Saturday, August 3, 2013

Arfy's Ramblings presents....."How the winners do it."

I sent trade chat's to the nine coaches in our world that have won a Pine Tar World Championship and I asked them: " In an effort to improve our world, our competitiveness, and our blog ,  What are the 3 most important steps to building a winning franchise?".  Here are their answers(Some did not respond):

Toe64(Colo Springs)
1) Don't be afraid to trade talent you have, for talent you need. 2) Balance home grown talent, FA's, and IFA's. 3) Don't rush players to the majors. Time served in the minors can be the difference between a good ML player and a great one!

 tk21775(Iowa City)
  1). Building through draft and/or International market. I feel like you have to get a good young core that doesn't eat up your payroll to help build around. After a few seasons you'll have a nice group to build around and spend money in free agency to fill some holes.  2). Pitching and defense; I usually start building my teams with these two things in mind and then add in the offense once my pitching is set. A good offense is nice but if I have a strong 3 man rotation it's hard to beat in the playoffs.  3). Be prepared 2/3 seasons ahead. When I first started in this world I looked out 3 seasons and saw that the third season offered the best FA class. By building through draft and Int'l the first two,  I was able to add some key pieces and then go after some solid free agents that really turned this team around. Now it doesn't always work as some players will get resigned but it helps with your budget by being prepared a few seasons in advance.

bnags(Nashville)
 1)Patience 2)Plan of action 3)Patience It takes a lot of time to learn the game first and foremost.  Second I dont believe that winning teams/franchises are built overnight. Have a plan, stick to it, and try to stick to it even if things go a little away from what you planned.

Ghutton9(Seattle)
1. Patience. Make a plan and stick to it. If you make a good plan early on then you can build a team that can have an extended run of success 2.Build around pitching. Hitters are nice but they are much more common to come by. Good pitching is a must. Kind of on the same point in a way is defense.    You have to have solid defenders to back up that pitching. 3. This is very important. Don't over spend. By over spending you put your franchise in a bind and long term success is very rare for a team that over spends.   The key is to lock up your young players early and avoid arbitration when they'll cost more and likely won't re sign with you for taking them to arbitration so often. Note: this is why I feel like my team is suffering right now.    I didn't follow my rules for long term success because I seen an opportunity to win a World Series. Of course that was another way to build a winning franchise but for the short term. That's another story though. Lol.

Flucie(St. Louis)
 Good Pitching staff, good contact hitting and LUCK. I really don't know.

rxw1(Tampa Bay)
 1) Keep a balanced mix of veterans &young players - avoid the massive rebuild 2) Focus strong pitching & defense - giving up unearned runs kills you in the long run 3) find the talent that fit your ballpark - if you can't win at home then you will never win a playoff series.

All great advice!  I appreciate everyone's honest response!


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