Sometimes you look at your team and say "If we finish .500, we'll be lucky." There's just not much you can do to fix it immediately(low draft picks, high payroll, aging vets, etc., etc). I think there are three things to do.

1. Add a player or two, hope to get a couple of career years, pray for a "down" year by a couple of teams and try to steal a WC. Never know what might happen in the playoffs.

2. Let it play out. Fill your roster holes with AAAA players that you've had in AAA for several seasons. Attempt to trade the overpriced vets or let the contracts expire. Play well enough to get 70-80 wins.

3. Tank. You're not making the playoffs this season or next. Stockpile some draft picks and IFA. Make your run in a few seasons. If you ain't first, you're last.



What do you do? Or is there another option?

I think the real answer is "it depends."

Recently, my teams have hovered around .500 and been faced with this dilemma. I think you really need to evalute the teams in your division and then determine what might be best for you.

When you were in my division in Joey Belle, I knew you were going to win the division every season and the best I could do is contend for a wild card spot. Essentially, I chose Option #2 on your list. I tried to develop my prospects enough that my team could compete as it was being re-tooled.

It didn't really work well because I neglected to move veteran players for more prospects AND I did not add a significant player or two to make improvements. Doing nothing resulted in being a middle of the pack team several seasons in a row.

Fortunately, my team won a division last season by winning 79 games. I decided to sign a big time FA pitcher prior to the season thinking it would win the division since the other clubs were weak. My team didn't win any more regular season games but I did advance to Round 2 because the guy was money in the playoffs.

I chose to dismantle a similar club in Major Leagues even though it could have competed for another season or two for the divison title. I didn't think it was worth going for it knowing I would not have a shot at a WS title even if I won my division. I noticed the other teams were up and coming and that I'd be even further back if I waited to rebuild.

I was able to move my core players for prospects and get their salaries off my books for upper level minor league talent rather than letting them go as Type A or B. Looking back, this was the right move as I am a season away from competing whereas it would take longer going through the draft.

Now, that being said I would not call it tanking. I would call it being realistic and in this particular case doing something and being proactive is better than doing nothing.

I'm not sure there are any other options if you are a long term owner. If you had a short time frame, I suspect you'd trade your minor leaguers and try to win the title regardless of how remote your chances were. This type of owner wouldn't care if the team was a mess since someone else would be cleaning it up.

You have to go with #1 or #3 - I've tried #2 and have been mired in mediocrity for 13 seasons. It doesn't work.

even if i ain't gonna make plyoffs i try to get to .500 just cuz i hate having a losing record.

I disagree with EasyE. I used option 2 in Moonlight Graham for a number of years, and have been in contention for the past five years with a solid farm system, and a reasonably good chance this year.

Building like that takes longer because you never flat out TANK, and I screwed myself over with a couple of stupid contracts in years where I really had no chance to contend. One or two bad contracts can set you back years in the cycle.

This way will take you 3-5 years to contend if you do it right because you add 2-4 prospects per year. When you think you're close, you dive into the FA/Intl market and/or sign some arb-eligibles to long-term deals. It will take you 5-7 if you mess up (prematurely sign some veterans to too-high, too-long contracts).

You might have a point there Todd - I definitely made some mistakes that might have prolonged the agony. Touche.

#2. If my team's not that good, I won't sacrifice the future. But I won't plan on losing the next season.

Quote: Originally Posted By MikeT23 on 10/08/2009
Sometimes you look at your team and say "If we finish .500, we'll be lucky." There's just not much you can do to fix it immediately(low draft picks, high payroll, aging vets, etc., etc). I think there are three things to do.

1. Add a player or two, hope to get a couple of career years, pray for a "down" year by a couple of teams and try to steal a WC. Never know what might happen in the playoffs.

2. Let it play out. Fill your roster holes with AAAA players that you've had in AAA for several seasons. Attempt to trade the overpriced vets or let the contracts expire. Play well enough to get 70-80 wins.

3. Tank. You're not making the playoffs this season or next. Stockpile some draft picks and IFA. Make your run in a few seasons. If you ain't first, you're last.



What do you do? Or is there another option?

personally, usually a combination of 1 and 2

For the record, I'm a 1. I try 2 but, as ST winds down, I'll see a couple of FA that are out there and replace my AAAA players. Then, as the season progresses, even if I'm a well-deserved 14-20, I'll contact other bottom feeders to see if they're looking to move a player. If I can get a slight upgrade, I'll do it. Sometimes it works, MG S8, most times it doesn't.

But, when it doesn't, I'd rather be "in the hunt" for 140-150 games than be done at game 110. Thus far, I've had no long extended breaks in post-season action(2 seasons in Coop is the longest) so it's not killing me for seasons on end.

I did #2 in Cooperstown, with a slight variation. I didn't just fill my roster with AAAA guys to ride it out. I had a modest payroll budget but tried to get the best 25 guys I could within that budget without sacrificing the core of my future.

Never won less than 70 games, so I was far from a walkover during the rebuilding process. Now I'm coming off three straight division titles with a still very young and talented team.

Just can't seem to win a playoff series.

Your timing was right in Coop. I was at a crossroads with an aging team. I had the longest consecutive playoff appearance streak in the AL and decided to take one more shot. So I went full steam for victory and quickly realized we were done. And that's why I'm at a non-playoff streak of 2.

are we talking before the regular season starts?

if so, you need to see what you have. keep anybody young and cheap, even if they're not great.

try to trade any big contracts/older guys if your team has no chance to sniff a wild card. those guys won't be around by the time your team's any good

if there are youngish talented guys in free agency, try to get a couple

after free agency ends, sign a couple older pieces to shore up any glaring holes in your ml roster

stay with it for the long haul cause eventually you'll get rid of enough crap and accumulate enough talent to be good again

I'm trying option #2 in Branch Rickey, a league where the prospect budget is hard capped at $20M. BR started out a very talent poor world and some of the SIMMY teams were just awful. The slow builders (draft, IFA, develop) have really suffered because there just isn't the same level of talent, so guys with mediocre ratings in another world is an above average talent in BR.

Anyway, mid way through last season I figured out that the window had closed on my team. So, I started trading the long term deals for major league ready "prospects". These guys were not pieces of an eventual rebuild - they were the protective tent I'm putting around the rebuilding project. BR also has W-L standards, so staying reasonably competitive is important.

I picked up a bunch of defensively talented guys with big power/eye numbers and marginal splits. I picked up a handful of 25-27 year old pitchers. Then, after rollover, I poached older FA in decline, but still able to give a decent performance. Then I traded the ace for 4 players and have begun marketing all remaining vets. I have all season to unload them. I'll stockpile 5 or 6 young pitchers and a decent position player or two. I'll draft well and watch the development of last year's picks. I'll eat a couple bad contracts to get another RP prospect or two. And next year, with my new collection of young guys, I'll hit the FA market, hard. I'll start to try and trade my transitional guys who will be hitting arb for more 3 year pros. And I'll hope that my division continues to suck and that 85 wins might not be out of reach.

No team is out of it in my mind. I've seen some serious comebacks on some teams, going as far as the WS.

If you have a team saddled with contracts and no minors, you obviously retool with the cheaper FAs, rule 5. Waiver wire is always good for cheap talent.

I bench or demote those big contracts if I can't trade them and play the best guys anyway.

Rinse and repeat.

Definitely option #1 for me...unless I am giving up a pick for a Type A player with your scenario, if I thought my team wasnt a playoff team I wouldnt add a Type A guy, but I would definitely try for that playoff spot...you never know!