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Caveat Emperor · 11-12-2009, 01:32 PM

The simple truth is that unless the Reds increase payroll to around $90-$100m, the only chance they have of competing long-term is to keep churning the roster until they finally end up with a good group of young players all coming of age at the same time.

The issue isn't "Can the Reds afford Joey Votto?" because it's clear they can afford to carry a few (2 or 3, not the 6 or so they're currently sporting) big-time contracts and still meet their 60-70m payroll. The issue is "Can the Reds afford to miss out on the prospect haul that trading Votto would mean?" Competing on the cheap means sending top players out, bringing back a haul of prospects, and hoping that you turn 1 great player into 2 or 3 good, cheap players. The Reds have consistently missed this window of opportunity with their talent -- and the result is what you see now: a maxxed-out budget, multiple positions on the roster unaccounted for, and slow trickle of help from the farm.

That's the harsh reality of attempting to play ball with a payroll roughly 2/3 the size of what is necessary to compete.

11-12-2009, 01:32 PM	#11
Caveat Emperor Titanic Struggles Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The 513 Posts: 12,129	Re: Should the Reds sign Votto long term? The simple truth is that unless the Reds increase payroll to around $90-$100m, the only chance they have of competing long-term is to keep churning the roster until they finally end up with a good group of young players all coming of age at the same time. The issue isn't "Can the Reds afford Joey Votto?" because it's clear they can afford to carry a few (2 or 3, not the 6 or so they're currently sporting) big-time contracts and still meet their 60-70m payroll. The issue is "Can the Reds afford to miss out on the prospect haul that trading Votto would mean?" Competing on the cheap means sending top players out, bringing back a haul of prospects, and hoping that you turn 1 great player into 2 or 3 good, cheap players. The Reds have consistently missed this window of opportunity with their talent -- and the result is what you see now: a maxxed-out budget, multiple positions on the roster unaccounted for, and slow trickle of help from the farm. That's the harsh reality of attempting to play ball with a payroll roughly 2/3 the size of what is necessary to compete. __________________ Championships Matter. 22 Years and Counting... Last edited by Caveat Emperor; 11-12-2009 at 01:35 PM.