Maybe Sandoval wasn't a Ben move. But none of the other moves between the 2014 deadline and 2015 Opening Day were very good either. If it was just Sandoval Ben might still be GM.
I was speaking in general terms about whether ANY team can have continuous contenders under the system as it is now. That's why I was pointing to Theo's Cubs.
It's my understanding that the FanGraphs dollar values are based on free agent salaries and WAR's. As a result the dollar values seem inflated. Right now it's something like $7 million per 1 WAR. It has a lot to do with how many free agents have been expensive busts.
It remains to be seen if it can continue to be done indefinitely. There have been changes that have been geared to create more and more parity.
The only possible advantages a team can have are money and smarts. We've got the money. We took a big hit in the smarts department when Theo left. I'm interested to see if he can keep the Cubs a contender for a long time, especially as his core of Bryant and Rizzo get more expensive.
The Yankees being big favorites might not be such a bad thing for us. When I said that about playing for the wild card it was when it looked like the Yankees were about to trade for Cole and it just felt like they were methodically assembling a sort of uber-team.
The other thing is I wouldn't feel horrible if we got the wild card spot. You can win it all from that spot. Missing the playoffs altogether would be a huge drag, that's for sure. I'll take any kind of shot at it.
But the patient approach doesn't guarantee anything either. If the playoffs truly are a crapshoot, there is no approach that guarantees a championship.
Hanley had a .988 OPS for July-August-September/16, .866 for the season. There's still upside there if he's healthy and in a groove. But he's a big question mark, needless to say.
If I do have a fear factor with the Yanks now it's their front office. Hal and Cashman seem to really have it together. And I can't believe how good their farm system got.
With JBJ, I'll go with what WAR says. In 2016 he was about a 5 WAR, so he was at All-Star level. In 2017 he was about a 2.5 WAR, so he was just a hair above average. He's a great defender but his bat was pretty horrible in 2017.
If money is no object, why did we sign Moreland instead of Santana or Hosmer?
I think you guys are just yanking my chain about this limitless budget thing...