In another series of moves, the complete makeover of the former Philadelphia Rebels (now the Arizona Rattlesnakes) continued, moves that drew sharp criticism from other GM's for implicitly devaluing this year's Draft.
Having previously moved his first four picks, Arizona GM Ronald Melkonian spent his fifth and seventh-round picks as well as part of deals with Worcester, Casselton and Pottsylvania. Condemnation was swift from veteran baseball men. Retiring St. Francis GM Jack McKeon explained, "It's an insult to those of us who comb the minors looking for future stars. There is plenty of talent waiting to be selected, with far more potential than the retreads that the guy in Arizona keeps collecting. The truth is, he's impatient and lazy. Every BARB organization is going to restock their farm system on Draft Day....except one. Every GM I talk to know the way to rebuild an organization is through the draft....what makes this guy, who has yet to win a single playoff series, right and the rest of us wrong? Thank God, I'm now retired and I don't have put up with this crap anymore."
A harsh assessment, and out of fairness let's put the deals under the microscope, where the details might blossom in Arizona's favor. In their deal with Casselton, the Snakes dealt minor-league 3B to reacquire veteran RHP Gavin Floyd, a solid mid-rotation starter still in his prime who has shuttled back-and-forth between Central Division teams the last few years: always valuable, always desirable, but never a major piece. Last year, Floyd appeared in 33 games with Casselton, including 22 starts, going 8-8 with a 4.92 ERA.
As Horned Toads GM Landon Bolt put it, "Gavin no longer had a place on our team, and we are interested in seeing what Josh can do." Melkonian dealt Vitters, explaining that "we have a surplus of third baseman, and decided to get help in other areas."
Yes....that surplus, which included big-name rookie 3B Mike Moustakas, only recently acquired from the Horned Toads, as well. Just two weeks ago, Melkonian was describing Moustakas as a future franchise cornerstone, but in a stunning twist, the Snakes dealt Moustakas, rookie 1B Justin Smoak, two pitching prospects (LHP Mike Montgomery and RHP Jarrod Parker) along with Arizona's fifth-round pick in this year's draft, all to the Worcester Eliminators....for a single player, ballyhooed 3B Brett Lawrie.
So, the hot corner is still definitely filled for Arizona, but at what price? Observers around the league were flabbergasted that a rebuilding team would cash in so many futures for a single player with only one plate appearance in his BARB career (a strikeout). As Worcester GM Matt Caskey put it: "Well, what can I say? I wanted 6-8 players for Lawrie, but I guess I'll settle for five. Smoak is serviceable and the rest are pretty good prospects. Lawrie's proven nothing and I'd rather take my chances hitting on one or two of the five than all or nothing on Lawrie. To be honest, Lawrie and Moustakas could be a wash, and having Parker, Montgomery, Smoak and a pick added in addition tilts this trade massively in my favor."
As expected, GM Melkonian is high on this deal, viewing Lawrie as "a young, developing superstar at the hot corner, one we deem as a great successor to our long-franchised player, Alex Rodriguez. He has all the tools to battle out Evan Longoria as the best third-baseman by year's end." There is more on the Arizona blog to justify this deal, but former Darwin executive "Rocky" Bridges was unequivocal in his condemnation, labeling it the worst he had ever seen.
"I can't believe this was approved, it is so incredibly one-sided," said the old scout, spitting sunflower seeds out of his mouth with evident distaste. "If just two of the players Worcester acquired become average big-league regulars, Lawrie would need to be a perennial All-Star for Arizona to break even....the odds are good, however, that Parker and Montgomery are going to be in a big-league rotation, that Smoak and Moustakas will be regulars as well, and that one or more of them are going to be All-Stars for years to come! So...the only way Arizona breaks even is if Lawrie wins multiple MVP's over the same stretch!" Bridges punctuated his final challenge with a flying seed: "C'mon! How likely is THAT?"
But the bloodbath of trading controversy was not over. In yet a third move, Arizona sent a pair of "Grade B" prospects (IF Tim Beckham and OF Blake Smith) along with their seventh-round pick to Pottsylvania for a pair of veterans making $19 million: LHP Mark Buehrle and 2B Aaron Hill. Here, at least, was some established value for the Snakes: Buehrle was 3-13 with a 5.53 ERA last year for the Creepers, but did rack up the innings, including some complete games. Hill hit .121 with 2 HR through mid-May and eventually was benched, but he has been the rare slugging second baseman in the past, and presumably could be so, again.
Pottsylvania GM Jeff Moore could care less, and was, in fact, delighted: "I traded essentially NOBODY for three players---seeing as I was going to cut both those guys, anyway, HA HA HA HA!" Moore did not mention that he was once again making a move with a divisional rival, and Arizona has yet to acknowledge how trading away picks makes them, for all effects and purpose, non-players on Draft Day.
Instead, GM Melkonian has identified his "core players who won't be traded." From his blog:
C- Matt Wieters
1B- Adrian Gonzalez
2B- Dustin Ackley
SS- Elvis Andrus
3B- Brett Lawrie
LF- Logan Morrison
CF- Colby Rasmus
RF- Jason Heyward
BARB founder Scott Hatfield could only shake his head ruefully. "What have I done? In my twenty seasons of shaping leagues like this, I could never imagine such an owner. Ron seemingly feels that he can build a club without the draft, and has gone on record as saying that the talent in the draft is far less than in the past. That means, apparently, that all the other owners who are attempting to position themselves for the draft and acquiring extra picks are dumb, and that the smart move is to divest one's team of draft picks to acquire young players who are already established."
5 comments:
First and foremost, please do not use pictures of me on the blog unless I grant permission (I took it down already). Because this site is public and not private, I would appreciate you coming to me first before posting.
Second, I don't really have to explain what I'm doing. A couple of GM's already understand what I'm doing with my starting eight. They question about my arms but they know where I'm going with them in time. Most people go into the draft trying to find players like these (young, upcoming studs with star power); all have a chance to be stars. Some have written them off, which I find ridiculous and I'll take advantage of this. Some have written off Heyward and Rasmus. Some Morrison. By the end of this year, I possibly could accomplish something every GM's tries to do in the draft; find young and upcoming talent to front their staff. I possibly might have accomplished this already. We will see come season's end how off or right I have been. For now, whatever others say is premature and baseless. It's sad some write off players like Heyward or Wieters because they didn't light the world on fire in their first year.
Third, I could care less about what others say, in regards to I'm impatience.. etc. I have done less trades and they have become more meaningful. Also last year, some of my big trades were seen as stupid. yeah, they only helped me go to the playoffs, so I was justified in them.
Fourth, the quality of players in the draft has been decreasing every year. No longer will you find that Strasburg, or Harper in the draft. There will always be prospects every year, but not so many high profile players like years before. I don't need picks to find this; I may have already found this in my starting eight.
I know I have spent much focus on this; how about other areas (arms)? Well the fact is we can only have 12 protected every year; I'm making sure I can protect all my valuable investments. If they all pan out, I will only have a couple more protective slots left.. perhaps used on two key starters, etc. I'm guarding my team from having too much star power which I could lose if I can't spin off in trade. I'm not going to say much more, but I think some understand where I'm going with this.
Anyways, I'm not looking to win this year (duh!). It will take perhaps one more year. I'm rebuilding so of course you may not see the whole picture until it is completed.
Lastly, I think Mr. Hatfield you need to starting posting these types of write-ups on your own blog. They aren't balanced and you inject too much of our rivalry and your team (be it players, managers, etc) opinions for it to be posted on the main blog. What about others trades done in the league?
Thees posts need to become much more balanced and have less of an opinion on what the writers think. That is what personal team blogs are for. Furthermore, I think team reviews, etc need to be on your own blog as well, since other's don't have the ability to showcase theirs if they wanted.
Good rhetoric.
Sorry you didn't like the previous attempt at humor. No offense was intended. I have sent you a reply privately and replaced the previous image with another.
who honestly views this site other than us? You dont have to defend yourself with a novel either nobody cares
haha
Don't use his picture, although his replay has his picture on it. As does his facebook...
Next year:
The Arizona Conundrums
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