Bring ’em all back! Bring back O’Neill! Bring back Brosius! Ruth! Mantle! Ship out that bum Rodriguez! TRUE YANKEES NEVER DIE!
Shit, sign Leyritz!
Looks like someone else is gonna have to buy Ken Harvey that Monte Cristo
“Uribe is survived by his second wife, Wendy Guerrero, and several children.”
Discreet.
rapOzer, i was just emph’ing the Meche madness, YOU SOX LAMER
omg did Morbius post WASTED?
Oh: the Tigers just signed JOSE MESA.
Mean, evil, cheating Barry Bonds announced his plans to defer the majority of his salary to 2008 so that the Giants can go after Zito.
Negative spin expected tomorrow morning.
i’m wayyyy behind, what were you Mets fans’ reaction to Mota’s signing?
lol @ selfless Bonds. also, Zito won’t put them over the top, or anywhere near it.
*shrug* Given the loss of Bradford and ongoing recovery of Sanchez, what else could Omar do re Mota?
Teach baseball players a lesson!
i just want to say that the orioles have had the most active, yet pointless offseason in years.
i was intrigued by the lowkey signings of ken phelps and j.r. house, but the orgy of relief pitching, the signing of bako and payton...yuck.
i actually think the wright deal wasn’t too bad. oh, well.
if they can swing rodrigo lopez for marcus thames, i’ll regain a little confidence in flanaquette.
BAKO!
Shasta, can I get a link for that surly St. Barry titbit?
Gagne goes to the Rangers.
Gagne’s pitches go into right-center and left-center field bleachers.
So are the rangers now in the lead for dumbest moves by a mlb franchise in the 07/08 off-season? It’s so hard to keep track.
Is Gagne expected back by the start of the year? If so, I like the signing. It’s only a one-year deal, and there’s a lot of upside if Gagne’s arm doesn’t fall off.
yeah, yeah, probability that Gagne’s arm falls off = 75%
Put it this way, I’d spend $6M/1yr on Gagne 99.9999% of the time before I’d spend $55M/5yrs on Gil Meche.
Tru dat.
but that signing shows the royals are grasping at relevance again
The fans are being pretty defensive about the whole thing on their message board. I sorta feel bad for them at this point!
Nate Silver on Prospectus (pre-Gagne):
All winter long, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with tracking the inflation in the free agent market. The magic number, after the most recent round of signings, is 47%. That is, teams are willing to pay 47% more for the same talent than they were one winter ago. This number seems to have stabilized after being as high as 70% — and as “low” as 30% — during various other parts of the free agent cycle.
I’ve had to make a few modifications to the Marginal Value Above Replacement Player formula, by the way, which I’ll describe in a full-length column sometime soon. But as a teaser, here are the three best and worst deals of the winter so far, according to MORP 2.0.
Best Deals
1. Adam Kennedy, Cardinals: $17.9 million savings.
2. Dave Roberts, Giants: $9.4 million savings.
3. Craig Counsell, Brewers: $7.3 million savings.
Worst Deals
1. Carlos Lee, Astros: $27.2 million overspend.
2. Gil Meche, Royals: $19.4 million overspend.
3. Adam Eaton, Phillies: $12.8 million overspend.
You know, $19.4M spread out over 5 years is only about $3.9M / yr. That’s nothing.
well, talk is that the royals are projecting:
c: larue/buck
1b: shealy
2b: grudz
3b: gordon
ss: berroa
rf: teahen
cf: gathright/dejesus
lf: emil brown
dh: sweeney/huber
i honestly don’t know TOO much about their bullpen minus macdougal, sisco and ambidextrous burgers (two of which are now gone), but does anyone know what the deal w/ greinke is?
there is no way they won’t play both gathright and dejesus; i have a lot of hope for the royals this year, teahen and gordon 4evah
why didn’t mets try to resign Darren Oliver? Dude ate up mad innings last year, actually distinguished himself in the long relief role which is hard and undervalued, and came relatively cheap.
woah, first good Rangers signing in years. When I heard it on the radio without numbers, I was just sure they signed him for 4/$40 or something stupid like that just to say they signed someone.
Don’t know about Mets/Oliver either, I assume Minaya thinks he can get as good for less.
Marcus Giles non-tendered, Mets and Pads said to be in pursuit.
