Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[thejuggernaut]

It was a colossal screwup by Epstein.

You look at the Sox prospects now and realize a lot of them were from letting key guys walk after 2004 and 2005.

However, 2006 was a tough year, what with the collapse and the gorilla incident.

I am sure Epstein did not want to give him that many years (personally I thought they should have let him walk) but he let Boston fandom get the best of him and opted not to let a WS MVP leave town.

Also, he probably though a certain team would come in and outbid them for his services and eh could get away with at least "making an effort" to keep Lowell.

Oh well, at least Epstein is still signing old marquee type players, trying to squeeze some plays out of them, then letting them walk for picks.

I don't think it was an outbid situation. Lowell took less money to stay.

It was a colossal fuckup.You don't want a WS MVP to leave so you give an old man a four year contract. At third base none the less, yet argueably the greatest RHH in baseball plays for the Dodgers.

That's what I mean though; Theo probably made a token offer expecting an outbid type of scenario.

[Machado]

Is it opening day yet?

[Facedown]

Sox offer Cuban P Aroldis Chapman 15.5 mil.

Marlins have made an offer, too.
Edit: It's suppose to be 5yr/15mil.

[killeverything]

Sox offer Cuban P Aroldis Chapman 15.5 mil.

Marlins have made an offer, too.
Edit: It's suppose to be 5yr/15mil.

The Marlins offer was for 13m. Of course their's is going to be for less, but they think that the alure of playing/living in Florida will motivate him.

[Facedown]

Nationals sign Jason Marquis to 2yr/15mil deal.

[JakeYonkel]

Yankees get Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from Atlanta for Melky, Mike Dunn, and a single A guy.

Not a huge fan of Vazquez (game 7 in 2004 is still fresh in my mind) but I gotta think he'll be an extremely serviceable #4, rather than the #2 he was back in '04. Huge strikeout numbers, one year left on the deal. I like it for that reason, and Melky was expendable anyway.

[killeverything]

Yankees get Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from Atlanta for Melky, Mike Dunn, and a single A guy.

Not a huge fan of Vazquez (game 7 in 2004 is still fresh in my mind) but I gotta think he'll be an extremely serviceable #4, rather than the #2 he was back in '04. Huge strikeout numbers, one year left on the deal. I like it for that reason, and Melky was expendable anyway.

That's actually a pretty good pick-up for the back end of the rotation IMO.

#4's don't usually have those kinds of peripherals. If for some reason he doesn't work out, with how many teams are pitching starved. I don't see any reason why they couldn't easily unload him.

[nycyankee]

The city of Atlanta is pissed about this trade.


http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/ ... era-trade/

http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.wordpr ... he-braves/

[killeverything]

The city of Atlanta is pissed about this trade.


http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/ ... era-trade/

http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.wordpr ... he-braves/

This was a really good trade for NY.

Although the more I think about it, Atlanta has a record for always knowing when exactly to cut bait on a guy. I can think of a few examples ( Marte, and the most famous examples Smotz, ect. ) to where it almost looked like they knew it all along. Except there is no to my knowledge, actual facts that they "saw" something. Then of course what would that be if they did, and why didn't any other scouts? It's interesting to speculate on.

Suerholz ( sp I know ) is widely regarded as a genius. The levels that Beane or Epstein are discussed now. Maybe this is a trade that looks like NY cleaned them out, until Javier gets a few starts. I'm just saying don't be surprised.

On paper though that's a really good trade.


*edit*

I just saw on MLBN that Johnny Damon hosted RAW. Man, I didn't think it possible to just fucking hate him anymore prior to that. Sometimes I'm wrong.

[nycyankee]

The city of Atlanta is pissed about this trade.


http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/ ... era-trade/

http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.wordpr ... he-braves/

This was a really good trade for NY.

Although the more I think about it, Atlanta has a record for always knowing when exactly to cut bait on a guy. I can think of a few examples ( Marte, and the most famous examples Smotz, ect. ) to where it almost looked like they knew it all along. Except there is no to my knowledge, actual facts that they "saw" something. Then of course what would that be if they did, and why didn't any other scouts? It's interesting to speculate on.

