Don't mess with the Polish guy

In baseball, there are superstar players. Pujols, Bonds, Rodriguez, Jeter, Ortiz, etc. There are even superstar managers- guys who are considered geniuses- LaRussa, Torre, Cox. But GMs? Well, prior to "Moneyball," there aren't many people who'd be able to identify more than two or three GMs. Maybe Billy Beane, John Schuerholtz, Theo Epstein. Today, however, we want to give some love to Dave Dombrowski, possibly the best GM in baseball, and certainly the least recognized for his genius.

A native of Chicago (hey der!), Dombrowski has been the GM of three teams. He started with the Expos in the late 1980's, when they still had the chance to be competitive. When the Marlins were created, Dave got the job as their first GM. He started work in 1991, and the team started playing in 1993. He put together that team with Jeff Conine, Kevin Brown, Edgar Renteria, Craig Counsell, Gary Sheffield (grr) and the rest of that Marlin team that beat the offensive juggernaut Indians in the 1997 World Series. When the team was sold, he moved on to Detroit.

And here we are. In Detroit. In late October. It's really really cold- Placido Polanco in a balaclava cold. Placido Palanco balaclava. Placido Polanco balaclava. Placido Polanco balaclava. There, I said it. And there's Dave Dombrowski, observing it all. The thing that he, John Schuerholtz, and Billy Beane all have in common (I'd throw Terry Ryan of the Twins in on this also) is that they have all seemed to find that sweet mix of young players, drafted and on their way up, with grizzled veterans who refuse to go quietly. Billy Beane had Frank Thomas this year, and Dave Dombrowski has Kenny Rogers. Quite under the radar, Dombrowski signed Kenny Rogers to a under-market value 2-year deal. All Kenny has done this post-season is pitch 23 consecutive scoreless innings. If he continues this, he has a decent chance of breaking Christy Mathewson's 100-year-old record. Strange things happen- but they do seem to happen to these guys who seem to have a knack for putting the right pieces together, and letting them gel.

The World Series is now tied, 1-1. Rogers took care of business in the second game. In the first game, the pitching looked like a huge rookie mismatch. Justin Verlander, probable AL rookie of the year, with a low, low, low ERA, took the mound against Anthony Reyes, who had a 5.06 ERA in 17 starts (in the NL!). Who has the edge? Well, let me also ad that Verlander was well rested. Who has the edge now? Right. The other guy that no one favored. It's time to stop listening to the experts. I'm still going with the Tigers in five on this one. I think the Cardinals got their win. They'll get no more.

I'm going with the Polish guy.