The TOR team lashed out at Otani if he didn't catch him, and 84 billion pitchers called "That's not what it means."
Aug 20, 2024
|
Toronto is the lowest in the American League East with 58 wins and 67 losses as of the 20th (Korea time). It was 15 games away from the leading New York Yankees, and 12 games away from the third-place wild card Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins. The FanGraphs have a 0.1% chance of Toronto reaching the playoffs.
Toronto entered the playoffs as a wild card for two consecutive seasons, 2022 and last year. It recorded 92 wins in 2022 and 89 wins last year. This season, he will stay at 75 wins at his current pace. It's a failed season. Even with more than $200 million in payrolls, it is difficult to achieve a 50% win rate.
It is noteworthy that there is a player who has openly expressed disappointment with the team's performance and moves. It's right-handed starter Chris Bassett. He criticized the club for failing to properly reinforce its team's power after failing to recruit Shohei Ohtani last winter.
Speaking on local YouTube 'Chris Rose Rotation', Bassett said there was one thing I wanted to say about our team this year. Even though he offered $700 million to Shohei Ohtani, he failed to bring it. I think that was the reality and the club hasn't moved on to other elite players since" he said.
|
Toronto has since signed with other FA such as Justin Turner and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, but it is true that no practical reinforcement has been achieved with the departure of existing Matt Chapman and Jordan Hicks.
Bassett says "In modern baseball, you need three to four superstars. Look at the good teams. They don't rely on one superstar, they gather three to four superstars to play great baseball. It is the essence of baseball these days. The pitching staff and the bullpen should be strong. Just one or two good hitters in the lineup doesn't make it a good team. It's impossible. "We need to get a batter to protect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The pitching staff should also be much stronger. Our bullpen all collapsed compared to last year. I can talk about this for 45 minutes``````.
However, Bassett gave an explanation in an interview with Canadian media SportsNet late in the afternoon, local time, whether he was concerned that the remarks would lead to controversy.
"I didn't blame the club for failing to reinforce other forces after failing to recruit Otani," he said. I didn't mean to blame anyone.'"Otani certainly chose a great team. There was no alternative (better than the Dodgers." That's the reality. I couldn't choose another club."
He then said "I can't say our club doesn't have the will to get better. I can't even say I don't have a goal to be the best team possible. They were trying to get the best players." It's quite different from the interview with the Chris Rose rotation.
SportsNet said the `Basket did not criticize the Toronto front office's offseason work after Ohtani signed with the Dodgers. Instead, he explained that he had confidence in bringing in players like Justin Turner and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa.
Bassett signed a three-year, $63 million (about 84 billion won) FA contract with Toronto in December 2022 and is in his second season. He has a 9-12 record and 4.34 ERA in 144 ⅓ innings in 25 games.
jhno@sportschosun.com