Suerholz ( sp I know ) is widely regarded as a genius. The levels that Beane or Epstein are discussed now. Maybe this is a trade that looks like NY cleaned them out, until Javier gets a few starts. I'm just saying don't be surprised.

On paper though that's a really good trade.


*edit*

I just saw on MLBN that Johnny Damon hosted RAW. Man, I didn't think it possible to just fucking hate him anymore prior to that. Sometimes I'm wrong.

LOL I watched it. It was awful


ENJOY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R80U94qs ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMsM9YZ96I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyN6HbuOVBM Johnny is kissed by Mae Young

[Tenacious_Dio]

The city of Atlanta is pissed about this trade.

Me too. Vasquez was pretty good last year.

[killeverything]

Fernando Rodney 2/11m to the Angels. Geez, I get that Anaheim has some money to spend, but this isn't the way to spend it.

Rodney and Fuentes in the same bullpen? If they have a lead it won't last past the 8th.

Meanwhile Seattle just keeps getting better.

[JakeYonkel]

Definitely a lousy signing. I mean, not as bad as the Astros giving Brandon Lyon a 3 year deal (LOL) but still, lousy.

Seattle could well take the division this year. The Angels haven't really improved. The only Seattle move I'm questioning is the Brandon Morrow trade.

[killeverything]

Definitely a lousy signing. I mean, not as bad as the Astros giving Brandon Lyon a 3 year deal (LOL) but still, lousy.

Seattle could well take the division this year. The Angels haven't really improved. The only Seattle move I'm questioning is the Brandon Morrow trade.

They obviously know something. Morrow's K/9, FiP, and BB/9 have been going steadily downward for the past 3 seasons. Given that and his injury history, it probably didn't help that he was a SP/RP/SP/RP either, that seems to fuck guys up ( see: Chamberlain, Fatass ).

On the USSM ( which is the most in-depth site for the Mariners ) they're all over this right now.

Theyr'e saying that they're basically trading to iffy-relievers with injury historys. League is coming off a better year, but Morrow has a higher ceiling. Also they speculate that Morrow was actually part of the Lee trade, but there is no actual evidence of that. It kinda makes sense though. Although probably not true, since Seattle's GM Z-something ( Jesus, I suck today ) insists it's not.

The PTBNL is another toolsy low minors-OF prospect ( T-something Chavez ). Seattle is kinda putting a baseball geek's dream team together, with tools and defensive rankings. It's interesting and makes me wanna pull for em'.

http://www.ussmariner.com

Is the blog where I got my info from. If you're curious what Tom Tango and all are up to, here is where to go.

Also I was at THTlive. Their take on it is Seattle wants to win now, and with League's emerged effectiveness mixed with Morrow's up and downs, plus injury history. It could work out for the Mariners in the long run.

This trade is interesting to me, because it could turn out like the Hanley/Beckett trade. Where it works out for both sides, except without two elite players.

[killeverything]

Troy Glaus to the Braves.

[Facedown]

Sources: The return of Jason Bay to the Red Sox would be a "real long shot".
Angels sign Fernando Rodney to a 2yr deal
A's sign Jason Duchscherer‎ to 1 yr deal.

[killeverything]

I don't want Bay back. He turned down a 60m offer ( Nomah anyone? ), plus while he was a decent replacement for the greatest RHH in baseball, He had his flaws and good pitchers knew it ( Sabbathia, Halladay, King Felix ). Goodbye, Manny you ain't.

I'm kinda bummed about Duscherer. I was hoping that was the guy they would try on. Not Smoltz, or fucking Fat Penny. Someone like Duscherer, or Sheets is the way to go.

Just cause I feel like it. Fuck Johnny Damon.....still.

[killeverything]

Here's some more updates.

