Hot! Hot! Hot! Stove Post: January 14th, 2010 (UPDATED 1/28/10)
by fourstick on Jan 14, 2010 10:20 AM EST
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PrintWell, that Holliday thing is done finally, but not much else is going on. A quick rundown:
- The team still appears to have about $7M left in the coffers of the $100M projected payroll. That's not really enough to sign another RH reliever, a 5th starter, and a backup corner infielder/RHH second baseman, but it's enough improve 2 of those 3 if the deals are negotiated accordingly.
- Jose Valverde? Rumor is that the Cardinals made him an offer, but apparently not one that he can't refuse. Are we bumping up the price for someone else in the division (Cubs)? Or is Mo serious about bringing him into the fold? He's a Type A, so bye-bye 1st round draft pick if we do sign him. UPDATE: Gone to the Tigers 2Y$14M + $9M Option. In related news: The Tigers continue to overpay players.
- Left handed bench bats are dropping like flies. There's really only one LHH OF left on the market (Gabe Gross), with Chad Tracy and Russell Branyan being the corner infielders that are still available. If the club is serious about signing one, they better get on it quick, although I think it would be ok to go with the young guys in this case rather then spending the whole wad of $7M on someone like Branyan, who won't play full time for the Cardinals.
All of the Links below lead to that player's FanGraphs page:
Remaining Relief Pitchers (of substance):
- Kiko Calero
- Russ Springer
- Octavio Dotel -- 1/29/10 - Signed with Pirates: 1Y$3.5M
- Jose Valverde -- 1/14/10 - Signed by the Tigers 2Y$14M + 3rd Year Option
- Chad Bradford
Remaining 5th Starters (of substance):
- John Smoltz
- Joel Piniero -- 1/28/10: Signed 2Y$16M with Anaheim Angels
- Jon Garland -- 1/28/10: Signed with Padres -- 1Y$4.6M w/$6.5M mutual option ($600,000 buyout)
- Ben Sheets -- 1/28/10: Signed with the Athletics -- 1Y$10M
- Jose Contreras -- 1/14/10: Cards have rumored interest
- Doug Davis -- 1/28/10: Signed with Brewers -- 1Y$5.25M
- Erik Bedard
- Braden Looper
- Jarrod Washburn
- Todd Wellemeyer -- KIDDING!!!
Remaining Bench Bats/Platoon Players:
- Russell Branyan
- Gabe Gross
- Endy Chavez
- Chad Tracy -- 1/28/10: minor league deal, Cubs: $900k making club + $450 k for 450+ PA's
- Reed Johnson
- Xavier Nady -- 1/28/10: 1Y$3.3M with Cubs
- Joe Crede
- Miguel Tejada -- 1/28/10: 1Y$5M with Orioles
- Ronnie Belliard -- 1/28/10: 1Y$825,000 with Dodgers
- Felipe Lopez
- Cardinals sign Rich Hill to a minor league deal and make him a non-roster invitee to spring training.
- Twitter feeds battle over whether the Cardinals are "done signing pitchers", hilarity ensues.
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The Valverde rumor was shot down I believe
Which is good, I don’t think that Mo can afford to abandon the farm system at this point.
I went for the setup man, but there is always the possibility that a combination of our 3 needs will be signed with the 7 million.
I think that with our needs, we can afford at least 2 of the 3, and I propose just going straight with Garland at a 1yr 3/4 million dollar deal, and then go along with a strong reliever like Calero for 3 million. I think the bench bats can be taken care of inhouse, even though they won’t be as strong as some free agents.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
Give me Calero and Lopez please
I still think that Floppy is a perfect fit for this team. Lugo can be flipped for a swingman to protect the 5th spot in the rotation or for an A ball arm/bat with upside. Calero is a no-brainer for me especially considering that Duncan was the original guy to give him a chance.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
floppy or gross
whichever one is “leftover”
don’t think tony will go (quietly) with craig and jay as his spare outfielders/bench bats
I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
i wonder if tony and dunc...
would frown upon his GB%…its pretty low
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 14, 2010 11:37 PM EST up reply actions
spread it around
i am in the calero + lopez camp. lopez can play 3rd if freese flops or move around all over the diamond if freese sticks. calero is good if he is healthy. i’d also throw around some minor league offers to guys like jason jennings to compete for #5 spot. i think boggs is better off in the pen and another half season in AAA might be good for garcia. the way the market is shaping up looper might even sign for a million bucks. as much as i’d like smoltz back, i think the team is more rounded if you have calero + lopez + veteran competition for #5.
I wouldn't be against Looper for a mill, tbh.
I don’t mind your plan at all. I probably prefer pitching to floppy, but that works for me.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:06 PM EST up reply actions
i voted for a 5th starter
but as always I think it depends on price. If Lopez is cheap enough that we could bag him + Calero (or even Contreras), I’d be well up for that. However, if Smoltz or Sheets comes in at <$5m or so, I’d like that too.
Really, I’m not sure there’s a right or a wrong answer. Most of the “realistic” options add 1-1.5 WAR to our team, with varying degrees of risk and various other minor advantages (e.g. a 5th starter lets us keep Garcia in AAA longer, which is good, however, a closer/top set-up guy arguably has more value if/when we make the post-season, so perhaps gives us a bigger shot at landing the big one, whereas a Floppy signing would make Lugo surplus to requirements, giving us a trade piece we could maybe use to land something like a C-level prospect).
I think the big question is how much risk do we want to take on with the remaining $7.5m or so – personally, I’m comfortable with most of the viably good options.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
I don't think there's a right answer either
But I wanted a poll that gave us some idea of what the VEB community thought as a whole.
It all really depends on value, imo. I think you try to maximize the production that you can get for that $7.5M or so. If you’re Mo and you think that you could acquire a viable deadline guy in July for around that amount of cash, maybe you let it ride right now and see how things shake out.
If Freese plays well, we might not need another 3B guy. If Tyler Greene starts mashing at AAA, he could be Skip’s platoon partner instead of Lugo. If Garcia and Boggs throw well in spring training, we might have our 5th starter and bullpen guy. Walters or Ottavino might also have some sort of breakthrough, which would give us injury depth in the minors.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
The poll is telling us that there is no right answer...
At least between no. 5 starter and reliever.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Or it's telling us that we need to sign John Smoltz
Just we don’t know what to do with him if we do sign him.
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Jan 14, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
That is what I would prefer
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
5th Starter Fer Me Too...
….but I’d sleep better at night with one moore arm in the ’pen.
Big McLargehuge!
:=8O
4 CLSR
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Jan 14, 2010 2:16 PM EST up reply actions
dry powder
won’t be of any use unless we have some trade pieces, and we don’t have many, so don’t have matches with manyother teams
I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
by sportsman on Jan 14, 2010 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I don't see any reason
to spend money if you don’t think it will bring a return. And personally, I don’t see an upgrade out there; besides Smoltz; that I would be willing to throw money at.
While it’s true we no longer have a Brett Wallace or even a Chris Perez as trade chips, we do not know what will be available come the trade deadline. Salary dumps do happen and in this economy it could take less to take away a bad contract. If a team like say, the tigers, who have a lot of money coming off the books next year fall out of contention early. They may want to get rid of some of those contracts early and get a draft pick for them.
And if nothing shows up… Put the money in a fund called “Albert’s signing bonus.” Which should have been created about 3 years ago…
And personally, I don’t see an upgrade out there; besides Smoltz; that I would be willing to throw money at.
Really? Not Sheets for $7m? Kiko Calero for $2m? Floppy for $5m? Contreras, Garland, Davis? Branyan? Springer? Tracy?
And if nothing shows up… Put the money in a fund called "Albert’s signing bonus." Which should have been created about 3 years ago…
I definitely agree with that. Having some cash in the bank for Albert makes a lot of sense.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 10:06 AM EST up reply actions
It's just one frogs opinion
It’s not like I’ll raze the earth if it doesn’t happen.
Honest. I won’t.
Maybe.
dry powder
if you sign smoltz there will be no dry powder left. i’d love to have him back. he could make a difference in the rotation or in the pen. however, i think it will take at least $5 mil + incentives to sign him. i’d rather spread the money around a little bit.
Exactly
If we sign Smotlz we’ll only have between half a million and 2 Million left. Rough guestimate from someone standing on the outside. And I don’t think anything else out there that we can buy with that would be worth it. So stick it in your pocket.
I'm not a big fan of bringing Smoltz back
Wasn’t impressed with him last year. If we go with a starter I’d rather see us bring in Garland or Davis type pitcher and see if Duncan can get them to be more consistant.
I’d like to see another proven bullpen arm.
Milt Thompson FTW!
If you weren't impressed by Smoltz in a Cardinal uniform,
I think you’re very likely to throw things at the TV when Garland or Davis are pitching.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
by fourstick on Jan 14, 2010 2:11 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Good news for me
Wainwright plus Carp impress me enough :)
Moar innings eating plz
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
I think David might be a real bargain for someone (probably not us) this year
same as Contreras. I wouldn’t be unhappy at all with either of them. Davis has been a solid #3/4 guy for quite a few years and yet is likely to get #5 money. I’d be worried about his spiralling walkrate last year, but he’s a GB guy who can strike people out, a highly durable pitcher, and he’s been above-average (WAR-wise) every single year since 2004 except last year. He’s as good as Kyle Lohse, in all probability.
Also, it WOULD be nice to have a soft-tossing lefty on OUR side for once; at least it’d be one fewer to face during 2010.
