Wow, after reading that I want to punch somebody in the face. An 80 page paper? It was a good read for the most part, but he could have easily done the same in 40 pages. I hate it when people can't get to the point. Anyway, besides the best-seller-want-to-be-novel aspect, the point is real. In normal companies, CEO's make the money. In baseball, the product developers (or engineers) make the money. I'd be ok with that, considering I majored in engineering at the U and am looking at a secondary electrical engineering degree currently. If Moneyball has taught us anything, its that the GM position has a huge influence on baseball. My presumptions about Terry Ryan are correct, he is a middle of the road GM. He doesn't add anything, he doesn't lose anything (because he barely does anything). Innovators at this position are hard to come by. Partly because owners have always hired "baseball" guys instead of creative thinkers. I think this trend is ending. I truly believe owners have advisers for just about everything, and these advisers will tell them to not hire regurgitated GM's. Rather, try an innovative approach. I'm still supporting hiring Dombrowski, because I believe he would be at the top had he not been pressured into stupid contracts. However, he qualifies as a regurgitate. More than anything else, the successor to Terry Ryan should be someone with new ideas. I hold a very strong opinion toward his dismissal.