I trust Darren Oliver as far as I can afford the millstone of a deal he inked w/ the Rangers back when he was one of the premier lefty shitheads in the AL. Remember when he was swapped for Jurrasic Carl? That’s the real DO. The one that pitched for the Mets last year was a nice surprise for waiver fodder, but no way in hell do you pay him more $$$ in the hopes his outlier season is his actual baseline.
If the Royales actually give Gathright (.262 / .332 / .328 ) PT over DeJesus (.295 / .364 / .446 ) or anyone else in the OF in any instance other than day-off situations or injury, then I hope Gil Meche turns into a kicked-in Jack O’Lantern that some neighborhood kids used as a chamber pot, because Joey Jo-Jo the Jumping JG should see time only as a 4th OF and pinch runner. Giving that dude more that 200 ABs ON PURPOSE would be criminal. They also need to either cut bait on Sweeney now (and, um, GIVE PLAYING TIME TO JUSTIN HUBER“IS”), or hope Sweeney starts the year off shit-hot so they can swap him for, um, Chiclets. Also, Angel Berroa needs some B12 stat.
besides, as we all know: nobody fucks w/ dejesus!
along the lines of darren oliver, i can’t believe people were actually talking about dustin hermanson getting a big payday.
dude, please!
whoa...and the mets non-tendered vic zambrano? i mean, you look at his numbers w/ the mets and that looks like a 3 yr 24 million dollar k in this market!
According to the Globe, V-Dub got offered a 7 yr / $126M deal by Mr. J.P. “The OTHER Moneyball” Ricciardi.
I guess I like the idea of Marcus Giles on the Padres. I hope they don’t overpay for the dude when he obviously wants to play there.
I thought Walker was going to be the second baseman?
i’ve been in denial for a few days. did the cubs really sign marquis for 21 mill over 3 yrs?
I thought Walker was going to be the second baseman?
Walker’s poor defense scares the Pads, so I think if they can get Giles they’ll do it. Walker didn’t start for them last year either, so installing him in that role was always more of a last resort, even if he is a solid option offensively speaking. He can backup 3b, 2b and 1b and get a decent amount of playing time.
Anything that decreases the amount of potential playing time for Branyan or Blum would be ideal.
i’ve been in denial for a few days. did the cubs really sign marquis for 21 mill over 3 yrs?
Yeah, that was something, wasn’t it?
stupid, stupid mariners, again: chris snelling and emiliano fruto for jose fucking vidro and most of his contract. wtf? sure, snelling was often hurt but fuck could he hit, and walk, and fruto was just getting started. this has been a horrible offseason. and it’s not over yet. fuck my team.
When the hell did Jim Bowden turn into a sneaky Pete? W/ this & the Kearns / Lopez deal, dude’s, like, making good moves!
i’ve been in denial for a few days. did the cubs really sign marquis for 21 mill over 3 yrs?
Winner: Marquis
Big Winners: Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan
Losers: the entire world
easy on bowden. he’s like the dude that hits .350 the first 1/2, but ends up at .270
i mean, we roasted him for the soriano trade, soriano played well and then they ended up letting him walk for nothin. that sort of sums up bowden.
also consider this: a prime force behind unloading vidro was freeing up middle infield space for the triumphant return of cristian “the truth” guzman!
Oh, thank god—I thought we lost him! I guess even Neifi goes 5-for-5 once.
So when’s he going to turn Ryan Church into waiver bait?
Minaya denies Mets after Giles
beats me.
i’m still hoping the o’s flip rodrigo lopez for someone useful and i think church fits the bill. i can’t imagine church getting cut loose for nothing now that frank robinson is gone.
Speaking of Zumaya, remember those wrist and forearm problems he was having at the end of the season? The team has decided they came from the reliever playing too much Playstation 2 Guitar Hero.
Haha
“Bark at the Moon” causes throwing errors!
Frank ((Middletown, NJ)): How could the Mets non-tender the center piece of the Kazmir trade?!?!?!
Steven Goldman: Because they were in the position of having to give a dead man a raise. They’ll try to get him back more cheaply and see if they can salvage something... But compare this to the possibility that the Yankees might not move Pavano. Minaya has no personal investment in Zambrano so he can dump him.
“Bark at the Moon” causes throwing errors!