And no, I’m not arguing FOR Davis, particularly, just saying he’d probably be a bargain at the $4-5m he’ll probably get. I prefer Contreras and Smoltz, personally, but I think Davis (if he’s cheaper than Garland) isn’t a bad 3rd or 4th choice.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 5:34 AM EST up reply actions
High upside guy or Kiko Calero
IF (and its a big IF) one of the high potential guys (Bedard, Sheets, Wellemeyer etc.) can be convinced to sign for a reasonable amount then they would be ideal. Failing that (which is likely to fail) then bolster the ’pen, without Valverde, we need the pick more than we need him. Hence Calero, he has simply the best name in all of Baseball. As opposed to Colby Rasmus, who has the best baseballing name in all of baseball.
And yes the Welly thing was a joke.
Ha Ha
couldn’t even make it to the second paragraph!
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
If you think about
I bet we could get Welleymeyer for the 5th starter, and have him pay the team 1M to do it! He has to try to prove he has some value.
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
he could start every fifth day
but would that make him a “starter”
I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
Here's what I would do...
- Calero – 2Y$4M
- Tracy – Minor league deal and ST invite (similar to what Austin Kearns got, they’ve been equally shitty for two years now.
- Attempt the Matt Clement Memorial Contract Negotiation Tactic with Sheets or Bedard and try to get them to sign on an incentive laden one year deal that might be worth $6M or so. If that doesn’t work, try and sign Davis, Looper, or Garland to a 1 year deal for around 2-4M with incentives.
That doesn’t leave a lot of dry powder available, but I don’t see us having the prospects to pick up anyone at the deadline that isn’t a salary dump type anyway, and $7.5M probably isn’t getting any of those guys anyway.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Tracy!!!
Holy what?!!? That guy is Thurston without the abilty to play ANY position (as opposed to many positions badly). He’s not worth as far far as you can throw him, even a minor league pittance.
Tracy is a decent player for our situation-
average to slightly below average on defense at third and maybe the outfield, left-handed hitter who should avoid lefties like the plague but who’s been average to above average against righties.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
This....
Plus, he’ll likely cost us nothing as he’ll sign a minor league deal and try to win a bench spot in spring training.
I really cannot stress how much we need a good left handed bench bat, and one that can play 3B well like Tracy is a very good value if you can get him at league minimum.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think tracy is a good value for under $2 million
He’s only 28 and he’s been hurt for the past 3 seasons. If healthy he could hit 15-20 homers and drive in 70-80 runs as a starter, or he could hit 10 homers and drive in 40 as a bench player. Absolutely the best and most affordable option that would meet what the cardinals are looking for.
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 14, 2010 7:12 PM EST up reply actions
Tracy's average 162 games per baseball-reference.com
.280 BA 18 hr 73 RBI .792 OPS – age 28
Gabe Gross: age 30
.239 11 hr 47 RBI .739 OPS
Russel Branyan – age 34
.234 30 hr 73 RBI .822 OPS
and just for fun
Ryan Church – age 31
.272 15 HR 72 RBI .787 RBI
Tracy seems to be a slightly better and younger Ryan Church who can play 3B….which I think is way more important for the cardinals than an outfielder. Freese is still very unproven with the bat at the major league level. While the Cards have 3 legit major league outfielders
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 14, 2010 7:25 PM EST up reply actions
does the team need a ginger curse though?
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
isn't big mac..
enough of a ginger curse? I’m not sure adding Tracy is much of a big deal if we aleady have the biggest ginger of them all
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 14, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
but he's not playing, only teaching how to hit dingers
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
You have to bear in mind
tracy has been REALLY appalling (I mean, below replacement level) for the last two years. Yes, he was a viable (even above-average) major leaguer 2004-2007, but he was pretty uniquely awful in 2008 and 2009. I agree that a change of scene might do him a lot of good, and he might recapture some of his ability from a few years ago, but it would be remiss to ignore the fact that he’s put up a miserable .700-odd OPS two years running.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 5:53 AM EST up reply actions
He's also been pretty banged up over those two years
I wish there was a site that aggregated all of the player injury posts from different sites and was called MLBInjuryReport.com or something.
If this site existed, Tracy’s profile would look like a M.A.S.H. unit that last couple of years — nothing really major, just lots of lingering injuries to hands and feet that have the potential to really screw up your swing. FWIW, he hasn’t been nearly as bad the last two seasons as Austin Kearns, and I know the two of us were discussing him before he signed with the Indians.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Yeah, I'm not arguing against it
I actually think Tracy would be a good pick up. I’m just arguing that expecting his career line (a near .800 OPS) is probably not that realistic. If he does that, great, but tbh if he can approach league-average against RHP and do a job for a few hundred innings at third base, I would be very happy to grab him for the league minimum. Still, if he costs anything significant (which I doubt) I think I’d be cautious.
He’s a perfectly good low-risk target (as was Kearns, I think – I was mainly looking at him as a basically free (in trade terms) option before we got DeRo & Lego last year, as he still gets on base competently against LHP and is very good in the field. This was when we were regularly running Chris Duncan (!!!) out in LF vs LHP, if you recall! Yeuch!).
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 10:10 AM EST up reply actions
His career split against RHP is .844 OPS
If he can be an .800 OPS guys in 250-350 PA’s against righties with decent 3B defense, he’s easily worth $2M, and he probably won’t get that much.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
And Allen Craig
who’s a very good bench bat that can play either corner in the outfield.
Totally agree on Tracy — if he’s healthy at all he could be a big boost to this club.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Yes, he WAS good...
Sure Tracy had some decent even good years from 2004-07, but the last two seasons he’s been beyond awful. You wouldn’t sign Andruw Jones, Griffey Jr. or anyone based on their performance 2-3 years ago, so don’t sign Tracy based on that. The last time he played regular 3B was 2006 and i don’t think he’s great with the glove, i’d rather sign no-one than have him warm the bench for a million bucks.
A good friend, holds his drink, Bad company makes bad wine!, Drinking among friends, Red wine means a good life, A few drinks bring comfort, Two drinks are enough, Money can't buy courage, Riches mean nothing to us.
Tracy is 29
Jones and Griffey are ancient compared to Tracy, and both of those guys also seem to be finding places to play if I’m not mistaken.
I’m signing him based on the fact that I think he can put up an .800 OPS in limited playing time against right handed pitchers, be a good lefty pinch hitter with some power, and back up the corner infield with decent defense. He’s been above league average on defense at both 1st and 3rd base throughout his career. He might be available for league minimum as well, because we might be able to get him on a minor league contract, similar to what the Indians gave Austin Kearns.
I guess if you’d rather have Ruben Gotay doing that, fine. I just don’t think that Gotay provides near the offensive upside that Tracy does.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I am not keen on Gotay at all
he’s been pretty abysmal in his MLB playing time so far, despite his fine 2009 in AAA. I’m kinda with you here – I’d rather have someone vaguely competent backing up 3B. If Freese doesn’t make it I’d much rather have Craig or even Greene doing that job than Gotay.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:08 PM EST up reply actions
Griffey is a dinosaur and Jones is 300 lbs...
terrible examples
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 15, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
are you serious?
Tracy is a legit major leaguer who for the most part has always been a starter in this league since he came up.
Thurston offers absolutely nothing in the way of defense, offense, or baserunning
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 14, 2010 7:09 PM EST up reply actions
Looper
I think he’d sign for a lot less than Garland or Davis. It wouldn’t surprise me if no-one would offer more than $2m in total (including incentives) for Looper, given that there’s quite a few solid, back-of-the-rotation types still to sign, and he utterly, utterly sucked last year.
If Floppy/Branyan is available relatively cheaply (or, as you say, we go down the Kiko/Tracy/Gross-type route), I probably wouldn’t mind giving Looper $1m (with maybe a mill of incentives) to see if Duncan can get him back on track. That said, I think Davis and Garland are a LOT better than Loop.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 5:37 AM EST up reply actions
Why do you think Garland and Davis are going to cost much more than $2M?
I have a feeling one of them will sign for under 4.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
David might be cheap
Garland got $7.5m last year, after a down year in Chicago, and pitched over 200 innings of improved baseball. I find it hard to believe (given how much everyone values decent, big-name innings eaters) that he gets less than $5m this year, even with the recession.
I think Davis could end up being one of the better bargains of free agency this year, as he was begging the NATS to offer him a deal, I’m guessing teams aren’t exactly breaking down his door with offers. I could see him going for $3-4m but for that sort of money Jose Contreras is much better IMO. Davis has the advantage that he’s come off a durable season when he his ERA was very good (despite a worrying down-trend in his K/BB and FIP), so he’s got the traditional stats to back it up. I could see someone giving him $5m.
I’d be pretty amazed if either goes for as little as $2m. If they do, sign me up!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:11 PM EST up reply actions
Contreras scares me with his age and injury history.
I’m sort of longing for a cheap, innings-eating guy on the 2008 Kyle Lohse contract.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
Probably Davis then
but he’s not as good as Lohse. I think he’s your prototypical decent #4/5 guy.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:19 PM EST up reply actions
ME WANT SHEETS!!!
SHEETS MAKE CODY HAPPY.
ME WANT ROTATION OF
A.D.A.M
LUGGAGE
SHEETS
CENTIQUID
LOHSE
ME THINKS IF SHEETS DOES GOOD HE WILL BE ABLE TO NET US DRAFT PICK.
ME THINKS ALSO SHEETS IN RED IS PURTY.
I am the Batman
you make me want to not do the glossary
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
get 'em while they're hot
Valverde gone! to the Tigers 2/14m + option
Dotel close to gone! to the Pirates
Colby Lewis close to gone! to the Rangers
Adam LaRoche gone! to the D’backs ($4.5m, 1m buyout)
Norris Hopper gone! to the Brewers MiL
Barmes and Buccholz avoided arb! with the Rox
Zumaya avoided arb! with the Tigers
BEN SHEETS throwing on Tuesday
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
Is it just me...
