12-14-2012, 11:00 PM
Nystul,
The problem is, Teams like the Rays, The Reds, and the Brewers, are showing that it is entirely possible to pay for, and retain a core group of talent. They'll never be able to keep James Shields, CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder (the detroit deal has me head scratching), etc... who will command record contracts.
I'm ok with that. But, you have a "next level" of "superstars", guys who command mid to high teens money per year, and they are proving that they can afford 1-2 of them, and a few that are in the high singles to low teens money, and boom! You have a core of strong solid players that you can build a team around, and be competitive.
I think the part that has consistently baffled me, isn't the loss of CC by the Tribe. I don't think anyone expected them to be able to afford him realistically. But the loss of Victor Martinez level players who didn't move on to sign massive deals, but were deemed too "expensive", while retaining players who have a track record of injury: Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, etc... and paying way too much for "not good" players, like Ubaldo Jimenez, Casey Kotchman.
I look at the trades and signing made by the Indians over the past week, and I'm absolutely baffled. Mark Reynolds, is a mediocre defensive First Baseman who can hit Home Runs, but Strikes Out WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much (he led the league in '11), while trading for Drew Stubbs, a gifted defensive CF (oh wait... we have one of those in Michael Brantley), who also strikes out WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much (He led HIS league in K's in '11 as well), all so we could go after a prospect pitcher, and downgrade our bullpen.
Looking at the prospective lineup for the Indians in '13 looks like this:
C - Carlos Santana - .247 Career BA, .252 last year
1b - Mark Reynolds - .235 Career BA, .221 Last year
2b - Jason Kipnis - .257 BA Last Year as RC
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera - .279 Career BA .270 Last Year
3b - Lonnie Chisenhall - .268 BA Last Year in Limited Action
RF - Michael Brantley - .274 Career BA - .288 Last year
CF - Drew Stubbs - .241 Career BA .214 Last year
LF - Shelly Duncan - .229 Career BA .203 Last Year
DH - ?
I just... Don't even begin to understand how this is supposed to be a lineup that exudes confidence from fans? How are we supposed to get excited for a team with a composite .BA of .250 with a .310 OBP .430 slugging, and .680 OPS? Ugh. it's just frustrating.
The problem is, Teams like the Rays, The Reds, and the Brewers, are showing that it is entirely possible to pay for, and retain a core group of talent. They'll never be able to keep James Shields, CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder (the detroit deal has me head scratching), etc... who will command record contracts.
I'm ok with that. But, you have a "next level" of "superstars", guys who command mid to high teens money per year, and they are proving that they can afford 1-2 of them, and a few that are in the high singles to low teens money, and boom! You have a core of strong solid players that you can build a team around, and be competitive.
I think the part that has consistently baffled me, isn't the loss of CC by the Tribe. I don't think anyone expected them to be able to afford him realistically. But the loss of Victor Martinez level players who didn't move on to sign massive deals, but were deemed too "expensive", while retaining players who have a track record of injury: Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, etc... and paying way too much for "not good" players, like Ubaldo Jimenez, Casey Kotchman.
I look at the trades and signing made by the Indians over the past week, and I'm absolutely baffled. Mark Reynolds, is a mediocre defensive First Baseman who can hit Home Runs, but Strikes Out WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much (he led the league in '11), while trading for Drew Stubbs, a gifted defensive CF (oh wait... we have one of those in Michael Brantley), who also strikes out WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much (He led HIS league in K's in '11 as well), all so we could go after a prospect pitcher, and downgrade our bullpen.
Looking at the prospective lineup for the Indians in '13 looks like this:
C - Carlos Santana - .247 Career BA, .252 last year
1b - Mark Reynolds - .235 Career BA, .221 Last year
2b - Jason Kipnis - .257 BA Last Year as RC
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera - .279 Career BA .270 Last Year
3b - Lonnie Chisenhall - .268 BA Last Year in Limited Action
RF - Michael Brantley - .274 Career BA - .288 Last year
CF - Drew Stubbs - .241 Career BA .214 Last year
LF - Shelly Duncan - .229 Career BA .203 Last Year
DH - ?
I just... Don't even begin to understand how this is supposed to be a lineup that exudes confidence from fans? How are we supposed to get excited for a team with a composite .BA of .250 with a .310 OBP .430 slugging, and .680 OPS? Ugh. it's just frustrating.
nobody ever slaughtered an entire school with a smart phone and a twitter account – they have, however, toppled governments. - Jim Wright