Via Craig Calcaterra at Hardball Talk, I came across a terrific project by Mark Armour and Dan Levitt, who are ranking the top 25 general managers of all time, in conjunction with their upcoming book "In Pursuit of Pennants," which examines various winning teams in baseball history and how they were assembled.

To my knowledge, nobody has ever attempted to rank or analyze general managers on a historical level. As Mark and Dan write, "Because of the disparity in resources and opportunities available among the various front offices over the years, and the evolving nature of the job itself, evaluating general managers is largely a subjective exercise."

But a fun one. They're up to No. 15 on their list -- current Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who made his biggest marks during 13 years running the Cardinals, reaching two World Series (winning one) and six National League Championship Series. No. 16 on the list was Theo Epstein and No. 17 Dan Duquette.

Who is No. 1? The authors of have been adding a new post every day or so, so we'll keep checking their site for updates. But it's probably not Woody Woodward.