Both Brian Sabean and Andrew Baggarly recently commented on that the fans spend too much time keeping score on the contracts instead of keeping score on the field.
Is this a fair?
Yes to a certain extent I think that is fair. Even the best GM's make mistakes and when you sign players to multiple year contracts that are guaranteed then you are going to have contracts that go really well and ones that go really bad.
This is especially true that the highest bidder is the one that usually gets that player. When this happens more often then not people will end up overpaying unless a player plays out of his mind above their projections. Any sort of a hiccup and things are looking bad for the contract.
More often then not the teams that win the players services end up with the winners curse. This is the biggest knock on trying to build a team through free agency. Free agency is at best a way to supplement or give the team the last little bit to push them over the edge.
The cost of adding wins through free agency is far too high and the nature of long term deals can often blow up in your face. Brian Sabean has not been a perfect GM by any means but I have to say that I have less problems with his lack of signing a big bat then most.
I don't care that much about the failed contracts just because the players didn't do well, my main problem with the way Sabean builds the team. Instead of building through the draft and developing players he has primarily tried to bring in players through free agency. This is a dicey way of building a team and can often blowup in your face which too often it has during his tenure.
Very good points. It's not just one or two deals Giants fans are mad about. Every GM makes bad deals. That's part of the game. However, I kind of hate how Baggarly and Murph and Mac have this attitude of "Hey, just eat a braut and enjoy the game, okay? The compilation of the roster isn't a big deal!"
ReplyWell, the fact of the matter is, to enjoy the game, we have to watch an enjoyable product and that certainly hasn't been the case. That's why compilation of the roster is important. We want guys we want to PAY to see. We don't want to see retreads on their last legs. That's what ticks me off about comments from Baggs and Murph and Mac. It seems they don't get it from a fan perspective. They think every baseball fan should view the game as a ten-year old kid who only cares about getting a hot dog and his free poster on "Barry Zito Poster" day. Where's the fun in that?
I fully agree, if I was to put up a list of grievances about the way Brian Sabean has run the team it is that for the first years with the club he ignored player development. It wasn't until Barry Bonds left that he got serious about building from within.
ReplyEven now he is distrustful of the idea and in combination with Bruce Bochy is it a hard situation to develop young talent.
I can get past bad signings especially seeing that the team is willing to spend upwards of $90 million a season on the roster, but not having a good product on the field kills me.
I too am frustrated that the "elites" are talking down the general fan. We want a good product, some may direct their anger at the very visible flop signings but it is all out of frustration. It has been 7 years since the last playoff season and I would be upset if there was just acceptance of mediocrity.