Quest for Middle Linebacker

[BigBlue]

I find it remarkable that with our head coach having been one of the great mlb's that has ever played in this league he can not produce a clone of himself .... 

We have been recruiting for this position forever and our only success has been Muamba ... and we couldn't keep him

We could have had a certain all star out of Montreal this spring but stuck our nose up in the air ... don't say salary cap, say something about management's attitude towards cap management,  adjustments and tradeoffs ..... schemes fit the personnel not vice versa .... you fit plans to personnel

Hurl is a STer and nothing more ... never will be

When in the last decade have we  brought in a stud MLB?

What is the real problem here?

SIGH !!!

Edited June 16, 2017 by BigBlue

[Mike]

salary cap

[BigBlue]

1 minute ago, Mike said:

salary cap

I don't believe that for a second ... MLB is the general of the D and a key place to spend $%$$$ .... other teams find the dough to get the job done

[Nash00]

1 minute ago, BigBlue said:

I don't believe that for a second ... MLB is the general of the D and a key place to spend $%$$$ .... other teams find the dough to get the job done

When Woods was released, the money was already spent. If we sign Woods, then we have to create a hole somewhere else on the roster.

[Jpan85]

Has to be the cap

[BigBlue]

Just now, Nash00 said:

When Woods was released, the money was already spent. If we sign Woods, then we have to create a hole somewhere else on the roster.

yes please create the hole

 

[BigBlue]

2 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Has to be the cap

cap or no cap its been a decade .... a blind monkey typing could find better mlb's than we have brought in

[Atomic]

4 minutes ago, Nash00 said:

When Woods was released, the money was already spent. If we sign Woods, then we have to create a hole somewhere else on the roster.

Release Hurl, replace with Frank Renaud.  Release Neufeld, replace with Zach Intzandt.  Release Bruce Johnson, replace with rookie.

Sign marquee MLB.

Why not?

[blue_gold_84]

I guess O'Shea's knowledge on cloning is limited.

BTW, Muamba was the last stud NAT MLB this team has had in the last decade. Can't blame anyone in the current regime for him going south, though.

[Arnold_Palmer]

O'shea has his faults. His blind loyalty to medicore vets is the biggest. Especially on the defensive side of things. 

[Bigblue204]

7 minutes ago, BigBlue said:

cap or no cap its been a decade .... a blind monkey typing could find better mlb's than we have brought in

Alright, well...who's the better option? You obviously have the answer...so what is it?

[BigBlue]

5 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Alright, well...who's the better option? You obviously have the answer...so what is it?

I have no answers at all .... I just don't understand even a little bit

[Nash00]

18 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Release Hurl, replace with Frank Renaud.  Release Neufeld, replace with Zach Intzandt.  Release Bruce Johnson, replace with rookie.

Sign marquee MLB.

Why not?

Someone who would know better on the SMS can confirm, but I can't believe that Hurl and Johnson would make enough to cover the difference. We waiting well after the start of FA to even bring Hurl back, no way are we paying him over market in that case or Walters is terrible at his job.

[Bigblue204]

22 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Release Hurl, replace with Frank Renaud.  Release Neufeld, replace with Zach Intzandt.  Release Bruce Johnson, replace with rookie.

Sign marquee MLB.

Why not?

who?

[Booch]

i'm sure that between Hurl and Johnson it would be about 200k....but Johnson isn't a guy who I would dump. He gets a lot of abuse too which isn't really warranted

 

[Atomic]

2 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

who?

Bear Woods.

4 minutes ago, Nash00 said:

Someone who would know better on the SMS can confirm, but I can't believe that Hurl and Johnson would make enough to cover the difference. We waiting well after the start of FA to even bring Hurl back, no way are we paying him over market in that case or Walters is terrible at his job.

Unfortunately it is impossible for us to know the numbers but you can see my point.  It's not about the specific players.  Hurl is almost certainly making six figures or well over the minimum.  You replace a couple underperforming veterans at less critical spots with rookies in order to bring in a stud MLB like Woods.

