The offseason is not over yet, so your grades can change as the offseason rolls along, but I am interested in hearing how some of you feel Admin Beinfest has done so far with his acquisitions this offseason. Using a standard grading scale (A-excellent, B-above average, C-average, D-below average and F-failure) grade Beinfest's performance in various areas and give some kind of explanation as to why you are giving him that grade. How has Beinfest improved or has failed to improve the:

 

1) Pitching staff (rotation and bullpen)

 

2) Infield (starters and bench)

 

3) Outfield (starters and bench)

 

4) Minor league depth (prospects and older farmhands)

 

5) Marlin's overall

Staff: C-. Gregg is a solid addition, and Owens/Lindstrom have live arms where one should be a decent RP for a few years. Bostick was garbage, and Vargas did turn out to be nothing special, so we did bring in talent even if we don't have the elusive 'closer.' Bringing in an additional solid vet RP for a setup/closer role would raise this to a B (does not mean Kolb or Alfonseca, this would mean a Hermanson type). Going out and getting Rafael Soriano would have been an A. There wasn't a lot of tweaking to do here, so it's hard to mess this up.

 

Infield: C. Again, not a lot of tweaking to be done. Boone should be solid but unspectacular. A few things can raise this - obtaining a CF where it's realistic to believe Amezaga will be exclusively an infielder, and upgrading the backup catcher spot.

 

Outfield: Triple F Minus. Alex Sanchez? Chad Hermansen? No explanation needed as one of those two, Reed, or Reggie, is currently on the 25 man roster. I'd argue, maybe 1 of those 4 should be on the 40 man roster.

 

Minor League Depth: B. He didn't do any stupid prospect trades (like moving Petit for an Armando), and I included it in the pitching category, but Owens/Lindstrom are clearly upgrades to Vargas/Bostick. Losing Resop is a non factor to me. No big names in rule V minor league draft.

 

Overall: D. One decent RP, two nice RP prospects, and a moderate bench signing does not over shadow the absolute glaring black hole in center field. Light cannot escape the sheer gravitational pull of suck currently in that spot. Rocco/Upton/Rios (at the cost of nothing outrageous), signing Dustin Hermanson, and bringing in some catcher depth makes this offseason an A+. You still have time Admin. I have faith you understand these problems.

C for every category with the exception of an F for Outfield and a D for Overall

1) Pitching staff: C+. Beinfest has not made any premature trades of the big four (Dontrelle, Johnson, Olsen or Anibal) while slightly upgrading the bullpen (though there still needs to be improvement).

 

2) Infield: D+. After Helms performance last season it is hard not to downgrade here in 2007, and I worry about a further dropoff in perfomrance from Boone. The infield would benefit more from Amezaga getting more time as a backup (but that doesn't look like it will be in the cards).

 

3) Outfield: F. None of the outfielders that have been brought in so far are what we need. Even if some of the higher profile OF available may prove too costly (one of the big four), I expect(ed) at least a middling stopgap type of acquisition this offseason in the form of say Cory Sullivan, Chris Duffy or Brian Anderson.

 

4) Minor league depth: C. No big losses or gains.

 

5) Marlin's overall: D. The main deficiencies from last season remain to greater or lesser degrees (lack of a CF and bullpen depth) and it looks like we are in for a downgrade in our infield depth. If the Marlins can land the CF of the future for the right price, great. But if they cannot, I expect Beinfest to at least upgrade to get a stopgap for CF and at least one more bullpen arm (if not two).

Can't really grade him in all the categories because some areas do not need to be addressed (like starting pitching). Only two areas of note, bullpen and CF. CF grade: F. Bullpen: C.

This is a great question for the last week in March.

Can't really grade him in all the categories because some areas do not need to be addressed (like starting pitching). Only two areas of note, bullpen and CF. CF grade: F. Bullpen: C.

 

I inlcuded all aspects because different areas, while they don't need to be addressed, can be effected as the offseason progresses. For instance, the grade for how he has improved (or in this case, worsened) the pitching staff could go down depending on who he trades off while other areas, such as the outfield, could improve as a result. But I lumped the whole pitching staff into one so people could grade his improvements on a whole right now.

 

This is a great question for the last week in March.

 

The grades can change as we approach the end of the offseason, but I see no reason why we shouldn't track his progress so far.

This is a great question for the last week in March.

Agreed Beinfest has not finished wheeling and dealing, by ST end there maybe a significant trade. So far i grade him as a B with the moves that have brought in Gregg, Lindstrom and Owens, the signing of Alex Sanchez to a minor league contract is such a smart move even if he is cut after ST, it cost us nothing and could be a huge move other wise (Almost like gambling with the casino's money) Beinfest as a GM coducts his personnel moves with the calculation and precision of a surgeon, as of this moment the patient is still on the operating table

This is a great question for the last week in March.

 

The grades can change as we approach the end of the offseason, but I see no reason why we shouldn't track his progress so far.

