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If Loria does this, gets the new stadium yet still acts cheap, I hope the national media kills him, and the MLBPA jumps all over him. I can't expect that DuPay and Selig will be happy either. I think a movement to get him out of baseball will begin at that time. All behind the scenes but it will happen.
presumptuous estimated payroll that Lou can more accurately predict:
What we have control over now:
Uggla: 10m
Hanley: 11m
Cody: 6m
Ricky: 5.5m
JJ: 7.75m
Leo: 4m
Anibal: 2.5m
Ronny: 2m
Veras: 1m
Hensley: 1m
Tank (Super 2): 750k
Badenhop (super 2): 1m
Luna (I think super 2): 750k
Let's just say cutting Veras, Luna, and Cody for sake of simplicity for now, we're looking at 45.5m for 10 players. So give the other 15 400k (6m) and we're sitting at a 51.5m payroll. Throw out a mil each on two bench bats (Which, lets face it, will be Helms and some lefty) and 1.5m to ohman/some lefty (Net gain of +2.3m to payroll), and you're looking at roughly a 54m payroll.
Rotation of JJ/Ricky/Anibal/Volstad/West with Sanabia in AAA with Hand and Poveda in AA, a should be improved offense because we don't have to deal with the "rookie adjustment" for Stanton and Morrison, and a should be improved bullpen if we retain ohman or someone like him and Badenhop remembers he's suppose to be cool coming out of the pen.
Really depends on what they do to improve the bench and the bullpen, and what we get from Stanton/Morrison/Maybin. We could easily have one of the best OF in all of baseball, and we could also easily have one of the worst. Coghlan and Gaby should at least give us OBP on the corners, and then we get major power from Uggla and Hanley in the middle. Still think we need a C though, I like Baker a lot more on the bench cuz of his defense and could be cool lefty PH late in games. But it's not a "problem" position.
It really does suck though looking at that Haren trade and wondering about something like Volstad/Olmos/one of Hand/James. We coulda fit him in payroll pretty easy.
I mean, what are they really looking at adding next offseason? Two bench bats and a veteran lefty (like Ohman)? They should add a set-up man too, if they don't want to have the but I have no faith they'll do that.
If they go for $55-60 they can probably field a damn good team, provided the money's allocated correctly. But if the payroll is closer to $50 then it's going to be just like this year, with a bargain basement bench and bullpen.
Well, what else is there to add? From a position player stand point we have our starting 8, our back up C, back up util (boni), and back up IF (Donnie). Just need a RH bat (Helms for a mil again) and a left handed bat (Who should play OF if we keep Donnie). At which point you're looking at throwing 1-2m at Willie Harris (I wantttttt him), Podsednik, Hinske, ect.
We really don't need another starter, because we'd be paying a ton for production we can get for minimum with how much SP costs on the market.
Then bullpen, we definitely need a lefty. There's Ohman, Rhodes (oh rhodes would be cool), Miller, ect. Looking at another 1-2m.
That alone only puts us in the 55m range
A set up man would be cool but I think it leans more towards luxury than need and I wouldn't want to spend anymore than 5m on one. The only 3 that a quick look at mlbtr that catch my attention are Saito, Putz, and Rauch. So it becomes a question does anyone over pay for any of them (Saito and Putz previously have CLOSER EXPERIENCE and Rauch was racking up saves).
That would be what pushes us towards 60 but I don't think it's the difference between being a good team and a mediocre team.
So to me it's like
50m = .500 team
55m = good team (fix bullpen and bench)
60m = better team (even more improved bullpen)
I certainly don't put to much stock in Frisaro and expect it to be around 55
If the FO doesn't add a set-up man in the offseason, they'll need everything to break right (i.e. Hensley keeps pitching well, one or two of the kids emerge) for the bullpen to be above average. If they do add a set-up man like Rauch or Saito, then the bullpen is already good, and if everything breaks right (Hensley's awesome in the 7th, someone like Marinez or Ceda emerges as another live arm who can throw the 7th) then they have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Add a set up man and up the payroll to $60 mil, and the bullpen is no longer is a worry. Fail to add a set up man, and the FO is still gambling with the "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" strategy of constructing a bullpen.
I expect they'll just add a lefty or keep Ohman, and wait until the deadline next year to see if they need a set-up guy. But that's probably going to cost them a few games in the meantime, and it will cost them more in terms of prospects v. money than it would if they added a set-up guy next offseason.
If recent history suggests anything, we'll let Ohman walk, then try to trade for him in season and end up settling on another barely average arm we've been linked to in the past.
I hate our offseasons, even when we were trying we had no idea how to put together a 'pen.
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