The Brewster

It hasn't been the best of an offseason for the Jimmies. The team gambled on letting Chris Workman and Pablo Soto go, hoping to resign them to cheaper, more team friendly deals. Their demands never came down to what Charm City wanted and they're gone. The team was in on Luis Soto, hoping to have him play 2B primarily, but also loved his positional versatility and solid bat. Negotiations seems close before Edmonton swooped in and blew the Jimmies offer out of the water. They were also in on multiple starting pitchers, whiffing on all the big names despite solid offers.

Despite having some good offensive pieces, the offense has always seemed to under perform. As a lineup right at this point in time, it could be the weakest in a few years, lacking depth beyond sluggers Carlton Winson, Aubrey Anderson, and Alfredo Salazar.

The rotation last year was disastrous, as they put a lot of chips on the table to get some guys only for them to go down with season ending injuries. Tony Canales was a nice surprise, but before last season, he had never given 200+ innings of solid pitching. Can he do that again? Egbert Behner had a down year. Can he bounce back? It could be a solid bunch if Arturo Reyes follows up on a career year, Claudio Escobedo can follow up on last years success, and Norberto Leon can stay healthy. A lot of if's for the rotation.

The bullpen was very good but repeated success if doubtful. The loss of Dillon Young will hurt. So will Raúl Sánchez, though they may still try to bring him back. Tim Waller had a career year and his age suggest he could be on the up. Jeff French has his best year as a Jimmie but he was sub-par for them before then. Wilmot Schlondorff was his usual self and was very good at the back end of the 'pen. The rest of the bullpen will be fulled out flyer type of players, like Rule 5 pick Hector Mata and free agent pickup Randall Thomas. This could be a regression area.

With no real prospects on the horizon, is the window closing? Or has it shut? The team has some star power but not a lot of players to supplement them. They still have some money so they can make a move, but the free agents that would be helpful are dwindling. The team now is probably a Wild Card team at best when you look at what they lost, what division rivals have done, and teams like Rockville on the up. All of these things are leaving GM Brandon Slouck to wonder if it's better to get out early than late, and tear this thing down. With young starts with cheap multiyear contracts, they could get a couple hauls of prospects that would load up their farm but put them in some dark years, something the Jimmies really haven't experience despite being one of the 2029 expansion teams. It may be time to take that turn into the unknown and hope they come out the other side a better franchise for it.

You can definitely go either way. I think you have a few prospects who could move the needle if you were looking to pick up a vet via trade to plug a hole (Imai/Perrolas/Maldonado). On the other hand, you could get a pretty big haul for Behner, Winson, Salazar, and Anderson.

That's the rub. I could probably make a move, but is it going to put me over the top? I don't think so. I think last year was my shot and not getting the rotation going ended that. The hauls those 4 names could get me would load me up and hopefully I'd be ready to compete again in 2 or 3 years.

It looks like you are in a similar situation as me. You have some marquee talent, but probably not enough to make a run at a title which is the goal. So trying to decide whether to blow it up and restart or continue to push for a wild card spot and hope the post-season random generator works in your favor is the hard part.

If you want to send me your talent for 50 cents on the dollar so i can win a title I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll gladly take care of Winson for you!

I think you guys are missing the point. The question isn't, "Do I have enough talent to be considered the clear favorite to win the Landis (or even any given series)?" The question is, "Do I have the pieces to get multiple playoff births in the near future?"

That's all you can really do. I'm of the opinion that if you think you have a team that can make the playoffs for the next couple of seasons, you should try and trade future assets for current production. Because when you eventually reach the point that it no longer looks like you have a potential playoff team, you can then trade that current production for the future assets.

Plus, with the way the current market is, you have to hope you get lucky and find a team who's been rebuilding for a few years, has a ton of good prospects, and is thinking they are ready to make a push this year (like Randy last year) if you are going to get anything close to fair value for star players.

All valid points. But the salary cap does make that a little more difficult and tricky.

7teen wrote:All valid points. But the salary cap does make that a little more difficult and tricky.

No doubt (though CC has a ton of money still)

I was actually thinking about this on the way to work today. I knew Charm City was in and lost out on Luis Soto. I knew they let Workman, Soto, Adams, Young and Habeneras walk. I was racking my brain trying to figure out who they may have signed. The JLA as a whole(mostly Jax, Mon, Rockville) has added a lot of talent. The Jimmies may have slide down to 4th on the depth chart. I assume they still have the resources to acquire a halfway decent middle infield. It wouldn't have to be a spectacular duo because the pitching and big bats are still there.

udlb58 wrote:I think you guys are missing the point. The question isn't, "Do I have enough talent to be considered the clear favorite to win the Landis (or even any given series)?" The question is, "Do I have the pieces to get multiple playoff births in the near future?"

