We just got a fairly clear window into the challenges this franchise will face in the future, a future that will be driven, nay
dominated, by the dreaded c-word...
... block your ears, kids...
Compromise.
Our number one need right now is better pitching, with some IF reinforcement right behind that. With one of the best of all time entering the FA market this offseason, there was no way we weren't going to at least try to bring him to Forbes Field.
Our opening gambit with Satchel Paige was a fairly aggressive one, designed to shake the tree or, even better, scare off other prospective suitors. As soon, however, as the Yanks and Tigers - both of whose budgets are more than double ours - entered the fray, we knew we were going to be hard-pressed to stay in the race for his services. Sure enough, by the time the bidding war had barely got going, we were priced out. The same with Joe Cronin.
When I say "priced out", I'm perhaps being a bit disingenuous. Our budget for this year is $500k; our current payroll barely half that. So we could actually have gone wild and acquired one of them without it really putting any pressure on us fiscally. But forking out $40k per for Satchel or $30k per for Joe would have been nothing more than stubborn irresponsibility on my part. Therefore, we walked. In the end, Satchel signs a 6-year / $200k deal with the Yanks, while JoCro ends up at the A's on a 5-year / $133k hook-up.
Still, the matter of our team needs remained. No other FA pitchers grabbed me and there isn't much on offer in the upcoming Draft, especially with us once again having a low pick. Which left trading as our only recourse.
Barney Brown was my preferred option. Sadly, while we were kidding ourselves dilly-dallying around with Satch, the Tribe dealt him to Detroit.
In the end, I "settled" on a player we nearly got via waiver claim a couple years back, dealing away a guy who had worn out my patience and another who was unlikely to see much action at the top level, while also picking up just the sort of backup utility IF we were looking for.
TRADE 1 OF 2 (11/28/37)
P Ted Radcliffe and P Oral Hildebrand traded to Boston (NL) for P Red Ruffing and IF Pep Young.
Ted won 52 games for us, 26 of those in 1936 alone. But, at 35 and with a dreadful season just past, he had no future here past the one remaining year of his contract. While I'll miss having him about as a third catching option, his defence had fallen away noticeably as well and so when he was a name on their list for Red it was a no-brainer.
With the two trades per year house rule in place, we need to make them count. Pep had been on my list for a while and as I mentioned above, Oral wasn't part of our future plans - again, a fairly easy decision. It was a slightly salary-positive deal for us.
Red, in his age-33 season and with three 20-game losing seasons in the last four, is a definite risk. But we've rolled the dice now and I'll have to live with how it plays out. He is a FA at the end of 1938 and his performance for us will determine whether or not his tenure exceeds the single season. Pep will push Billy Jurges down to AAA.