Originally Posted by
redsof72
Why do you think it was the fault of the development system? What were they supposed to do with bad players...when they looked at their dugout and saw Mitch Trees and looked across at the other dugout and saw guys who looked like they were there because they could...you know, play?
I am not saying the development staff was perfect. One of the big problems, IMHO, has been lack of consistency in teaching philosophy from level to level. But generally, they have had good coaches. My opinion is that they have taken a big step backwards in that area in the last nine months but I hope I am wrong on that and there was no season to find out.
Believe me, guys like DeShields and Bolivar worked their butts off on a daily basis to try to make guys better. Fossas did wonders with Amir Garrett and he worked with every pitcher the same way. The coaches were the least of the problem. I would say they could have used better support in terms of direction and leadership. Sounds like I am defending one group while criticizing the other but that was the way it looked to me. You lost me when you said the failure of Buckley’s draft picks was an indictment of player development.