I get it. And I'm not sure the answer is yes with the moves you and Montreal made plus Rockville looking to compete. I'd think at worst, you, Vegas, Montreal, Havana are definitely better at this point and I'm fighting with Brooklyn, Rockville, and San Antonio, who I think will bounce back as long as the pitching stays healthy. I'm not sure fighting for the 4th Wild Card is worth it. I don't think I have the assets at all to get what I really need.

And yes, I have money, but I'm not seeing anything at this point worth buying. Guys I really need anyway. I can still get another decent SP. Maybe a bat. But it's not looking great. I probably will update my block to shop guys and see what response I get. If I don't like it, I'll keep on making my push.

New Orleans is definitely going to be a factor as well, I would even put them in that top grouping.

Yeah, forgot about them. I get it, if you get in, you have a chance. But the party is getting more crowded and at some point, some people aren't going to be able to get in.

ae37jr wrote:I was actually thinking about this on the way to work today. I knew Charm City was in and lost out on Luis Soto. I knew they let Workman, Soto, Adams, Young and Habeneras walk. I was racking my brain trying to figure out who they may have signed. The JLA as a whole(mostly Jax, Mon, Rockville) has added a lot of talent. The Jimmies may have slide down to 4th on the depth chart. I assume they still have the resources to acquire a halfway decent middle infield. It wouldn't have to be a spectacular duo because the pitching and big bats are still there.

Right. There are decent DH's out there; there's Wellington/Medrano at 2nd; Adams could come in and platoon with Logan again; there's a few reasonable SPs still out there.

If CC does tear down, I'll be sad I don't have assets to acquire Behner. He and Lecaze are my EBA boys! Paris Pats 4 Life! (I was actually very close to letting Lane take Greenville and just staying with Paris back then). Could you imagine? No Hurricanes, no Surfers, no Landis for Long Beach/Tuscon, probably no Edmonton (I may have had one of those expansion teams instead of chey)

bcslouck wrote:Yeah, forgot about them. I get it, if you get in, you have a chance. But the party is getting more crowded and at some point, some people aren't going to be able to get in.

i wouldnt be shocked if it took 90 wins to make it into the JL playoffs this year, we are really top heavy (especially over in the JLS).

udlb58 wrote: If CC does tear down, I'll be sad I don't have assets to acquire Behner. He and Lecaze are my EBA boys! Paris Pats 4 Life! (I was actually very close to letting Lane take Greenville and just staying with Paris back then). Could you imagine? No Hurricanes, no Surfers, no Landis for Long Beach/Tuscon, probably no Edmonton (I may have had one of those expansion teams instead of chey)

Winson was my first ever draft pick in the Brewster back when I was with Brussels. Would love for him to come home. I also didn't want to leave the EBA at the time. I like smaller leagues with fewer levels and didn't want to commit to participation requirements. I had also just gotten a grasp on Brussels and the EBA and the had to learn a whole new team and league.

udlb58 wrote:If CC does tear down, I'll be sad I don't have assets to acquire Behner. He and Lecaze are my EBA boys! Paris Pats 4 Life! (I was actually very close to letting Lane take Greenville and just staying with Paris back then). Could you imagine? No Hurricanes, no Surfers, no Landis for Long Beach/Tuscon, probably no Edmonton (I may have had one of those expansion teams instead of chey)

I took over after you. So I had first hand scouting on both. Really wanted Lacaze and was surprised he didn't go first.

Pats 4 Life!

ae37jr wrote:

udlb58 wrote: If CC does tear down, I'll be sad I don't have assets to acquire Behner. He and Lecaze are my EBA boys! Paris Pats 4 Life! (I was actually very close to letting Lane take Greenville and just staying with Paris back then). Could you imagine? No Hurricanes, no Surfers, no Landis for Long Beach/Tuscon, probably no Edmonton (I may have had one of those expansion teams instead of chey)

Winson was my first ever draft pick in the Brewster back when I was with Brussels. Would love for him to come home. I also didn't want to leave the EBA at the time. I like smaller leagues with fewer levels and didn't want to commit to participation requirements. I had also just gotten a grasp on Brussels and the EBA and the had to learn a whole new team and league.

I was also hesitant to leave the EBA. I was asked multiple times to take a BBA team and declined, lol. Munchen was on its way to being a powerhouse again. We had a farm system that would probably rank in the top ten of the Brewster right at the end.

I love that there are so many different ways to think about building and running organizations.

Charm city set to flounder in 2034...they lack the balls to improve