Wes Helms gets his old number

by craig on Apr 10, 2008 8:49 AM EDT in News and Rumors

It took a few days and who knows what else, but Wes Helms will once again be in his old number.

After wearing No. 39 for two games, Wes Helms is back to 18. That number belonged to hitting coach Jim Presley, who also gave Helms the number when he first signed with the Marlins before the 2006 season.

"He's one of my hitters," Presley said. "Yeah, a pitcher, he wouldn't get it."…

Uh, actually Jim, he is one of your guys who just swings a bat since he has yet to hit anything at this point.

But then again, one at bat is a pretty small sample size.

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Speaking of small sample sizes

I did an analysis of how much each MLB team has paid per win in this young season. As you can imagine the top bargain hunter was the Marlins while the biggest spender was Detroit.

http://floridafishfan.blogspot.com/2008/04/cost-per-win-analysis.html

by FishFan-GatorMan on Apr 10, 2008 8:52 AM EDT reply actions

imagine all the people

That may all we have to hang our hats on at the end of the season. I've never liked that line of reasoning though. If the office guys are so efficient with a 20M payroll, what could they do with 40M (the Ray's payroll)?

by brickell on Apr 10, 2008 10:25 AM EDT reply actions

Obviously the results of such an analysis have to be tempered with the reality of the total number of wins.

But the point is that $20 million well spent could end up being more successful than $40 million poorly spent. I believe that just like anything there is a point of diminishing returns. If the yankees spent $50 million more, how many wins will it translate into. Perhaps less than $5 million more invested by the Marlins.

You simply can't equate payroll figures to "intent to win". The fact that the Marlins payroll is low now means that if they keep up the winning record they will have resources to make moves later in the season.

We should know by now that every franchise has a different financial situation. Each is trying to do the most it can with its resources. The Marlins have the additional hurdle of needing to scrape cash together for their portion of the stadium and any cost overruns for same. I don't blame them for playing it conservatively with the payroll right now. If you were saving up money for a down payment for a new house would you splurge on a luxury car, even if you needed a car? Or would you get some basic transportation until you could afford the better car you want?

by FishFan-GatorMan on Apr 10, 2008 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

The yankees $50M may only buy 10 more wins (just an example) to the marlins 10 wins for $5M more, but they're playing to win it all. There are no prizes for 3rd place. Those 10 more wins are going to be much more valuable to them at the end of the season than the to Marlins.

And again if $20M well spent is more successful than $40M poorly spent, then what could they do with $40M well spent?

No matter how you paint the situation you can only reach one conclusion - They simply aren't trying this year. They could surprise everyone and get 80 wins this year, but that won't be close to enough. Most of the fans know this and the attendance is showing it. Will it be better in the future? Maybe, but it sucks now.

by brickell on Apr 10, 2008 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions

The Yankees have had the highest payroll or second highest for the last several seasons. Since 2000, they have exactly the same number of World Series Championships as the Marlins.

I'm not gonna talk about attendance. We had crappy attendance in 2003 until the last month. Fans in SoFla are apathetic about going to the games. We know they watch on TV though. Build the stadium and attendance will improve.

by FishFan-GatorMan on Apr 10, 2008 10:58 PM EDT reply actions