Or is that a really good deal on Adam LaRoche for the D-Backs. He’s a .360 wOBA hitter with average defense at 1B, will probably suck in the first half but will have a hot second half as that’s what he’s done in his career.
Still, as tough as that ballpark can be on LHH, I think that’s a really good deal for him.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think that's a fantastic deal for the D-backs
Gives Allen some time to develop more, and it is some insurance for Young incase he struggles (Conor Jackson might even start ahead of him, but they put in too much money to walk away from Young).
Also, should Parra not develop as planned, it’s a good insurance situation for not bad money.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
yeah
and most specifically, it makes Brian Sabean look like an even bigger moron than he looked before, if that’s possible. Basically he signed Aubrey Huff to do the same job for a little more than $1m less, even though Huff is hugely inferior to LaRoche in every respect (in fact, Huff has had ONE year out of the last five with a wOBA as good as LaRoche’s CAREER wOBA, he’s older, less healthy and probably less able to play the field anymore).
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 5:57 AM EST up reply actions
i heard that LaRoche turned down Sabean's two year offer
and basically took a worse deal in Ariz. If true, can’t really blame Sabean (though it’s always fun to pile on him).
by Willie McGee's Twin on Jan 15, 2010 12:18 PM EST up reply actions
yeah
I hadn’t realised that but read the same today. He still should’ve been in on Branyan, who is WAY better than Huff at this stage and probably won’t cost much more.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:12 PM EST up reply actions
Dotel to the Pirates - weird, frankly.
I realise their bullpen is a massive vacuum of suck now Grabow and Capps are gone, but I can’t help but feel that spending money on a so-so ageing closer in a season they probably won’t break 70 wins is a bit of a waste.
In other news, I am REALLY disappointed Norris Hopper’s gone, and to a divisional rival too. He’s good Carlos Gomez insurance (in fact, he’s probably better than Gomez, to be honest), and would’ve been the ideal Rasmus backup, simply because he’s right-handed, still has options, and gets on base at a really, really good clip against left-handed pitching. The perfect no-risk, all-upside addition for us, in fact. I suppose it means we definitely get a year of Colby vs LHP, which is probably a good thing for us in the long term.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:00 AM EST up reply actions
Cant' Hurt to Take a Peek...
unless we’re talkin’ ’bout Roseanne in a thong…
:=8P
Big McLargehuge!
:=8O
totally ripped off my thread title
Of course, hope means being cut down on some street corner, as you run like mad, by a random bullet.
did you have a ©
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
i thought it protected by the rules of the internet
Of course, hope means being cut down on some street corner, as you run like mad, by a random bullet.
Valverde
Audi 5000 to the Tigers. Given where the Tigers are right now that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. OTOH, they could still plausibly win the AL Central. But, I really want the Twins to make the playoffs. Ultimately, if the Twins and Rockies make it to the World Series we could have a new Ice Bowl. That would be “cool” (see what I did there? huh? huh?)
I still vote for Smoltz.
I think TLR may be lobbying for a LH bat off the bench given how much he likes to play the match-ups.
They say sing while you slave but I just get bored
Given where the Tigers are right now that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. OTOH, they could still plausibly win the AL Central.
Doesn’t it therefore kinda make sense? Given the albatross contracts they’ve got at the moment (Miggy, cabrera, bonderman, guillen, willis, robertson) they’re not really in a position where they can move any of those guys and rebuild in the next 2 years (probably after 2011 they will be), and their division does look pretty weak (although you’re kinda hoping for a bit of a Twins collapse if you’re the Tigers, I guess). They’ve got younger AND better with the Granderson trade, and they’ve cut some of the dead wood out of the bullpen in Rodney and Lyon. I think relying on Joel Zumaya to close games down, with his injury history, would be a bit risky tbh. Valverde’s not a bad fit for them. It’s a bit pricey, yes, and it’s definitely an “old-school” move, but I don’t think it’s too bad.
Better Valverde for two years than Lyon for three!
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:05 AM EST up reply actions
because Mo's kinda mediocre at exploiting FAT, as far as I can see
we’ve missed out on quite a few very nice deals over the last couple of years that would’ve helped the team. Still, there are 30 teams out there, so I guess it’s hard to grab EVERY MiLFA who would’ve helped you.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:12 AM EST up reply actions
Smoltz, Lugo, Gotay?
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
Gotay and Lugo aren't very good
Smoltz I liked. I actually really liked all the LOOGY FAT deals last year (Ring, Ostlund) even though none of them came to anything. Thing is, though, guys like Lugo and Gotay aren’t upgrades over what we have internally. We could just’ve put Jarrett Hoffpauir on the 40-man and he’d have been equivalent to either of them (though I grant you Lugo has SOME upside and is a perfectly good backup guy).
I just worry sometimes that he’s not very good at signing guys who really fit into areas of need for us, who are going for a song. Guys like Carrasco (potentially competent bullpen guy) and Norris Hopper (right-handed CF with a decent glove) have gone for minor league deals this year. Even the likes of Austin Kearns. These guys seem to “fit” areas we’re deficient in in the high minors more so than the likes of Gotay. Just my $0.02, and I can see that there’s arguments against that opinion.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:15 PM EST up reply actions
nooooooooo!!!!!!
the lass thing this team needs is to be hauling more gross pun-nage. Honestly, though, I wonder whether he’ll zink or swim with this team?
Yep, the Punsters will Toss Everything Out there...
…along with the kitchen Zink!
Big McLargehuge!
:=8O
"COME BACK ZINC" ;=8)
CARTOONIST GROENING DEFENDS `SIMPSONS’ SUICIDE SCENE
Los Angeles — ``The Simpsons’’ creator Matt Groening contends that
Thursday’s episode depicting an animated teenager holding a gun to his
head was meant to be funny, but some suicide experts say it could be a
bad influence on fragile children.
``The majority of kids will not be disturbed by that, but a child who
is vulnerable and disturbed may imitate the behavior,’’ said Pamela
Canter, executive director of the National Committee on Youth Suicide
Prevention.
But Groening said that the mock suicide scene has to be looked at in
the episode’s context.
``We opened the show with Bart and his class watching a scratchy
black-and-white film about zinc,‘’ Groening said. ``It was a send-up
of those cornball education films we were forced to watch when we
were growing up.’’
The snippet showed the teen in a dream sequence imagining a world
without the element zinc.
Because zinc didn’t exist, the teen had no car; without a car,
he lost his girlfriend. Distraught, he put a gun to his head, but
when he pulled the trigger, nothing happened because there was no
zinc in the firing pin.
``He wakes up thinking, `Thank God I live in the world of zinc,’ ‘’
Groening said. ``If anything, it possibly cheers up suicidal teens
by giving them something to laugh at.’’
``How about that last line from MG? In yer face!’’ says David Hyatt.
Big McLargehuge!
:=8O
can you put up a link?
a zink-link, if you will?
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:42 AM EST up reply actions
in other news
if this is correct, it’s going to be a fun year for Yadi…
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:43 AM EST up reply actions
Anyone interested in kerry Wood
Maybe Cleveland would pick up some salary and move him to us for a couple of decent prospects. I know he had a really bad year last year, but just 2 years ago, he had a 2.32 FIP and an 11.4K/9.
However, some things do scare me. His high strikeout ways continued with the Indianas, but he had 4.85BB/9, a jump by nearly 2 walks from 2008. Don’t know the reasoning behind that, but it is intimidating. His HR/9 was 1.15, so maybe he was just plain unlucky, but anyone interested?
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
haven't we given them enough of our guys already?
and we don’t need anymore former flubs infecting our team either
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
Maybe we can do a relief pitcher swap and give them...
oh hang on, we already gave them all our relief pitchers. Disregard.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 6:39 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Sadface
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
how bout....
We take wood and his whole contract and get perez and todd back
by I miss Jack Buck on Jan 15, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
it's so sad that your plan to get wood failed.
if you don't know what is wrong with me, then you don't know what you've missed. - macmanus
HAHAHA
you said “erection”. Oh, hang on…
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 16, 2010 5:09 AM EST up reply actions
Josh Johnson agrees a 4-year, $39m extension
great news for Marlins fans, and great news for baseball, I think. That team is so well run, it’d be nice to see them spending more money going forward. With the Nats getting better, the NLE could be really interesting going forward.
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Well, yeah...
except that they have to be scolded by the MLB and the rest of the owners have to show up on their middle infield bearing torches before they bring out the checkbook. Even with this extension, the Cardinals will be paying more for three players next year than the Marlins will be shelling out for their ENTIRE ROSTER.
Imagine, for a moment, if they simply spent $60 – $70M on payroll every year….they’d probably be in the hunt for the wildcard nearly every season. It’s a fucking waste to see them spend $30M and finish 4th.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
This is bad news for baseball,
because no one will get to see Josh Johnson play an important game for the next four years.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
I dunno about that.
I think they could be a wild card team if a couple of things break right:
- Andrew Miller fills out his potential
- Cameron Maybin shows up
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Depends if they keep Uggla or not.
It seemed inevitable that he would be dealt, but it hasn’t happened, and it has to be that they are demanding too much, standing on his past “All star” form. Bumgarner is worth much more than Uggla, and they need to realize it.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
They asked for Sanchez plus other pieces I believe
But I still wouldn’t do it for just Sanchez
He was one Juan Uribe suckass play from a perfect game.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
As a part-time marlins fan,
I’ve gotta tell you, they’re a lot like the Reds of the NL East- tons of potential every year, and this year is the same.
