poppysox

Yes...St. Louis, Pittsburg & Seattle.

My answer would be YES but neither of us knows for sure. Many of us would have rated Dave Dombrowski very highly but apparently he got unqualified recently. Actually...if RH would have been successful in his pursuit of Machado many would be blaming him now for the ridiculous money paid to such an overrated player after the very average year he had.

We are exactly where RH said we would be when the rebuild started. I think RH would agree with you if the next 4 or 5 years come up with zip. I am a Bears fan that thought this would be our year as did many on this board I would wager. Were we wrong or is this just part of the process. I don't know...time will tell.

I predict that no matter what is done...half the board will be upset with RH.

JR tends to operate behind the scenes but isn't a front man for media purposes. Jerry is a fan just like us. How many of us would keep our noses out of it? Not many of us I would wager. It's in the blood of a die hard fan to have strong opinions.

As the poster who called Rick Hahn "a very smart guy" and expressed optimism in his abilities to take us to the next level...I will again express my opinion on this subject. Most fair minded people would agree that a BA from the University Michigan, a Harvard Law School degree and a MBA from Kellogg School of Management would require a fair amount of intelligence. Several years of work in the role of being a sports agent and 17 years in FO roles is an impressive background for the position of GM. The reality of the FO is that our owner is one of the most hands on owners in all of baseball and that owner has a great deal of confidence in KW. Therefore any GM for this organization has to deal with that 3 headed monster. I believe that the last 4 seasons have given RH a bigger voice in the decisions we are discussing...how the rebuild is accomplished, trades, extensions, drafts and free agent decisions. Hahn's negotiated extensions on Eaton, Anderson, Sale and Q where excellent. The subsequent trades for top talent form the backbone of our period of contention. Top baseball people sing the praises of that group. I think the recent drafts of Madrigal & Vaughn are excellent with the Jury still out on Collins. The acquiring of Robert & Abreu are also great but perhaps less clear if all credit for those goes to Hahn or the 3 headed monster. RH is being held accountable for results as it should be but he operates under guidelines set by ownership of budget and many personnel decisions such as Cooper and maybe even Ricky. Although I understand the frustration of chasing top end free agent talent last offseason...I don't blame RH for making what they felt was their best effort and coming in second. It happens. I also try to remember that hindsight is 20/20. In hindsight Alonso was a disaster but none of us saw his performance coming when he was signed. Lastly I would like to say that many posters have pithy remarks of what other posters have to say. Try posting your own ideas of what should be done rather than shooting holes in others posts.

Bingo!

14x2 is what I predicted the day he got the QO.

Grandal solves lots of problems.

He was hitting appreciably better after his trip to AAA. We need to have someone for late inning defense and there is no one better.

I don't want Hamels but we meet his criteria.

If I had to guess...Puig. My preference would be Pederson.

I agree that 2020 is a go for it year. Two above average starters, Grandal, a 2 WAR right fielder and 2 good relief pitchers are the needs IMO. Have Robert and Madrigal hit the ground running and solid contributions from Kopech and Cease. Need a little luck but not hard to believe it could happen. Cole would go a long way to solidify our chances.

Maybe we should sign Bumgarner and Wheeler just to make sure we cover all the bases.

Sanchez if we retain his services or Mandick are fine.

No.

Overhyped IMO...not really exceptional at anything.

If our offseason is Avi, Wheeler, Cole and Grandal he should get a statue on the concourse.

I don't see Benintendi as a better RF alternative than Puig/Calhoun and they don't require a probable #3/#4 starter.

Jack is just trying to get a reaction. I know he's smarter than that. I'm a Hahn believer but that trade would end it for me.

OOPS!

There are 3 or 4 "right players" something like Grandal/#2 & #4 starter/ 2 WAR RF available that only cost money. Take 9 core players...Yoan, Eloy, Tim, Robert, Madrigal, Vaughn, Gio, Cease, Kopech and add bench pieces like Garcia, McCann, Collins, Dunning Engel and Sanchez at a reduced rate. That leaves 7 opening for the pen of which we already have 4 or 5. This team is very close with rather modest additions. Upgrade those "right players" to #1 and #2 or 3 starters and a Pederson type in RF. Well...you get my point. No need to mess with the core guys.

U wear me out with this trade Madrigal stuff.

Your point of 33/133 having this from outside the organization would have everyone doing handsprings. I for one am not anxious to face Jose if and when he wears some other team uniform. More than anything...I think people feel him to be overpaid and with that I agree.

I'm not a KW fan...so sue me.