Ken 2003
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Draft Capsule:
Took starting pitching with first 5 picks, which hadn't been done before. Offense emphasized speed, hit and run guys, and batting average. It was the antithesis of Ken the Offensive GM of most of these past 10 years. I know Ken valued pitching years ago, but it usually wasn't at the cost of offensive production.
Season Highlight:
Had to be the roster overhaul. Woeful offense in the first 40 forced trade after trade, in which he bettered his lineup considerably. His winning percentage didn't dramatically increase in the final 120, but he had hope once again after a hopeless first 40.
Season Lowlight:
Maybe losing all of the leads to Steve. Maybe Vidro and Beltran's performance in the first 40. Maybe Sheff helping to derail the season with his couple injuries right away. Maybe a lack of consistency from Shawn Green, as he would drive everyone in one series, then go hitless the next series.
If I analyzed the scripts or boxes, I'd check how:
How much differently Ken performed with certain lineups. He batted some guys just about everywhere ... Lee, Bellhorn, Floyd, Green, Edgar all come to mind. From an outsiders perspective, it seems like he was still trying things in the final 40 games, when you maybe should have everything figured out. Not saying he was wrong to do this, or that it's even an accurate statement, but you usually don't see so many variations so late in the season.
2003 Surprises:
I'm sure he wasn't expecting to win a third straight, but I know he wasn't expecting a 7th place finish, just a game ahead of 8th place Graham. Pleasant surprise was Mike Lowell, who drove in the guys that Green didn't on his way to the 3rd base Silver Slugger award. Johnson giving up 56 home runs must have been a surprise as well. Maybe the biggest surprise was that Ken managed 0 post-season votes, in terms of MVP, CY and MOY, something that had not been done in our history.
Best Strategy:
Not giving up on Hunter after Steve had and he started the free for all poorly, but maybe that was too obvious, since he had shorted himself in center field after the trades. I thought he would try to go mega-offense after the trades and put Cat at 2B and play Bellhorn at SS, but it was wise of Ken to balance things out as he did, I'm thinking. Cabrera played well at SS, and having Rollins and Reese on the team would've meant alot of unusable players on the bench, whereas Cat provided some bench flexibility.
Worst Strategy:
I think the starting pitching in the first 5 selections was questionable. In the end, definitely questionable, considering the performances of late round guys like Byrd and Lidle and Rogers and Trachsel and Lawrence. But at the time, after picking up a great top 3, he would have been better served balancing things out with a Berkman or a Manny. After getting the starters like he did, he gave himself 6 straight hitters in Vidro, Beltran, Sheff, Ichiro, Winn and Lee, who were ok as a group, but not the guys who you'd expect to carry an offense alone. It justs seems to me that, in a year of the best starting pitching the SL had seen in 5 years, we also had the best relief pitching in the past 5 seasons. It was a value judgement on Ken's part to choose the starting over the relief, but in the end, it didn't work out so well for him.
GM Summary:
Great overhaul of his roster. Tough draft. I remember Chris trading half of his roster back in '94, but he didn't even draft those guys, so I'm thinking no one has even worked harder at changing the make-up of his team during the season in our history. Even in enduring an awful season, Ken found a way to shine.
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