Smizik says blow up the team and rebuild

[GiveHyzduashot]

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/columnists/20030715smizik0715p1.asp

[PissedPrincess]

What do you think Josh?

[GiveHyzduashot]

If DL has a concrete plan that will work ... then I guess I could go for a rebuilding phase. Eleven years of losing is enough ... something has to change.

But if this is just some hogwash plan with no goals set, then he shouldn't rebuild ... that more than likely means losing seasons .. and like Bonifay showed us, it takes YEARS to recover after a failed rebuilding plan.

I'm just not sure ... I'd have to wait and see what he said the plan was, and the deals he makes.

[Greymire]

I can see value in this, and I do not entirely disagree. If we did this, we should keep the a core youth of starters, perhaps Fogg and Wells, to build with. Guys that should be here 3 or 4 years from now. More realistically though, I would trade Giles, Kendall, Aram, Suppan, D'Amico. Lofton, and Simon. Grab a boatload of prospects that are near the bigs and unload some bucks. Someone mentioned an option on Suppan, but right now, I do not think we would spend that much unless we were sure to contend next year. We could finish The year with Redman, Stairs, Sanders, maybe even Alvarez (or Craig Wilson) in the outfield. We would need to get a Third Baseman in the deal as well. It would wash out this year, but the freed up funds could add guys next year. That being said, I doubt this will be done. You will see a trade or two, maybe even Giles, but I think that it will not be a total rebuild.

[Chevy706]

I think something Smizik misses in his column is that we'll have $10 mil of new money for next season, as KY and Meares' contracts will be gone. That being said, I don't think we can get fair market value for A Ram due to his erratic hitting and miserable fielding, so I don't see any real rush to trade him. I wouldn't be opposed to trading any other player on that list at all though. I really don't understand why we ever signed Kendall to that kind of money when we've always known that our best prospects have been catchers. I'm fairly certain Cota or C. Wilson could give us the same production from behind the plate for a fraction of the cost.

I think the rebuilding hinges on what we can get in return for Giles. He's obviously our best player, and if we can't get 2-3 can't miss prospects from a team hell-bent on making a WS run, then we probably won't be able to pull off a complete rebuilding.

[BPBlueSox]

I think the rebuilding hinges on what we can get in return for Giles. He's obviously our best player, and if we can't get 2-3 can't miss prospects from a team hell-bent on making a WS run, then we probably won't be able to pull off a complete rebuilding.

Yep.

[GiveHyzduashot]

Originally posted by Chevy706
I think something Smizik misses in his column is that we'll have $10 mil of new money for next season, as KY and Meares' contracts will be gone. That being said, I don't think we can get fair market value for A Ram due to his erratic hitting and miserable fielding, so I don't see any real rush to trade him. I wouldn't be opposed to trading any other player on that list at all though. I really don't understand why we ever signed Kendall to that kind of money when we've always known that our best prospects have been catchers. I'm fairly certain Cota or C. Wilson could give us the same production from behind the plate for a fraction of the cost.

I think the rebuilding hinges on what we can get in return for Giles. He's obviously our best player, and if we can't get 2-3 can't miss prospects from a team hell-bent on making a WS run, then we probably won't be able to pull off a complete rebuilding.

Yeah, there's $10 million of "new money" ... but don't forget that other players, such as Ramirez, Benson, and Williams (if his option is picked up), have hefty pay raises coming, so most of that money is already spent.

Completely agree on your second paragraph.