Players share most of the responsibility
As the M's continue to lose, the finger pointing grows stronger. Fans have been complaining about the offense and lack of power for years, and seeing the M's squander yet another excellent pitching performance gets old fast. Nothing kills fan enthusiasm more than a team that can't hit. The M's are losing games and fan interest at a frightening rate.
So naturally Bavasi is getting a good chunk of the blame. But how much blame should a GM get when his players underperform at such a ridiculous rate?
It would be one thing if the M's were losing and Sexson, Beltre and Everett were all hitting at their expected rates. But it is something else when you have players who are simply not producing at a rate NO ONE could have foreseen. While some would say Bavasi overpaid for Beltre, no one was thinking he was a sub .200 hitter with no power (Cirillo). And we all worried about Sexson's shoulder, but that's not the problem. Who thought Sexson would be on a pace to hit 15 home runs?
These current players are so bad, and playing such uninspired baseball, they share by far the largest blame. I don't care who your manager is, Sexson and Beltre should not be hitting like they have.
Let's face it, we all celebrated the day Beltre was signed. And while we worried about Sexson's injury risk, we knew the guy would hit home runs.
We are all surprised to see just how bad they are hitting. If Bavasi had any hair left, he'd be pulling it out watching these players cost him his job.
Washburn is pitching well. The bullpen is deep and has talent to be good for years to come. Meche and Piniero are pitching well enough to help the team, even if that means via trade at the deadline. Bavasi deserves to see how this team would perform if the players simply played like they are being paid.
As the M's continue to lose, the finger pointing grows stronger. Fans have been complaining about the offense and lack of power for years, and seeing the M's squander yet another excellent pitching performance gets old fast. Nothing kills fan enthusiasm more than a team that can't hit. The M's are losing games and fan interest at a frightening rate.
So naturally Bavasi is getting a good chunk of the blame. But how much blame should a GM get when his players underperform at such a ridiculous rate?
It would be one thing if the M's were losing and Sexson, Beltre and Everett were all hitting at their expected rates. But it is something else when you have players who are simply not producing at a rate NO ONE could have foreseen. While some would say Bavasi overpaid for Beltre, no one was thinking he was a sub .200 hitter with no power (Cirillo). And we all worried about Sexson's shoulder, but that's not the problem. Who thought Sexson would be on a pace to hit 15 home runs?
These current players are so bad, and playing such uninspired baseball, they share by far the largest blame. I don't care who your manager is, Sexson and Beltre should not be hitting like they have.
Let's face it, we all celebrated the day Beltre was signed. And while we worried about Sexson's injury risk, we knew the guy would hit home runs.
We are all surprised to see just how bad they are hitting. If Bavasi had any hair left, he'd be pulling it out watching these players cost him his job.
Washburn is pitching well. The bullpen is deep and has talent to be good for years to come. Meche and Piniero are pitching well enough to help the team, even if that means via trade at the deadline. Bavasi deserves to see how this team would perform if the players simply played like they are being paid.
posted by Tom at
10:52 AM