Johnson is great, and Nolasco will bounce back, but Volstad was overrated in 2008 and was replacement-level in 2009 and no on else in their rotation is projected for over 120 innings- all of them right around average. Miller is especially frightening as he has had his average fastball velocity drop further than Todd Wellemeyer, and he still hasn’t gotten his walk rate under control. He should be in the minors, but the Marlins lack of innings-eating starters, forces them to bring guys like West up from double A and bounce Miller back and forth from the pen to the rotation
Also, their offense is good- frighteningly good at times, but it comes at a serious cost on defense. Ramirez and Uggla everyone knows about, but Maybin is another example. His bat definitely has a lot of upside, but his defense is all speed and not much judgment or arm.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
I think they need to move Maybin to LF
His crappy arm and speed would play better there than in center, and Cody Ross isn’t a horrible CF by any stretch and his bat plays above average there.
Agreed on pitching, although it always seems like they have a wicked injury that kills their staff every year too, like Nolasco two years ago.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Since they traded Hermida, I think Maybin is probably moving out of center.
Ross is definitely an above average center fielder, and if they’re really upping payroll, they could afford to bring in some rotation fodder to stabilize things. I don’t see any way (aside from unprecedented breakouts and catastrophic injuries on each team, respectively) that they unseat philly, but second place in that division does give them a shot at the WC. The Nats are a non-threat, and the Mets are in need of even more luck than the marlins are, so their only competition there is the Braves. Even so, there’s only one WC spot. Their odds to make the playoffs at this point are maybe eight or ten to one.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
So
Their odds to make the playoffs at this point are maybe eight or ten to one.
You’re saying that, if gambling was legal, that if you could get 30-1 on the Marlins winning the NL Pennant you’d take those odds?
They’d have to be a pretty tough out in the playoffs with Johnson and Nolasco as their 1-2.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think there might be some value in those odds.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
They're 25-1 to win the World Series
In case you were wondering, St. Louis is 14-1 after the Holliday signing, and they were 20-1 before that. So Vegas REALLY likes the Holliday signing, lol.
Interestingly, the Giants are 14-1 and the Royals are 80-1, and AREN’T in the top four worst odds. Baltimore, Washington, Toronto, and PIttsburgh are worse than the Royals.
Best bet on the board? Rays 25-1, imo.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think the STL and TB odds are probably influenced a lot by division.
If TB was in the NL central, their odds would probably be comparable to Philly.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
Assuming Philly has second or third best odds.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
hehe 3-1
that’s ridiculous. I doubt no team has really had those “genuine” odds to win the whole thing for about half a century…
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 16, 2010 5:47 PM EST up reply actions
this is '40s yankees-esque
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Jan 17, 2010 11:52 PM EST up reply actions
Vegas odds are influenced by how Vegas thinks that people will vote
Teams with large fanbases have significantly better Vegas odds than they have World Series probability. Vegas needs to hedge against all of the fans making wild longshot bets on their team and cashing in at the end of the season.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
I'm not sure that that's hedging,
so much as it’s pricing in popularity to increase their profit since people are betting based on team preference instead of odds.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
These are moneyline bets though
they’re not trying to balance betting on both sides like a game line, they’re trying to put the best possible odds out there based on competition and so on.
I would actually doubt that they’re hedging based on the large fanbases, because if they were the Cubs would be a lot better than 25-1. They have a huge fanbase, and what Cub fan doesn’t want to be the guy bragging that he took home $2500 when they won the World Series?
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think the Rays are a good bet
I might go for the White Sox tbh, but the Rays do have a bunch of contract year people.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
Floppy and Smoltz
I have my concerns about Freeze. I am worried about his ability to hit ML pitching. If he crashes at the plate it would be nice to have some one who could take the pressure off him. Lopez being a switch hitter will help off the bench.
Smoltz can fill a few rolls on the pitching staff. Including mentor. I would like to see Garcia get a few starts in the second half of the year, and Smoltz can sure up the pen.
Craig is the 4th out fielder and that leaves one more outfield spot. I would prefer some one who could play center and had some pop off the bench. That will be the big competition this spring, and I would not mind Ank getting a chance to compete for the job.
we don't have the money to do this
yeah it’s nice enough and everyone would love to have smoltz & lopez on the team, but we have to be realistic. We only have $7m to spend and both are liable to have multiple suitors. The absolute minimum I see Smoltz getting is ~$5m, Floppy $4m and he could get much more.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:17 PM EST up reply actions
yeah, but those guys only take those deals if there's nothing left
Lots of teams want Smoltz, and it wouldn’t surprise me if floppy has plenty of suitors. Also, he’ll want at least two years.
And if you’re the GM, and you have a budget, you can’t just magic $2m out of thin air, even if those two WILL take lowball deals to play with us.
I’d love to sign both, like you, but I think it’s unrealistic.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
Anyone heard anything about
Wang? (sexual jokes aside) and his health?
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
Let's see...a LHH outfielder who can play all three spots and hits with some pop....thinking...thinking...who have seen around here that fits that role?
by Willie McGee's Twin on Jan 15, 2010 12:29 PM EST reply actions
Chris Duncan!
Wait… hang on, no. I thought you said something else. Never mind.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 15, 2010 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
please sign some combination of Looper, Lopez, and Calero
if possible
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Jan 15, 2010 7:44 PM EST reply actions
Loop?? really?? why??
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
he's the coors light of pitching then
pass the guinness
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
ok
I didn’t realize how bad he was last season…. I’m pretty much just hoping we sign Calero at this point, the team is probably pretty much set up for spring training.
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Jan 16, 2010 1:22 AM EST up reply actions
whew, for a second there i'd thought we lost you
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
I guess because Lopez will cost at least $5m and I'd have thought Calero costs at least $2m
so if we’re adding another pitcher, it needs to be for not much more than the minimum! I’d probably sign Looper for that, providing we spent all the rest of the cash on other options. He’s a durable guy who gives our injury prone rotation 130+ innings of backup pitching, and I suspect under Dave Duncan he might rediscover his groundbally ways of 2008. I think he was a bit unlucky on flyballs last season, and it won’t take a huge improvement in GB% or K/BB ratio to put him back in the a-bit-below-average region (with average luck – his HR/FB rate is 13% since he became a starter, which strikes me as somewhat unlucky), which you’d guess he might be able to do under Duncan.
The guy sucks but he’s probably a 1-win pitcher with average luck, he can eat some innings as a #5 guy, and let Garcia develop a bit in the minors (or prevent us from having to use probably replacement-level options like Hawk or Walters in the rotation, whilst allowing Boggs to have a shot at becoming a good reliever). For $1m or something I think that’s vaguely worth having as a backup option/#5, if we identify a real upgrade elsewhere (say, Floppy) that we can get for <$6m.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 16, 2010 5:20 AM EST up reply actions
yeah, but davis is quite a bit better and thus will cost more
I don’t know if they’re really comparable commodities.
The thing about Davis that makes me vaguely interested is that he was shilling for a job on the Nats, and I’ve since heard nothing more about it – that would suggest to me that the market is VERY cool on him. For $3m or so he’d be a bargain. He’s probably better than most #5 pitchers in the league and his durability is definitely a plus.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 17, 2010 6:41 AM EST up reply actions
so who does San Diego take number 1 overall in the 2011 draft?
is that the Bryce Harper draft?
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 16, 2010 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
or does Matt Bush have a little brother or a cousin from the area?
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 16, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
that's just cold man, COLD
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
is he projected to go #1?
I believe Washington has the first pick again.
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 16, 2010 1:38 PM EST up reply actions
yes, harper is the consensus #1 pick
he’ll go first unless he announces that he wants a $20m signing bonus or something crazy.
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by Felonius_Monk on Jan 16, 2010 5:50 PM EST up reply actions
Boras is his agent right?
Ill expect 25 million dollar demands by May.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
Given that Strasburg only got $15m-odd
and may be the best prospect in any of our lifetimes, I seriously doubt Harper gets close to that. You’re probably right in that that’s the sort of cash they’ll deman, but I expect in the end he’ll settle for a major-league contract and something like $10m bonus money, or just sign for about a $15m bonus straight up.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 17, 2010 6:42 AM EST up reply actions
Oh I totally agree
I can just see it now. Boras proclaiming “The Next Albert Pujols” and asking for 25 million.
I think about 10 is what I would expect. I would assume position players, even one’s of his caliber, would be less valued compared to pitchers like Chapman and Strasburg.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
he's already been called
the next babe ruth
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Jan 17, 2010 11:55 PM EST up reply actions
I think he profiles very closely
with Ken Griffey Jr., honestly, except from the catcher position. I’m not so sure he’d even stay a catcher if he’s selected by an NL club either. If a kid had that kind of bat and speed, I would definitely stick him in the outfield so he didn’t get beat up so much behind the plate.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Yeah, he won't be a catcher
Unless he’s a dynamo at it like Yadi is, and even then I probably would just stick him at 3b or OF.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t contract the Ken Griffey health disorder.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
His swing is not as effortless as Griffey's was
that’s for sure. I don’t know if that’s going to make a big difference or not. He swings like a left handed Gary Sheffield.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Does he have the Sheffield active hands routine :)
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
Hmmmm
The question now begs, will they score more than 3 runs a game?!??!
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
They won't
There’s a reason their payroll is in the 10-20 million dollar range. They gotta be saving up.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
It's a race with Pittsburgh
to the NL Cellar!!!