 

I didn't mean you couldn't or shouldn't ask the question now if you desire, that's why I phrased it the way I did. :notworthy

1) Pitching staff (rotation and bullpen)

 

C+ No moves are good moves when a team has as strong of a rotation as we did last year, until you realize all the red flags we're ignoring with JJ, Olsen and Sanchez...we need some form of insurance policy for the rotation, and no, Garcia or Pinto is not the answer. As for the bullpen, well, I'll keep from lambasting Beinfest completely since it seems Owens and Lindstrom may have live arms, but they also came from a team who could afford to get younger...certainly suggests something to me.

 

2) Infield (starters and bench)

 

C...letting Helms go was a terrible mistake but justifiable, until we gave Aaron Boone $1 million. Spring for the extra bucks and bring back a popular clubhouse guy and proven producer while promising him the starting firstbase job if/when Jacobs inevitably struggles against lefties.

 

3) Outfield (starters and bench)

 

F...Alex freaking Sanchez? vomit

 

4) Minor league depth (prospects and older farmhands)

 

B+ I guess. Still don't get what good stockpiling an embarassment of minor league riches does if we refuse to part with any of it to make us better.

 

5) Marlin's overall

 

C- I'm not fooling myself, we've got, at most, 3 years left with Cabrera and Willis here and we're willing to just give one of those seasons away when the division is so goddamn winnable it's ridiculous. We're, at best, treading water when everyone who finished above us is either doing the same (Phillies) or taking a huge step backwards (Mets). To pass on an opportunity like this is inexcusable, especially considering we could shoot the moon and get a plus centerfielder and solid back end of the bullpen arm without parting with a player from our roster or taking on ridiculous salary.

Incomplete.

C for every category with the exception of an F for Outfield and a D for Overall

I agree but I'd change the overall D to a D minus.

What do you want Admin Beinfest to do?

 

 

He has 0 money to spend.

 

 

Its funny, while I was once in the corner of ownership, with all the influx of the billions MLB makes before selling one ticket, its turning.

 

 

I think each team gets some 50 million or so at least before selling one ticket.

1) Pitching staff (rotation and bullpen)

 

C+ No moves are good moves when a team has as strong of a rotation as we did last year, until you realize all the red flags we're ignoring with JJ, Olsen and Sanchez...we need some form of insurance policy for the rotation, and no, Garcia or Pinto is not the answer. As for the bullpen, well, I'll keep from lambasting Beinfest completely since it seems Owens and Lindstrom may have live arms, but they also came from a team who could afford to get younger...certainly suggests something to me.

 

2) Infield (starters and bench)

 

C...letting Helms go was a terrible mistake but justifiable, until we gave Aaron Boone $1 million. Spring for the extra bucks and bring back a popular clubhouse guy and proven producer while promising him the starting firstbase job if/when Jacobs inevitably struggles against lefties.

 

3) Outfield (starters and bench)

 

F...Alex freaking Sanchez? vomit

 

4) Minor league depth (prospects and older farmhands)

 

B+ I guess. Still don't get what good stockpiling an embarassment of minor league riches does if we refuse to part with any of it to make us better.

 

5) Marlin's overall

 

C- I'm not fooling myself, we've got, at most, 3 years left with Cabrera and Willis here and we're willing to just give one of those seasons away when the division is so goddamn winnable it's ridiculous. We're, at best, treading water when everyone who finished above us is either doing the same (Phillies) or taking a huge step backwards (Mets). To pass on an opportunity like this is inexcusable, especially considering we could shoot the moon and get a plus centerfielder and solid back end of the bullpen arm without parting with a player from our roster or taking on ridiculous salary.

maybe I missed it but what is this huge step backwards that the Mets took?

Really he wasnt given anything to work with unless they told him he could spend more here. So I gotta give him an incomplete as it seems there was nothing he could do.

Beinfest gets an incomplete. He has his hands tied by the lack of money. Ownership gets an F.

not much going on during off season

Beinfest gets an incomplete. He has his hands tied by the lack of money. Ownership gets an F.

 

Lack of money does not prevent Beinfest from getting creative in trading some of the Marlins prospects. I'm not saying he should sell the farm, but we have enough high rated pitching prospects to put together in a package with some of the more marginal players on our 25-man roster to get what we need (and still have a sizeable squad of strong arms in our system).

F.

1) Pitching staff (rotation and bullpen)

 

C+ No moves are good moves when a team has as strong of a rotation as we did last year, until you realize all the red flags we're ignoring with JJ, Olsen and Sanchez...we need some form of insurance policy for the rotation, and no, Garcia or Pinto is not the answer. As for the bullpen, well, I'll keep from lambasting Beinfest completely since it seems Owens and Lindstrom may have live arms, but they also came from a team who could afford to get younger...certainly suggests something to me.

 

2) Infield (starters and bench)

 

C...letting Helms go was a terrible mistake but justifiable, until we gave Aaron Boone $1 million. Spring for the extra bucks and bring back a popular clubhouse guy and proven producer while promising him the starting firstbase job if/when Jacobs inevitably struggles against lefties.

