moonslav59

NCAA Rankings going into conference championship weekend: 1. Georgia 12-0 (vs. LSU) 2. Michigan 12-0 (vs Purdue) 3. TCU 12-0 (vs Kansas St.) 4. USC 11-1 (vs Utah Friday Night) 5. Ohio St 11-1 6. Alabama 10-2 7. Tennessee 10-2 8. Penn St. 10-2 9. Clemson 10-2 (vs North Carolina) 10. Kansas St. 9-3 11. Utah 9-3 (@ USC Friday Night) 12. Washington 10-2 13. Florida St. 9-3 14. LSU 9-3 15. Oregon St. 9-3 16. Oregon 9-3 17. UCLA 9-3 18. Tulane 10-2 19. South Carolina 8-4 20. Texas 8-4 21. Notre Dame 8-4

So... the media.

Good to know. I see he's 10th out of 37 SSs in DRS since 2018 but 18th in UZR/150. Story is 3rd and 8th. Bogey is 31st and 11th.

Actually, it did need to be repeated many times for some to "get it."

Note: Sports Talks Shows are considered media.

Since the JD signing, our biggest signing was in March or 2022: Story. If you count Sale and Bogey's extensions, the window shortens, but they were extended in 2019. From after 2019 to March 2022, there has been only one deal signed for 3 or more years (Story.) That's a timeframe from Nov 2019 to March 2022. Count it as 2 seasons with nothing major. 2007 $14M x 5 JD Drew $13M x 4 Papi $10M x Beckett $9M x 4 Lugo $8M x 6 Dice K (plus $52M posting fee) 2009 $10M x 4 Youk $7M x 6 Pedey $6M x 5 Lester 2010 $17M x 5 Lackey 2011 $20M x 7 Crawford $17M x 4 Beckett 2012 $22M x 7 AGon $7M x 4 Buch 2013 $13M x 3 Vic 2014 $13M x 8 Pedey $10M x 7 Castillo 2015 $22M x 4 HRam $21M x 4 Porcello $19M x 5 Pablito 2016 $31M x 7 Price $11M x 2 Kimbrel (traded for last 2 yrs of 4 yr deal) 2017 (traded for Sale $7M 2017, $12.5M 2018, $15M 2019) 2018 $22M x 5 JD 2019 $17M x 4 Nate 2020 (extended before Bloom) $25.6 x 5 Sale $20M x 3 Bogey (opt out) none after 2019 season 2021 None 2022 $23M x 6 Story (I may have missed a big signing or extension.)

When you look at new spending vs salary lost to trades, free agency or retirement, the net has been very low, until the Story signing. The total budget ranking is misleading when we are talking about Bloom's spending. Now, a $40M AAV winter spending budget (like in 2020 and 2021) is not a small amount, but when you factor in losing and needing to replace some key players and their salaries, $40M was woefully inadequate to just replace who we had, in kind, let alone improve on the 2019 team. $31M Price (we lost $15M via trade) $29M Betts 2020 arb salary $20.6 Porcello $13.8 Pedey out hurt but still paying him (until 2021) $6 Pearce, $5 Nunez Had he just kept Betts and Price, that's the full $40M winter spending budget, right there. No money to replace Porcello or the 8-10 other holes in the roster. (Then, Price would opt out of 2020 and give the team nothing, except some unexpected salary relief.) Plus, Bloom was handed salary increases of Sale $15>$25.6 and Bogey $12M>$20M from DD extensions. Sure, if we had a healthy Sale and ERod in 2020, we probably don't finish in last, but the team had serious issues.

I've given my top Bogey offer ($160M/6 or $180M/7.) I'd try to get Swanson at $140M/6 or $160M/7, but I don't know enough about his defense to be sure about that. Yes, I'd prefer to lose the draft pick and sign Nimmo at the overpay of $110M/5 than Contreras at $84M/4, It's about the same tax hit. I don't think Contreras is the plus on D some might think he is. He'll probably be a DH in a year or two.

