(01-20-2021, 11:54 PM)Eric1 Wrote:

(01-20-2021, 10:32 PM)The Eleventh Doctor Wrote: Somehow I feel like that "Nobody will outwork this guy!" is a case of damned by faint praise.  It's one of those things that might technically be true, but isn't really praise.  "He's a great talent evaluator!" is good praise for a general manager.  "He knows how to get the best value for his picks."  "He's an amazing negotiator."  Those are actual skills that are worthy of praise.  "This guy works hard!" is almost like saying he has no other notable skills but they want to say something nice about him because it's polite.  I seem to recall people saying the same thing about a certain other GM who shall remain unnamed.  




My issue isn't that he has misses.  It's that he often has reaches, which include taking chances on guys with torn ACL's.  Sure, if they work out nobody will be complaining.  But Baalke seems like a guy who'd take Myles Jack in the first round.  (Though that wouldn't have even really been a reach.  Jack was often touted as a Top 10 player even with his torn ACL.  But we were pretty fortunate to have a GM who was patient enough to wait to pick Jack at a better time, when there was less risk).  

For all of Caldwell's faults, one of them wasn't that he didn't know how to get good value out of a draft pick.  Heck, he got a 6th rounder out of Gabbert!  Can't believe some sucker traded a 6th round pick for Blaine Gabbert.

And you know who that sucker was? None other than our very own Trent Baalke... Yup that's right, he was the GM of the 49ers in 2014 when he/they traded that 6th rounder for Gabbert.