The Power Struggle

Originally posted by buck:

Baalke: 'Jim and I work very well together'

On the first day of the new league year, the 49ers traded for quarterback Blaine Gabbert from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then, the 49ers acquired former Stanford offensive lineman Jonathan Martin from the Miami Dolphins.

Both moves appeared to have Harbaugh�€™s fingerprints all over them.

�€Å"We talked it through, and we discussed them,�€ Baalke said of the trades. �€Å"Who�€™s fingerprints are on it? It�€™s really our fingerprints. It�€™s not Jim�€™s. It�€™s not mine. It�€™s ours. That�€™s how we approach everything. If we feel we can acquire a player that�€™s going to make us better and have a chance to make us better, we�€™re going to talk it through and the decisions are going to be made.

�€Å"Everyone is looking for �€˜Who�€™s fingerprints are on this trade or this acquisition?�€™ It�€™s not like that. It�€™s media-driven. These are things that are discussed openly and honestly with no agendas in mind, other than the agenda of getting the 49ers better.�€

�€Å"Jim and I work very well together,�€ Baalke said. �€Å"I think a lot of that is media-driven. A lot of it is speculation. Maybe it�€™s the desires of others that we don�€™t work well together, but that�€™s not the case internally.�€


http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/baalke-jim-and-i-work-very-well-together

Note that he didn't say that he and Jim hold hands while watching the sun set. Nor did he make any mention of whether or not he maintains eye contact while telling Jim "I love you." What does this all mean? I think we already know the answer to that:

Tension.

-Mike Florio

Originally posted by baltien:

Originally posted by buck:
Baalke: 'Jim and I work very well together'

On the first day of the new league year, the 49ers traded for quarterback Blaine Gabbert from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then, the 49ers acquired former Stanford offensive lineman Jonathan Martin from the Miami Dolphins.

Both moves appeared to have Harbaugh’s fingerprints all over them.

“We talked it through, and we discussed them,” Baalke said of the trades. “Who’s fingerprints are on it? It’s really our fingerprints. It’s not Jim’s. It’s not mine. It’s ours. That’s how we approach everything. If we feel we can acquire a player that’s going to make us better and have a chance to make us better, we’re going to talk it through and the decisions are going to be made.

“Everyone is looking for ‘Who’s fingerprints are on this trade or this acquisition?’ It’s not like that. It’s media-driven. These are things that are discussed openly and honestly with no agendas in mind, other than the agenda of getting the 49ers better.”

“Jim and I work very well together,” Baalke said. “I think a lot of that is media-driven. A lot of it is speculation. Maybe it’s the desires of others that we don’t work well together, but that’s not the case internally.”


http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/baalke-jim-and-i-work-very-well-together

Note that he didn't say that he and Jim hold hands while watching the sun set. Nor did he make any mention of whether or not he maintains eye contact while telling Jim "I love you." What does this all mean? I think we already know that the answer to that:

Tension.

-Mike Florio

lol so true

I'm not really sure what I believe.

Baalke coming out and saying, "Jim and I work well together" doesn't really mean a whole lot. Let's say there really was a riff between them. What's he going to do, come out and publicly state, "yeah, I hate Jim. I hope we get rid of him." No, of course not. He's going to say things are fine regardless of how the relationship really is behind the scenes. If you have to take what these guys are saying with a grain of salt.

On the other hand, journalists can literally make anything up, say they have anonymous sources and completely manufacture a story. We're sort of at their mercy in that regard. This is why you really can't put much stock into the offseason rumors.

My guess it that Baalke and Harbaugh are both competitive and get into spirited, intense arguments, but that there's mutual respect and that there isn't a real riff between them. The team has been too successful, too well-run to buy into the notion that these guys are operating in different stratospheres. I think they're fine.

And the beat goes on!

Originally posted by theduke85:
I'm not really sure what I believe.

Baalke coming out and saying, "Jim and I work well together" doesn't really mean a whole lot. Let's say there really was a riff between them. What's he going to do, come out and publicly state, "yeah, I hate Jim. I hope we get rid of him." No, of course not. He's going to say things are fine regardless of how the relationship really is behind the scenes. If you have to take what these guys are saying with a grain of salt.

On the other hand, journalists can literally make anything up, say they have anonymous sources and completely manufacture a story. We're sort of at their mercy in that regard. This is why you really can't put much stock into the offseason rumors.

My guess it that Baalke and Harbaugh are both competitive and get into spirited, intense arguments, but that there's mutual respect and that there isn't a real riff between them. The team has been too successful, too well-run to buy into the notion that these guys are operating in different stratospheres. I think they're fine.

Well stated. I agree with the last paragraph especially. We also need to remember that Harbaugh and the media don't exactly get along (from day 1). So if the media gets an opportunity IN THE OFF SEASON to stir up some controversy, they willl...it's gets attention, it gets readers, it gets discussions, etc.

Besides, if there was a BIG riff, Baalke would just fire Harbaugh...unless Jed decided to veto that move.

Originally posted by NCommand:
So if the media gets an opportunity IN THE OFF SEASON to stir up some controversy, they willl...it's gets attention, it gets readers, it gets discussions, etc.

It's really crazy how quickly a rumor can spiral out of control, especially in the internet age.