Not me. My point was, if we do, and I think we should plus at min 2 solid RP'ers (maybe one if we move Whitlock to the pen), I don't see room for Paxton on the 26, even as a pen arm. 13 pitchers 1. Sale 2. _SP___ 3. _SP___ 4. Whitlock 5. Bello 6. Pivetta 7. _RP__ 8. Houck 9. Schreiber 10. Barnes 11. Joely 12. Brasier (I'd DFA him, but I doubt we do. Bloom might not add 4 pitchers just so he can keep Brasier!) 13. Crawford/Winckowski/Taylor/Kelly/Paxton/Mata

I guess, if Jose Abreu gets $19.5M x 3, Contreras is worth $100M/4, but I think we need to fill our biggest need areas first, and unless our budget is over $110M, which I doubt it is, I'd pass on Contreras ar even $84M/4.

I don't want Vaz back, either.

That's almost 25% of our winter spending budget on a position maybe 5th or 6th on the highest need area list. I can see thinking going light at SS as we wait for Mayer. I can see going light in the OF as we wait for Rafaela, but Kike's time runs out after 2023, so I don't think we can skimp there. We lost Nate, Wacha and Hill from a rotation that was already weak. That has to be a higher priority for at least one slot. (I'd say two.) Our pen has at least two slots, including close or top set-up man that are higher needs than catcher. I rank our needs as such: 1. Pitcher (SP or solid RP) 2. Pitcher (RP or SP) 3. SS 4. RF 5. Pitcher 6. Catcher 7. Pitcher (maybe #6) 8. DH

Because they still haven't figured it out.

We were talking about losing Porcello and Price. That's 2019 to 2020. I'm also not sure where you got the $203M number for 2019. cots has $236M opening day, $228M end of season and $244 Tax budget. 2020: $185 on the tax budget. Yes, by March of 2022 we got back to close to the 2019 tax budget, which included non Bloom contracts (tax dollars): 25.6 Sale 22.0 JD 20.0 Bogey 17.0 Nate 16.0 Price That's over $100M out of $235 spent on players. Some gave us value- sometimes in up and down years: some not so much value. Do you really think Bloom's hand weren't tied for at least the first 2 years? With a farm full of just far away prospects and actual cuts to the budget, Bloom should have improved on the 2019 team? I get the 2022 argument and figuring injuries are part of the game and planning, but the expectations many set on Bloom from day one were way out of whack, IMO.

I'd rather add 2 SP'ers and make room for 2 solid RP'ers on the 26. Sure, if Paxton goes on the 60, he'll clear a spot on the 40, but it's almost like we'd need to plan for that to add the 3-4 pitchers we need.

1. Emphatically no, when your budget is cut. 2. Yes, he was handed a team headed into a COVID season, but the whole Covid thing was added after my point about him being in decline and fragile.

1. Porcello's team control was up, so why mention him? 2. Price was in decline and spending too much time on the IL to expect a bounce-back. Then he opted out of the 2020 season, anyway.

Like that proves Bloom could have spent $10, $20 or $30M more?

I know that's why. I hear it here 18 times a day. Doesn't make it fair, especially when you add the context of us playing in the toughest division, by far.

Maybe at $5-7M, like last winter?

When you see what sketchy SP'ers have been signing for, I'm not so sure it's reach, and it's not like I was saying we'd get anything back, except maybe salary relief or we pay his salary and get a far away prospect that frees up a roster slot.

All good points, MVP.

On paper, yes, but we all know how Sale has done off paper. I wonder, if trading Paxton is being discussed.

This is the part I think is unfair to Bloom. No GM in the last 3 or 4 have been handed a farm that added only one semi-key player in 5 years, 3 tight winter budgets in a row with too many open holes on the 40 to possibly fill with high quality players, while having to start your time as GM by trading away your best player (Betts) and up to that point, a solid SP'er (Price.) I get why success leads to higher expectations, but within the context of what Bloom was handed, was a ring within 3 years even close to a realistic goal? 2018 was so spectacular, and some of the core of that team was still around when Bloom took over, but the 2019 team sans Betts and Price was more of a hint at what Bloom was handed than 2018.

I don't think I need to say it again, and I never have said he "decimated it" like other said. DD actually did better with the farm than I thought, but because he dealt away all but Devers of the ML ready or near ML ready prospects, going 5 years with just Houck is an insurmountable obstacle, alone, for any GM to be given high expectations to. Add the budget constraints and the forced trade of our best player, I think this speaks for itself, but obviously not to many, here.