While it's fun and amusing to look on and laugh at the poor teams stuck in the dregs of sports hell as we did with the last list, there are much different emotions for a list such as this. Often, it's feelings of bitterness, resentment and envy that comes to the following organizations as sports fans look on and wish it was their favorite team that was always on top and holding that bright future. In the era of salary caps, free agency and parity (or mediocrity some would argue), the franchises that are consistently on top are often the subject of hatred, but their fans don't care because they're too busy revelling in their successes. Again, as with the last list, teams must show a commitment to winning both on and off the field.
Honorable Mention - Detroit Red Wings, NHL - Since we didn't include any NHL franchises in the previous discussion, it seemed only fair to not include any in this discussion as well. Thus, the Red Wings, one of the most successful sports franchises in any sport, are excluded from this list. Nonetheless, they still deserve mentioning here as they are a model of consistency when it comes to hiring quality coaches and front office members, signing quality free agents, drafting well and most importantly winning games.
5. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - A tough call between the Angels and fellow LA team the Lakers, but the Angels win out because of their ability to make the playoffs consistently in the most competitive sport (in that only 8 total teams make the postseason each year). The Lakers were a one-man team until they stole Pau Gasol from Memphis, and it's hard to give their front office credit for that thievery. The Angels, on the other hand, have been a mainstay in the MLB postseason in recent years, and despite the fact they've only appeared in 1 World Series (which they won in 2002), the appearances are far more meaningful than those of an NBA team. The Angels have a strong coaching staff under Mike Scioscia and a very successful front office that has consistently found young talent making the Angels are one of the strongest organizations in baseball.
4. Indianapolis Colts - Some would argue that the Colts are themselves a one-man team, and that Peyton Manning is good enough to elevate the entire franchise. This simply isn't the case, and football people in the know agree that the Colts are well run from the top down. For a team that has significant turnover on its defense due to salary cap restrictions thanks to its offense, the Colts are consistently among the best defensive teams in the league. Virtually all of the Colts' stars are homegrown players that they drafted, running down the list from Manning to Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Joseph Addai... And the list goes on. Add to this a very good coaching staff with one of the NFL's most successful regular season coaches of all time (Tony Dungy), and you have a very strong organization.
3. San Antonio Spurs - Surprisingly, the Spurs are the only team that I really deemed worthy of this list from the NBA. It's hard to value a playoff appearance for an NBA team given the fact that literally over half the league makes the postseason each year (16 out of 30), so an NBA team must be particularly impressive in the postseason to make this cut. The Spurs, having now won 4 of the last 10 NBA titles in an era of parity, have also progressed to at least the second round each year of that time-frame. While the Spurs are considered among the luckiest franchises for landing Tim Duncan in the draft lottery, many, many examples show that one player cannot carry a team to a title in the NBA. That's where the Spurs deserve the most credit: they have brought in strong supporting players year in and year out and have developed some very strong players out of players drafted late in the first round or discarded from other teams. Again, the coaching staff is one of the league's best anchored by head coach Gregg Popovich who has been among the most successful head coaches in NBA history, and has done so in an era and a conference that is among the toughest ever.
2. New England Patriots - Say what you must about Spygate (I'll be the first guy to agree with you that no matter what they say, the Pats did it because they knew it would help them), the Patriots have been successful over the past 7 years because of the strength of their coaching, scouting and player development. One of the signs of a truly strong franchise is the ability to bring in big-name veteran free agents for below market value because they just want a chance at a title, and that's what the Pats have done year after year. Players like Rodney Harrison, Randy Moss, and Corey Dillon have flocked to the Pats and despite their known character issues, have flourished with the team. Much like the Colts and Spurs above, the Patriots were lucky that they found a player that blossomed into one of the best at his position in Tom Brady, but football is the ultimate team game and now team could find the success the Patriots have if all they had was Brady and a bunch of no-names. The Patriots front office has been extraordinarily successful at bringing in those no-names and sculpting them into players that fit the team and the system, and then using them to win championships. They also have a decent coach, I guess.
1. Boston Red Sox - And we conclude our Boston slurp-fest with the team that appears poised to dominate the MLB for the next 5 years or more. Under Theo Epstein, GM since 2002, the Sox have been the best-run organization in their sport and are quickly developing the deepest farm system in the Majors to go along with the best active roster. While the Sox have the benefit of a huge market and no salary cap, many MLB teams have proven that money can't buy championships (see New York Yankees since 2002 and New York Mets) and that teams shouldn't sacrifice their entire farm system in an attempt to acquire veterans to win now. Boston has a quality manager in Terry Francona, but with the talent on the roster Francona's player-friendly approach is precisely what the team needs to find on the field success. All this makes the Sox the favorite to win this year's World Series, and subsequently our number 1.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
How about an honorable mention for the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins, both small market teams that have a proven ability to win games despite very limited funds? They have proven that, through good scouting and wise drafting, teams can be successful in the MLB. Granted, the lack of a championship for either in recent years proves it's very hard for David to slay Goliath, but these teams seem to be in the playoff hunt every season.
And what about the Florida Marlins? Despite their unconventional practice of selling off all their veteran players after championship-winning seasons, they've managed to win more World Series in their short history than 12 other major league franchises.
The Marlins just narrowly missed the cut, but they did so because there is practically no sustained excellence with that franchise. In the years that they don't win the Series, they are almost always out of contention by August. Add the fact that they've had a revolving door at manager and they have arguably the worst stadium in the Majors, and I think it's hard to call that a great organization. Great front office, yes.
As for the Twins and A's, the same can really be said as with the Marlins. Frugal management has prevented these teams from really reaping the rewards of their prolific farm systems and their successful trades. Instead, these clubs are doomed to sneak into the playoffs, be quickly eliminated (they've combined for 1 postseason series win in recent memory, and that was when the A's beat the Twins in 2006) and then go back into rebuilding mode the next year. I'll grant you they rebuild quickly and effectively, but they're always stuck with that ALDS or, at best, ALCS ceiling.
Chris F
Post a Comment