Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

the twins are going to have to pay mauer all kinds of $$
for the next 8 yrs.

mauer was in a great position during these negotiations.
maybe when nathan went down with the TJ surgery, the twins brass had no choice but to pay mauer all this money??

good for him
good for the twins

Maybe in the later years of his contract he'll become a defensive liability behind the plate. The thing is though, barring an injury. The boy can hit, so they have a very good player to step into the DH role later.

I'm glad he's not in Boston or NY too. Plus from everything I've read about the prior discussions, he had no intention of leaving Minnesota. He's a hometown kid. Playing for the team he grew up rooting for.

This kind of shit is good for baseball. King Felix stays in Seattle, Mauer in Minnesota, Lincecum in SF, and Verlander in Detroit. Every team should have one or two bonafide elite players. Not just the big market teams.

as much as i know he would have been a great fit behind the plate in The Bronx next year, this kind of deal is great for baseball.

i really don't think he will stay a twin for the entire 8 yrs.
either the team will not be able to compete one year down the road and forced to unload his large contract, or mauer will demand to be traded because the team is still not winning many games.
bottom line-it comes down to winning and if the twins are unable to sell ticket at some point in the future, how will they afford to pay this contract???

Because the former ( deceased ) owner Carl Pohad was the richest man in Minnesota. While he was a cheap bastard, the motherfucker was loaded. Now his kids have the money. They can easily afford Mauer's contract. To tell you the truth, while it's not a big market. Minnesota fans are pretty loyal, and they can afford to pay an MFY contract on top of Mauer. They just don't.

With the new stadium and locking up a hometown hero. Don't be surprised to see them open their wallet more than we seen under Pohad. Okay a lot more than what we seen under Pohad, because he wouldn't spend on anyone.

Also Gardenhire has them in the thick of it every season, and if they miss the post-season it's not more than by two games. A post-season berth, on top of the excitement of getting rid of the Metrodome. I wouldn't be surprised to Minnesota big players on the FA market the next couple of seasons. Not half a billion dollar players, but more than we're used to seeing.

[tin00can]

Please don't hold him against me.

You know I love you, man.

[JakeYonkel]

Oddly enough though, you gotta feel a little weird about the Angels picking off the Yankees' scrap heap the past two years, no?

I dunno who would fit the bill for them after this season, an overpaid, aging vet who won't be offered arbitration, only to be snagged by LA for a market deal? Only guy that seems to fit on their current roster would be Pettitte, and I don't see him pitching anywhere but NY.

[Machado]

Yankees placed Chad Gaudin on waivers.
One less pitcher in the race for the 5th starting spot.

Since his contract was not guaranteed(almost $3 million) and had no options left, not a difficult decision here.

This leaves
Joba
Hughes
Aceves
Mitre

left in the competition

[JakeYonkel]

Gaudin's a better pitcher than Mitre and is good coming out of the 'pen. But I guess for $3M, the suddenly frugal Yankees won't go for it.

I think Mitre has looked better this spring, which makes sense since he's now nearly 2 years remover from TJ surgery. Either way he's not really a great pitcher though.

I think Hughes is the #5. Joba's headed back to the bullpen (hopefully for good) and while Aceves has been great this spring, he probably never had a real chance. He's a good swingman anyway.

[Machado]

Gaudin's a better pitcher than Mitre and is good coming out of the 'pen. But I guess for $3M, the suddenly frugal Yankees won't go for it.

I think Mitre has looked better this spring, which makes sense since he's now nearly 2 years remover from TJ surgery. Either way he's not really a great pitcher though.

I think Hughes is the #5. Joba's headed back to the bullpen (hopefully for good) and while Aceves has been great this spring, he probably never had a real chance. He's a good swingman anyway.

A team can never have enough pitching. I strongly believe in that.
In the AL east, carrying 12 pitchers is probably the smartest option vs carrying only 11.

The jury is still out on Mitre. Could be the Yankees have made the wrong choice. We'll find out.
I can see a big improvement with Mitre this spring. Like you said, being 2 yrs removed from TJ surgery is about the time when a pitcher can no just let it go and see some positive results.

[killeverything]

Gaudin's a better pitcher than Mitre and is good coming out of the 'pen. But I guess for $3M, the suddenly frugal Yankees won't go for it.

I think Mitre has looked better this spring, which makes sense since he's now nearly 2 years remover from TJ surgery. Either way he's not really a great pitcher though.

I think Hughes is the #5. Joba's headed back to the bullpen (hopefully for good) and while Aceves has been great this spring, he probably never had a real chance. He's a good swingman anyway.

They so need to keep Joba in the pen. He's become a headhunter, because the league has caught up to him. Plus he's lost 3mph on his FB. I think they seriously fucked his development moving him around so much.

Hughes has what it takes to be a #1. Just give him time. IMO he'll be a Cy-Young canidate within' the next couple of seasons. The guy's stuff is fucking wicked.

[Machado]

Gaudin's a better pitcher than Mitre and is good coming out of the 'pen. But I guess for $3M, the suddenly frugal Yankees won't go for it.

