Once upon a time, I thought Steve Goldman had something to say.
Now he just makes me want to kick things.
He's 100% wrong about the Yankees and their decision to draft Brackman and insufferably smug about it at the same time.
Drafting Brackman didn't work out, but it was EXACTLY what the Yankees should be doing, using their resources to gamble to the upside. Drafting at the end of the 1st round is ALWAYS going to be a huge crapshoot, much better to take the best prospect (potentially speaking), raw or not and hope you can catch lightening.
Meanwhile, the Gold Gloves continue to be a fucking joke as Brett Gardner loses out in LF to Alex (I hit well and have a lot of assists) Gordon.
Though I disagree with Goldman's tone (and who wouldn't), a cursory glance seems to indicate Brackman certainly did not live up to the implied billing by his contract, a stipulation being that he had to be on the 40-man roster throughout in order to be signed. I suspect were it not for that, he'd either still be in the organization somewhere or he'd have been traded/cut loose after 2010. As it is, the fact that they didn't trade him also indicates the 40-man roster spot is more valuable to them than what he had to offer after three mediocre seasons in the minors. As for the possibility of him being a reliever, that should have been evident at this point; the value of the option might have been wasted money and a wasted roster spot.
I'm okay with some other organization picking him up and developing him into something. They'd be better off finding a capable fielder with a capable bat to fill that roster spot.
Though I disagree with Goldman's tone (and who wouldn't), a cursory glance seems to indicate Brackman certainly did not live up to the implied billing by his contract, a stipulation being that he had to be on the 40-man roster throughout in order to be signed.
I wouldn't have signed Brackman to the *contract* that the Yankees did, but that's really a separate thing from drafting him where they did. They gambled, it didn't pay off ... that's why they call it GAMBLING. As long as the pot odds are in your favor, there's an argument, sometimes ironclad, to be made in favor of making the call, something Goldman seems incapable of understanding ...
Goldman is insufferable and has been for a while now. I haven't read him for years. It's too bad Cliff moved in with him at the Pinstriped Bible---I tend to avoid the site...um...religiously...so I rarely read Cliff these days, either.
[5] Word. Hard to say it better than that. That's why I love it here - very little of the smug factor. It's just fans being fans. There is analysis and angst, without too much of the "we're smarter than the Yankees" baloney.
The baseball draft is such a crapshoot. What rounds did Mattingly, Piazza and Brien Taylor all get taken in?
In football and (to a much lesser extent nowadays) basketball, you get to draft players who've spent time in essentially the minor leagues. Baseball, you also draft high schoolers who's potential is up in the air. Now if an organization consistently screws up the draft, then you can criticize the front office and scouting. But I'm not going to bash anyone over a single pick.
Once upon a time, I thought Steve Goldman had something to say.
Now he just makes me want to kick things.
He's 100% wrong about the Yankees and their decision to draft Brackman and insufferably smug about it at the same time.
Drafting Brackman didn't work out, but it was EXACTLY what the Yankees should be doing, using their resources to gamble to the upside. Drafting at the end of the 1st round is ALWAYS going to be a huge crapshoot, much better to take the best prospect (potentially speaking), raw or not and hope you can catch lightening.
Meanwhile, the Gold Gloves continue to be a fucking joke as Brett Gardner loses out in LF to Alex (I hit well and have a lot of assists) Gordon.
Fucking Bullshit.
Though I disagree with Goldman's tone (and who wouldn't), a cursory glance seems to indicate Brackman certainly did not live up to the implied billing by his contract, a stipulation being that he had to be on the 40-man roster throughout in order to be signed. I suspect were it not for that, he'd either still be in the organization somewhere or he'd have been traded/cut loose after 2010. As it is, the fact that they didn't trade him also indicates the 40-man roster spot is more valuable to them than what he had to offer after three mediocre seasons in the minors. As for the possibility of him being a reliever, that should have been evident at this point; the value of the option might have been wasted money and a wasted roster spot.
I'm okay with some other organization picking him up and developing him into something. They'd be better off finding a capable fielder with a capable bat to fill that roster spot.
[1] Agreed. Yanks can afford risks, that's why extending CC the way they did was surprisingly brilliant. What a douche.
Though I disagree with Goldman's tone (and who wouldn't), a cursory glance seems to indicate Brackman certainly did not live up to the implied billing by his contract, a stipulation being that he had to be on the 40-man roster throughout in order to be signed.
I wouldn't have signed Brackman to the *contract* that the Yankees did, but that's really a separate thing from drafting him where they did. They gambled, it didn't pay off ... that's why they call it GAMBLING. As long as the pot odds are in your favor, there's an argument, sometimes ironclad, to be made in favor of making the call, something Goldman seems incapable of understanding ...
Goldman is insufferable and has been for a while now. I haven't read him for years. It's too bad Cliff moved in with him at the Pinstriped Bible---I tend to avoid the site...um...religiously...so I rarely read Cliff these days, either.
[5] Word. Hard to say it better than that. That's why I love it here - very little of the smug factor. It's just fans being fans. There is analysis and angst, without too much of the "we're smarter than the Yankees" baloney.
The baseball draft is such a crapshoot. What rounds did Mattingly, Piazza and Brien Taylor all get taken in?
In football and (to a much lesser extent nowadays) basketball, you get to draft players who've spent time in essentially the minor leagues. Baseball, you also draft high schoolers who's potential is up in the air. Now if an organization consistently screws up the draft, then you can criticize the front office and scouting. But I'm not going to bash anyone over a single pick.