I couldn't disagree more. The greatest Astros team ever wins the World Series. If that team wins 89 games, sneaks in as a wild card and then goes on a hot streak to win the series they are still best team ever. The 102 or hypothetical 105 win team that doesn't win the title immediately becomes a footnote or trivia. Having lots of friends who are Braves fans and having lived in Atlanta for a good number of years, I know there are several Braves fans who were strongly disappointed with 1 ring out of 13 some-odd division titles. I can't say they "wasted" one of the best collections of starting pitching the game has ever seen, but they certainly didn't make full use of it.
If the Braves hadn't won in 95, they would have been faulted and ultimately forgotten... just like the 90's Indians, 2000 A's, and the more recent Rays. Unfortunately, this isn't the premier league. There is no separate award for finishing with the best record. I've watched this team my entire life, and been through plenty of "good years" that were ultimately only remembered based on the dissapointment of the post-season. To you, it may not matter... but for the majority of fans who have followed this team forever, playoff dissapointment is a very real and very fickle thing.
If Wilson keeps pitching like a closer in the 8th he might be their closer after next year if they can't extend Davis as he's a FA after next year. I like what they're doing but they're depleting their farm and their SP are showing signs of age. But, they have the money to spend on any free agents. I wish we had that advantage with ownership.
Winning a World Series is the only thing that matters. The sole purpose of the regular season is to get you a chance to do that. I just don't feel 2017 is going to be our sole opportunity to do so. Plenty of teams have won it all with average teams that barely slid in to the postseason, so optimizing this one club should not be our only concern.
Every possible post-season opportunity... which this year is... needs to be treated as a golden opportunity. And while this team seems poised to make a run for the next 3-4 years.... nothing is guaranteed (as last year's disappointing year shows us). Other teams can/will get better. The Astros may have more injuries to their established core than they've had this year. Guys may underperform. Guys like Marwin or Marisnick may not have career years. Also, this is year 3 of being in contention. They may be ahead of schedule, or right on schedule, but its year 3 nonetheless. Another 2-3 years of contention puts them in unique company for the modern-day era of sustaining an elite core of all homegrown players. No team that had an extended run (90's Braves, Cardinals) did it with just farm guys alone. In the end, they should optimize this one club... AND continue to build towards the future. Shouldn't have to be either/or... but if you have to choose one, you go with what is guaranteed in front of you.
It isn't likely the only shot but it is the best shot in club history thus far. I want to see the particulars of the Wilson trade before passing judgment. Still seeing JD Martinez traded for a bag of baseballs, and the Astros possibly doing nothing is concerning. I have to believe we do something, otherwise it will be a big downer in the clubhouse. My guess is we get in on Britton or someone else. There is no great player out there, but some of these arms are being dealt for marginal prospects.
Am I crazy, or is that not very much to give up? We could easily match or beat that without touching the best in our system.
So essentially the Cubs are giving up Colin Moran (version without a broken face) and MiguelAngel Sierra. Not a huge cost IMO
That really isn't very much. All I can hope is that Luhnow has a better and/or higher impact deal near the finish line. Gray, Darvish, and Britton are all likely to be dealt in the next 12 hours, so there's hope. But if Houston comes away with nothing when they could have gotten one of the better lefty relievers in the game for less than Franklin Perez.
There's been a lot of hyperbole and strawmen in this whole trade discussion, but this is getting ridiculous. You're saying a trade the Red Sox made in the early 1990's didn't affect their ability to win a championship 15 years later? Thanks for that. I'm sure they didn't miss Bagwell at all in the interim 15 years and it didn't affect their ability to championships in any of those years. But if that's the standard and it's OK to lose a trade because you can win a championship 15 years later, the flipside should also be true. If we don't trade these guys and lose a non-trade and don't win a title, we can still win one in 20 years, so no big deal, right?
There is a grass is always greener element here. Marlins fans wish they had the Braves' success. Braves fans wish they had the Marlins' success.
Unless the Tigers view the Cubs' prospects more highly than other similarly ranked prospects. Not every team values everyone the same.
I wonder if it's possible to land Brach along with Britton. Claim uncertainty around Brittons injury and ask for Brach as insurance. What would be the cost tho?
This needs to be tattooed on the forearms of every internet wannabe GM who rates prospects by their number on a list.
Of course, I was just throwing out similar players in our system. Sounds like the Tigers love Candelario