I predict that San Diego will deal Young, Gonzalez, and Bell at some point in the next 6 months….
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
isn't this a foregone conclusion that this will happen?
Pardon me, if I don’t declare you the next Nostradamus :)
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 16, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
So, I'm still wondering?
Should I be humming the The Cure in my head while reading this thread, or Buster Poindexter?
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Poindexter!
not because it is better or anything, just because it sounds like the name of the prototypical basement dweller.
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
nonsense! the cure song has a whole verse devoted to basement living.
“the first time i saw lightning strike/i saw it underground/six feet deep below the street/the sky came crashing down/ . . . i left that basement burning and i never went back”
if you don't know what is wrong with me, then you don't know what you've missed. - macmanus
sounds to me like they turned their back on basement dwellers
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Pitching
Per Mo’s comments, it appears the Cards are targeting pitchers once Schu’s and Luddy’s arb situations are addressed.
Smoltz, Turnbow, Sheets, and Wang. Those were the names that were dropped.
I can’t imagine the idea of bringing Sheets into the fold has legs, but if the Cubs really do have interest in him maybe the Cards could raise his asking price.
They say sing while you slave but I just get bored
I really want Sheets
but after that I would go for Wang
Just good that these guys are getting looks.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
SMOLTZY should be priority #1 then SHEETS & then Russ & Kiko
after that there’s no one left they should even talk to
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
Meh, I think Sheets would do just as well as Smoltz
And would probably be fit for a relief role given his injury history if one of our minor leaguers is ready.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
both have their concerns, i trust SMOLTZY more just because of who he is
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
I really don't get this.
Smoltz has not been able to maintain his stuff for more than a few starts in a long time. At his age there is no reason to think he is suddenly going to be better at recovering start to start in 2010 than he has been in the previous years. Smoltz has managed a whopping 106 innings in the last two year combined.
I also don’t see why its to our advantage to start Garcia in AAA.
If Sheets is available, then I could live with that. He has far more potential than Smoltz.
if SHEETS is 100% healthy, i'll take him every time just because of SMOLTZY's age
but right now, not knowing how healthy he is, i can’t say that. i want them both though for 2010
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
I am somewhat concerned that Sheets doesn't want mlb teams to see his medical reports, apparently
that doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 18, 2010 6:21 AM EST up reply actions
Probably weeding out pretenders
He knows no team will sign him without the medical reports. Sheets probably wants to demonstrate what he can do first, then let the team decide between the scouts and the doctors if they want to pursue him. If he sent the medicals out first, the doctors could convince the front office to skip the throwing session.
Or he could believe the Cubs will sign him without the medicals.
Maybe it shows he has some weird eye defect, but he can throw real fast...
they can fix it of course by getting him some completely nerdy glasses.
With a Skull in the middle?
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
From 2005 - 2007 Smoltz made 100 starts and threw 667 innings
His ERA+ over that period? 135. The guy can still pitch, period.
He had a shoulder issue, and it took him a full 16 months to recover, because older people don’t recover as fast. His FIP for the Cardinals in 2009 was 2.73 — that’s pretty damn good.
I’m pretty confident that he could throw 150 innings of 4.00 FIP baseball in 2010, and that’s pretty valuable.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I kinda agree
and I like him, but the historical precedents for guys who pitched into their early-and-mid 40s in recent years are fairly limited, and probably biased towards guys who were pretty awesome earlier in their careers (Unit, Maddux, Smoltz, etc etc). I expect injury risks to be that much greater in those years, declines to be steeper and the usual ageing curves to be much more severe.
I realise Randy Johnson was a couple of years older when he retired, but he kinda went through the routine of having one decent year, then one pretty bad/mainly injured year, his last few seasons. I remember everyone (me included) clamouring to sign him to a 1yr/$8m-odd deal this time last year, and he went to the Giants and threw 96 basically worthless innings instead.
Smoltz is pretty awesome, and, if anything, I think a healthy FIP of 4.00 is probably an underestimate, but I’d be pretty surprised if he can get to 150 IP more often than not.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 19, 2010 10:16 AM EST up reply actions
If both are somewhere close to healthy
31-year-old Ben Sheets is going to be better than 43-year-old John Smoltz, I’d have thought. It’s hard to see even an ostensibly healthy Smoltz making more than 20-25 starts, given his age & likely frequent aches and pains, and (in terms of quality) I’d say they’re pretty similar, with the likelihood that Smoltz will be on a very steep decline, given his age.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 17, 2010 6:52 AM EST up reply actions
I'm really starting to warm to the idea of Sheets in the Rotation, and Penny closing
So long as you used Penny as a pure 9th-inning guy, I don’t think the warm up thing would be that big of a deal, and I still think that using your one-pitch guy in the ’pen is the best use of resources.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
I'm growing more and more interested in Davis.
He only throws 85 MPH, how much money could he possibly get?
Also, compared to Smoltz, Turnbow, Sheets, and Wang, Davis looks like he’s made of titanium.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
that was kyle lohse's virtue two years ago.
if you don't know what is wrong with me, then you don't know what you've missed. - macmanus
And Kyle Lohse was an excellent value on a 1 year, 4M and change contract.
"Of course Kolby Rasmus was going deep! That’s what Kolby Rasmus does! You don’t give Kolby Rasmus second chances!" -Kolby Rasmus
Davis isn't that great, though
he’s a soft-tossing lefty who doesn’t strike many out whose walkrate got up beyond 4 per 9 last year, with the worst GB% he’s put up in quite a few years. I agree he’d be good for $3m or so, but he’s been pretty consistent and durable and his ERA was excellent last year (compared to his FIP, which was actually quite a bit down) – I’d be surprised if there’s not some interest in him, and he’s been paid well recently.
I’m guessing he gets about $5m. That’s probably a good deal for someone. The only thing that might suggest he’ll get less is that he was shilling for a move to the Nats (lack of ambition, anyone?) earlier this off-season with apparently little mutual interest.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 17, 2010 6:49 AM EST up reply actions
If we can get Sheets for the sort of money we've got left to spend
then realistically he’s probably the best option. I realise he’s a pretty big risk but, man, imagine this playoff rotation:
Game 1: Carp
Game 2: Waino
Game 3: Sheets
Game 4: Penny
Game 5: Carp
Game 6: Waino
Game 7: Sheets
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 17, 2010 6:45 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Bahahaha
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
recerific
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
So how does everyone feel about 39 year old
former gold glovers?
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=193941
I don’t think he’d be too effective anymore…..but I can’t help but like the idea of him back in a cardinals uniform
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 18, 2010 3:34 AM EST reply actions
more details..
http://yourenotagolfer.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/01/edmonds_to_return.html
joking or not…its just awesome to think about
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jan 18, 2010 3:43 AM EST up reply actions
Wait a second King...
that’s…. it can’t be…. THAT’S MIKE MAROTH’S MUSIC!!!!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 18, 2010 6:23 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
"If you like pina coladas........"
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Jan 18, 2010 10:44 AM EST up reply actions
Jimmy and McGwire are gonna seem all buddy buddy
And then Jimmy is gonna throw Marty Mark through a window.
Albert Pujols does not have "down" years. He has "~6 WAR" years.
I thought you loved St. Louis' quirkiness
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
by mattyfrommo on Jan 18, 2010 11:52 AM EST up reply actions
first basemen, too
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 18, 2010 1:21 PM EST up reply actions
There's a photo of Mac with Reggie Jackson
and his package is also circled with his signature.
Now with extra feisty!
i thought steroids were associated with shrin . . .
nevermind.
if you don't know what is wrong with me, then you don't know what you've missed. - macmanus
I think so
Rock on!
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Jan 18, 2010 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
rock out with your
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
I'm not adding this to the glossary
if only so newbies can discover its joys for themselves. wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Jan 18, 2010 10:46 PM EST up reply actions
is it a thing yet?
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
his thing is a thing.
Fo shizzle.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 19, 2010 10:17 AM EST up reply actions
This is pretty cool
I feel somewhat proud to have been somewhat involved in its discovery! YAY!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 19, 2010 10:17 AM EST up reply actions
Does anyone have a link to the current roster matrix?
With Luddy now signed and Skip probably around 2.5M. Thanks in advance.
by pitchingandefense on Jan 20, 2010 8:30 AM EST reply actions
...
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2010/1/10/1243617/salaries-and-war-and-stuff
How much did Ludwick sign for? I had him at 5 million before as a guess.
by vivaelpujols on Jan 20, 2010 7:26 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks
I had forgotten that your excellent post on total team WAR included salaries. So my question is, if $100M is the payroll, why are there different accounts of how much the team has to spend? According to your payroll, there should be $9-10M left to spend. Other accounts I’ve read say $6-7M. Then Hummel says in the article about Edmonds that there is only $2-3M left to spend. It’s all a little confusing.
by pitchingandefense on Jan 21, 2010 8:06 AM EST up reply actions
A couple of things
- VEP’s post has Ludwick $450,000 short and has zeroed out Lugo, but we still owe Lugo the league mimimum salary of $440,000, so there’s $1M right there, leaving about $9M to spend.
- Hummell is, um, wrong. No surprise there.
I would guess that there is around $7.5M or so to spend, which would be about in line with what VEP has.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Hope it's closer to $9M
Then they’d have the money to do one of do one of the following:
1) Sign Sheets 1 yr. $8M.
2) Sign Lopez and Smoltz combined for 1 yr. $9M.
I’m kind of torn, but I think I prefer option 2. But I really wouldn’t mind Sheets as a third starter. Really tough call. Of course, that all depends on how much they are going to spend, and how much is left as dry powder for the trade deadline.