I think Mitre has looked better this spring, which makes sense since he's now nearly 2 years remover from TJ surgery. Either way he's not really a great pitcher though.

I think Hughes is the #5. Joba's headed back to the bullpen (hopefully for good) and while Aceves has been great this spring, he probably never had a real chance. He's a good swingman anyway.

They so need to keep Joba in the pen. He's become a headhunter, because the league has caught up to him. Plus he's lost 3mph on his FB. I think they seriously fucked his development moving him around so much.

Hughes has what it takes to be a #1. Just give him time. IMO he'll be a Cy-Young canidate within' the next couple of seasons. The guy's stuff is fucking wicked.

Kill. I really think its unfair to say the Yankees seriously fucked with his development.
You know as well as anybody, teams play for the current season and are not so concerned about next year, until the current season ends.

In '07 he was needed out of the pen. Since he was so dominating, the expectations were very high for such a young kid.
In '08 the number of innings he could pitch was limited. So the team chose to start him some and pitch him out of the pen as well. Mostly because once again, he dominated the year before
In '09 Joba still had an innings limit, but he still made 31 starts.

If the Yankees stretched him out in '08 and Joba suffered a major arm injury, the critics would be screaming and Mark Prior or Kerry Wood would have company on the DL.

Given the choice, I do think today that Joba gives the Yankees a better chance to win throwing an inning or 2 out of the pen

I wonder what might happen if let's say Pettitte retires after this year.
That opens up another spot in the rotation. Does Joba take that spot???
Would Joba have that spot today if Pettitte did not return for another year?

Touch decisions. So glad I am not making them

[JakeYonkel]

Well listen. My biggest issue with this is that they blew a year with having Joba jerk around pitching out of the bullpen then making a few 2-3 inning starts until he was stretched out. Then they worked his innings up enough last year that now he can finally (theoretically) pitch 200 and they're going to put him back in the bullpen to pitch 70-80 innings... and his replacement is a guy who only threw 80+ innings last year and will in turn be on his own innings count this season. So it'll be a second straight year of jerking around in the #5 spot.

Fortunately they have a strong front 4 and can weather the storm, but it's just stupid.

I mean, worse comes to worse, both Joba and Hughes have shown they are lights-out relievers. So if Hughes falters, imagine a 7-8-9 of Joba, Hughes, Rivera? Best back of the 'pen in baseball.

I think Joba simply has a bulldog reliever mentality, he's constantly jacked up and his stuff translates better there. The guy's got two great pitches - a lively 4 seamer and a nasty slider. That's a reliever's reportoire.

Hughes, OTOH, has a 4 seamer, slider, curve, and change. As well as the emotional maturity and intelligence to work a lineup.

[tin00can]

Oddly enough though, you gotta feel a little weird about the Angels picking off the Yankees' scrap heap the past two years, no?

I dunno who would fit the bill for them after this season, an overpaid, aging vet who won't be offered arbitration, only to be snagged by LA for a market deal? Only guy that seems to fit on their current roster would be Pettitte, and I don't see him pitching anywhere but NY.

Yeah, it is interesting. I think Abreu was sort of a last-minute signing to make some decent off-season headlines last year, and he turned out to have a huge impact on the patience in the lineup. He's a more effective hitting coach than that buffoon Mickey Hatcher, whom the Angels have. That's why they re-signed him for two, to exert that influence.

Matsui was more about the market and having a decent replacement for Vladdy, who will probably continue to decline this year (although playing in Texas will help, he's always killed it there). I think the Angels thought he was losing his usefulness, and Matsui offered the opportunity to replace AND exceed his numbers while opening up a new market.

Plus, the Angels farm system is pretty weak in the OF right now. Not a lot of blue-chip power-hitting prospects.

[JakeYonkel]

You know that Scioscia's promise to let Matsui play the OF is going to end badly, right?

[tin00can]

You know that Scioscia's promise to let Matsui play the OF is going to end badly, right?

Probably, although I trust Sosh to not put him out there too much and to keep him as DH if he is horrible in the field.

Then again, this is the same Sosh who will start Mathis over Napoli because of Mathis's defense.

[Machado]

You know that Scioscia's promise to let Matsui play the OF is going to end badly, right?

Probably, although I trust Sosh to not put him out there too much and to keep him as DH if he is horrible in the field.

Then again, this is the same Sosh who will start Mathis over Napoli because of Mathis's defense.

ESPN reported that Matsui played LF the other day. I searched for footage of him making a play, but didn't see any.

[Machado]

NY Post is reporting Hughes to be named Yankees 5th starter. Joba to serve as set-up man for Mo.
Post also reporting that Yankees have decided to begin the season with Granderson in CF & Gardner in LF

[JakeYonkel]

They'll wind up flip-flopped before long. Gardner's a VERY strong defender.

[killeverything]

John Dewan's Stat Of The Week March 23, 2010


Can the Mariners top 2009?