John Harper of the New York Daily News thinks free agent outfielder Jason Bay is "lukewarm" to the idea of playing for the Mets.
The Mets so far have offered Bay the longest and most lucrative deal, but there's speculation out of Boston that the Red Sox might make a late bid. And perhaps he'll accept a discount to return to Fenway. Bay, 31, hit .267/.384/.537 this past season with 36 home runs, 119 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 531 at-bats. "It's looking more and more as if Bay very much wants to play for [Boston]," writes Harper, "as opposed to the Mets."
Source: New York Daily News Dec. 24 - 6:19 pm et

Jon Heyman of SI.com writes that the Red Sox will consider tendering an offer to free agent outfielder Jason Bay, but only for less than the Mets' reported offer of four years and $65 million.
It's guess-work on Heyman's part, but Theo Epstein has expressed a desire to stay under the luxury tax threshold, so they'd have to be very creative -- in the form of a heavily-backloaded contract --- in order to get a new deal done. It's unlikely, but if Bay hasn't accepted the Mets offer by now, perhaps he just isn't interested in playing there.
Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter

Oh and on MLBN right now, Ken Burn's Baseball is being played all day. Merry Christmas.

[tin00can]

Seattle still doesn't have much offense, even with signing figgy. After Figgins and Ichiro, they have...? Not much. That won't get them the division.

[killeverything]

Seattle still doesn't have much offense, even with signing figgy. After Figgins and Ichiro, they have...? Not much. That won't get them the division.

They still have that badass defense though, and their pitching just got even better behind King Felix.

The discussion is run prevention vs. scoring a lot of runs. Pitching and defense wins in the post-season. Not in the regular. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, because they're going to be a very difficult team to score on.

I'm looking forward to seeing Seattle's season. Actually the entire West should be good. Nolan is finallly getting the Rangers' pitching with who they've been drafting. Anaheim has a lot to prove for just fucking laying down in the ALCS, after finally beating the Mighty Red Sox. The West should be a fucking dogfight.

[Lardbucket]

Seattle would definitely help themselves out if they could bring in a decent bat or two, but it looks like they'll go discount shopping for them.
That division is right there for them to grab, but yeah, if the M's don't up the offense it should be a tight race all year.

[JakeYonkel]

After the moves they've made, I sincerely hope they don't plan on giving Griffey 500 ABs out of the DH spot. Waste. But yeah, they could certain use a nice hitter. Jose Lopez is decent, but I guess they're hoping Milton Bradley can be that guy. Who knows, maybe he'll behave (yeah OK).

And I gotta LOL at the Mets' failure of an offseason. How Minaya still has a job is beyond me.

[tin00can]

Seattle still doesn't have much offense, even with signing figgy. After Figgins and Ichiro, they have...? Not much. That won't get them the division.

They still have that badass defense though, and their pitching just got even better behind King Felix.

The discussion is run prevention vs. scoring a lot of runs. Pitching and defense wins in the post-season. Not in the regular. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, because they're going to be a very difficult team to score on.

I'm looking forward to seeing Seattle's season. Actually the entire West should be good. Nolan is finallly getting the Rangers' pitching with who they've been drafting. Anaheim has a lot to prove for just fucking laying down in the ALCS, after finally beating the Mighty Red Sox. The West should be a fucking dogfight.

Really? I thought the Yankees won in the postseason in some large part because of their offense. The pitching certainly helped, but the also mashed.

Yeah, the west should be much tighter this year. It'll be an interesting race!

[JakeYonkel]

I would say the Yankees' offense got them to the playoffs, but once there they rode Sabathia, Pettitte, Rivera of course, and to a lesser extent AJ Burnett.

And you can't discount the improved defense - Jeter had a much better year defensively, Mark Teixeira is a vacuum at 1B (though anybody after Giambi would be), and Swisher was better than Bobby Abreu. It counts for something.

[killeverything]

I would say the Yankees' offense got them to the playoffs, but once there they rode Sabathia, Pettitte, Rivera of course, and to a lesser extent AJ Burnett.

And you can't discount the improved defense - Jeter had a much better year defensively, Mark Teixeira is a vacuum at 1B (though anybody after Giambi would be), and Swisher was better than Bobby Abreu. It counts for something.

Exactly.

Their defense in the playoffs was outstanding. They've tried to slug their way to a ring since 2001, while sacrificing defense. Every team that's beaten them in the playoffs had better defensive metrics.

