Laika

I'd just like to circle back to this post and point out to you that PAUL BEESTON DIDN'T USE EMAIL IN THE YEAR 2015.

Now THIS RIGHT HERE is the type of trivia that I need in my life

Saunders will end up underrated here because we barely saw him in 2015

My #1 is Chris Colabello a.k.a. Earthworm Jim

Im dum

Could also be Juan Meza. Nay is one guy that I left off. The suspense!

KP also has, hands-down, the best personality on the team. He's the best interview they have and it's not even close.

And as a small factor, Soler is more expensive.

I think the Cubs would accept, unless they already have some big fish on the line for Soler+.

Yeah the system is so weak right now that even with all of Pentecost's problems I can't really see any reasonable argument for dropping him lower than ~7th

FYI - that's just silvergums laying the seeds of future trape

There is much buzz that they will look to trade Soler for a pure CF, allowing them to plop the new guy in RF. Most of the shine is off Soler. He looks like a hacker and a half. Those 60 hit / 65 power dreams don't seem likely anymore. I certainly wouldn't want to move Pillar for him.

Probably had body-wide laser hair removal when he played for LA or maybe he shaves it and puts it on his face

2016 will be the year of the Borucki I actually had Borucki 9th and Espada 10th

Tell me about Yorman Rodriguez

If one thing is clear it's that Ed Rogers is a bumbling idiot

I can't really argue with most of this. I don't know enough to wade into the conversation and most of what you explain sounds reasonable. We're talking about economics, and business, and big money, and strategic decision making - all of these things are areas of ignorance (and non-interest) for me, which is why I defer to others. My personal opinion on the NHL is that product has gone down the tubes recently.

lol ok I feel no compulsion to respond anymore aside from stating matter of factly that this quoted opinion is stupid.

How did they f*** up a hockey deal exactly? If your argument is that they f***ed it up by demoting Ron MacLean and hiring George Strombolopoulosh, then I 100% agree. Egregious.

Kind of are, actually. They are/were one of the more progressive teams out there when it comes to embracing SABERMETRICS! Of course, some of that is budget influenced, like it is with Oakland, Tampa, Pittsburgh. Comparing front office and management regimes across sports is just beyond pointless. Apples and orange soda. Hockey is decades behind baseball in general. Compare Brendan Shanahan to Mark Shapiro one more time, and I might have to hurt you.

Yeah, definitely. 24 years of front office experience including 15 years as a GM or President. Two (meaningless) "executive of the year" awards. He wasn't cheap.

I actually don't. Detroit spent out the ass for a 4 year run, but now they kind of suck and are in a s***** position. St Louis has been good for like two decades, and their recent payrolls have hovered in the 10th-13th overall range. I think there is a sweet spot where a sane payroll a) provides enough funds for a team to compete, and prevents a team from doing anything stupid with its money. Sweet spot payrolls force teams to build long term, from within, through the draft and international markets. They force teams to focus on internal personnel talent (front office, development, analytics, scouting) and not just on expensive player talent. I want to watch Toronto win for the next twenty years, not just for the next two or three. I'll take the payroll right where it is. ... unless some billionaire wants to buy the team and fund a payroll up near the Yankees'. I understand that teams can have high payrolls and build long term. They aren't mutually exclusive things. This is just coming from observation of how teams with different payrolls seem to operate. The practical effect, so to speak. I hate how teams like the Angels and Tigers and Phillies were/are run.

I understand that corporate ownership is annoying. Every fan would rather have a rich, human owner that is passionate about winning. That's not the case though, and regardless, their payroll should end up around $142 USD this year with the current team, which will be in the upper third. It could be a lot worse. And even it was a lot better, I'm guessing it wouldn't appease the fanbase. Payroll bitching is f***ing tired, man. I don't think Rogers is stupid. If spending $200M USD on payroll would increase their profits, then I'm guessing they would do it. I don't think my 73 in Business Admin 101 gives me any standing to say otherwise, so I'll default to the paid guys in suits within the massive corporation.

Well now we've descended into the "Rogers is cheap" cesspool. The budget is the budget. The people running the baseball team are given it - they don't set it. Unless you think public statements about the budget and the exchange rate and all of that jazz have been a smokescreen, I see no reason to expect them to add any type of significant payroll for 2016.

Money isn't an issue?