moonslav59

There is no ifs, ands or buts about us committing $650M since March 2022.

Laugh all you want, but please explain how #14 is "small market." We spend about as much as the bottom 3 teams combined. We spend more than any two of the bottom 6 teams combined. We spend 50% more than any of the bottom 10 teams. Argue mid tier, if you wish. Hahahahahaha.

The Story injury put the kibosh on the SS position, and with Mayer in the wings, I can understand why they did not sign a SS longterm. The rotation neglect is puzzling.

As much as I'd love to get Ohtani, I'm not so sure it would be a great thing for the team's long term success, if the plan is to reset every 2-3 years. The Ohtani + Devers deals will greatly impair our ability to stock the rest of the team with significant or moderate signings. We would be fully dependant on our farm. If the player salary budget is near $210M, and Ohtani+Devers = $70M, that is a huge percentage on just 2 guys. I think we will choose to spread the spending around more, especially in light of the Devers extension. Just my opinion.

Agree that we "could" sign him, if henry wanted to do so, but I doubt we do. I just hope we find a way to add an ace (or two.) We need, at minimum, two solid #2's.

If Yoshida and Ohtani were best friends, maybe we'd have a shot, but I don't see it. Maybe we focus on Urias or Nola.

They'd still be in 4th place, but your point is well-taken. However, in just one day, that could fall to 3 games (or rise to 17 games.)

One main reason we have dropped from the top 5, is the massive increases by the Mets and Padres. I'm not sure the new bar set by those two teams should be used to say henry has gone cheap. He did go cheap, starting in 2019, but that is not something new. What's new is going 3 years being cheap.

I think we will be top 5 in 2024, and stay top 5-7 for a while. We may reset after 2-3 years, but if we are close to a ring in year 3-4, maybe not. It's just my opinion, but cycling big spending has been henry's m.o., so I'm not sure why so many are so convinced, he's turned into a mizer for life.

Where have I ever come close to even implying this is a "win?" I'm just pointing out, that since the Story signing, we are not acting like a small market team. All big market teams, except the Mets, re-set the tax every 2-3 years. We got so far behind, starting in 2019 (not 2020), that we were acting like a small market team. We aren't anymore. That position certainly has merit, whether you agree or not. And, for your information, no I don't think it's a "win." I expected us to spend up to the line, this year and more on the rotation. I realize skyrocketing salaries affected who I thought we might be able to sign for the winter budget we had, but we still focused too much of what we did spend on offense and not pitching & defense. I like most of the deals we made, but the overall focus was off. How is keeping Devers letting "every franchise player leave?" We lost 2 of 3 and signed Story, instead of Bogey. Again, YES we acted like a small market team from 2019 to the Story signing. That's about 3 calendar years. That's the longest stretch Henry did this, but he did have 1-2 year stretches before. We are spending bigly, again. You can ignore the Devers signing, if you want, but it is real.

The short answer: they are not thinking 2023 is "the year." The bigger question is about why didn't they reset, last year. If the plan is to go big starting in 2024, it makes sense to have 2024 be the year one lux tax hit. I was hoping we'd "go for it," this year, but it seems like that idea keeps being pushed back, or was secretly always 2024 or later.

He committed to spending $650M starting with the Story signing. That is huge. That is way more than 2/3 of the teams. It is more than probably 24-25 teams. YES!

SPOTRAC has us 14th, but... We have only $2.9M in "buried contracts." We have just $5.6M in "retained." For actual 26 man payroll, we are still 14th, but with $43M on the IL, we will move way up once Story, Duvall, paxton and Mondesi join the 26. In overall salary, they have us at $178M. $4M from #13 CHC $6M from CWS & SFG If we spend at the deadline, we could be #11, which is nearly top tier (top 1/3)

We spent $650M since March 2022- just not on SP'ers. (I think, only $14M of that on Kluber and Paxton.) We misplaced our priorities, again.