"It would have been impossible due to the cap" is a loser mentality.  Where there is a will there is a way.

[Atomic]

4 minutes ago, Booch said:

i'm sure that between Hurl and Johnson it would be about 200k....but Johnson isn't a guy who I would dump. He gets a lot of abuse too which isn't really warranted

 

I don't mind Johnson either.  He is a little inconsistent but overall ok.  But if I am playing a rookie somewhere, I'd rather put him at field HB than MLB.

[Booch]

Actually HB is probably a tougher position to grasp for a rookie coming in, as it's kind of a new position for Americans, you don't really have that position south of the border, and the fact that there's a waggle and unlimited movement makes it tough.

 

Middle linebacker...if you have a true stud it's much easier to step right in and play...it's just a matter of conditioning and being able to range from sideline to sideline a bit better

[Noeller]

Sobbing about Hurl as a glaringly huge hole that's going to cost us games or some such is ridiculous at this point. He's an assignment sound player who is not the fastest or strongest but will rarely be out of position. 

[Bigblue204]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

Sobbing about Hurl as a glaringly huge hole that's going to cost us games or some such is ridiculous at this point. He's an assignment sound player who is not the fastest or strongest but will rarely be out of position. 

which was pretty clear last night. Saw him take on a couple double teams as well. He's a gap filler, with wild and the rest needing to clean up.

[Atomic]

12 minutes ago, Booch said:

Actually HB is probably a tougher position to grasp for a rookie coming in, as it's kind of a new position for Americans, you don't really have that position south of the border, and the fact that there's a waggle and unlimited movement makes it tough.

Middle linebacker...if you have a true stud it's much easier to step right in and play...it's just a matter of conditioning and being able to range from sideline to sideline a bit better

In general perhaps, but this regime has proven thus far that they cannot find an MLB and they are more than capable of finding good DB's.  Play to your strengths.

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Sobbing about Hurl as a glaringly huge hole that's going to cost us games or some such is ridiculous at this point. He's an assignment sound player who is not the fastest or strongest but will rarely be out of position. 

It's sad that "Good enough" has become the new standard around here.

[TBURGESS]

Hurl may be 'assignment sound', but knowing where to go and getting there in time are two very different things. So are getting there in time and being able to make the play.  

Hurl's a gap filler because he isn't capable of being anything more than a gap filler. Hardly a great attribute for a MLB anyway.

[Nash00]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

Sobbing about Hurl as a glaringly huge hole that's going to cost us games or some such is ridiculous at this point. He's an assignment sound player who is not the fastest or strongest but will rarely be out of position. 

Perception is that you need a hulking Elimimian-type player at MLB and Hurl is not that. Having said that, while I'm not enamoured with starting him as many others are here, putting Woods in the middle - if he even was willing to come here at all - and potentially weakening other places on defense will hurt the unit overall moreso than with Hurl starting.

Would it be nice if one of the import rookies came in and won the job outright? Absolutely. Would it be nice to sign every big name FA that hits the market? Sure, why not. Problem is there is a salary cap and even with the money committed to guys we will have some contracts coming up soon (Loffler/Westerman(?)) and you have to account for future dollars allocated as well as what you already have spent, even if the contracts are not guaranteed.

 

[blue_gold_84]

9 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Sobbing about Hurl as a glaringly huge hole that's going to cost us games or some such is ridiculous at this point. He's an assignment sound player who is not the fastest or strongest but will rarely be out of position. 

While I agree the panic is a bit much at this point, MLB is typically a position on D where you want a talented and intelligent player, as well being sound in the understanding of his system's assignments.

My main concern at the moment lies in the fact the team has essentially stuck with the status quo at a pretty crucial position. You want your MLB to be an asset, someone who sticks out in a positive way. I can't see the Hurl being the answer in that regard.

[Brandon]

I am 100% positive that the Blue are not trying new guys out and are completely trying to ignore the biggest weak link on the defense......