As a fan, I’d like to see them spend it now, so Smoltz’s role can be defined along with the young guys roles by the all-star break and if Freese falters we have an option on-hand. Or if they get Sheets, hopefully they would run away with the division right out of the gate, allowing them to take it easy with Carp, Waino, and Sheets in late August and September.
by pitchingandefense on Jan 21, 2010 8:59 AM EST up reply actions
Hummell might (well, clutching at straws here)
be party to the vague notion from the front office that they want some wiggle-room to sign guys during the season if they need to make a trade near the deadline (or make a Smoltz-esque pickup from last year). If that’s the case, they may be working towards an artificial budget of another $3m or so for off-season additions. Personally, I think that’d be a mistake but I think it’s very possible.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 11:27 AM EST up reply actions
Eric Byrnes?
Anybody else thinking the Cards should take a look at Eric Byrnes? Arizona just released him. I’m mostly curious because he could fill what I consider the biggest hole in the STL lineup: center field against lefthanded pitching. Might be worth an invite to Spring Training.
Make no mistake, his overall numbers the past 2 seasons were awful (combined OPS of .653 in 482 plate appearances in 2008-2009). But looking closer at the numbers, I think there is some hope he could still be a useful player.
His platoon splits showed some promise – against lefties, Byrnes slugged .484 in 2008 and .494 last year. That would be pretty good power for the 6th/7th slot in the lineup against lefties.
Bad luck may have been a factor in Byrnes’ recent decline – he suffered low BABIP the past 2 years (.226 in 2008, .229 in 2009). That should improve.
And Byrnes’ numbers improved in limited action in the second half of 2009 – his OPS was .846 after the All-Star break. This suggests to me that he was overexposed in the first half, and that he could be a productive role player if used properly.
I wouldn’t want the team to invest heavily in Byrnes, but I’m assuming he can be had for cheap and if he doesn’t perform we just release him. Thoughts?
OMG ANOTHER MATT!!!!
I’d definitely sign him for the league minimum but I imagine there are other clubs who feel the same and who would guarantee him a starting spot. We’re not in that position so I don’t think it’s realistic.
I also think you’re writing off Rasmus’ ability to hit LHP a little early. The guy’s barely had 100 PAs against lefties in his MLB career, and hit them OK in the minors. It’s possible he continues to struggle, but I think he’ll probably be OK. I certainly wouldn’t want to platoon him from day 1 this year – only do it later in the year if it becomes a real necessity.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 7:48 AM EST up reply actions
fair enough
I think Rasmus has a great future and will eventually hit lefties. But at this point I really think the Cards should be prepared to platoon him from the start in 2010. Two reasons:
1. Rasmus really struggled against lefties last year (.474 OPS!) – even assuming a moderate improvement, he may still be a liability against lefties.
2. Durability seems like an issue. Rasmus has had some injury/medical concerns over the past couple seasons, and really cooled off after the all star break last year (1st half OPS .807, 2nd half .592). This suggests to me he may benefit from occasional days off, and if that’s the case, then his days off might as well happen when we’re facing a left-handed starter.
I’m also wondering if any free agents would fit (righthanded hitters who can play center) or whether Ludwick could play center and have someone else (e.g. Allen Craig) play right field against lefties…
maybe Rocco Baldelli
he hits lefties pretty well…
I'd be OK with that
although I think he’ll be looking to get paid (and probably will). FWIW, I’d be fine with Ludwick in CF one game every twn days against lefties, and maybe Jay or someone for the occasional spot start. I don’t think he belongs there at all really (luddy, I mean) but having Craig in the lineup instead of Rasmus probably boosts the offense a fair bit.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
I just wanna say
haha, Bengie.
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
I wouldnt want to play in the hellhole that is NY either.
At least the Giants are in SF
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
draft picks
mlbtr.com has the list of the drafting order up- sans Joel Pinero, who will eventually net the Cards another sup round pick.
So that would mean the Cards pick at the tail end of the 1st and 2nd and squeeze in two sup round picks.
I don’t follow the college game, so can anyone enlighten me as to whether there are any hot prospects that might slide down to the Cards for signability reasons?
Based on last year, the Cards apparently divorced themselves from the slotting system, so I’m thinking if such a guy is out there, they may take a swing at him, and really need to in-light of Holliday contract and forthcoming Pujols extension.
They say sing while you slave but I just get bored
that last sentence
42 words, five clauses, four commas. I’m working up to Henry James.
They say sing while you slave but I just get bored
by Scarecrow7775 on Jan 20, 2010 8:42 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I really hope we do go heavily over slot with all our high end picks
we have the cash to do it (Wagner Mateo’s bonus will help!) and we really need to seriously strengthen the farm. I’d actually be perfectly happy if they allocated a bit of this year’s MLB payroll to the draft…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 7:49 AM EST up reply actions
INTERNATIONAL MONEY AND DRAFT MONEY ARE DIFFERENT!!!!!
That was Jeff Lunhow yelling from Memphis.
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
Hot off the presses- Pinata
Pinero and the Angels- 2 years, 16 mil, 1 draft pick for the Birds.
I’m kind of glad for him. The Angels are a far better fate than the Mets.
They say sing while you slave but I just get bored
the AL will destroy him
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
unless jose oquendo gives him a call
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Jan 21, 2010 1:24 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Would anybody have rather had Joel than Penny
given that deal, and given what we’re paying Penny, and given Joel’s very good durability history, the deals are probably fairly comparable.
Of course, we lose our supplemental pick if Pineiro stays, so it’s not totally like-for-like. Still, I could see it either way. Overall, I think I’ll go with Penny but it’s damn close.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 7:50 AM EST up reply actions
I would agree with that
Penny straight up instead of Joel is not good imo, but Penny plus Garland would work for me. Least to have some insurance durability-wise.
The pick is a nice incentive though :) It’s a 2nd right? Can’t remember if they signed any other B’s or not.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
disregard that last part
I was obviously thinking of type A’s…sigh
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
yeah, we get a supplemental pick for Pineiro
so before the 2nd round, but I suppose “effectively” it’s an early 2nd rounder….
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 22, 2010 5:23 AM EST up reply actions
Cards sign Holliday
via P-D
I really think this could be a huge boost for this team. What do you think?
by WyoCardsFan on Jan 21, 2010 11:08 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Whoa. This signing came right out of the blue.
Mo works in strange ways!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 11:30 AM EST up reply actions
What?!
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Jan 21, 2010 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
I'm surprised there's so little discussion of this on the site
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
I know...
crazy, huh?! The P-D forum users seem to think it’s a good deal and that he is the perfect protection for Albert Pujols, whom one guy called “the best player in baseball”
by WyoCardsFan on Jan 21, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions
Bunch of weirdos.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Jan 21, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
Well, it's probably Pujols or Betancourt to be fair
I’d probably go Betancourt because he plays a more premium position.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 21, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
The Royals barely gave up anything for him to!
They are so crafty….that Dayton Moore is something special.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
I think the Royals are going to be this year's Tampa Bay Rays!
Albert Pujols does not have "down" years. He has "~6 WAR" years.
The Rockies have signed both Jay Payton and Paul Lo Duca
both last played in 2008. I am using logic to say they will be the ones to sign Jimmy Edmonds.
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
The Rockies will sign Edmonds, then trade him to the Cardinals in a deal for Lohse
by brackenthebox on Jan 21, 2010 4:01 PM EST up reply actions
I like your sources
better than my own
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
Just saw
That the Metropolitans are interested in John Smoltz, thus causing too much starting pitchers. They may move John Maine, what would it take to get him? Is it someone we should be interested in? Hmmmmm
Don't judge me!!!
i would be very interested in maine, yes
I think he’s a decent 3/4 starter.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 22, 2010 5:13 AM EST up reply actions
seems like a bit of an overpay
I also like the fact that for 1 year and 3.25 mill Moore could’ve signed Church, Hinske AND probably Gabe Gross, all of whom will probably be better than Ank next year…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 22, 2010 5:22 AM EST up reply actions
You're completely underestimating Dayton Moore
He’s not compiled an entire lineup of guys who strike out a lot and hit an occasional solo home run? Solo homer you say? Why yes, since there’s not a single effing guy on their team with an OBP as good as Yadier Molina’s.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
If it's so important, why isn't it on the score--oh, wait.
Albert Pujols does not have "down" years. He has "~6 WAR" years.
Ruben Amaro somehow manages to trump all the shit deals signed by Sabean, Moore, Minaya, Melvin et al
3 year, $24m extension for Joe Blanton. I suppose, at the very least, Blanton is a productive, average-ish pitcher. But is he really that much better than any of the guys who’ve signed roughly 1 year, $6m-type deals this off-season? I’d say I’d much rather have Randy Wolf (who is at least a facsimile of a top-of-the-rotation guy when healthy) for 3/30 than Blanton at 3/24.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
Also
it’s pretty cool to trade Cliff Lee for salary reasons and then sign Joe Blanton for a virtually identical 2010 salary…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 22, 2010 5:16 AM EST up reply actions
That's a really unfair comparison
They didn’t trade Lee for what he was making next year, they traded Lee for what he was going to command after he became a free agent. Also, trading Lee was able to net them Roy Halladay, who then signed an extension to stay in Philly.
That’s not a horrible deal for Blanton, although I guess I don’t really see the need for it at the present time. Might as well wait until mid-season or the 2011 offseason to sign him long term and possibly get contract year production out of him.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Well it's not really like that
The real thing for 2010 is (Cliff Lee + Draft picks) or (Blanton + prospects). And the fact that Blanton was willing to sign a reasonable extension, while Lee would certainly have not.
by vivaelpujols on Jan 22, 2010 2:37 PM EST up reply actions
You'd rather have Wolf than Blanton?
