nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
$25M vs. $11M.
My point is that Justin plus a group of replacement level guys for 25M is better than Markakis, Bourn and Swisher for a larger price.
$25M vs. $11M.
The thing I dont understand about clearing money is that the free agent pool after 2016 looks really bad. Like the best available looks like Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, and Aroldis Chapman. Gomez might have been a big free agent but hip problems dont bode well for him or his next contract. This is why I think we have to strike in the 2016 offseason.
No, but adding 2 more OFers to the roster along with the additional $6.5M salary commitment seals the deal on adding a significant OFer this offseason.
Improve your logical deduction skills a bit more...
I think we'll end up trading for someone like Matt Kemp. So we'll have a combination of Kemp and Markakis manning the corner outfield. It will be interesting to see what the price is (in terms of what we give up in such a trade and how much of Kemp or some similar player's salary we pay).
My point is that Justin plus a group of replacement level guys for 25M is better than Markakis, Bourn and Swisher for a larger price.
I didn't act like everything was OK. I literally said he needs to move to LF, and that I assume his power will return next year.
Seriously, what the **** else do you expect to get for $11M per year? It's not like the Braves have ANYONE else in the system to play in the OF. Markakis isn't an allstar, but you folks bring him up in literally every thread about 2016 and beyond as if he is some albatross contract that is preventing the team from promoting a top OF prospect, or signing a top tier FA.
Guess what? There isn't a single corner OFer that will be ready by the time Markakis is gone, and even if the Braves had his $11M free they STILL wouldn't sign Heyward or Cespedes or Gordon or Upton. The Braves can afford one $20M+ guy, and that guy is Freddie Freeman. The rest of the roster will be built with young cost controlled players and mid-tier FAs. And that's exactly what Markakis was...a mid-tier FA that was signed to fill a position of extreme need.
I didn't act like everything was OK. I literally said he needs to move to LF, and that I assume his power will return next year.
Seriously, what the **** else do you expect to get for $11M per year? It's not like the Braves have ANYONE else in the system to play in the OF. Markakis isn't an allstar, but you folks bring him up in literally every thread about 2016 and beyond as if he is some albatross contract that is preventing the team from promoting a top OF prospect, or signing a top tier FA.
Guess what? There isn't a single corner OFer that will be ready by the time Markakis is gone, and even if the Braves had his $11M free they STILL wouldn't sign Heyward or Cespedes or Gordon or Upton. The Braves can afford one $20M+ guy, and that guy is Freddie Freeman. The rest of the roster will be built with young cost controlled players and mid-tier FAs. And that's exactly what Markakis was...a mid-tier FA that was signed to fill a position of extreme need.
A seven year deal would end in Justin's age 34 season. Markakis' deal ends in his age 34 season.
Again, JUp is going to sign for more than 7 years, and he is likely going to get an opt out clause. You aren't even comparing apples to oranges...you are comparing a Ferrari to a Camry.
You can try to rationalize it all you want, but Upton is in another universe when it comes to what the Braves can afford.
I think the point most are trying to make is when you pay market value for players. You pay less the better the player is. Heyward likely gets a 25 million per year deal and has consistantly been a 5-6 WAR player. At worst that would be $5 million per WAR. Right now we are paying Nick about 7.5 million per WAR. Sure, you can put all your eggs into one basket so to speak but paying league average prices for mediocity won't get your anywhere.
There are a lot of ways to spend a 100M budget. Lots. And quite a few of them allow for 2 players making 20M or more.
There are a lot of ways to spend a 100M budget. Lots. And quite a few of them allow for 2 players making 20M or more.
OK, then let's find a team that has won consistently with 2 guys taking up 50% of the payroll. I'll wait.
Cano and Hernandez for the Mariners take up 42%.
OK, then let's find a team that has won consistently with 2 guys taking up 50% of the payroll. I'll wait.
At the same time, you have to look at context, which in this instance size of payroll determines a ton. I didn't like the Markakis signing, but unless the payroll increases dramatically, could the Braves afford to be paying two guys 40% of their payroll? Granted, payroll is going to increase with the new stadium, but Wren gumming things up with a few bad contracts put the team in a bind. On top of that, they didn't have a stable of major-league ready prospects to slide into the line-up as replacement players.
You argue from an ideal position and your position is basically right. Teams with star players tend to win. But the bind in which the Braves found themselves didn't lend itself to easy solutions. I agree that the Markakis signing has probably made the medium-term more difficult to navigate (and I think he's a decent player but a terrible fit for us given what I've outlined above) without adding much to our performance, but unless the payroll was set to go north of $125 million (approximately the upper third of payrolls), it would have been difficult to sign either J. Upton or Heyward and have any semblance of a team. You need to put 8 guys on the field and have a competitive pitching staff. This isn't work-up.
Seems you forgot the "won consistently" part. Hell, or the "won at all" part.
I think the Ms have shown what not to do...
But sure, let's model the franchise after a team that just fired their GM and will finish with 90 losses!
Show me a team that constantly wins by having super low payrolls? The Braves have been around $100 million in payroll every year for over a decade now. That's a huge problem in and of itself. If they don't commit to getting with the times and increase payroll due to the constantly rising salaries then I don't think any of this matters. We will be living with a team that must constnatly churn out good prospects because they won't be able to keep anybody once they hit FA. You'll have teams like the Rays and A's that can do this for a few years at a time then they end up at bottom of the league for another 3-5 years while they restock.
If the Braves want to win consistently they need to increase their payroll and thus would be able to afford more than 1 guy making over 20 million.