And Now for Something Completely Different

Since arriving, Dan Evans has had to cut the payroll and deliver a contender. He has done both admirably. While living with Kevin Brown’s obscene $15-million annual salary, he acquired unheralded arms (Perez, Quantrill, Shuey, Martin, Alvarez) and molded the finest pitching staff in baseball.

He also brought in quality dependable veterans, such as McGriff, Henderson and Ventura. These players delivered consistently their entire careers. Was it his fault that they didn’t deliver as expected? Hardly.

Dan Evans has done everything asked of him and done it better than any other general manager I can think of. Canning him would be the team’s most serious blunder since trading Piazza.

Steve Smith

Pasadena