[hiaspire]

I'm not forgetting it, as I wrote a lot about that specifically at the time. I was once a big DOD fan, as perhaps people forget. It is a fair point you make.

That isn't just DOD alone either, though. The owners themselves (specifically the hated Charlie Monfort) went hard after Tsao as a big international signee. They certainly realized they needed to improve in that area and were taking steps themselves even before a new GM in place. That was part of the hiring criteria even as they searched for a new direction. And it certainly took a big financial investment for them to get back up to speed in other lands. DOD didn't scout those players himself by hitching a ride down south on his own. It also took the involvement of ownership to drastically improve their financial commitment to those areas.

As I did at the time, I will give DOD credit for organizing and championing that cause. We can't pat him on the back for that, though, and spit at the owners for the same issue. They were a big (perhaps bigger because it did take a lot of investment) part of that also.

I don't think we'd be mediocre without the Latin players, though. Outside of Morales, the ones we are counting on the most are Tulo and Stewart, along with MLB contributors from the draft like Atkins and Iannetta and Hawpe and Francis, etc. Those are the real potential difference-makers. That is where the biggest impact will come from individually. And it doesn't just effect the first round. Your 2nd round pick is closer to being like a 1st rounder if it is near the top of that round. Your 3rd rounder includes a better pool of guys who are legit 2nd round talents if you are picking near the top of that round instead of the bottom. You can get more guys that slip through the cracks before other teams scoop them up if you pick earlier.

Most of the core of the current GenR isn't international, and that's hardly mediocre. But I will agree with some of what you say as I have before.