Almost like the FO realized that coming off an NL Title, depending on prospects to pitch and moving a 3+ win 3rd baseman off his position while neglecting the hole in the OF was in fact a dumb idea.
Coppy
I don't have a problem with Tomlin as a long reliever/mop up guy early in the season. The starters aren't likely to pitch very deep into games leading to a heavier pen workload. So when a starter lays an egg and leaves in the third, we need someone to save the pen and give us innings. I don't want any of the young starters in that role. They need to be starting somewhere. So bringing in a guy like Tomlin for that role is perfectly reasonable.
jpx7 (03-21-2019)
I think the front office honestly believed last year was caused by health reasons and Duvall would bounce back big in 19. I think they were planning on him returning to his lefty mashing form. It makes sense considering the rest of the offseason. The FO was open to upgrading the OF but all reports were that they were focused on other things. I think their plan was to re-sign Markakis if nothing dropped in their lap and then use a rotation of Inciarte, Markakis, and Duvall. Duvall would play against every lefty with Inciarte and Markakis rotating out.
If Duvall was going to return to form, that wouldn't be a bad idea. The problem is that the FO was fooling itself with Duvall. Believing Duvall was going to return to form was convenient for the FO as it means they didn't make a mistake trading for him. There was a bias at play there.
The money invested in Duvall is annoying and more than we need to be just wasting but the bigger problem is the opportunity cost. The belief that Duvall was going to return to form took the urgency out of upgrading the OF. Now we're looking at starting the season with big hole in the lineup, especially against lefties.
Making decisions on assumptions gets you fired. You better prepare for the what else could happen. Assuming dufail would revert to old self was a huge misstep and a clear fail. He has always been a big swing and miss guy and those players don’t age well. Another option should have been brought in.
Coppy
I hate to break it to you guys. Muk and Ender will play almost every game with the exception of now and then. Now and then...Culberson and Duvall (or whoever Duvall is replaced with), won’t really matter, because it will literally amount to a few games a month. Pache will be taking over next year the way it’s looking.
We are not going to make a big trade. There isn’t going to be a big signing. Maybe someone is cut and we cut Duvall and add them, but that will probably be more about saving money than actually improving over Duvall.
I’m fine with the Duvall trade btw. It was a low cost, high reward deal...it just hasn’t worked out.
I think assuming Camargo is going to continue to be a 3+ win guy at 3rd is a dumb idea.
Both Camargo and Neck are projected to be similar hitters in 2019. JD is a bigger upgrade than whatever they could get in the OF to replace Neck. Also ignores that Camargo in a super utility role helps the bench as well.
jpx7 (03-21-2019)
I've probably *itched about not upgrading the OF as much as anyone, but we're assuming a lot when we say Duvall was a significant part of "the plan" all along.
Granted, we don't have any evidence that he couldn't very well have been - IF everything went great and he bounced back - but we also don't really have evidence that they weren't just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best while being fully committed to using Camargo and/or Riley out there if Duvall's spring went like it has.
They weren't comfortable with the Brantley/McCutchen price tags for whatever reason, and didn't like the asking price on the trade market - it really didn't cost much to give him a look during camp to make sure he's truly "done" since he'd potentially help a ton if he wasn't...as long as they got Riley and Camargo enough reps on the grass to feel comfortable with them out there if/when needed.
Last edited by clvclv; 03-21-2019 at 09:22 AM.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?