 

3) Outfield (starters and bench)

 

F...Alex freaking Sanchez? vomit

 

4) Minor league depth (prospects and older farmhands)

 

B+ I guess. Still don't get what good stockpiling an embarassment of minor league riches does if we refuse to part with any of it to make us better.

 

5) Marlin's overall

 

C- I'm not fooling myself, we've got, at most, 3 years left with Cabrera and Willis here and we're willing to just give one of those seasons away when the division is so goddamn winnable it's ridiculous. We're, at best, treading water when everyone who finished above us is either doing the same (Phillies) or taking a huge step backwards (Mets). To pass on an opportunity like this is inexcusable, especially considering we could shoot the moon and get a plus centerfielder and solid back end of the bullpen arm without parting with a player from our roster or taking on ridiculous salary.

maybe I missed it but what is this huge step backwards that the Mets took?

Their starting rotation is in shambles

I'm looking forward to (I'll be honest, hopefully) Alex Sanchez making all you whiners look silly.

 

None of the big name FAs or trade "options" were going to happen. He's no Andruw Jones, but the guy's got a career 290 avg at the ML level, and was bringing it up every season, with an avg over 320 over 04-05 combined, and an OPS over 750. All that without any of the problematic splits that plague virtually every other offensively decent CF candidate we have (Amezaga, Ross, Borchard) and obviously wouldn't be the black hole that Reggie & Eric Reed are.

Even if his defense is down right awful, you can only consider it so much of a downgrade from what we had last year. If the guy hits close to what he was hitting last time in the bigs, we are better off for it.

Could Beinfest have done more? Arguable. Depends on how you value our pitching staff, and how you think their value might change in the future. But I think many people on this board are over-estimating the quality of many prospect and backup OFs in other systems, who actually have had worse career MLB numbers and less experience than Sanchez, not to mention the fact that all he costs us is minor league contract. If he's a complete bust, we've lost nothing. Personally, I'd be more upset if we gave up significant talent in exchange for a questionable CF solution.

1) Pitching staff (rotation and bullpen)

 

C+ No moves are good moves when a team has as strong of a rotation as we did last year, until you realize all the red flags we're ignoring with JJ, Olsen and Sanchez...we need some form of insurance policy for the rotation, and no, Garcia or Pinto is not the answer. As for the bullpen, well, I'll keep from lambasting Beinfest completely since it seems Owens and Lindstrom may have live arms, but they also came from a team who could afford to get younger...certainly suggests something to me.

 

2) Infield (starters and bench)

 

C...letting Helms go was a terrible mistake but justifiable, until we gave Aaron Boone $1 million. Spring for the extra bucks and bring back a popular clubhouse guy and proven producer while promising him the starting firstbase job if/when Jacobs inevitably struggles against lefties.

 

3) Outfield (starters and bench)

 

F...Alex freaking Sanchez? vomit

 

4) Minor league depth (prospects and older farmhands)

 

B+ I guess. Still don't get what good stockpiling an embarassment of minor league riches does if we refuse to part with any of it to make us better.

 

5) Marlin's overall

 

C- I'm not fooling myself, we've got, at most, 3 years left with Cabrera and Willis here and we're willing to just give one of those seasons away when the division is so goddamn winnable it's ridiculous. We're, at best, treading water when everyone who finished above us is either doing the same (Phillies) or taking a huge step backwards (Mets). To pass on an opportunity like this is inexcusable, especially considering we could shoot the moon and get a plus centerfielder and solid back end of the bullpen arm without parting with a player from our roster or taking on ridiculous salary.

maybe I missed it but what is this huge step backwards that the Mets took?

 

Looking at a combined 90 starts from Perez, Maine and El Duque.

 

Having a disgruntled Aaron Heilman in a bullpen he doesn't want to be a part of, and realizing it'll be darn tough for Glavine to both pitch 200 innings and win 15 games at 41.

 

Plus, I think loosing Bradford will be a big blow to the bullpen, even if they do get Sanchez back.

I just give him an overall D for not being able to fix the holes at closer and CF.

I am going to have to give him an Incomplete!

Beinfest gets an incomplete. He has his hands tied by the lack of money. Ownership gets an F.

 

Lack of money does not prevent Beinfest from getting creative in trading some of the Marlins prospects. I'm not saying he should sell the farm, but we have enough high rated pitching prospects to put together in a package with some of the more marginal players on our 25-man roster to get what we need (and still have a sizeable squad of strong arms in our system).

We have holes to fill and we have valuable chips to trade to fill those holes but just because the trades haven't been made doesn't mean Beinfest has done a bad job. We don't know what the trade proposals were. If ownership was willing to spend $35 in payroll (a payroll amount that would leave them with a big fat operating profit at year-end) then I believe Beinfest could have fileld the holes. That's the reason I give Beinfest an Incomplete and the owner an F.