As a matter of fact since 2000 every World Series winner ( except Boston in 2004 ) was a better team defensively. I don't have the rankings for the 2009 Playoffs yet. It would be interesting to look at when I get them, just to see what the differences are.

The 2003 Marlins heavily outweighed the MFY. The 2004 Mighty Red Sox was only like 4 points better, something kind of absurd like that.

[Machado]

I would say the Yankees' offense got them to the playoffs, but once there they rode Sabathia, Pettitte, Rivera of course, and to a lesser extent AJ Burnett.

And you can't discount the improved defense - Jeter had a much better year defensively, Mark Teixeira is a vacuum at 1B (though anybody after Giambi would be), and Swisher was better than Bobby Abreu. It counts for something.

Exactly.

Their defense in the playoffs was outstanding. They've tried to slug their way to a ring since 2001, while sacrificing defense. Every team that's beaten them in the playoffs had better defensive metrics.

As a matter of fact since 2000 every World Series winner ( except Boston in 2004 ) was a better team defensively. I don't have the rankings for the 2009 Playoffs yet. It would be interesting to look at when I get them, just to see what the differences are.

The 2003 Marlins heavily outweighed the MFY. The 2004 Mighty Red Sox was only like 4 points better, something kind of absurd like that.

what's up baseball fanatics? is it opening day yet?
how in the world did we acquire Vasquez for nothing?

[killeverything]

I would say the Yankees' offense got them to the playoffs, but once there they rode Sabathia, Pettitte, Rivera of course, and to a lesser extent AJ Burnett.

And you can't discount the improved defense - Jeter had a much better year defensively, Mark Teixeira is a vacuum at 1B (though anybody after Giambi would be), and Swisher was better than Bobby Abreu. It counts for something.

Exactly.

Their defense in the playoffs was outstanding. They've tried to slug their way to a ring since 2001, while sacrificing defense. Every team that's beaten them in the playoffs had better defensive metrics.

As a matter of fact since 2000 every World Series winner ( except Boston in 2004 ) was a better team defensively. I don't have the rankings for the 2009 Playoffs yet. It would be interesting to look at when I get them, just to see what the differences are.

The 2003 Marlins heavily outweighed the MFY. The 2004 Mighty Red Sox was only like 4 points better, something kind of absurd like that.

what's up baseball fanatics? is it opening day yet?
how in the world did we acquire Vasquez for nothing?

I wouldn't be surprised to see the "wheels come off" on Vazquez, so to speak. Atlanta is notorious for getting rid of players right before they're no longer able to compete at an elite level.

Last season Vazquez was a #4 in Cy Young voting. That was his career year, in the NL East. Of course there will be a regression to the mean, especially in his case. If he can stay healthy, I expect him to be a lot like Tim Wakefield. In the sense that with that offense behind him, he's probably good for 13-16 wins. Which is very good.

Just don't be surprised if he gets lit up like John Smoltz in the AL East though. The Braves franchise's scouting/player evaluation is legendary. Oh well, they gave up a League Average OF, and a prospect.

[Facedown]

Mets sign (pending physical) Jason Bay to a 4yr/66mil deal.

[JakeYonkel]

Oh, how I love the Mets. What a giant failure of a franchise.

[Machado]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the "wheels come off" on Vazquez, so to speak. Atlanta is notorious for getting rid of players right before they're no longer able to compete at an elite level.

Last season Vazquez was a #4 in Cy Young voting. That was his career year, in the NL East. Of course there will be a regression to the mean, especially in his case. If he can stay healthy, I expect him to be a lot like Tim Wakefield. In the sense that with that offense behind him, he's probably good for 13-16 wins. Which is very good.

Just don't be surprised if he gets lit up like John Smoltz in the AL East though. The Braves franchise's scouting/player evaluation is legendary. Oh well, they gave up a League Average OF, and a prospect.[/quote]

Jake-At no time during this off-season will I assume
that Javier will have a great year pitching in the AL East. I am very hesitant to pencil him in as a 10 game winner, let alone 13-16.