Really? They are essentially the same pitcher, except that one of them is left handed. Blanton actually had a lower xFIP than Wolf did last year. Blanton is also four years younger and less of an injury risk. I’d much rather have him for less money per season for the next three years.
If you gave the Brewers the chance to swap those players straight up, they’d jump at the chance. No way the Phillies would do the same.
I don’t think the Blanton deal was necessarily a good one at this time, but maybe the Phillies think that locking him up now is a good thing because of the pitching market this season, and it sets the top three in their rotation for the next 3 years for sure.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
reply fail?
i was making a joke that clearly missed its target. Oh well.
No, I would not rather have wolf than blanton. Wolf isn’t as good as I thought; and I thought that was a bad contract in the first place.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 22, 2010 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
Gary Mathews JR to Mets
news is from Heyman saying that the Angels are picking up a vast amount of Gary’s salary in future years. No details on what the Angels receive either.
those crazy effin mets!
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
by mattyfrommo on Jan 22, 2010 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
I so, so wish.
There’s a search function and the collective memory of VEB.
Beware both of those…
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
There needs to be a solution to the comment spam problem
old posts tend to be filled with spambot comments. Therefore, they get locked. So, you’re left just scrolling back to them. If you are good with either the SBN search or google-fu, you can find most things that you want.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
Jayson Werth odd man out?
next year, huh? fire up the van!
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
This thought crossed my mind as well.
But do we have to give up Luddy then? : (
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
Jose Contreras apparently on his way to Philly
I’ll be a bit pissed if it’s for $4m or less. We’d better get Smoltz now.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
Edmonds
If Jimmy Ballgame can hit 20 homers and get 120 hits in two years, does he make the hall of fame? I think he does.
If he doesn’t get that chance, does he make the hall of fame? probably not.
I think the Cards should try to get him back into the game for 2 years — it would be worth it for the franchise to get him a plaque.
Just win
Please Don't pay Smoltz to be a starter
I really hope the Cards staff can convince Smoltz to come back to STL as a reliever. With limited use I think he would be a very valuable part of the pen. But I don’t want to see him as a starter. 2 big problems for Smoltz last year: 1 – he was overexposed against lefties, and 2 – his effectiveness rarely lasted more than one trip through the batting order. Both of those problems suggest he’d be better used out of the pen.
As a starter, opponents can stack their lineups with lefties – as a reliever, he can be used more selectively, so he’ll face more righties instead.
And coming out of the pen, he won’t be expected to throw more than roughly 15-20 pitches in a game. I’m not sure if the problem is that his arm gets tired, or opponents can adjust to his velocity the more they see him (or likely a combination of those and other factors). But the trend is clear … look at his splits by pitchcount last year (from B-R): for pitches 1-25 opponents SLG was .365, pitches 26-50: SLG .467, pitches 51-75: SLG .500, pitches 76-100: SLG .678. Interestingly, his OBP did NOT go up like that.
Anyway, just my 2 cents here, it would be really nice to have Smoltz as an 8th or 9th inning guy but if he insists on a starting job I would rather let him go somewhere else.
by mattlo on Jan 22, 2010 7:28 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
in other words
another way to look at Smoltz’ in-game decline last year (from B-R’s Times Facing Opponent in Game splits) – the first time through the order, his OPS against was .701 (think Brendan Ryan), the second time around the OPS was .829 (think Ryan Ludwick), and the third time through the lineup, his OPS against was 1.061 (think Albert Pujols).
The sample sizes are so small for those splits
that the results are meaningless.
by vivaelpujols on Jan 23, 2010 3:26 AM EST up reply actions
it's interesting data, at least.
Also interesting that his results with the cardinals were not similar. He actually got a lot better as he went later into the game, pitching for the cardinals.
it's Clydesdales vs Goats. Actually sums up Cards vs. Cubs quite nicely. -all4tookie
If there's anything to this
I would make the case that by the time he got to the Cardinals, he knew what he could expect from his body and pitched accordingly. He only had a few starts for Boston before getting cut, and those were his first starts in more than a year. Chris Carpenter is about the only guy I can think of who can come off the shelf and just be his normal self. It’s one of the things that amazes me about Carp — he can sit around doodling in the dugout for a month, throw a bullpen session, then go out and throw 7 innings of 3 hit baseball.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
not-a-roundup
the deals are kind of boring now. Well, the Orioles seem to be taking Miguel Tejada. Dodgers locked up Ethier and Broxton…. what else. Reds sign Jose Arredondo as he goes into TJ surgery.
There’s been a lot of retro talk too, with Preston Wilson wanting a comeback, Jim Edmonds talking comeback… So Taguchi is already with the Orix Buffaloes (in kind of a comeback, since that’s a merged team), and I found Scott Spiezio signing up with the Cibao Gigantes for some Winter ball… that’s Albert Pujols’s old club.
as usual, though, I’m loving the quotes. all from mlbtr!
[fake blockquote]
Stark hears that the only offers Matt Holliday had in-hand when the Cardinals signed him were one-year deals worth $18MM or so.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says (via Twitter) that Bengie Molina passed up an extra $1MM in salary for 2010 from the Mets for a familiarity of San Francisco. link
Mike Puma of the New York Post hears that the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back if they don’t re-sign Carlos Delgado. However, the Mets have not contacted Tatis’ agent.
ESPN’s Buster Olney spoke to several people in the game about the Mets picking up Gary Matthews Jr., and the general thought is that he “can’t hit for average, can’t hit for power, his defense ranks statistically among the worst outfielders in the majors, and, to top it off, rival scouts have been reporting that in recent years he has been a clubhouse negative.” link
The Nationals have interest in free agent Orlando Cabrera, reports MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. They view him as a possible second baseman if they’re unable to land the other Orlando, as in Orlando Hudson.
Heyman: “[Johnny Damon] did meet or talk to the Yankees in the last couple of days. Still doesn’t look like a great chance of happening though believe it or not. They are talking, but the Yankees have these budgetary constraints. They’ve been telling other teams they have about 2 million dollars to spend. I think for Damon they would probably go over that.”
Craig Brown of Royals Authority doesn’t see why the Royals signed Scott Podsednik if they were going to add Rick Ankiel, too. link
Jason Bay underwent numerous physical inspections after the Red Sox voiced concerns over the outfielder’s knees and shoulder. Bay says his health checked out, but the Red Sox offered one deal that was contingent on Bay having knee surgery after the 2009 season.
"I was shocked, to say the least," Bay said. “Particularly since I wasn’t hurt." ”http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/rob-bradford/2010/01/21/what-happened-jason-bay-and-red-sox" target="new">link
The Astros have signed catcher Kevin Cash to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. The 32-year-old was once Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher, though he spent last season with the Yankees.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro told reporters today that the club may not be able to retain Jayson Werth as they already have $130MM committed to just 14 players for 2011, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. His comments came after the press conference to announce the re-signing of Shane Victorino and were unsolicited by the media in attendance. link
“Colby is the center fielder. My job would be to help him and replace him when he needed help,” Jim Edmonds said. “I wouldn’t get in Colby’s way.”
When asked about his next contract, Cliff Lee joked “I want a 10-year deal for about 200 billion. Nah, I don’t know.”
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
the heck, SBN.
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Jan 23, 2010 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
This makes zero sense
The Nationals have interest in free agent Orlando Cabrera, reports MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. They view him as a possible second baseman if they’re unable to land the other Orlando, as in Orlando Hudson.
As the Cabrera is still a good shortstop and their only other competent middle-infielder, Christain Guzman, is probably best suited to 2B. Although I suppose they could be giving Desmond a crack at SS. But then, what’s the point of signing Cabrera, who is, at best, probably about the same as Guzman at 2B? Weird.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 25, 2010 5:33 AM EST up reply actions
tip
stop reading at “Nationals”
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
Jesus Guzman anyone? DFAd by Giants
from mlbtraderumors:
The 25-year-old Guzman hit a clean .250/.250/.250 in 20 big league plate appearances last season, his first taste of the show. He’s a career .299/.368/.470 hitter in the minors (.344/.368/.491 in 565 Triple-A plate appearances), and has spent considerable time at first, second, and third base while dabbling in the corner outfield spots. Sounds like a pretty decent player.
born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red
make room on the 40 man for Bengie
third player dfa’d this month after free agent signings, Brian Bocock and Merkin Valdez both ending up in Toronto
He might be a good option if we didn't already have Wagner Mateo
His walk rates would concern me, 7.4% over a full season in AAA isn’t going to translate well to the majors, although his power might, especially if he can play 2B. According to the prospect books from last year, most scouts think he’s a corner infielder and doesn’t have the range to play there, meaning his bat drops from above average to below average.
I don’t understand why a team with a hole at 1B would be cutting anyone that they thought could hit at the MLB level. Not that the Giants are the best judges of talent in the majors, just that they didn’t feel like this kid was going to make it and it’s not because they’re stocked at the positions that he happens to play either.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I thought we voided Mateo's contract?
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Jan 24, 2010 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
I think he's better than Gotay
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 25, 2010 5:35 AM EST up reply actions
I did mean Gotay
I shouldn’t be posting that early on a Sunday, clearly.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Joe Inglett?
I don’t know who this guy is, but he bats left handed and might not be terrible? It seems they’re clearing his roster spot goes to K. Greene, so he can’t be that good… another Joe Thurston, perhaps?
