Faith, Beer, and Other Things That Interest Geoff

Wade's defenders halfheartedly give him a pass because the team was under-financed for much of his term, as if every other team started with a full set of Monopoly money and he was stuck with five singles and the thimble. Other teams had similar restrictions and did better. The Expos/Nationals did better, comparatively, with much less for much longer. The Athletics did better. The Marlins did better. It's not a short list.

A pretty good general manager named Branch Rickey once said, "Luck is the residue of design." Write that down. Put it at the top of the bulletin board. Have a plan. Make it better than the other guy's plan.