting read by Jon Heyman of SI dot com chronicling Jim Bowden treading hot water, a piece which seems to paint his bosses as supportive in the face of the Crow debacle, the MLB Scouting scandal, and the piss poor performance of the on-field product. But it really gets interesting when Heyman brings up Stan Kasten, who is, apparently, frustrated with his job (via SI.com):
While they are showing confidence in Bowden, they'd be better served placing their faith in club president Stan Kasten, the accomplished baseball man who along with John Schuerholz built the Braves dynasty. Kasten came to the Lerners as an arranged marriage set up by MLB powers, including commissioner Bud Selig. But while Kasten had all the power of a president in Atlanta, he is said by people familiar with the situation to be frustrated by the need to have approval for just about any move he makes in Washington.
Maybe that helps explain what seemed to be an extra pissed-off tone in Kasten's comments last Friday, five hours before the signing deadline, like in this exchange, captured in the "Nationals Journal Fully Contextualized Stan Kasten Pre-Deadline Statement":
Q: How about the guys you have signed? How happy are you with those guys?
SK: "That's a GM question. Ask Jim that. That's what he does."
Five hours before the signing deadline hit, was he expressing frustration with the Hendricks Brothers? Or with Jimbo's handling of the Crow negotiations? Wonder how Stan's relationship with Jim is doing these days? More importantly, don't you wonder how Stan's relationship with the Lerners is going?
(Photo by Getty Images)
I don't hate my job, i just hate Jim Bowden.
Posted by: Stan K. | August 22, 2008 at 03:56 PM
He's not an indentured servant. If he's so unhappy, he could quit. Of course, IIRC he has an ownership stake as well, so that could be awkward.
By the by, why does everyone gloss over the fact that Stan Kasten, co-architect of the Braves dynasty is also Stan Kasten, architect of the Nat-like Atlanta Hawks?
Posted by: Nate | August 22, 2008 at 04:20 PM
Yeah, Nate, his Hawk-years certainly do get glossed over...
Back to his unhappiness...I wonder if it is as simple as a rift over Bowden -- that the Lerners love him, Stan wants him gone (as the commenter above suggests)...but right now Mark & Ted won't let him pull the trigger?
Posted by: The Nationals Enquirer | August 22, 2008 at 05:40 PM
It's no secret Stan wanted Jim fired last summer. At least, it's no secret around here.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 22, 2008 at 08:48 PM
NE, get an IP check on anonymous, stat!
Posted by: Andrew | August 22, 2008 at 09:23 PM
This is the worst GM in the league we are talking about. This is harder to watch than the 62 Mets.
Posted by: 117 F | August 24, 2008 at 09:20 PM