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Post by huntington fan on Oct 27, 2008 13:37:35 GMT -5
I'm not sure how trading is buying. If you make smart deals like the Cubs have in the past few years, you only improve your team. Aramis Ramirez for Jose Hernandez and spare parts... That was buying a player, and you know it. Pure salary dump engineered by Dave Littlefield, possibly the worst GM in the history of baseball. And now he works for what organization? Oh, yeah, the Cubs... You can talk about the brilliant GM all you want, but let's face it. Without the ability to pay the big salaries, Hendry would not be all that brilliant. There are only a few teams that can afford Peavy, and that's just the way baseball works these days. Tampa Bay's GM is much more accomplished - after all, that team is actually IN the World Series on the second lowest payroll in baseball. That's great GM work right there. Cubs? First round flameout team with a huge payroll. Just about any team, except the Yankees this year, should be able to get to the playoffs with that kind of payroll. Great GM? Nope. Just big bucks. OK, as you were, drinking the Cub Koolaid... ;D ;D ;D
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Post by huisrealgood on Oct 27, 2008 14:31:01 GMT -5
Well considering several teams with higher payrolls didn't even make the playoffs (Yankees, Tigers, Mets anyone?) I don't think you can say that having a high payroll = success. Hendry has made lots of solid moves, now the players just have to perform in the playoffs. As for the Rays... they'd better have some talent after having a pick in the top 3 for every draft for the past 10 years or so.
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Post by huntington fan on Oct 27, 2008 15:40:42 GMT -5
Just because the Tigers, Yankees, and Mets didn't make the playoffs does not make Hendry a genius. How does the Cubs' payroll stack up against the rest of the teams in the division they won, only to get swept in the playoffs? Fukudome was a great expenditure, for example.
The reality is this: without a lot of money to play with, Hendry would not have been able to make a lot of the moves you cite as great moves. The Tampa Bay people did it without spending that kind of money so far, and high draft picks can cost lots of money (if you look at their roster, some of their key players were not first round picks). Besides, the baseball draft is a lot tougher to work with than the other sports drafts, so drafting isn't nearly as helpful as being able to pony up money for already established major league players. Hendry has been able to do that. Not everyone can. For the payroll resources he has, I'd say Hendry has been about average.
As for Peavy, he'd be nice, but a lefthanded power bat would be nice, too, so the Cubs wouldn't be susceptible to strong righthanded pitching like they were against the Dodgers.
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Post by foresterfan on Oct 27, 2008 16:04:55 GMT -5
Tampa Bay is going to have to start spending some cash in the years to come if they expect to keep this team together.
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Post by huntington fan on Oct 27, 2008 18:45:25 GMT -5
They already signed Longoria, though, right? And Price is probably signed for the next few years. Not sure about Upton, Garza, etc. I think their plan is to keep the nucleus together and extend them while they're young. Then, when they hit their early 30s, they leave for the really big bucks with the big market teams, but by then you've built up enough depth in your system that you have replacements groomed and ready. That's the hope for smaller market teams, anyway, because you just don't have the luxury to pursue proven talent like Peavy or big ticket free agents.
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Post by huisrealgood on Oct 28, 2008 11:42:17 GMT -5
Upton, Longoria, Price and Baldelli are all high 1st rounders while Kazmir and Garza are other 1st rounders acquired by the Rays. Garza was traded for Delmon Young, another top pick. So hats off to the former Rays GM and the current Rays GM for drafting well. However, they have had the resources to build.
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Post by huntington fan on Oct 28, 2008 12:11:05 GMT -5
However, they have had the resources to build. Nowhere near the resources of the Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and other big market teams. It's a lot tougher to do it the way they do it than to buy or trade for established players like Jake Peavy. What teams actually have a chance to sign Sabathia or trade for Peavy? Only a few. That says an awful lot about baseball's financial structure. It will stay that way until baseball goes to a hard cap, but right now the players' union prefers the current situation, which is understandable. So do the wealthy teams. As long as teams like Tampa Bay or Milwaukee make the occasional breakthrough to the playoffs, MLB can continue as is. But the economic realities mean that the small market teams only rarely make the playoffs, whereas the big market teams are normally in the hunt, year in and year out. The competence of a GM is only a minor factor for the wealthy teams.
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Post by huisrealgood on Oct 28, 2008 12:32:51 GMT -5
No they don't have the money. They have trading pieces though. With teams like the Rays, GM's have to be more creative than the haves of the world. I'm not denying that. I'm just saying any team in baseball should be able to do exactly what the Rays have. They were in a seemingly impossible division to break through, with an unknown manager (who has turned out to be a great fit), and an extremely young roster. Yet they're in the World Series.
Obviously the odds are stacked in the teams with money's favor, but teams like the Twins and the A's have shown its possible to still compete consistently without those funds.
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Post by Kyle Feller on Oct 28, 2008 18:43:21 GMT -5
HIRG,
I saw Wrigley today from the sky...(I had a connecting flight at Ohare).
It looked about right for this time of year......EMPTY.
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Post by QuietCop on Oct 28, 2008 22:50:43 GMT -5
Thats kinda funny. Sorry HIRG.
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Post by WereAUniversity on Oct 28, 2008 23:02:38 GMT -5
and the great american ball park was what? BUZZING with excitement?
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Post by Kyle Feller on Oct 29, 2008 7:43:55 GMT -5
I didn't fly over it.....so I'm not sure.
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Post by huntington fan on Oct 29, 2008 9:43:22 GMT -5
At this rate both parks will be open for business before the World Series concludes...
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Post by huisrealgood on Oct 29, 2008 14:39:21 GMT -5
Wrigley Field will be busy January 1st...
There is an outdoor hockey game scheduled between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings. If it wasn't primetime for college bowls, I might actually watch!
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Post by WereAUniversity on Oct 29, 2008 22:00:18 GMT -5
..... which i will be in attendance for.
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