We are middle of the pack, because we slashed the budget in 2020 and barely replaced what we lost until the Story signing. The devers contract has not kicked in, but it does count as spending hugely, right? I look at new spending vs outgoing contracts. When you look at 2019>2020, with the loss of Betts, 1/2 Price and Porcello, it took us to the Story signing to get back to even. Since the Story signing, we have been a big market spender. That was my point. If we spend like March 2022 to February 2013, again next winter and add the Devers contract, we will be top 3-4, again.

I thought they'd sign Devers, too, but I was not as certain as you.

Well, the Price signing did break the record for largest FA contract for a SP'er back in 2016. Year before: Scherzer $210M/7 (2015) With inflation, I'm not sure you can call it a "market setter," but it did top Scherzer's deal. $126M B Zito 2007 $138M J Santana 2008 $161M Sabathia 2009 $180M Verlander 2013 $215M Kershaw 2014 $210M Scherzer 2015 $217M Price 2016 $245M Strasburg 2020 $324M Cole 2020

To me, signing a top 2-3 FA will happen, at some point, and maybe this coming winter, but the thing we might need more than that, and what I feel is a "longer shot," is to make a blockbuster trade for an ace or ace-to-be. It has been our signature trademark since acquiring Pedro, before Henry & Co. arrived. Adding Schilling, Beckett and Sale provided major pushes to subsequent ring seasons. Adding lesser guys like Porcello, Peavy & Nate via trades made a difference, too, but the blockbusters were needed, IMO. Yes, the Price and Lackey signings helped, too. Yes, the farm providing Lester and fodder for trades helped, too, but it was the trades that won us rings. No trade- No rings! Now, this doesn't mean it's the only way to build a ring-worthy rotation, but IMO, we will not be signing Ohtani. (That being said, the chances we trade Mayer or Casas/Rafaela/Bello are very slight, too.)

Glass half emptyism. A few lineshot outs hit a few feet to the left or right and we're 15-9. We've had our share of lucky wins, no doubt, but we've been snake-bitten as many games, if not more. We are 3-6 in one-run games. Make that 5-4 and we're ahead of the Yanks in the standings.

The worst part about what they did, last summer, was not even replacing what they lost, this winter. They have a solid base of young players who would greatly benefit from some solid veteran additions filling the gaps, but nope: total ownership apathy.

Yanks in 4th place- just 1.5 ahead of the "pathetic Sox." Like I said earlier, if we are as bad as you say we are, and you guys are just barely better than us, what does that make you?

I disagree. $314M/10 Devers $140M/6 Story $90M/5 Yoshida (plus posting fee) $32M/2 Jansen $22M/2 Turner $17M/2 Martin $10M/1 Kluber $10M/1 Kike $7M/1 Duvall How many MLB teams have spent more than this, since march 2022?

I'm not against that idea, and Pivetta is a solid #5, but we need to direct some resources at the rotation, at some point. I understand needing to give Sale a shot at having a significant role in the rotation, and that makes 5 One could argue Kluber was just insurance for Sale/Paxton, if this was "the view:" Whitlock Houck Bello Sale/Kluber/Paxton Pivetta (Mata, Walter and Murphy in the wings) But, where is the ace, or even the sure #2? I've been one to argue the money has not been there for Bloom to build a solid team from top to bottom, until just recently, and I still think that and the lack of farm infusion is the major reason we have struggled for 3+ years, but we've spent a lot of money since the march 2022 Story signing, and precious little has been on the rotation. In life, you get what you pay for, and we've paid squat. (BTW, I didn't even put the devers extension on my list of non-pitcher expenditures.)

Agreed, and for a team known for developing non pitchers on their farm, why have we stopped investing in the rotation, either with our largest contracts or via trade? Our largest signings: $140M/6 Story $90M/5 Yoshida $32M/2 Jansen $24M/3 Kike ($14M/2 + $10M/1) $22M/2 Turner $18M/2 Martin Even JBJ got paid more than Richards & Kluber.

When you spend no more than $10M/1 on a SP'er, you get what you pay for. $10M/1 Richards $10M/1 Kluber $11M/2 Perez $10M/2 Paxton $7M/1 Wacha $5M/1 Hill This is basically it, since the Sale extension under DD.