deward

I voted to trade Hays; he isn't likely to have much more value than whatever he has right now, and I just have a hunch that he isn't going to age well. If he can get you a solid reliever, or some lower level pitching prospects, then that seems optimal to me. It's all variable though, if there's a trade out there for Cowser that's just too good to pass up, then of course you do whatever makes the most sense in the big picture.

I don't really get the patronizing tone of this reaction (and a few others like it that I've been seeing lately). I took the original post as an observation, not a lamentation; he literally ended it by saying it was a positive development. It's ok to want a strong big league roster AND a deep farm system. And it's ok to point out areas where the minor league depth is now thin. If you prefer to no longer think about the minor league system now that the big league team is good, that's certainly your prerogative, but some of us enjoy this side of it too. I don't think that means anyone here is struggling to "accept that the results of the Major League team are much more of a priority".

Or it was just dumb.

Looking at how Brewers pitching has done in recent years, I'm guessing they're pretty good at scouting reports.

I never knew that about Mattingly, that's pretty cool. Looks like Mike Pagliarulo got hurt at the start of a series in Seattle, and rather than make a roster move the Yanks just threw Mattingly out there for the rest of the series. He handled a number of chances, with one error. Speaking of Pags, I'll always remember him being blazing hot after the O's picked him up for the last few weeks of the 93 stretch run, even though the team stumbled around him.

Did you happen to catch Cease in his only playoff start in 2021?

Some owners and front offices have different philosophical positions on how high a payroll they want to run, even if the money is there to support more. However, every team has a different upper limit of what their market can support before they start running into the red. A team like San Diego might be willing to spend above what their market can truly support for a few years because they had an owner who wanted to see a championship before he died, but it's not sustainable long term (which is why they had to trade Soto this past off-season). Rubenstein may well want to come in with a splash, we'll see, but I wouldn't be expecting him to want to run losses on the regular. We'll have to see what he's comfortable with over the long haul.

Wait, so us folks who have been following the team for 30+ years shouldn't be excited about this? Yeah, you're right, I hate clear and blatant attempts to win a title. If it's not done the hardest possible way, then it's not worth doing, right?

If the entire group stays healthy, then I think another starter is closer to nice-to-have than need-to-have. Injuries would quickly change the equation, of course. As I said, there are for sure moves that could be made to maximize this team's potential, but they're contenders as is.

One would hope.

I just want you to know that it is killing me not to go back on what I said about keeping my mouth shut on this topic.

It would be wonderful if he was willing to invest serious money in improving the product there. I get stuck watching NESN broadcasts whenever the O's play the Red Sox - I can't stand the Sox or most of their tv guys, but I have to admit that the production values are first rate. It would be great for MASN to get up to that standard. I'm generally hoping that all the corners that have been getting cut over the years (not televising ST games, not sending broadcast crews on the road, etc, etc) will be relics of the past now.

It does get harder and harder to avoid. Anyway, I probably shouldn't have said anything on here, just couldn't contain my annoyance at finding a small turd in the punchbowl. It's not like I can do anything about it, so I'll shut up.

I think you're putting too much emphasis on three bad games (and Bradish wasn't really that bad). I'd like them to get another starter, but I don't think not getting one means they're out of WS contention. Elias can make moves to improve the odds, but the base is already plenty strong, pitching included.

Politics.

I find being a fan to be more enjoyable when my favorite team isn't partially owned by someone that I actively loathe, that's all. YMMV

Bloomberg is involved? Yuck.

I don't see Adley, Gunnar, or Holliday doing anything this early. In Adley's case, I wouldn't want to anyway, I'd rather see how he holds up over the next couple of years. If there's an extension with any of them, I'd expect it to play out like Stephen Strasburg (another Boras client), where it's not done until the last year before free agency. It wouldn't be at a discount, but it would avoid open-market bidding. Depends on what the players want though. Basallo is a good idea, although I might wait until a few months in this year to offer that, just to see how it goes. I don't know if he's can't miss enough to extend without even seeing him in AAA. There's no rush.

At his age, I imagine there might be some sense of urgency to it as well.

I love Cal, and have long hoped he'd one day be involved in a group that would buy out Angelos, but I don't want him involved in day to day ops in anything other than a PR capacity.

Injustice is a strong word, but it would be fair for some of the players (I'm thinking here particularly of Stowers and Ortiz) to feel a little frustrated with their current lot in life. If you or I feel like we're being underpaid or not given the opportunities we desire at our current job, we always have the option of trying our luck elsewhere. Those guys can't (yet). It's easy for us to sit in our armchairs and debate the wisdom of allowing them to lose trade value as they age out of the "prospect" phase of their careers, but what they're actually losing is time and earnings that they can't get back (assuming they spend 2024 in Norfolk). I know it isn't Elias' job to worry about that, but there's no reason not to acknowledge the human impact of these decisions.

I don't recall if Boras pioneered this model or not, but offering first-class facilities and resources has become a selling point that big-time agencies use to recruit clients. It makes sense; the better you help a client become, the more career earnings to get a commission from.

I think it would be a good thing if he's feeling at least a little pressure to push this team over the top.

The process behind the Miller trade was completely sound. That team was a legit WS contender and Miller did everything he was supposed to do after he arrived. ERod was a stiff price to pay, and everyone knew it at the time, but Miller was in high demand and no one would have any complaints if that team had managed to finish the job. ERod would have been dealt during the 2018 fire sale, probably for a disappointing return.