McCutchen’s Spring

Stephen J. Nesbitt writes about Andrew McCutchen‘s spring training away from the Pirates:

After a 64-98 record last year, the Giants fetched Longoria and McCutchen to plug leaks in their lineup. Their front office, unlike many around the majors, determined a rebuild wasn’t its best option.

“It’s pretty apparent what this team is trying to do,” McCutchen says. “That’s why I’m over here. It could easily have gone a different route. I could easily have [been traded] to a team that wasn’t trying to win either.” He pauses and corrects himself. “I won’t say ‘either,’ because that means the Pirates aren’t trying to win. They say they are, so we’ll leave it at that.

“This is great. A team picked me up. A team wanted me here. That’s a great feeling, to be able to come somewhere you’re wanted. They’re trying to win.”

That comes up again in the article, that the Pirates were not trying to win. Right now, the Pirates have a better organization then when they let Barry Bonds go to free agency. They have the front office and field management to execute a tear down and a quick rebuild. The problem for them and others going this route is that so many teams are trying this. Some team is not going to lose enough to get the great draft picks, and even with good management, might wind up in a long term rut like the Royals and Pirates experienced.

Note, too, that the Giants strategy is not long term. This isn’t a team that will be great for four or five years. It seems the Giants want to win a fourth World Series title in a decade, something few teams have ever done.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2tM58zU