Who is kissing his ass 24/7? All I see is people saying let's see how things work out and understanding he has only been on the job 1 season.
It could be the difference between 89 and 95 wins. I will ask you the same thing I asked above, are the Steps better, the same or worse than they were last year?
If you don’t believe in projections then what is your criteria for judging if Click has improved the team? And what is your criteria for improvement, is it solely judging on the win expectations for 2021, or a longer term? If your argument is “I think Pillar represents a bigger improvement over Straw than Baez/Castro represent over Scrubb/Stubbs despite what the projections say”, then there’s not much to say. Anyone can make an unsubstantiated opinion and it will be beyond reproach until after the season. Being limited only to raining threes’ arbitrary evaluation, then you’re right, Click hasn’t done anything to improve the roster. But looking at projections vs 2020 production: Castro projects for 0.9 fWAR, Stubbs was worth -0.1. Gurriel, Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Alvarez, Toro, Straw, Urquidy, and Diaz all project to be worth more per pa in 2021 than they were in 2021. McCormick/Souza project to be better than Reddick was last year. If you’re going to blame him for the moves he didn’t make, you’ll have to also give him credit for the moves he didn’t make. The bullpen projections are roughly the same, so there’s certainly an argument to be made that the Baez/Stanek/Cishek signings didn’t make a difference. But overall, the roster projects to be quite a bit better than it was last season and better than it projected to be at the beginning of this offseason.
See: I see the 1 year thing as an excuse. I don't live in the world of excuses and others shouldn't either. This attitude leads to mediocrity at best.
Yes it could be the difference and it could also not be the difference. You said that Click took a 100 win team to 89 and then cited that was the reason, why should anyone take what you say seriously? I don't know if the steps are better but what I do know is that those things are small potatoes and that losing Verlander and Cole are the biggest reason we are not a 100 win team in projections.
So Straw/Souza who hasn't played in 3 years and Castro equal upgrades. This is a case of numbers telling you what you want them to tell you. At the very least Pillar would have been great depth. Tell me who is going to be playing of when Brantley gets hurt? What happens when Staw and Brantley get hurt at the same time. Are you going to wish you had more OF depth for those 2-3 weeks instead of having Castro sitting on the bench?
McCormick/Souza will be playing if Brantley gets hurt. Or they will trade for someone. Or another prospect might have emerged by then. Brantley getting seriously hurt is not likely much less guaranteed. Brantley and Straw both getting hurt is even less likely. That happening AND a prospect not having emerged is even LESS likely. You’re painting nightmare scenarios to reach for some support to your theory that they should have signed another mediocre veteran. If you’re going to ignore projections and statistics and give your opinion on baseless conjecture then there’s really no point in anyone disagreeing with you because you’re talking nonsense.
Castro is an improvement. Your refusal to accept that does not change the truth of it. The bullpen has also been improved. Just because the front office didn't make the moves that you wanted doesn't mean the team is not improved. And your constant whining will not change it either.
Souza's projections better be wrong because he is a corner outfielder and shouldn't be on the team to get any ABs. Castro is an improvement over Garneau. I just wish we went with a cheaper option and spent more to upgrade CF or the bullpen.
I'm guessing you like the moves. Hopefully you're right, if I'm in your shoes I wouldn't get my hopes up. This has been a very un-Luhnow type off-season. You know a guy who was about nothing but winning.
When is the last time Brantley has made it through a full season healthy and that's mostly as a DH. I think it's much more likely than not that Brantley gets hurt again. You're much more of a prospect guy than I am. Is McCormick ready? I guess Toro could possibly play some of but if he bats .250 count me as shocked.
McCormick is “ready” in the sense that I don’t think he’d be an embarrassment if he got called up. But I am not all that high on him; I think a .240/.320/.370 line is about right, which with above average corner OF defense makes him a viable 4th OF but a pretty weak everyday option. I am higher on Toro. I think it is realistic for him to possibly be a pretty good hitter, something like a .240/.320/.420 line. I also think he could be a decent corner outfielder on defense. A 110 wRC+ with plus LF/RF defense would make him a 2+ fWAR player. I am anxious to see how much (if any) time he gets in the outfield this spring.
