I think we have discussed this before on the old forum (ballparkguys). I agree, Bonifay started out well. His minor league system was ranked the BEST in 1996-1997. The 1997 team finished in 2nd place and everything was looking great. The following year, Bonifay fleeced the Indians by trading Ricardo Rincon for Brian Giles. The team was heading in the right direction...at least we thought. That was until money became the issue. Just like then, it will become an issue again if these guys ever pan out. Much like Giles, Kendall, Benson, etc. commanded larger salaries, these new guys will as well. Really, it doesn't matter how great of a job Huntington and Coonelly do. In the end, it will once again come back to the ownership and their committment to this organization. Will the Nuttings pony up the necessary cash to keep this thing going? Or will history repeat itself? And that means, will the Nuttings (ala McClatchy) refuse to put anymore money into the team and force Huntington to finish the job with the over the hill Derek Bell's of the world (much like what happened to Bonifay AND Littlefield)? Like I said, will history repeat itself again?
I think we have discussed this before on the old forum (ballparkguys). I agree, Bonifay started out well. His minor league system was ranked the BEST in 1996-1997. The 1997 team finished in 2nd place and everything was looking great. The following year, Bonifay fleeced the Indians by trading Ricardo Rincon for Brian Giles. The team was heading in the right direction...at least we thought. That was until money became the issue. Just like then, it will become an issue again if these guys ever pan out. Much like Giles, Kendall, Benson, etc. commanded larger salaries, these new guys will as well. Really, it doesn't matter how great of a job Huntington and Coonelly do. In the end, it will once again come back to the ownership and their committment to this organization. Will the Nuttings pony up the necessary cash to keep this thing going? Or will history repeat itself? And that means, will the Nuttings (ala McClatchy) refuse to put anymore money into the team and force Huntington to finish the job with the over the hill Derek Bell's of the world (much like what happened to Bonifay AND Littlefield)? Like I said, will history repeat itself again?
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