I think he's kinda similar to skip
so it’s hard to see if there’s really a place for him. Still, he has a career .350 OBP (albeit with a pretty high BABIP) in just over one full season’s PAs in the AL East/Central, so he’s maybe not a bad guy to have around. UZR reckons he’s a plus in corner outfield and a bit below average at 2B.
He looks almost exactly like Skip with a bit less gap power and more slap-hitty-ness to me. I’d probably rather just give Edmonds a whirl if we’re picking up a lefty corner-outfield backup (I couldn’t see him playing any 2B unless Skip gets injured), but if Inglett would take a minor league deal, I see no harm in stashing him. He looks better than Gotay and he’s probably a decent replacement for Hoffpauir.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 26, 2010 5:52 AM EST up reply actions
So...I'm sure everybody saw that the nationals signed Chris Duncan, right?
It’s hard to keep up on everything when I only check in once a week.
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
*sigh* ..."Nationals" with a capital "N," of course
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
Unh?? No idea why that link didn't work.
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
he's already fitting in
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
That's awesome
except I doubt the Nationals are going to be in a position to hang plastic sheeting in their clubhouse anytime soon
I created the first #BrendanRyan hashtag on Twitter
"She gone! Airplane time! Airplane Time!! AIRPLANE TIME." Boog
"I think those scorers must be from Mars or Venus. Or maybe they're just from that book." --Mike Shannon, 7/09/2009
a tip o the cap goes to the RFT
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
a bunch of Hot Stove news was dumped in the main threads
Yanks are done with Damon
Cards are, apparently, done with pitching, but there’s a kerfuffle amongst the reporter twitters
Mets are after Smoltz
Pads sign Garland
Dodgers sign Ausmus and Belliard
Cubs have a MiL with Chad Tracy
Brewers keep Carlos Villanueva
Twins pick up Thome after Ozzie says no
Washburn lol
ODog still on the hunt
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
also
Jimmy is talking to two other teams
NRI: http://twitter.com/BJRains/status/8252721306
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Jan 26, 2010 11:47 PM EST up reply actions
wow I thought Ausmus was done.
shame we didn’t get tracy. I think he’s got more upside and value than Rich Hill.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 27, 2010 7:41 AM EST up reply actions
so rotoworlds saying Smoltzy wants to come back
but everything the Cards are saying is they don’t want him. WTF?
Every morning I wake up & smoke a dart. Then I eat five strips of bacon, & for lunch I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. And I'm still here! Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me.
Yeah
still, I really really want him!!!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 28, 2010 4:12 AM EST up reply actions
i agree. there's no one signing that makes more sense. if we can afford him.
fourstick, what about pedro? with all the recent pitcher signings, there’s a big drop off from smoltz to bedard and then to looper. i’m not too hot on pedro, but if he were available for $2-3M, i’d be in on it. he’s got a higher upside than looper and he may be healthier than bedard.
if you don't know what is wrong with me, then you don't know what you've missed. - macmanus
it'd be cool to pick up
a different hof pitcher every year. impossible, but cool.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
We coulda had Unit last year...
Smoltz this. Ermmm not sure about next.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 29, 2010 5:49 AM EST up reply actions
eh? fourstick?
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 29, 2010 5:49 AM EST up reply actions
i was directing it at the original post and noting that everybody of note on the SP list a
fter smoltz had signed until you got to bedard. i was lobbying for pedro’s inclusion on the list.
i am not confused about who you are.
"It doesn't have to be terribly prolific! Just so that it isn't childish and silly." She reflected. "I prefer stories about squalor." J.D.S.
well, that makes one of us.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 1, 2010 5:57 AM EST up reply actions
no love there for the cards
does holliday count as an addition or not? don’t see how the brewers did better than us unless holliday is takem out of the equation.
then it goes on to say the reds are a “wild card” in a very winnable division. i don’t like that kind of talk.
also, i didn’t realize they’d signed chapman. i was in a minority that thought he’d get 25 mil and damned if he didn’t get 30. it didn’t say how many years. i’m guessing 6, but if it’s only 5, the dude and his agent really made out.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I'm sorry but the Brewers did not have a good off-season
anyone who says so is just demonstrably wrong. I like the Davis signing, I really do, but spending that much money on Hawkins is looking increasingly dumb as better relievers sign for 1 year and less money, and that Wolf contract is just horrible.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Jan 29, 2010 5:51 AM EST up reply actions
i hate all those NL picks.
he even muffs the easy ones by saying he may have to rethink the mariners in the west if the a’s sign damon.
sorry, sheets (esp. at $10M per) != lee.
"It doesn't have to be terribly prolific! Just so that it isn't childish and silly." She reflected. "I prefer stories about squalor." J.D.S.
not until he proves it.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
a healthy sheets is possibly as good
however, a healthy sheets is also a once-in-a-blue-moon event… And this is coming from a big Sheets fan…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 1, 2010 5:58 AM EST up reply actions
not so sure
i saw a detailed list somewhere, and then had a look at his IP each year.
btw, i’m a big sheets fan.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
cliff lee's last two healthy years
(2008 and 2009), 454 IP, a FIP of about 3 (!), 4.5:1 K/BB ratio (!) and 13.8 WAR.
Ben Sheets’ last two healthy years (2007 and 2008), 340 IP, a FIP of about 3.7, 3.1:1 K/BB ratio and 6.6 WAR.
I think Cliff Lee is pretty definitely better, to be honest, and its not even close. He’s had two consecutive healthy years of being one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball. Sheets hasn’t been that good (even when healthy) since 2004, and he’s spent much of the intervening period on the DL. Lee’s healthier and a better pitcher.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 2, 2010 6:19 AM EST up reply actions
Your argument rests on 2 years stats
Yet the idea of doing that with Randy Wolf is dismissed by you with the same certitude. Go one year. Is Joel Piniero last year’s stats?
Lee also was demoted to AAA shortly before the 2 year period.
The stats for Sheets also include pitching with a bad elbow for a while.
I thought his injury history was overblown?
Yet now you’re citing it as a reason why he hasn’t pitched well?
Hypocrisy knows no bounds apparently.
FWIW, although Lee was demoted to AAA, he has been a dominant pitcher both of the last two seasons, while Sheets didn’t pitch at all last year and faded down the stretch in 2008 due to injury.
If you were going to sign one of them for $20M for 2010, which one would it be? That’s really the question here: Who’s the better pitcher right now? It’s almost certainly Cliff Lee.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
posnanski
anyone read his si article after the ankiel signing?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Rocco Baldelli article
by Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Two key comment from the article for the VEB Rocco fans.
There’s also a possibility other clubs will invite him to spring training, but he would rather have a deal in hand.
…the one-and-done experience with the Red Sox was a good one for Baldelli. He will always be able to say he played for his hometown team, but more importantly he learned that his body can handle a limited role as a club’s fourth outfielder.
he'd be cool with me
but i’d like joey bombs to be the guy.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
RH hitter who can play all three outfield postions and hit lefties?
Hell, yes, especially on a minor league deal.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Brewers were in on Marquis
gotta catch ’em all, car-di-nals
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
"Johnny Damon was the final straw"
ahaha, Yankees fans. shall we relieve you of that World Series flag before you wipe something with it…
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
haha
Reds swap Taveras and Rosales for MILES and PTBNL
That’s funny to me. Something like that IMO would have been a good move for the Cards. Although I wouldn’t know who our equivalent to Miles is now- Lugo I guess? Gotay?
also, it seems
that this will give the A’s even more of an OF surplus. Maybe something there we can do?
the whole NL Central is on that kick
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
Wow, Beane acquiring two pretty awful players there
I suppose rosales might turn out to be an OK backup infielder, but he’s probably only the equivalent of, I dunno, jarett Hoffpauir or someone like that.
And he has to pay Taveras $4m in 2010 for sub-replacement level play. Even though they’ve got to take on Aaron Miles, this looks like a win for the Reds (depending on PTBNL, of course, it could even be a pretty good deal) simply because they save a bit of money in a swap of crappy players.
Whatever happened to the A’s liking on-base guys, eh? If anything, Beane seems to have specifically shunned them in his acquisitions of late. Both taveras and rosales look pretty allergic to the base-on-balls…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 2, 2010 6:24 AM EST up reply actions
Dreamy Joe set to freeze his butt off....
3:05pm: WCCO TV’s Mark Rosen reports that Mauer and the Twins reached a preliminary agreement on a 10-year extension.
"It was like two ankles." AVENGE BOOG
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." - THT
I can't wait to see the
money numbers. 10 yrs….225M is going to be my guess.
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
10Y$180M
And it’s probably going to be backloaded significantly.
I would guess they are hoping for LOTS of new revenue since they now play games in an actual baseball stadium.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
And they're taking a gamble on how he's going to age, too
no massive cliff for yogi berra, though
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
yogi was playing left
when mazeroski hit the homer, i think.
also, who’s the second guy? that link doesn’t work for me. maybe piazza? mauer is a different athlete than bench. i’d think he’d age pretty well, especially with some off-days dh’ing.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Ivan Rodriguez
Who I always considered to be a pretty damn good athlete before his knees gave out.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
I don't think he'll be catching at age 33 and 34 like Bench was.
They’ll transition him somewhere else after the first 4-5 years of that deal I would imagine.
Must be nice to play in the DH league….
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Ugh
10 years for Mauer. I suspect this will not end well. I suppose if they get 5 years of 2009 Mauer and 5 years of ageing Todd Helton it could be OK, but I’d be very wary about giving that long a deal to a guy who plays backstop…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 2, 2010 6:26 AM EST up reply actions
The fact that they
are in the AL and can move him to DH has to give them a bit more insurance than say, the Cards signing Albert to 10 yrs.
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
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