The beta on these guys (Cruz included…noticed you didn’t mention his BB%, Adam) is just stupid.

This club got burned very badly by Juan Cruz types earlier this decade. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Hicks looked at Juan Cruz and thought Todd Van Poppel.

That said, Cruz isn’t Van Poppel. And the baseball guys, Nolan and JD, should have been able to convince Hicks of that.

My real theory: Hicks said to JD “Is Juan Cruz all that this team needs to be competitive,” and JD didn’t want to say yes, because it really isn’t true. This team needed more than Juan Cruz alone to be assured of a playoff contender. And it would have been dumb for JD to rest his future on the arm of a bullpen guy. I think JD could have gotten him, but if he flopped (or simply wasn’t enough), JD’s head would be on the line.

And I can’t blame JD for that.

It probably would’ve taken someone of Sheets talent-level and reputation to get Hicks to bust out the checkbook. And signing a starter has a bigger placebo effect on the casual fan than signing a reliever.

“Texas signed a starting pitcher? Hey, they’re finally spending on pitching!”

“Texas signed a reliever? Great, he can come in after our starters lose the game!”

because they didn’t want to give up the draft pick, then this team has fallen too much in love with the “strong farm” idea at the expense of building a good major league team. It is only a matter of time before they start hanging minor league banners at the ballpark to make up for the void of major league banners.

A 2nd round pick for Juan Cruz is a small price to pay, particularly when you are getting him for below market value.

If nothing else, you could turn around this offseason, after you’ve gotten one cheap year from him, and move him to another team for a better prospect than you’d likely get from a 2nd round pick. And you wouldn’t have to pay the signing bonus.

historically, how many 2nd rd picks end up helping the team as much as cruz would have over the next two years?

anyway cruz would have probably gotten a pick of some kind back at the end of his contract if offered arb

That Cruz isn’t here, it’s the thought process behind that decision that Adam’s talking about. So we can’t just “move on” when moving on means more of the same flawed decision-making and evaluation.

Gaudin is a fly ball pitcher with low K totals and a poor K:BB ratio. Cruz walks his share as well, but his K rate gives him a lot more wiggle room. Any improvement at this point will come from within.

People around here don’t take too kindly to bitching about the poor decisions this mgmt/ownership group has made in the past, so I’m not sure this thread will bring much to the table. We don’t know if JD was pounding his fist trying to get Hicks to pony up, or if they really all thought their rag tag bunch was going to suffice this year, and without knowing that, it is hard to point fingers.

them and their big market mentality, signing all the good FAs, eating payroll like its nothing

shakes fist in direction of KC

so I don’t have to see a weekly post by AJM wondering why the Rangers didn’t sign him.

as much as sammy bashing

Are we supposed to wait until we only need one more piece to make the playoffs before we can improve the team?

If a decision doesn’t work out, it’s just bad luck.

That’s being loyal, unlike that traitorous Morris fellow.

and in reality its a probably not