“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
You may well be right that the club has some cash, but I think this off season is going to be very interesting. Given the recent economic calamaties, I think clubs are being hesitant trying to watch their cash, particular with credit markets still seeming to be seized. Clubs are in uncharted territory and proceeding cautiously may well be the rule of the day. I can't say that I'd argue with that. Clearly, I have no inside knowledge of what lines of credit the Reds may have or what their cash reserves are, but prudence (unfortunately for us as fans) may well be the proper movement at this moment.
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things.
The Baseball Bookstore
http://tsc-sales.com/
http://tscsales.blogspot.com/
http://silverscreenbooks.com/
The Rays are going to be good for a while.Seriously, any team can get good for a season.
What the Rays have is a process that begin with conscious decisions made by a FO assembled with purpose.
Haggle about what to label it till the sun burns out..... but distilling the Rays down to "just suck long enough and anyone can win" is a shallow view that frankly is silly on the face of it.
As a logical extension, I guess the Reds problem has been that they have sucked at sucking.
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
Thank you. I'd be disappointed if they weren't looking for bullpen help. You've lost Affeldt and may lose Weathers and Lincoln. Those are three of your top six relievers. You'd better be looking for bullpen help.
Believe it or not, Walt Jocketty is capable of thinking about more than one thing at a time. So while he is rightly thinking about the bullpen, I think it's clear he's also thinking about CF, LF and other holes on this team.
Must we overreact to everything?
You are seriously overlooking the term "player development," something the Reds have failed at miserably for as long as I can remember (especially regarding pitchers).
Sure, TB having great positions in the draft doesn't hurt, but just because you draft a player that projects well doesn't mean squat. Homer Bailey anyone?
Based on your theory, unless we can land a legitimate lead off hitter, and actual SS, a CF and a catcher (presumably at the same time), you don't make those moves.
You improve the team one move at a time.
Just beciase SS is probably our greatest need, doesn't mean you do nothing until that problem is solved. There may not be a reasonable solution to that problem this year. So you improve the team any way you can.
Otherwise, you will never be close enough to being a contender to make that final move.
I don't know why some get up in arms when the Rays "plan" gets knocked. Having the lowest payroll in the game for years to ensure you finish dead last, having year after year of top 1-2 or 3 picks in the draft and finally stumbling on a winning team doesn't seem all that great. Yeah, they'll be pretty good for awhile - until these kids hit arb and they start trading them off. I'm not convinced this past season was the result of a long thought out plan as much as just doing a good job scouting for the draft. To me, that's the diff between the Rays and teams like the Reds or Royals or Pirates. The Rays did a really good job drafting guys while the Reds were picking Howington & Gruler, picking Kearns who busted, punting Sowers and picking Stubbs over Lincecum. The plan I do see happening is the Rays attempt to lock in some of these kids now to save money in the long haul so maybe there is a plan to try and keep their core together for a while. I'll give them credit for that - but not so much for any grand master plan that brought them to this point.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |