John Hickey’s latest touches on Bavasi’s continued incompetence.
Gems include
“We’re fast approaching the signpost when you don’t expend prospects in a trade,” Bavasi said.
Is he on three-month tape delay? That would explain a lot, actually.
“To feel right in expending prospects, we’re going to need contributions from our current group of players,” Bavasi said. “If we get back in the race, that’s when you could feel good about (moving) the prospects.”
Uh huh. So what Bavasi’s going to do is go into the clubhouse on July 30th and say
“Hey, guys, we’re out of the race, you all know it. How do you feel about trading some of our prospects to stop losing so many games?”
What do you think they’ll say? They’re super-competitive guys that don’t like losing and are naturally going to be more attached to the guys they know than some schmuck from AAA. They’d all say “yeah, go get us some help” even if that’s not in the long-term interest of the franchise.
Okay, maybe Boone, if he’s still there, might bust out his Hudson impression and ask Bavasi “How do I get out of this chicken-s*** outfit?”
This is exactly the kind of weak-willed stewardship that will keep this team from competing again in the near future. Bavasi doesn’t need to wring his hands and build momentum, hoping they’ll somehow pull respectability out of this lost season and save him his job. He needs to be courageous and do what has to be done to ensure the long-term health of the franchise. If he does a good job of it, he might be around to reap the benefits and look like he’s smart and adaptable.
Otherwise he’s only making things worse while postponing his execution and ensuring that our agony as fans will extend far past this season.
Gammons’ latest column gives us more reason to doubt Bavasi’s ability to pull off this rebuilding.
“Bill wants to wait and try to build some wins and momentum this year,” says one GM, noting that Bavasi wanted to see what happened at home this weekend, and what happened was a three-game sweep of the punchless Expos. “If Kenny Williams can’t shake the Mariners into the trade mode,” says another GM, “no one can.”
How do you even respond to that? We want to build up momentum so when the coaster flies off the tracks it goes farther before it hits the ground?
Garcia’s trade value is as high as it’s going to get: he’s pitching well, he’s perceived as the only available top-shelf starter on the market, there are teams that need just that, and the longer they get him for, the more benefit they’ll derive and thus, the more they’ll pay. Every time Freddy starts his trade value can only go down at this point if he falls apart.
What’s Bavasi thinking the upside is here? That teams will get more desperate closer to the trade deadline? As other teams fall out of contention, wouldn’t it be more likely that they’re presented with other options that meet their needs, likely at lower costs?
Paul sent in a link to show that the Reds-Indians thing is true.
Due to an increased work schedule for the next couple of weeks, prior commitments to my other non-paying job, and my first wedding photography assignment this Saturday, I’m way behind on stuff I’ve been wanting to do for USSM. The Future Forty will be updated again at the beginning of July, and will then resume the first of the month updating that you all have become used to. I’ll also post my annual “who to go see in Everett” preview, giving you some things to look for when you trek north to go see the Aquasox.
Speaking of the Frogs, I’ll be joining Pat Dillon again this year during select pregame shows, and we’ll fill you in on dates you can tune in and listen.
A quick note on the M’s before I go back to work; trade Ryan Franklin soon. His recent surge is going to breathe new life into his value, and a relatively inexpensive contract would make him marketable to teams without big payrolls.