Whatashame wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 18:13 pm
The thing that helped the Braves immensely is the fact that they found two talents in Acuna and Albies, then got them to sign ridiculously low extensions. Without looking it up I believe that Acuna signed an extension around 8/96 and Albies signed something around a 7/35 deal. Those deals allowed them to pursue other deals while those two all stars were making way below market value.
Albies is from Curacao. That money probably makes him the richest man on the island.
Acuna signed after his rookie season. He is great when healthy but has only played a full season twice in seven years since signing the deal.
I remember reading an interview with Albies and he was questioned about taking such a team friendly deal. He was asked about taking a deal that made him so underpaid. Albies said pretty much that he came from absolutely nothing. Grew up with nothing. That signing a contract that would pay him 35 million dollars to play baseball might seem like a small amount but it seemed like a fortune to him. He could finally take care of his family and at the time he had no regrets.
Exactly. Anybody who doesn't understand that has never seen that level of poverty. I grew up living in a single wide but I was rich compared to many places.
I grew up with very little also. Didn’t really realize how poor we were because all of my friends were in the same boat. I joke all the time with my sons how my dad would roll over in his grave if I ever looked another grown man in the eyes and told him that 100 million dollars just isn’t enough to play baseball.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
$220m payroll. Exactly. That’s the big difference.
Are you still yelling at clouds?
Just saying that’s the formula the Brave used and the difference.
Loading up on young, cost controlled talent and eventually bolstering it with a $170-$180 million payroll is a lot closer to the Braves loading up on young, cost controlled talent and eventually bolstering it with a $200-$220 million payroll than it is to being the Rays who, no matter how much young, cost controlled talent they have, can't push their payroll above $100 million.
And spending $170-$180 million WITHOUT having loaded up on young, cost controlled talent doesn't get you anywhere either.
Have you looked at next 3 FA classses? Nothing to add. $170-$180 will be $50 less than top 15 in 3 years. Yes. Young talent is important to keep cost down but spending will also be equally important. The longer they wait the higher it will be.
Whatashame wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 18:13 pm
The thing that helped the Braves immensely is the fact that they found two talents in Acuna and Albies, then got them to sign ridiculously low extensions. Without looking it up I believe that Acuna signed an extension around 8/96 and Albies signed something around a 7/35 deal. Those deals allowed them to pursue other deals while those two all stars were making way below market value.
Michael Harris wasn't a bad 8 year get either.
under .700 ops last year - I was going to list him as one of their ugly extensions
Down year. 758 ops career. Heck, that would have looked great on the Cards last year.
he was basically Nootbar last year
LOL, nothing like Nootbaar.
Harris swings at EVERYTHING. At one point last season, he went two months between walks.
my bad - Harris' ops was actually LOWER than NOOT last year - let that sink in
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
$220m payroll. Exactly. That’s the big difference.
Are you still yelling at clouds?
Just saying that’s the formula the Brave used and the difference.
There have been dozens of articles written and interviews given that cover the Cards strategy. When you harp and harp against that strategy, you are yelling at clouds.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
$220m payroll. Exactly. That’s the big difference.
Are you still yelling at clouds?
Just saying that’s the formula the Brave used and the difference.
There have been dozens of articles written and interviews given that cover the Cards strategy. When you harp and harp against that strategy, you are yelling at clouds.
They only said they will spend. They have never said have a top 10 payroll. They could raise to $150m and that would fulfill
Their promise
Whatashame wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 18:13 pm
The thing that helped the Braves immensely is the fact that they found two talents in Acuna and Albies, then got them to sign ridiculously low extensions. Without looking it up I believe that Acuna signed an extension around 8/96 and Albies signed something around a 7/35 deal. Those deals allowed them to pursue other deals while those two all stars were making way below market value.
Albies is from Curacao. That money probably makes him the richest man on the island.
Acuna signed after his rookie season. He is great when healthy but has only played a full season twice in seven years since signing the deal.
I remember reading an interview with Albies and he was questioned about taking such a team friendly deal. He was asked about taking a deal that made him so underpaid. Albies said pretty much that he came from absolutely nothing. Grew up with nothing. That signing a contract that would pay him 35 million dollars to play baseball might seem like a small amount but it seemed like a fortune to him. He could finally take care of his family and at the time he had no regrets.
Exactly. Anybody who doesn't understand that has never seen that level of poverty. I grew up living in a single wide but I was rich compared to many places.
I grew up with very little also. Didn’t really realize how poor we were because all of my friends were in the same boat. I joke all the time with my sons how my dad would roll over in his grave if I ever looked another grown man in the eyes and told him that 100 million dollars just isn’t enough to play baseball.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
So you don’t count their World Series or what? Cause you asked what they’d won as if they haven’t won anything.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
So you don’t count their World Series or what? Cause you asked what they’d won as if they haven’t won anything.
I recognize that but the Cards have more, and were better than your valued Braves
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
So you don’t count their World Series or what? Cause you asked what they’d won as if they haven’t won anything.
I recognize that but the Cards have more, and were better than your valued Braves
My Braves? The hell are you blabbering about?
It’s not my thread, but it seems you’re having trouble following it.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
So you don’t count their World Series or what? Cause you asked what they’d won as if they haven’t won anything.
I recognize that but the Cards have more, and were better than your valued Braves
My Braves? The hell are you blabbering about?
It’s not my thread, but it seems you’re having trouble following it.
After winning 94 and 96 games in 2012-2013, the Braves won 79, 67, 68, and 72 games from 2014-2017 (was their version of CT having a meltdown for four years because their payroll dropped to 19th, 22nd, and 29th during three of those years?!?).
Then they won 90 in 2018, 97 in 2019, and on from there (inc. a WS win in 2021).
They also fired Freddy Gonzales after winning 67 and 68 games.
After winning 94 and 96 games in 2012-2013, the Braves won 79, 67, 68, and 72 games from 2014-2017 (was their version of CT having a meltdown for four years because their payroll dropped to 19th, 22nd, and 29th during three of those years?!?).
Then they won 90 in 2018, 97 in 2019, and on from there (inc. a WS win in 2021).
They also fired Freddy Gonzales after winning 67 and 68 games.
Deflection.
The Braves from 2015-2017 did exactly what the Cardinals are finally doing now - rolling back payroll, being willing to only win 6X or 7X games a year, letting attendance slide somewhat if need be, etc. - in order to rebuild their organization on a sound foundation for a subsequent decade of success.
When their relatively expensive 2014 team (12th in MLB payroll) showed they lacked the talent to really compete, although they could have tried to soldier on into 2015 with Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, etc., they traded J. Upton (only 1 year of team control for 2015) and Heyward (only 1 year of team control for 2015), jettisoned the contracts of Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton, let Ervin Santana leave, etc. and proactively rebuilt.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
So you don’t count their World Series or what? Cause you asked what they’d won as if they haven’t won anything.
I recognize that but the Cards have more, and were better than your valued Braves
My Braves? The hell are you blabbering about?
It’s not my thread, but it seems you’re having trouble following it.
You value them more than the Cards
That’s such a weird thing to say. I don’t give a [shirt] about the Braves.
jbrach wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025 17:40 pm
a number of yrs ago the braves went into a rebuild that lasted for a few yrs...they decided to keep freeman and basically jettisoned everyone else and built a team with trades and from within..the sad truth is rebuilds do not always work but winning 75-80 games season after season isnt appealing...keep adding high upside youngsters and if someone emerges as a guy worthy of extending do it...
Why? What have they won?
The World Series... which feels like the goal.
Worse than the Cards last year
They had a lot of injures - and they fired their manager. Apparently they have this crazy idea that losing isn't good.
