Mantis Toboggan M.D.
Drink wolf cola
He always learns the wrong lesson and it seems like it’s because he jealous of the attention Billy Beane got from moneyball despite never winning so he wants to do what Billy does in the movie or book just to prove how smart he is and does what he thinks Billy would do like how so many Belichick assistants think the key to his success is to act as unpleasant as he does. The horrid neglect of starting pitching comes to mind too. Another way he wastes money is by dragging his feet on guys and not being proactive. In 2018 he passes on Gerrit Cole in favor of Sonny Gray so he can hang onto prospects who (shocking) all went bust. Then Cole gets to Houston which costs them the pennant in 2019 and maybe 2018 too and the starting rotation is such an issue that Hal feels compelled to step in and sign Cole. Bet if they traded for him 2 years prior that it wouldn’t have cost $36 million per year to extend him and Hal wouldn’t complain as much about payroll.This is why you pay superstars and fill in the blanks around them. NEVER overspend for role players. You end up spending more for less. It's fukking idiotic.
I'll never forget the Tigers refusing to pay Max Scherzer then spending more on Jordan Zimmermann, Mike Pelfrey, washed K-Rod and washed Joe Nathan.
Same with Judge. 99 tells him if he wants to get a deal done during the offseason before he hits free agency then he’s down for that but he won’t talk contract during the year. Instead of jumping on this chance Cashman waits until the eve of the season, lowballs Judge, and leaks the offer to the press just like he did with Jeter in 2010. Then Judge has the greatest “fukk you, pay me” season of all time and it probably cost an extra $10 million per year compared to if he paid Judge fairly after 2021 when he hit for a then career high batting average while he and Stanton carried the team nearly by themselves into the playoffs. Smart teams like Atlanta for example when they realize they’ve struck gold pay a guy long term early so it doesn’t cost more later. I can’t think of any examples of a team getting burned by paying a superstar long term. Said stars pay for themselves as well with the merchandise sales, extra ticket sales, and the added revenue of home playoff games.
This goes back to the moneyball angle where he has to be dismissive and creates all sorts of bad mojo. “We don’t need Harper because we have 6 outfielders” even though 1 doesn’t get to play the field, another is a 36 year old slap hitter, another has never played at the pro level, and another was awful for them, hadn’t played in almost two years, and would never play again.
“We like Gio a lot but he’s no Josh Donaldson” even though Donaldson was a bad locker room guy while Gio was good and JD was rapidly breaking down while the trade made them older, slower, and blew up the payroll which gave Minnesota room to sign Correa.
“I take no responsibility for any of this” after every move he’s made from the 2021 deadline through 2022 blew up disastrously and blew up the payroll too
“The process matters more than the results”
Obviously there’s no context where this is ok
“I think we’re pretty fukking good” after a year where only 2 hitters play at a replacement level and only 1 starter is any good while the team spent most of the year in or near last place and the offense bottomed out in every meaningful category and half the roster is made of career journeymen playing out of position.
You’d think a guy with just 1 title since the PS2 released that he barely deserves credit for given the context of it and just 1 pennant since Steph Curry made his NBA debut would be a bit more humble and realize his act is hurting the team in every conceivable way or at least that the owner would see the damage he’s doing.
