Who do you think the GM of the year should be?

Discuss here! Brag on yourself, or say who you think it should be!

I will sadly say its Balitmore... big turnaround... a slew of moves that turned something like 4th place into a contender....

Then its me of course XD

Well if no one else wants to promote their moves this year, I have no problem doing so. I'll not only brag about this year, I'll throw in 2008 and 2009 for free! Maybe this will help me win writer of the year too!

This past season has been a great one for Orioles fans. When Jcclemen2 took over as Orioles GM in January 2008, the Orioles were coming off an 82-80 season, and had made no moves to improve in the free agency market. He promptly set about with an ambitious rebuilding process. This included trading away such big names as Chris Duncan and Jason Bay, and some underperforming players like Aramis Ramirez, Nick Markakis, and Aaron Harang. He also made some cost cutting moves to keep the budget under control, giving quite a few players their unconditional release. These included John Smoltz, Jose Guillen, Juan Cruz, AJ Burnett, and Billy Wagner.

In addition he moved quickly to bring in a new manager. He made an unconventional choice here… going for his favorite ball player from his school days. Mike Greenwell had been out of baseball for some time, but quickly accepted the challenge. Said Jcclemen2 of Mike… “I liked Mike’s fiery personality, he just loves to compete, no matter who he’s coaching ( http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/07-99/07-16-99/d03sp109.htm ). Sure his coaching background is a little unorthodox, but besides his Little League background, he has other management experience from running his own business. ( http://www.greenwellsfamilyfunpark.com/about_us.html )”

These moves resulted in a 65-97 2008 for the Orioles. But the turnaround was underway... the moves made in 2008 netted the Orioles the following list of players (players with * are still with the Orioles, ratings are current), plus 3 extra 1st round picks, and 3 extra 2nd round picks in the following draft:

for Chris Duncan :
Eric Hurley SP 93/97 *
Leon Costalez RP 78/95 *
Curtis Jackson SS 75/96
Andrew McCutchen CF 77/86*
Curt Schaeffer RF 71/88
Ron Brandt SS 48/88

For Emilio Bonifacio 2b and Emmanuel Garcia SS:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C 79
Brad McFarland 1B 79/94

For Ronny Paulino and Hayden Penn:
Mickey Hall LF 86/94

for Anthony Reyes:
Herb Hertel RP 82/88*
Daveed Colombero RP 49/86

For Jason Bay:
Jerry Audet 3b 69/93 *
Jose Panameno SP 85
Jason Stines RP 70/92
Travis Chick SP 82*
Robi Cury RP 66/84
Matt Tuiasosopo SS 77/86*

For Aaron Harang:
Bartolo Colon SP retired

2009 was a huge turnaround year for the Orioles, but the Orioles 24 game improvement to 89-73 was overlooked due to their 4th place finish in the strong AL East. The Orioles plan was to rebuild through their farm system, targeting a playoff appearance by 2011 or 2012. The Orioles strategy for 2009 was to sign solid veterans at bargain prices who could bridge the gap to the top names in the Orioles farm system. This included signing Lyle Overbay, Dewon Brazelton, Derek Lowe, Zach Duke, Livan Hernandez, Rafael Furcal, Armando Benitez, Edgar Renteria, Corey Patterson, Mark Ellis, and Trot Nixon. In addition Jcclemen2 made a few more trades, picking up:
Don Drowley RP 82/93*
Hank Blalock 3b/C 85 and Victor Gomez SP 87/97*
Jesus Montero C 71/98

This brings us to 2010. The Orioles entered the offseason in great shape financially, with plenty of room to add salary. In addition the Orioles had a well stocked farm system, and kept most of their lineup intact, losing only Bartolo Colon and Odalis Perez to free agency. When the powerhouse Red Sox and Yankees showed signs of weakness, the Orioles started making moves. The Orioles were the big movers in free agency, signing Jon Lester, David Aardsma, Ronny Paulino, Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado, Luke Scott, Jeremy Hermida, and several other role players.

In addition the Orioles weren't afraid to make some big trades, which have brought the following players to Baltimore:
James Loney 1b/3b 94/95*
Jerome Williams Sp 90*
Elvis Chaban 1b 67/93*
Ryan Howard 1b 93*
Ryan Rupe SP 86*
Brandon Tydings 71/92*
Matthew Leib RF 69/90*
Delwyn Young LF 91*

The standings show the hard work has paid off. The Orioles currently own a commanding lead in the AL East, with an 90-42 record and a 15.5 game lead over New York. The Orioles are on track for a 110 win season, which would mean a 21 game improvement over last season. Added in with last season’s 24 game turnaround, the Orioles are looking at a 40 - 45 game turnaround in just 2 seasons. The moves this year have increased the Orioles Runs Scored per game from 5.06 last year, to 6.32 this year. They’ve also decreased Runs Allowed per game from 4.75 to 4.21. The Orioles had a 23 million profit last season, and with a playoff run almost a certainty, fan interest and ticket sales are projected to increase over the remainder of the season. With 83.6 million in revenue so far, the Orioles are looking to top the 100 million mark for the first time.

To sum up the Orioles moves for this season, here are the #’s for key players signed or traded for this year:

James Loney .333 ba, 17 HR, 83 runs, 85 RBI, 386 oba, .533 slg
Ryan Howard .281 ba, 50 HR, 96 runs, 131 RBI, .354 oba, .621 slg
Jeremy Hermida .283 ba, 18 HR, 97 runs, 69 RBI, .386 oba, .472 slg
Luke Scott .290 ba, 13 HR, 66 runs, 62 RBI, .357 oba, .494 slg
Carlos Delgado .231 ba, 20 HR 55 runsm 69 RBI, .332 oba, .492 slg
Delwyn Young (1 month w/ O’s) .279 ba, 23 HR, 52 runs, 65 RBI, .324 oba, .497 slg
Rod Barajas .265 ba, .328 oba,
Ronny Paulino .275 ba, .334 oba
Jerome Williams 4.42 ERA 10-6 152.2 IP, 105 K
Jon Lester 4.94 ERA, 11-5, 140.1 IP, 164 K
David Aardsma 2.63 ERA, 11-3, 54.2 IP 45 K, 13 SV
Josh Rupe 4.02 ERA, 10-8, 145.2 IP, 81 K
David Riske 2.58 ERA, 4-2, 66.1 IP, 38 K