Recently, Pro Football Talk put out an article saying, "despite what Trent Baalke says, the 49ers are VERY INTERESTED in Desean Jackson." Now, given that Mike Florio is a complete hack, he probably made this up. After all, it's a slow news day and he needs to get traffic to his site.

Within hours of this being posted to his site, Sports Illustrated posted the same thing! "According to Pro Football Talk, the 49ers are 'very interested' in Desean Jackson." You see this type of crap all the time. One site posts it, and all of the other ones gobble it up. This is what separates the controversy trolls from the respectable sportswriters (Maiocco, Barrows, etc...) A lot of times, they just ignore those rumors completely; other times, if they do bother to acknowledge it, they're almost always grounded and shoot the rumor down and downplay the likelihood of anything happening.

Originally posted by theduke85:

Originally posted by NCommand:
So if the media gets an opportunity IN THE OFF SEASON to stir up some controversy, they willl...it's gets attention, it gets readers, it gets discussions, etc.

It's really crazy how quickly a rumor can spiral out of control, especially in the internet age.

Recently, Pro Football Talk put out an article saying, "despite what Trent Baalke says, the 49ers are VERY INTERESTED in Desean Jackson." Now, given that Mike Florio is a complete hack, he probably made this up. After all, it's a slow news day and he needs to get traffic to his site.

Within hours of this being posted to his site, Sports Illustrated posted the same thing! "According to Pro Football Talk, the 49ers are 'very interested' in Desean Jackson." You see this type of crap all the time. One site posts it, and all of the other ones gobble it up. This is what separates the controversy trolls from the respectable sportswriters (Maiocco, Barrows, etc...) A lot of times, they just ignore those rumors completely; other times, if they do bother to acknowledge it, they're almost always grounded and shoot the rumor down and downplay the likelihood of anything happening.

Spot on!!!!!

I agree. If their disagreements are positive for the team so be it. Its worked so far!

Originally posted by theduke85:

I'm not really sure what I believe.

Baalke coming out and saying, "Jim and I work well together" doesn't really mean a whole lot. Let's say there really was a riff between them. What's he going to do, come out and publicly state, "yeah, I hate Jim. I hope we get rid of him." No, of course not. He's going to say things are fine regardless of how the relationship really is behind the scenes. If you have to take what these guys are saying with a grain of salt.

On the other hand, journalists can literally make anything up, say they have anonymous sources and completely manufacture a story. We're sort of at their mercy in that regard. This is why you really can't put much stock into the offseason rumors.

My guess it that Baalke and Harbaugh are both competitive and get into spirited, intense arguments, but that there's mutual respect and that there isn't a real riff between them. The team has been too successful, too well-run to buy into the notion that these guys are operating in different stratospheres. I think they're fine.

I get what you're saying, but in this situation I'm more inclined to believe Baalke/Harbaugh because let's face it, Florio is concerned with page clicks and not whether there's any truth to his "stories."

This is hardly limited to the 49ers. Google about him, he posts all kinds of crazy 'ish and as far as I know, doesn't even bother to print retractions when he's wrong.

Originally posted by BadgerHawk:

I agree. If their disagreements are positive for the team so be it. Its worked so far!

I doubt they argue any more than every GM and coach in the league. Honestly, I found it odd that so many people think they're supposed to be best friends.

Think of every company you've ever worked for. How often have you seen the executive staff genuinely get along?

Originally posted by baltien:
I get what you're saying, but in this situation I'm more inclined to believe Baalke/Harbaugh because let's face it, Florio is concerned with page clicks and not whether there's any truth to his "stories."

This is hardly limited to the 49ers. Google about him, he posts all kinds of crazy 'ish and as far as I know, doesn't even bother to print retractions when he's wrong.

You can never be proven wrong when you cite "unnamed sources" and use non-concrete words like a team being "interested" or "inquiring". You had Baalke, York, and Harbaugh all go on record saying the reports were untrue about Harbaugh nearly being traded to Cleveland, yet Florio continued to bang on his unnamed sources drum and called all 3 of them liars.

Originally posted by theduke85:

I'm not really sure what I believe.

Baalke coming out and saying, "Jim and I work well together" doesn't really mean a whole lot.

Jed York spoke today. He thinks that there is and has been tension between Baalke and Harbaugh at time. He also clearly indicated that he thinks that they work well together and he does not think that this tension is a negative.

I got the very clear impression, a bit to my surprise, that Jed York is really the man in charge.

Originally posted by Disp:

You can never be proven wrong when you cite "unnamed sources" and use non-concrete words like a team being "interested" or "inquiring". You had Baalke, York, and Harbaugh all go on record saying the reports were untrue about Harbaugh nearly being traded to Cleveland, yet Florio continued to bang on his unnamed sources drum and called all 3 of them liars.

I figure at least one of his sources is Tim Kawakami. The harbaugh can't get along/looking for new job has been that guys narrative since Jim's first year here. I think it was just low hanging fruit for florio make niners look bad and continue to celebrate his man crush Pete Carroll and all things Seattle.

no one is even gonna remember this b******t by this time next year, cause Harbs and Kap will have new contracts and their facebook profiles will have pictures of them and Baalke holding a Lombardi together.

move along, folks, nothing to see here.