Looking for ideas from non tank owners. If you hate losing so much that you can't stomach it for 3 months please give some feedback, thoughts, ideas, practices, etc.

OK, assuming you mean: 1) knowing your team won't contend so you're playing for the longer term and 2) losing enough to get a mid round draft pick without completely defiling yourself... I think someone else said this elsewhere but I'll have to put it in my own words.

1/ Set a budget which lets you accomplish your other goals than building the best immediate roster. Investing in scouting, IFA, or maybe even free agency.

2/ Get rid of any player contracts which don't fit into your long term goals.

3/ Set the best major league roster you can fit into this budget. Maybe you're using some pitchers who wouldn't make a contending squad. Fine.

4/ Make sure your true prospects are getting playing time, whether that's in the majors or not.

Even if you think, man my team looks more like a AAA squad now, you probably won't drop below .400. You have to actually try to do that.

Damag says that but while I was learning the ropes I had a team with 48 wins followed by 52 wins.

A couple of thoughts on this if its before free agency.

1) Defense comes cheap and can rack up wins. A gold glove SS and CF that can steal bases is probably out there and can be had for about 4 million each. They won't hit a lick but when you know your team is going to be bad who cares?

2) If you are picking 16th in the draft or below go for the type A guys. There are a lot of good type A players that either won't get bid on as hard because the money and the pick are too high a cost, or won't get bid on at all because owners don't think they are worth the pick. You can stock up on them for a pretty good deal if your draft pick is protected.

3) Pitching is worth the time and money. I'm always nervous seeing position players that are 31 getting massive 5 year contracts. They are going to drop off productivity fast and aren't going to be worth it at the end of the deal. I'll often see these guys on the trade block in year 2-3 of their deal. Pitching is another story. You can sign a guy who is 31 to a 5 year deal and chances are when he is 36 not only will he still be productive but he will get another long term contract. Even if you're out of it this season you can plan for the future by signing top quality talent this season.


My one thing that I'll say is different then Damag is I can't remember the last time I've spent money on IFA. Don't get me wrong, it is a great tool to get quality players but I find it costs a lot of money and there is the potential to end up with nothing. I'll save my $$$ for free agency after those guys have come over.

With a week to play, there are four teams in Major League Baseball with a sub .400 record.

Depends on context of question. If you're not looking to build and just looking to contend, check out this guy as a blueprint. I have not seen a more successful owner use the $120+ million payroll strat.

If you're still looking to build while not tanking, the comments above from damag and hockey are good.

I would add the below.

1. Wait until two nights before rule 5 draft so you can determine which players have little interest. If you target a handful of free agents after day 1 of free agency, you can note their demands. If their demands get lower in the next cycle, you know you're likely not going to get into a bidding war.

2. If you're still looking to build while not tanking, be sure to max out at least one scouting budget. Too many owners use the "the more players you see, the better" philosophy, but quality scouting is better than quantity scouting.

3. Don't be afraid to change what the last guy was doing. Get creative. Move some players around the diamond. Just because the llast guy had a guy at SS or CF, doesn't mean he belongs there.

Set reasonable goals for improvement, especially in FA. From personal experience, if you try to do too much at once you're more likely to make bad decisions.