DM vs Jack Z - who's your choice?

[sweepscc]

If you had to make a choice between Doug Melvin and Jack Zduriencik who would you choose to be Brewers GM?

 

 

Personally I would have no hesitation promoting Jack Z over Melvin if only our pitching prospects had been turning out a little bit better....since the farm system is our life blood, Jack Z has tremendous value, imo.

 

(unambiguified subject -TC)

[Brian the Automator]

I'd take DM... There's a big difference between amateur scouting and all of the other inter-team duties that a GM must do. That's not to say that I don't think Jack Z could be a GM, but for my money right now, "it ain't broke" with DM.

[colbyjack]

Doug Melvin is a proven GM. You can argue whether or not he's done a good job over the past year, but up until this point in time his moves overall have been very solid, mining several nuggets off of the scrap heap and assembling a team that looks as though it could be poised to compete in the NL Central for several years to come.

 

Jack Z. is a proven Scouting Director, and has provided the big-league team with the bulk of the talent that will allow them to be successful over the next several years. However, he is not a proven General Manager, so if I had to pick one between the two, DM is a no-brainer to me.

 

Personally I hope both stay where they are, as the combination of the two have created a very good thing, at least one that leads to more genuine hope for better things to come.

[MNBrew]

Not only is Doug Melvin a proven GM, but I'd also suggest he's in the upper eschelon of GMs in the major leagues. Bear in mind I'm not suggesting he's perfect.

 

There are a lot of GMs that get plenty of credit because their owners give them huge budgets to spend. But too often big-market GMs don't make the best decisions on how to spend big money.

 

Doug Melvin seems to have a pretty darn good grasp of evaluating & developing talent, understanding people, surrounding oneself with good and highly competent people, seeing the big picture, understanding organizations and systems and how to work well within them, and doing all this is a way that has earned him substantial respect amongst his colleagues throughout baseball. He's made mistakes in all these areas, to be sure. However, it's pretty clear his track record shows much more success than failure.

 

It sure seems to me that Doug Melvin is a very good GM and Jack Z is a very good Scouting Director. The combination of the two guys working together in Milwaukee is something I hope the Brewers can continue to reap the benefits of for a long time.

[mothershipconnection]

Really, I'm not sure how compatible the jobs are. Jack Z manages the draft well, but how would he manage the roster? Would his scouting abilities lead him to prefer upside over performance to strongly? It's possible he'd continue to do a great job with the draft, but would make awful coaching and personnel decisions while being a poor contract and trade negotiator.

[sbrylski]

I might even take Gord Ash over Jack Z as GM. But, Jack Z is probably more valuable to the organization. Different question.

[sweepscc]

Yeah it is a hard question because it'd be hard for Jack Z to assume scouting responsibilities as GM anywhoo. Just thought to bring it up since Jack Z was getting looks as GM. If we go back to drafting the way we were in the 90's for even a few years our long term health is screwed.

[bsglorydays]

I suppose I would take Melvin over Jack Z as the GM. But, I think Jack Z is far more valuable to the Brewers. The teams that DM has put on the field recently have largely been stocked by Z's drafts.

 

One thing I'm fairly certain of, though. Jack Z could not possibly do a worse job of constructing a bullpen than Melvin has done. Granted, pen arms tend to be harder to predict than arguably any other position.

[GAME05]

JZ doesn't have to deal with major-league trades for the most part. but I think we'll see in a few years when he's hired as GM by some other team, and deservedly so.

[dadofandrew]

Doug. Not even close.

[Boy Jeenius]

2 different jobs. They're both great at what they do.

Bunch of GM jobs opened recently and Jack Z not interviewed once.

Next question.