Sox Scoops 40.021: What Are We Doing?

[HoosierVic]

[iPhone XXI recording]

(Black Sox GM Vic Caleca and Asst. GM Bill McGuffin are working on laptops in the “business center” of the Calumet City Motel 6, the team’s temporary headquarters until the new stadium is finished).

Bill McGuffin (looks up from his screen): Hey Vic, get a load of this. We got an email from that Endo kid you bid on in the International Free Agent pool.

Yoshino Endo

Vic Caleca: Oh yeah? Endo, Endo … oh yeah, Yoshino Endo, the pitcher. What’s he say?

McGuffin: Well, seems he wasn’t impressed with our offer.

Caleca (frowns): No? I think we offered him $800,000. That seems pretty good to me.

McGuffin: I don’t think he agrees. (Reads aloud) “I know you think you’re making me a decent contract offer, but you’re way off on the money. Come up with more cash, or move on to some other player!”

Caleca: He said that? Come up with more cash or move on? Screw him. What’d we grade him out as, like a 50 potential?

McGuffin: Something like that.

Caleca: I can’t imagine anybody topping $800,000.

McGuffin: Yeah. No way.

( … 24 hours later …)

McGuffin: Jesus, Vic. Look at this! (He turns his laptop so Caleca can read the email on his screen): “Yoshido Endo has signed with Calgary.”

Caleca: Yeah. So. What’d they offer him, $850,000?

McGuffin: Um, no.

Caleca: Well, what then? (Takes a sip of coffee from a Styrofoam cup)

McGuffin: “$5,400,000.”

Caleca (spits out coffee): Say what? $5.4 million?

McGuffin: That’s what it says here.

Caleca (exhales sharply): Well. Hell.

McGuffin: Yeah.

Caleca: Has it ever occurred to you, Bill, that we don’t actually know what the hell we’re doing?

McGuffin: Almost hourly.

[Recording ends.]

[indiansfan]

Does anybody really know what they are doing?

[RonCo]

Does anybody really know what time it is?

[shoeless.db]

I bid a cool million on Endo thinking I pretty much wrapped him up, since the cap before incurring a penalty is 1m. I learned quick the BBA laughs in the face of penalties.

[RonCo]

If you're going to get locked out, there's no difference between spending $30M and $3m.

[RonCo]

I didn't include a higher level in this chart, but teams like Ted's California, Kevin's Calgary, Aaron's Rockville, and my own YS9 have been playing with budgets up around $150M most of the time. If you add one more level to that chart ($150M budget), you'd project $40M to spend in IFA...but then you can only play every other year.

What tends to happen, then is big revenue teams tend to trade off years throwing $25M-$45M into the drink in hopes of landing one or two impact players. Arguably. this turns out to be about what a first round draft pick could be worth--though IFAs have greater development risk.

It's helpful to understand economies of scale around here. It took me a couple years to get it somewhat down.

[shoeless.db]

I didn't include a higher level in this chart, but teams like Ted's California, Kevin's Calgary, Aaron's Rockville, and my own YS9 have been playing with budgets up around $150M most of the time. If you add one more level to that chart ($150M budget), you'd project $40M to spend in IFA...but then you can only play every other year.

What tends to happen, then is big revenue teams tend to trade off years throwing $25M-$45M into the drink in hopes of landing one or two impact players. Arguably. this turns out to be about what a first round draft pick could be worth--though IFAs have greater development risk.

It's helpful to understand economies of scale around here. It took me a couple years to get it somewhat down.

Thanks for the explanation, Ron. I'm a tad nervous that you only have this "somewhat down". This means I could be here through the 2100 season and still have no clue.