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...can we bring in Walker and Paxton to throw some stuff to him when he arrives at Safeco, and get his opinion on whether he'd rather have Price for two years or these two on his team over the next decade?
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Taijuan and K-Pax each have a great shot at --- > 4-5 WAR territory. Very soon, or even immediately. A PRE-ARB player that you see as a LEGIT STAR? Him, you don't trade.
* ceteris paribus.
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Was it 2003?, when Pat Gillick was in the trade market, trying to apply shock paddles to the last few breaths of the ossified Veteran Contender he'd built.
Gillick shouted it from the rooftops, for public and private consumption, and left himself absolutely no bridges back across the water. He said that there were four players in the Seattle Mariner organization that he would not trade for anybody:
- Jose Lopez
- Clint Nageotte
- Travis Blackley
- Felix Hernandez
Gillick viewed this as a question of his own integrity as a General Manager. He knew for a fact that he would be gone before these players benefitted the organization, but he also viewed this "Hands-Off" list as his responsibility to a cause greater than himself.
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It didn't have anything to do with the idea that you can never trade a free 2.0 WAR for a pricey 4.0 WAR. It had to do with the fact that Gillick drew a circle around a handful of kids, said "This is your future," and then he just wiped them from his mind.
It didn't have to do with cost efficiency. It had to do with the fact that Gillick thought those kids were really special.
There's a reason Gillick commands such respect around the industry.
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Ryan Divish made a disturbing comment on his blog the other day ... was it DaddyO who referenced it? Divish saying that he's heard from "many, many, many, MANY people" that Jack Zduriencik is "in over his head" as a General Manager.
I'm not saying that I buy that, not at all. But IF it were true, here is one area in which it might manifest itself, in this grand sense of proportion that Gillick has always had. Other teams, dealing with Gillick, if they COULD trade for Felix Hernandez, would know going in that Gillick would do so with the utmost wisdom.
Is that true with respect to Zduriencik? Doesn't seem like it from the cheap seats, at least not yet. But then again, if I'm Zduriencik, and I hear whispers, I'm liable to roll up my sleeves, put a trophy on the table, and see who's laughing at the end. :: dials Cano ::
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Nageotte and Blackley were on Gillick's list, too. Pitchers can get hurt. Listen, gentlemen, ESPECIALLY TEENAGE PITCHERS CAN GET HURT. James Paxton is 25 years of age. Taijuan Walker will be a free agent by the time he passes the injury filters James Paxton has already passed.
Let's say you spent the summer the next four summers watching this rotation:
- Tom Seaver
- Greg Maddux Lite
- David Price
- Clayton Kershaw
- Pick of the litter, Erasmo, Pike, etc (maybe even Tanaka-san?)
You're not going to be real worried about what other starter you might have had to go with them. There's an argument for selling Michael Pineda high, and there's an argument for trading Taijuan Walker before he gets hurt. It might even be brilliant to reserve the college guy, James Paxton, for yourself. You can imagine Billy Beane doing exactly that, and getting a standing O for it.
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But me, no. I don't give you Taijuan or Paxton, for anybody, straight up. They may already be (about) as good as Price. That was the way with Michael Pineda and Felix Hernandez.
Comments
2
Price is a very tough call. Felix-Price-Kuma is a top three that brings all kinds of bad dreams to opponents all season long. For a "Fister" return, I think they have to do it. For a "Shields" return, it's...rough. I guess it comes down to whether you think you can make your championship run in the next two seasons. If you really think that he puts you over the top, his value to your club is huge.
3
Stay on the soapbox Doc! Tampa is not dumb. There is a reason they want to make the trade....they agree with you too!
4
It's clear from his early articles that he's not impressed with Zduriencik. Honestly I'm not either. I'm not the analyst many are, and I admit I might just be wrong in my assessment. In fact, I hope I am.
5
That much is clear. But he has a great foundation of ability on which to build a winning FO; the question is whether or not he has the ability, or the authority, to push it through.
Still...can't ask for a much better influx of young talent than what we've gotten without demanding Fielder/Braun or Griffey/ARod. Took a completely barren organization and turned it into a well-respected farm system with some serious glam specs at the top and a few solid MLB contributors in the lineup.
That's the magical formula that new, flashy GM's look for when spying a new job where they can make their mark: an org with great talent, and no coherent strategy to build a winner from it. We're in a great position right now, compared to the post 2003 club, and we need to keep that in perspective to a point.
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Who exactly are these people? I don't know much about Ryan Divish besides that he seems to have a good sense of humor. Has he been on the road with the M's while covering for his previous job? What kind of circles does he run with? Or are the many, many.... simply commenters on local blogs? Not trying to knock him at all he seems really cool, just don't know what his connections are.
I never got the blind Z love from the beginning and now I don't get the Z hate when he's actually accomplished something wonderful down on the farm. He's not put us in any position to fail. Fister trade sure sucked, but he's brought plenty of young pitching in here. Putting together a top 3 minor league system as of pre-seson 2013 means he can't GM? He hasn't even had a real chance yet to wheel and deal and spend. He's got all kinds of currency (cash and young, seasoned players) to work with finally.
7
Divish didn't get hired for the M's beat writer gig for his humor. He got hired because of his knowledge, capability and connections. Give the guy a little credit.
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an outstanding, independent beat writer and blogger for the M's.
9
I thought I made that pretty clear earlier Grizz. Was hoping someone could shed some light on what types of connections he has. I have no idea what types of people you must know in the industry before you get hired for that position.
It's probably not the other GM's saying Z is over his head to Divish. It's probably not managers. My question was "who are the people" telling him this. How is that discrediting the guy? He's been on the job for like 5 days and I see he has a sense of humor. Is that not a valid observation? Where exactly did I go wrong discrediting him? Not questioning his connections, just wondering who they are.