58.1- Goals (achieved, and not so much...)
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 8:59 pm
All of us have different goals. The ultimate goal, of course, is to win a championship, or at least contend for one. For some teams, though, that isn’t realistic at this point in our team’s development. So…what the heck was I trying to do in 2057, and did I do it? And what should be some reasonable goals for 2058?
My first priority for 2057 was to finish the process of getting the Gamblers on a sound financial footing. When I first became a GM, I thought that I would just build a winning team, and then attendance would go up and money would be made. Silly, silly me… It actually works the other way around; the money needs to come first. Now finally, the budget is up, the payroll is under control, the stadium is new, and there are even a few assets left squirrelled away in my mattress. Goal achieved.
My second goal was to identify at least three more pitchers who could do a decent job in the rotation. Goal definitely not achieved. I signed a bunch of free agent starters, and the best I can say for them is that the jury is still out on them. But there may be extenuating circumstances; we’ll get to that in a bit.
And goal #3- I always have three goals- was to add five guys under age 25 who could actually be a part of some future decent Gamblers team. You never know, but I think my first four draft picks at least have a chance to help the cause. I acquired P Robert Carlson in a trade; he had a nice year in AA and will pitch in AAA at age 23 if I can keep him pointed at the goal line. And I just acquired CF Ed Correa; he’s a year over my arbitrary cutoff point, but I’m counting on him to be pretty good this season.
Looking ahead to 2058; what should my goals be? Well, firstly, I’m going defense-driven in a big way. Every smart GM says defense rules, but I’ve been like Jack in “Jack and The Beanstalk”- I go to the market meaning to get glove men, but come home with a handful of magic beans instead. No more. And pumping up my defense will allow me a better read on all those pitchers I’ve been spending money on. If they can’t succeed in the environment that I’m gonna create for them, well, I’ll be forced to face the fact that they suck.
Secondly, the bullpen. While I’m giving the starters another chance to work things out in 2058, I cut four of my relievers loose. They were all guys who’d clock in with stats that were mediocre, but not bad enough to force my hand. I’m tired of waiting for them to get better; I’m going to see if I can find some new blood somewhere.
Thirdly will be my standard “find five guys under 25” that I alluded to earlier. And it would be cool if one of them were a third baseman. Ernesto Gonzalez is great, but he’s pushing 40 and there’s no one in the pipeline to replace him.
I look forward to revisiting these goals at the end of 2058, and probably laughing bitterly at what a fool I was…
My first priority for 2057 was to finish the process of getting the Gamblers on a sound financial footing. When I first became a GM, I thought that I would just build a winning team, and then attendance would go up and money would be made. Silly, silly me… It actually works the other way around; the money needs to come first. Now finally, the budget is up, the payroll is under control, the stadium is new, and there are even a few assets left squirrelled away in my mattress. Goal achieved.
My second goal was to identify at least three more pitchers who could do a decent job in the rotation. Goal definitely not achieved. I signed a bunch of free agent starters, and the best I can say for them is that the jury is still out on them. But there may be extenuating circumstances; we’ll get to that in a bit.
And goal #3- I always have three goals- was to add five guys under age 25 who could actually be a part of some future decent Gamblers team. You never know, but I think my first four draft picks at least have a chance to help the cause. I acquired P Robert Carlson in a trade; he had a nice year in AA and will pitch in AAA at age 23 if I can keep him pointed at the goal line. And I just acquired CF Ed Correa; he’s a year over my arbitrary cutoff point, but I’m counting on him to be pretty good this season.
Looking ahead to 2058; what should my goals be? Well, firstly, I’m going defense-driven in a big way. Every smart GM says defense rules, but I’ve been like Jack in “Jack and The Beanstalk”- I go to the market meaning to get glove men, but come home with a handful of magic beans instead. No more. And pumping up my defense will allow me a better read on all those pitchers I’ve been spending money on. If they can’t succeed in the environment that I’m gonna create for them, well, I’ll be forced to face the fact that they suck.
Secondly, the bullpen. While I’m giving the starters another chance to work things out in 2058, I cut four of my relievers loose. They were all guys who’d clock in with stats that were mediocre, but not bad enough to force my hand. I’m tired of waiting for them to get better; I’m going to see if I can find some new blood somewhere.
Thirdly will be my standard “find five guys under 25” that I alluded to earlier. And it would be cool if one of them were a third baseman. Ernesto Gonzalez is great, but he’s pushing 40 and there’s no one in the pipeline to replace him.
I look forward to revisiting these goals at the end of 2058, and probably laughing bitterly at what a fool I was…