Nah, it was probably “Cowboys From Hell”.
Is Vernon Wells worth $126mn?
Is Vernon Wells worth $126mn?
Actually, I completely think so. The dude is a great hitter AND he plays center field. He gets on base, hits for power, hits for good average. He’s definitely one of the 10 best players in the league, and he’s pretty young.
Yes.
I am glad this has happened.
The ESPN story contains a list of the richest deals in baseball history:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2698288
I’d say Wells’ deal looks pretty good amongs the company on that list. There are a few major duds on that list, particularly for the money involved (Hampton, probably Helton and Giambi). Wells vs Soriano? Fairly close offensively, but only one of them can play defense. Jeter has been vastly overpaid for most of his contract.
Wells’ deal looks bad next to those of Beltran and Pujols (who never became a free agent), but I think that’s about it.
BP had a piece a couple of days ago saying that Rocco Baldelli was almost as good and tons cheaper. But this is where the intangibles come in, fan-wise; the Blue Jays continue to look like a big-time club, and guarantee the continued devotion of their people. Also, Vernon Wells will get so much love from the Toronto fans forever, and rightly so.
“Under the extension, Wells has the right to terminate his agreement after the 2011 season and become eligible for free agency. In addition, he will donate $143,000 annually to the Jays Care Foundation.”
Wild.
Now I’m hearing that since Wells is all locked up that the J’s might be trading Rios.
Which is a million degrees of fucking retarded.
Well, you don’t want TWO young OFs that can rake & flash a lil leather—that’d be silly.
Uh, it might be good to trade Rios now when his value is sky high, rather than waiting for him to turn into the second coming of Jose Cruz Jr.
Yeah, especially since he wasn’t too hot in the second half by comparison. If you can get a good young pitcher for him, you kinda have to do it. I mean, Halladay and (to a lesser extent) Burnett are great, but I’m not sold on the rest of the Jays rotation.
Yeah, especially since he wasn’t too hot in the second half by comparison.
Whoa, that’s an understatement:
Pre-AS: .330 / .383 / .585
Post-AS: .261 / .297 / .411
Did he get hurt? (I’m guessing him playing all of 3 games in July means “yes,” tho I’m willing to bet Shea Hillenbrand has something to do w/ it.)
That said, he’ll only be 26 @ the start of the season, and it might behoove the Jays to see if his first half was the sign of better things to come. Unless the trade’s a whopper (for a solid #3 starter type, or better), I’d hold off. And given that most folks probably see AR the same way we do, I think trading him now would be selling him & the Jays short. (Ha—maybe JR can trade AR to the Royals for Meche!)
He had a leg injury or something and then a staff infection—which caused him to lose a shitload of weight. But by sept he’d bounced back and hit .333 / .371 / .606
And even doomsday-scenario-Cruz Jr. at 25 yrs old and $400,000 would’ve been a steal.
well, wouldn’t you know it, the o’s are apparently sniffing around the rios trail.
So with the Rangers landing Gagne, they announced today that he will be their opening day closer. That’s all fine and dandy, but what will become of Aki Otsuka who in 3 seasons (2 w/ SD, 1 w/ TX) has compiled an extremely remarkable 2.43 ERA/1.07 WHIP/.223 BAA as well as saving several key games (including the championship started by Daisuke Matsuzaka) in the WBC.
The Rangers now are shopping Otsuka to the Mets and D-Backs. I have a feeling this comes back to bite them hard.
Given the decline between his first Padre year & his second Padre year, I think the prevailing wisdom (in certain circles) is that Otsuka’s good for one go-around, but is only as effective as his delivery is deceptive.
His K rate has declined each year, and his hit rate has increased (mitigated last year by cutting his walks down by 66%). These are minor fluctuations, but given how Otsuka’s mojo works, and the wack-ass market, and their (misplaced) faith in Goggles McGee, and what happened to Francisco Cordero last year, it might behoove the Rangers to at least test the waters & see what schwag Otsuka can get them. But given how many pitchers up & die in Arlington, and the sad-ass state of their rotation, you’d think holding onto one pitcher that stood firm (& establishing the semi-solid foundation of a functional bullpen) would be the prudent move.
I dibs Otsuka’s Mojo for my fantasy baseball team name FOREVER. Either that or Behoove The Rangers.
