Official Winter Meetings Gameday Thread (Day 4)

[PowerBoater69]

If that's not the biggest defeatist quote I've ever read, I don't know what is.

Rizzo is running a team where both the president and manager have recently quit; he's doing the best he can working for an owner for whom winning is not worth risking profits.

[Vega]

Brewers to sign Alex Gonzalez according to MLB traderumors

They somehow found a downgrade from Yuniesky Betancourt. Impressive.

[Tyler Durden]

Woah.  Mac before he was big and juiced.

Looks juiced to me. 

[Rasta]

There's a name for that - it's called jealousy.

If the Marlins win even one ring, every single criticism of what they're doing becomes invalid.  If they don't win any rings, they gut the team and trade off as much payroll as they can, restocking their already rich farm system with even more talent like they've done every other year they didn't win a WS.  Meanwhile they will be laughing all the way to the bank no matter what happens.

The amount of insane jealousy from every imaginable angle is hilarious.

The Marlins farm system was rated #29 by Baseball America this spring.  They really need to restock it.  IMO they have to win a title.  I think part of the problem they have in drawing fans was the fire sale mentality from 97'.  Their strategy is only a good one if they win it all.  If they have serious problems and have to sell off that could be disastrous IMO.

[tomterp]

I can never tell when you're being sarcastic.

Oh, he's in top sarcasm mode today.

[HalfSmokes]

After reading Rizzo's comments I'm a believer, Strasburg, Zimmerman, and Wang healthy; Werth, Desmond, and Espinoza playing up to their potential, all of this adds up to 85+ wins without wasting money on free agents.  What are the odds that we get hit with injuries two years in a row?

pretty high- we get hit with them every year

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Didn't he admit to starting 'roids in '89?  I guess he wasn't on the equine dose escalation plan yet.

Woah.  Mac before he was big and juiced.

[wpa2629]

My goodness, McGwire.

WTF, that's McGwire?

OMG

[Tyler Durden]

Rizzo is running a team where both the president and manager have recently quit; he's doing the best he can working for an owner for whom winning is not worth risking profits.

Generally, I agree with this.  We have parameters within which Rizzo has to work.  Kilgore put it well, and pretty gently, when he said signing Fielder would require a shift in the mindset of ownership.

Sucks, but that's where it is.  At least he hasn't given up totally and is not signing retreads like the Pirates have been doing during the meetings.

[wpa2629]

The Marlins farm system was rated #29 by Baseball America this spring.  They really need to restock it.  IMO they have to win a title.  I think part of the problem they have in drawing fans was the fire sale mentality from 97'.  Their strategy is only a good one if they win it all.  If they have serious problems and have to sell off that could be disastrous IMO.

People in Miami could barely be bothered to watch Bosh, Wade and Lebron for 41 games, they're not going to go watch 81 baseball games. There are no fans in Miami

[HalfSmokes]

and is not signing retreads like the Pirates have been doing during the meetings.

give it a couple of months

[Ray D]

Because "too long didn't read" doesn't make grammatical sense.

Could be about Howie's illiterate brother, Too.

[houston-nat]

The semicolon is like the appendix.  Nobody's really sure what's it for anymore.  A vestigial remnant of a dead language once known as "proper English."

I HAZ A SAD

[hammondsnats]

this would be the greatest offseason ever if the Lerners stepped down and sold the team.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

JCA-CrystalCity

Posts: 8493
 Platoon - not just a movie, a baseball obsession

   Re: Free agent predictions (lock in your votes)
« Reply #26: November 29, 2011, 05:12:54 PM »Quote Modify Remove I sort of think the posting system is a good way to assert financial power, and while the bidding on Cespedes and Darvish will be heavy, the Nats will be content to get the second best guys.  I also think that Wilson / Buehrle / Jackson will get too many years and $$ for the Nats to sensibly target. Those 3 have winners curse written in huge block letters all over them.  Oswalt will have seekers just because he is the only one who will sign short, and he's the most likely obtainable high level established MLB FA pitcher.   I don't think there is a US FA CF that is more interesting than Aoki, including Upton (assuming a non-tender).  Upton still leaves you looking for a leadoff hitter even if he works out.

That was my script and i'm sticking to it.   I can't get to bent out of shape by what has happened.  It is not ridiculous.  It was predictable.

[Lintyfresh85]

That was my script and i'm sticking to it.   I can't get to bent out of shape by what has happened.  It is not ridiculous.  It was predictable.

I didn't think it'd end up with a Nats exec telling the press that the Nats can't spend unless the Lerners change their mind on how to run a team.

[zimm_da_kid]

I didn't think it'd end up with a Nats exec telling the press that the Nats can't spend unless the Lerners change their mind on how to run a team.

THE LERNERS ARE freakING WITH US!

[MarquisDeSade]

It is not ridiculous.  It was predictable.

Incompetence or not competitive by design?

[hammondsnats]

I didn't think it'd end up with a Nats exec telling the press that the Nats can't spend unless the Lerners change their mind on how to run a team.

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.  always have been always will. 

[tomterp]

Incompetence or not competitive by design?

Certainly not competitive with any team that's getting north of $100m in TV revenue, as was mentioned with regards to the Angels.

Note too the Rangers got a big pop in revenue last year, and promptly began throwing it around.  Until the MASN contract gets reworked, get used to being beaten out by the nouveau riche.

[Lintyfresh85]

Certainly not competitive with any team that's getting north of $100m in TV revenue, as was mentioned with regards to the Angels.

Note too the Rangers got a big pop in revenue last year, and promptly began throwing it around.  Until the MASN contract gets reworked, get used to being beaten out by the nouveau riche.

So, we've got what, 25+ years to go?

[MarquisDeSade]

Until the MASN contract gets reworked, get used to being beaten out by the nouveau riche.

So, the sixth of never?  Also, did the Marlins land a giant TV deal while we were busy pounding the pud?

[Ray D]

Also, did the Marlins land a giant TV deal while we were busy pounding the pud?

Given the attendance at Marlins games I've seen on TV (often less than 2000, one game seemed like about 300) it's hard to imagine that there are more than 500 people watching them on TV for any given game.  How could anyone justify offering them a TV contract much less a "giant" one?   This all just doesn't add up.

[MarquisDeSade]

How could anyone justify offering them a TV contract much less a "giant" one?   This all just doesn't add up.

Certainly not competitive with any team that's getting north of $100m in TV revenue, as was mentioned with regards to the Angels.

Let's see, the Marlins just blew a bunch of money and, to my knowledge, don't have a TV contract like the Angels or Rangers.  See the disconnect?

[PowerBoater69]

Certainly not competitive with any team that's getting north of $100m in TV revenue, as was mentioned with regards to the Angels.

Note too the Rangers got a big pop in revenue last year, and promptly began throwing it around.  Until the MASN contract gets reworked, get used to being beaten out by the nouveau riche.

Mark Lerner famously stated that the family would not take any profits out of the team for ten years, so even without an ideal television deal Rizzo should have plenty of cash available.  But instead we get more double speak about how well the meetings went behind the scenes, like we're too stupid to figure out that it was a disaster