2009 Goal?

by ShawnK on Jul 28, 2008 7:27 PM EDT Comment 26 comments

So what is management’s goal for 2009? I have not heard or have missed the familiar "we expect to compete for the central division in 2009" from Shapiro. The cupboard is being restocked as we speak - which is exciting, but save several impact players all emerging from the minors at the same time, and 2008 second-half breakthroughs by Marte, Caberra, Garko, Gut, and a starting pitcher, it looks like we will not be in contention again until 2010. Is this the general expectation or am I missing something.

If that is the expectation, how many more players become trade bait by Thursday in order to build the core for 2010 and beyond?

0 recs | Comment 26 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Shapiro has indicated that Hafner’s situation is a major variable in his approach to next year (amount of off-season change required).

by palcal on Jul 28, 2008 7:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There’s several key goals left for 2008:

-Get Fausto Carmona back on track
-Play Andy Marte as much as possible
-Get Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner healthy and in the lineup

There’s several more, but meeting or missing the above goals would affect any 2009 moves.

by Ryan on Jul 28, 2008 11:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Marte.

Have we heard this from management and I missed it, or is it a goal you project to be necessary?

You know Selig? Ombudsman.

by rolub on Jul 29, 2008 8:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We have heard it from management.

by Jay on Jul 29, 2008 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, after re-reading, i realized they were “goals left for 2008”, and not for next year, which is what i was curious about.

You know Selig? Ombudsman.

by rolub on Jul 29, 2008 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For 2009, maybe 85 wins, and improvement from above-named players. The Tigers and Sox will be old next year, but the Twins might be the favorite.

by odradek on Jul 29, 2008 12:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well considering how things went for the two teams favored for this season (Det and Cle) i think this division is going to be wide open next year.

by hans on Jul 29, 2008 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s an odd-numbered year - I don’t see why we can’t compete. I see us in the same situation the A’s were in this year - rebuilding, sure, but still with enough talent to compete.

With everything that’s gone wrong, we still have a positive run differential (by the way, all but four AL teams currently have positive run differentials. Interleague play is a joke). An optimist can see a rotation of two Cy Young-caliber starters backed by a slew of young talent, with half a season of Westbrook. The bullpen is stocked with guys who have been good at some point (the Raffys, Masa) and promising arms (Stevens, Meloan). The offense is iffy, but there’s no reason not to expect good years from Grady, Jhonny and Vic. A few nice surprises (a slight Hafner rebound, AbaCab hitting like it’s AAA, LaPorta doing what he’s supposed to do) and it’s looking pretty good.

It could all go swirling down the toilet, but right now I see no reason not to be optimistic.

by TheDanimal on Jul 29, 2008 3:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yea, I think 2010 is going to be “the year”. Not to say that we will win it all .. but the expectation levels will be such that anything less than the playoffs will be a major disappointment (and could be Wedge’s last year, if that happens).

I think there are far too many questions (that won’t get answered this year) going into next year to honestly say you expect to win the division. Looking at the recent history of the AL Central .. it’s almost impossible to predict who will be the favorite (except for excluding KC), so really we have as good a shot as anybody.

by Toxicadam on Jul 29, 2008 4:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The goal next year – the same as it was this year: win it all. Nothing less is an acceptable goal.

Free at last! Free at last! Andy Marte is free at last!

Pronk Needs You

by woodsmeister on Jul 29, 2008 8:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That’s what the Indians say for public consumption. That’s what the Pirates say, and the Royals, too. But pragmatically, you have to realize you have too many question marks. If you come out of the gate fast, and players exceed expectations, and you get lucky (how often do these three occur for Indians teams?), then you can shift into action. But realistically, I think, you know your chances.

by odradek on Jul 29, 2008 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, well the Rays said the same thing. Only difference: they deliver.

Resident LGT beer kinda sewer

by mauichuck on Jul 29, 2008 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For the first time in like a decade, after swathing themselves with top picks for years. Good for them that they’ve finally shown up, but I reserve the right to be unimpressed.

by fleerdon on Jul 29, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Have to agree with this sentiment. Color me unimpressed

by Roger Dorn on Jul 29, 2008 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Plus, they haven’t delivered yet. Jason Bartlett, Dioner Navarro and Cliff Floyd?

by odradek on Jul 29, 2008 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They’re in the hunt – that’s really all you can ask for. And next year I wouldn’t write the Royals off – or the Pirates for that matter. We grossly over estimated our team this year and grossly under estimated both the White Sox and the Twins as well as the Rays. See, that’s whats great about baseball anything can happen.

Resident LGT beer kinda sewer

by mauichuck on Jul 29, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s unclear whether how much we grossly over-estimated them, or whether they’re just riding over a division without any good teams in it.

by Jay on Jul 29, 2008 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Twins aren’t that good. They’re fifth in the AL in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed. Also, their offense isn’t as good as it looks - they’re seventh in both OBP and SLG and last in home runs. So they’ll probably can’t keep scoring runs at that pace. Unless they get rid of Livan Hernandez and bring up Liriano they won’t make the playoffs. The White Sox - yes, they’re better than everybody predicted. As far as the Rays, a lot of people expected them to be much better with all the young talent they have. Maybe not leading the division ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox, but this isn’t that surprising.

I don’t know about the Pirates, but I don’t see the Royals being a serious contender for a while. KC is third from the bottom in runs scored and second from the bottom in runs allowed. And Rob Neyer says nothing but terrible things about their farm system (and he should know since he grew up a Royals fan). So I’m not too worried about them unless something dramatic happens there.

You’re right, though—anything can happen. A team can have injuries and many players underperform (2008 Indians) or a team can get lucky and have a bunch of players have career seasons at the same time (or go on a hot streak in the playoffs like the 2006 Cardinals did). No matter how much data we have and how much analysis we do, every year some teams and some players perform better or worse than we expect. That’s the human element of the game.

The Shin-Soo Choo of LGT.

by Buckeye Brad on Jul 29, 2008 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In lieu of a response I give you this

Resident LGT beer kinda sewer

by mauichuck on Jul 30, 2008 7:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow…obviously I never saw that before because that’s when I was in the hospital. Of course we all expected us to be very good….everyone expected us to be very good. I guess all I can say is, like you said, anything can happen in baseball. That’s what makes is fun to watch.

The Shin-Soo Choo of LGT.

by Buckeye Brad on Jul 30, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah but, in general, you know, Tampa delivers.

by joeee on Jul 30, 2008 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fully agree with this. Next year is absolutely not a “rebuilding” year. The rest of 2008 is our low-pressure, low-expectations time to look at which guys can contribute for next season, and if some of the guys on this club don’t perform well - I’m looking at you Andy and Tom and Ryan and Franklin and even Ben and you too, Shin Soo - they shouldn’t expect to still be with the team come April 2009.

by mrich on Jul 29, 2008 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

by fleerdon on Jul 29, 2008 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

After reading all of these comments, I am getting a “clearer” picture of the fuzziness that will be the 2009 season. I would be interested in seeing predictions for the 2009 lineup and rotation, but I suppose it is all in vain until these last two months play out AND until we get through Spring Training. So here’s to development…do it quickly!

by ShawnK on Jul 30, 2008 6:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Victor Martinez

I alway hear that Victor Martinez would be just a average 1st baseman, how many and who in the Al would be better? With Shoppach preforming way above average behind the plate and Sal doing a OK job as the backyp. Would be not be better with Vic and Kelly in the 2009 lineup, we pick up both defence and offence at both positions.

Fan in Texas

by fanintexas on Aug 9, 2008 10:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs