Do You Want To See A Tanking Guideline?

[mattynokes]

idk about some of you, but it's god damn hard for me to find a prospect that pans out. It took Northcutt 8 years to full develop and alot of my ML team is full of 3rd 4th and 5th round guys. IDK if it's the guys I pick, how I'm moving them along in the minors(which has never been an issue in any other league that I know of) or if you guys know something that I don't about prospects in this league, but I draft horribly. That leaves me w/ 1 option, Free agency, to build a winning team. Except that I have one of the 5 lowest payrolls in the league. I can't be competitive on a yearly basis because of this strategy b/c of my lack of payroll.

These are all excuses for why Oakland can't win in this league, but it's not a recipe for success. Its easier to tank than it is to trade the players for picks or prospects b/c those 2 are at a much more valuable and premium price. I can't get 2 1st round talents for Malone, or find a decent offer for Northcutt, but those same players in other leagues are going for 7 and 5 players.


Just a couple points I thought interesting.

Since you've made this public, I'll say my honest thoughts. Saying it's an excuse is a perfect way to label it, since we all know what they say about excuses...

You can't compare what you could get in other leagues, they're completely different universes. And if production is relative, Northcutt wouldn't get much no matter where he goes. He's poor defensively (an average catcher is around 85 arm, 80 field, 80-85 handle), his defensive stats prove that. Then he only has one season of 800+ production offensively.

Northcutt is only rated a 92 because of his power. Mogul says a catcher should be a power guy, just like it does for corner outfielders. Honestly, I'd rather have Tanabe on NYY. He's a switch hitter, so he's valuable from either side of the plate, and he plays good defense. He hits for a good average and gets on base. It's not to say I think Tanabe is 90 value, but I'd certainly say he's 3-5 points more valuable than his overall suggests. He's a reliable guy to have at the bottom of the order that extends innings and you know what you're getting defensively.

As for Malone, he's good. The problem is he'll be 32 next season. If you were attempting to trade him five years ago, then you'd have no problem getting two 1st round values out of him. However, now, people are going to be weary of him starting to decline. You can't use up all of a player's good years and expect the kind of return out of him if he was guaranteed five years of success. I think people will view him as a two year option and if they so happen to get more years out of him, then it's a bonus. And you can say he's rated well and has decent health, but Jose Rabena was a 93 at the end of 2034 and then by the end of 2036 had fallen all the way down to a 74. Frank Prywes on HOU some years earlier suffered the same fate.

At the draft there are times when I'm left wondering about your picks. I can't remember exact details, but I know there are initial builds or some things in the player's amateur stats that's a huge red flag to people like andy, mike, hokey, or myself.

Overall, you are great for this league and the amount of seasons you've put in. I just think you sometimes fall in that HB-syndrome where once you have a good team, you get too comfortable. People like who I just mentioned above never sit tight on their team. We may not be always looking for that blockbuster deal, but we're always looking for ways to improve our team or fix a hole an injury has left us. I do think you try to hold fast to too many of your players and then try to reap value after they've completely busted when no one will want them at that point.

We've been in many leagues together, so I know you've it in you to create a winner in Oakland.