Gagne hasnt even proven he can pitch yet either, which is awesome. He’s been yammering about how hes never been in better shape in his life, but hes been saying that for the past 2 years.
yeah, but “only pretty much pear-shaped” is definitely better than “pear-shaped but perhaps more like an avocado really”
they announced today that he will be their opening day closer.
How weird of an announcement is this? “We know our starter won’t go nine and we know we won’t blow them out so you can expect to see Gagne opening day.”
when was the last time Texas won on opening day... really?
And Gagne will honour that tradition, i’m sure.
Klesko to the Giants.
And that’s how the West was won.
$1.75M/1 year!!! holy shit, they didn’t get fleeced (for once).
I think he decreases the team’s average age, too (by maybe 1 month).
So how about that JD Drew?
On that same note: Bonds hasn’t taken his conditional physical yet.
Giants in Zito hunt?
Stealing this from BTF:
ZiPS absolutely loves the Giants.
Of the 33 Giant hitters I’ve projected:
1 player with OPS above .800 (Bonds)
1 player with OBP above .350 (Bonds)
3 players with SLG above .450 (Bonds, Niekro, Durham)
1 player with more than 20 homers (Bonds)
15 players with OBP below .300 (Schierholz, Feliz, Ortmeier, Finley, Alfonzo, Hansen, Knoedler, Velez, Matheny, Ishikawa, Sanders, Santos, Requena, Guillermo Rodriguez, Jennings).
The brighest spot found by ZiPS is that all 5 of the Giant projected starters (Cain, Lowry, Morris, Sanchez, Hennessey) have ERAs below 5!
Sorry, but what is ZiPS?
15 players with OBP below .300 (Schierholz, Feliz, Ortmeier, Finley, Alfonzo, Hansen, Knoedler, Velez, Matheny, Ishikawa, Sanders, Santos, Requena, Guillermo Rodriguez, Jennings):
Finley is no longer a Giant and Matheny’s career looks to be over based on the recurring concussion tests.
As far as I know zips is put together by some baseball think factory stat head that compiles past records, comparable other players, home/road splits and park factors to project stats for the new year. I dont think theyre anything to swear by but its a fun exercise.
Giants in Russ Ortiz hunt!
I thought the last Russ Ortiz died in Baltimorian captivity.
Supposedly Ortiz wants a major league contract but the Giants aren’t biting. HOWEVER, they did sign Damian Moss who went 0–5 w/ a 7.67 ERA with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League last season.
Wow. I mean wow. Hey, I guess Giants fans get to look forward to the All-Star Game!!!
I really don’t feel good about Mets pursuing Suppan just cuz he owned them for 15 innings.
and Marcus Giles to SD for 1 year, $3.75M
Marcus wasn’t exactly playing hardball with these guys was he!
That worked out really well! By the time Giles is useless, Matt Antonelli should be ready to play 2B, and now the Padres have a real 3B guy. All the Padres’ 3B/2B COMBINED should make less than Julio Lugo, depending on what Todd Walker gets in arbitration. (I can’t see it being much more than what he made last year (2.5mil).)
The NL West should be pretty fun to watch this season. Padres have done well in the offseason, Dodgers have a bunch of question marks and it remains to be seen what will happen with the AZ youth movement. Its pretty safe to say the Rockies and Giants will be duking it out for 4th.
o’s seem to be pursuing logic similar to mets/suppan w/ aubrey huff. craig wilson is probably the dude left on the market that be most useful in light of the phelps blunder.
Phelps blunder? As in Josh Phelps? what’s that about?
The Yankees got him in the rule 5 for small change.
the o’s signed him and then inexplicable left him unprotected. recall they also did this w/ chris gomez last year.
i am completely perplexed by the “strategies” hatched in the warehouse.
zomg did TEH DUGOUT BOIS give shouts to our very own maura?? READ NOW BEFORE IT’S GONE.
link?
http://syndicated.livejournal.com/wordupthome/21957.html
also the new kyle farnsworth epic is pretty great
don’t want to spoil it but part 4 involves a midi of ‘lose yourself’
JeterJeterPumpkinEater: Baby, it’s 5. Not E-5.
homosexual_rod: BAH THEY ALWAYSS SAY ON THE LOWSPEAGER THA