12-25-2015, 02:39 AM
(12-23-2015, 11:35 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: Despite the weird obsession Reds fans have with blaming Walt Jocketty for, well, everything and anything...he's been very good with trades.
He got Choo for Drew Stubbs and Didi Gregorius.
He got Eugenio Suarez for Alfredo Simon.
Anthony Desclafani for Mat Latos.
Mat Latos for Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal (both PED guys)
he's made a lot of very good moves.
Most people hate him for the moves he never made (because that's all on him, nothing to do with other teams)
True enough, but my beef with Walt lies in drafting and player development.
How on earth does a farm system become so completely bereft of position-player talent? This franchise hasn't been able to develop a decent LF since Adam Dunn. When they do develop an outfielder, they come to the majors unable to hit situationally and strike out a lot. Look at Bruce, Hamilton, Stubbs. Just no discipline whatsoever and swing out of their shoes at 3rd strikes.
I give the team credit for going for it. No doubt they did, and they knew they'd pay a price eventually. This is all fine with me. I can deal with a year or two of rebuilding. I just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the farm system and everyday eight players. People reference teams like Chicago and Houston, even Pittsburgh when citing being patient for a big rebuild, but we literally have no one close to the kinds of stud prospects they had in the pipeline. To worsen things, we have nobody on the big league roster that anyone wants to trade for to acquire talent with. The Chapman lifeline is blown. A Phillips or Bruce trade is a salary dump moreso than a talent acquisition.
I think this team is royally f'd for many years to come. The biggest bright spot for me is early draft slotting and real chances obtain blue chip prospects over the next two years. They have the second pick this year and have a real chance of being bad enough to get the first pick next season. Unfortunately, unlike the NFL, MLB prospects take a lot longer to develop in most cases.
