Crazy how quickly things change.
Last year, the Franchise was at risk of contraction. Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro looked like limp-dick bottom 10 execs. The team could not draft or develop. Many players on the team were in decline, or past their peak. Vlad and Bo were set to leave and the window was going to shut. There were no good prospects on the way. The only players under control would have been 2 WAR flawed players like the fat catcher Kirk and his swiss-cheese swinging centrefielder Varsho. The payroll was bloated short term, and perhaps the only good thing you could say about the organization was that they luckily were not saddled with lots of long term commitments.
Fast-forward to June 2025. The team is cooking with gas. Bo is back. Vlad is here forever. Kirk is a top 5 C in baseball again. Barger is a stud. Clement is a divine defender. There are tons of positive developments on the farm and prospects rising the ladder. There are signs of good MLB development from guys like Barger, Lukes, Y-Rod. The org can produce an elite reliever at will - Little, Flu, Fisher. The veteran starting pitchers are still themselves. Ross Atkins is googling how many World Series he needs to win to get a statue. Connorp and Grant barely post. My erectile dysfunction is 20% better.
Wild.