KLL said:
Another factor that shouldnt be overlooked is that most of the players the Dbacks acquired this past offseason were to 1-2 year contracts...
True, Ortiz was signed for 4-years, however, he is relatively young and has been successful for most of his career....I'd rather have him as a #2 starter than rushing a younger pitcher into the majors... Plus, the Dbacks had to overpay for him since it is somewhat complex for them at this time to sign those above "mid-tier" (not necessarily classifying Ortiz a "uber" pitcher", but was better than most pitchers that were available at around his "asking" price (range).....
The only signing I questioned initially was Counsell (probably shouldnt have signed him for more than 1-yr), however, I'd rather have him at 2nd base than the likes of Hairston and Cintron (who constantly committed the most "bone-headed" errors last season and were both inconsistent from the plate for the most part).... If Hairston or Cintron can actually manage to prove themselves this season whether it be in the Majors or in Tucson...I am certain that Counsell would be willing to relinquish his starting role at 2nd base next season if in fact the scenario involving Hairston or Cintron finally proving their worth comes to fruition....The signing of Counsell to a 2 yr contract wouldnt affect the Dbacks whatsoever in that sense....
Clayton and Cruz Jr. both merely have 1-yr contracts respectively, so they're esentially "stop-gaps" until Santos or Drew (if he ever miracously signs) will take over at SS and either Terrero, Jackson, or Quentin are poised enough to become an everyday CF next season.......
Green I believe has either a 2-3 yr deal (just precise detail on that escapes me at the moment), but if the Chad Tracy experiment at 1B isnt a complete success this season, then Green can be switched back to 1B to create a spot for either Jackson or Quentin... Tracy could then become a utility player (if he does make an impact with the bat)....
Estes signed merely for a 1-yr contract, so Gosling, Rosario, Edgar Gonzalez, Matt Chico, etc can replace him next season in the starting rotation.....
Glaus was indeed a major risk with his long-term contract, but has anyone noticed his production this Spring..... He's not only proved that he's fully recovered, but he'll thrive in the confines of the BOB and is a force to be wreckened with.........
Vasquez is out of the media pressure/scrutiny in the "Big Apple" and is on a mission to prove that his 2nd half of last season was a fluke, so they have somone who is on a mission to stake his claim... Therefore, I obviously hope that he is successful and also wants to remain in a Dbacks uniform beyond this season (seeing how he can "opt-out" of his contract).....
I know many (and sometimes I) have lambasted Joe Jr. on here repeatedly, but he actually did exhibit some control when trying to acquire that elusive starting CF.... He only sacrificed Fossum (who wouldnt have even made the Dbacks opening-day roster) rather than mortgaging Jackson or Quentin to the As for Byrnes (Cruz Jr. is even more proven than Byrnes is) or for Cameron who is sometimes oft-injured....Another factor about Joe Jr. constraint is that either Byrnes or Cameron would have demanded a hefty long-term contract which would have stalled the Dbacks OF prospects progress considerably.....
I think the best approach is to reserve judgement on all the offseason moves until at least the 1st month of the season is complete in order to gague if all the moves were wise.... Although, they didnt necessarily affect the long-term direction in the process which is the essence....
I understand this line of thinking, and I know many people are capable of justifying it, my problem with the team is that I feel it has a complete lack of direction and an identity problem. I don't think that Joe realizes that we are a middle market team at best, and because of this, he spends his money poorly. Perhaps he should see what other middle market teams, (i.e. the Marlins and Indians) have done, and learn from their example. These teams refuse to overpay their own players, and always go for younger and cheaper.
If you look in any publication, the response is the same to the offseason moves of the D-backs: why? Here is one by Dayn Perry; "
Diamondbacks
I'm led to ask: Why? The D-backs lost a whopping 111 games last season. No conceivable overhaul is going to make them into contenders in the matter of a single winter. Sure, they've added the likes of Troy Glaus, Shawn Green, Russ Ortiz and Javier Vazquez, but they also lost Randy Johnson.
At this point, I feel the need to point out once again that they lost 111 games in 2004. Marginal upgrades are nifty for a team coming off, say, 85 victories, but this amounts to a lot of wasted money all for a humdrum charge not to lose 100. Big deal. The Snakes badly needed to embrace the rebuilding process, and they failed to do that. "
Again, could you ever see teams like the Marlins or Indians investing more money into players who fit in the categories of mediocre, on the downswing, or overpriced? Rarely, because they know based on their economic situation, that these players are too big of a risk. Big contracts and "feel good" contracts, like the Gonzo "thanks for the memories" contract have ruined the team. Ridiculous contracts for Gonzo and Mantei, among others have ruined a team that was a given for the postseason and always a contender for more. Because of these bad contracts, we were forced to let Miguel walk, and trade Schilling for pennies on the dollar. (Someone needs to tell Joe, when you trade a top 3 pitcher to save money, you need to get some good prospects in return).
I know some of you will come back and say this and that wasn't Joe's fault, because of this circumstance or that circumstance, but look at what we are at today. We are a team with no identity, a complete lack of direction, and we completely forgot what brought us success, lights out pitching. Adding the likes of Russ Ortiz, who has been less consistent as the years went on, and who only will get worse pitching in a hitters park after being in Atlanta and SF before is just another move that shows the complete lack of direction. I would consider this move on par with giving Elmer a ton of money. Ortiz will be laughing all the way to the bank. (very shocking to see him get destroyed by the Red Sox second team the other night....expect to see him getting behind consistently in the count, and having his mediocre fastball killed.)
I can understand why some will bitch at me for being negative, but I have supported this team from the beginning, and even at our worst, I knew that the team had a plan, and you could see the progression the team is making. At this point, contending for a division title appears to be a pipe dream, and the idea of sniffing a title at our budget seems less and less likely. That's baseball for you, I guess, unless you are one of 6 or so teams that can compete financially, you have to have unbelievable talent evaluators, such as the Marlins and Oakland. We don't really fit in either of those categories.