Most everyone knows by now that the Mariners are the best defensive team in baseball, but by how much? At Baseball Info Solutions, we’ve recently projected Defensive Runs Saved (as introduced in The Fielding Bible – Volume II) for the 2010 season. We evaluated each player’s defensive performance over the past three years and prorated their performance based on the number of innings each is expected to play this year. We expect Seattle to nearly match their 110 Runs Saved from 2009 and dwarf the second-best Phillies, 2008’s best defensive team.

Best Projected Defensive Teams for 2010

Team Runs Saved
Seattle Mariners 103
Philadelphia Phillies 49
Tampa Bay Rays 48
St. Louis Cardinals 38
Houston Astros 37

The Red Sox will be the most improved team, going from -52 Runs Saved in 2009 to a projection of 35 Runs Saved in 2010 thanks to their offseason acquisitions.
Franklin Gutierrez led baseball with 32 Runs Saved in center field in 2009, though new Mariners teammates Chone Figgins (31 Runs Saved) and Jack Wilson (27 Runs Saved) finished close behind. We project Gutierrez to retain his crown, but Wilson and 2008 champion Chase Utley should give him a run for his money.

Best Projected Defenders for 2010

Player, Position-Team Projected-Runs Saved

Franklin Gutierrez, CF-Seattle 24
Jack Wilson, SS-Seattle 22
Chase Utley, 2B-Philadelphia 21
Albert Pujols, 1B-St. Louis 20
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B-Washington 19

I believe this season more than anyother, will lead to/put an end to all team's should be built around defensive metrics discussions. Throughout Baseball history team's that are pitching/defense heavy ( which really only matters in the postseason? ), have too small a sample size to accurately discuss. At least to my knowledge.....

I'm interested to see how Seattle, Philly and Boston turn out this season. Injuries aside of course.

[SkyDog112046]

I think that it can work to a point, especially up the middle. But an AL team going this route needs to have a DH and at least 1 position player with some serious thump to build the lineup around. The 2004 version of Big Papi & Manny with good defense at the other positions and good pitching would go far. Similar to the Earl Weaver philosophy of "pitching, defense, and 3-run homers". The problem of this philosophy in the AL, particularly the AL East, is when the 3 & 4 hitters won't combine for 90+ HRs and 200 RBIs. I think it will lead to a lot of 4-3 & 3-2 losses.

[killeverything]

I think that it can work to a point, especially up the middle. But an AL team going this route needs to have a DH and at least 1 position player with some serious thump to build the lineup around. The 2004 version of Big Papi & Manny with good defense at the other positions and good pitching would go far. Similar to the Earl Weaver philosophy of "pitching, defense, and 3-run homers". The problem of this philosophy in the AL, particularly the AL East, is when the 3 & 4 hitters won't combine for 90+ HRs and 200 RBIs. I think it will lead to a lot of 4-3 & 3-2 losses.

Possibly. I think a lot of people are severly underestimating the offense. This team as it's set up now ( paper ) will score more runs than last season.

Plus we've been spoiled as fuck having a pre-wrist injury Ortiz, and argueably the best RHH in baseball in Manny Ramirez. I think a lot of Ortiz's struggles last season came from the wrist injury. I found a very well done analysis using his hit charts to possibly prove it ( paper ).

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2010/3 ... to-examine

The jist of it:
Prior to his wrist injury (back in 2008), he used the entire field, with tremendous power to his pull side. When Papi injured his wrist, he was unable to pull the ball with power. After some recovery time, he regained his pull power. Finally at the end of the season, he started to look like his old self, using the whole field.

This is what happened to Nomah. Also Lowrie mentioned this too. Lowrie had a broken bone, Papi a torn sheath. Lowrie talked about not being able to generate power from his left side, because his wrist was so weak. Maybe that's why Ortiz wasn't generating enough power.

Here is some more. Dave Allen at fangraphs discussed not being able to get in on inside pitches, from a loss of batspeed. Which could imply ( all though the article doesn't ), that it's from a wrist injury.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... er-decline

It's been discussed ad-nauseam, especially since he was on the 2003 list.

[bighairdiscs]

I'm interested to see how Seattle, Philly and Boston turn out this season. Injuries aside of course.

The more I see and read, the more I believe that Seattle will be the biggest letdown of the season.

Last year, they had the WORST offense in all of Baseball.......

I know all about the defensive metrics that they are using to build this team, and how they will prevent runs to win games......

Fact is, they were the worst scoring team last year with a 31 homer guy in Branyan (who is now gone).... the have Cliff Lee with an injury (the same injury that has placed him on the the DL twice in his career), a closer whose career numbers suggest that he may be nothing but a one year wonder, Kotchman as a #3 hitter??, and the ever-cancerous Milton Bradley in the clubhouse.

I'll call it now.... the Mariners will be sub .500

[killeverything]

I'm interested to see how Seattle, Philly and Boston turn out this season. Injuries aside of course.

The more I see and read, the more I believe that Seattle will be the biggest letdown of the season.

Last year, they had the WORST offense in all of Baseball.......

I know all about the defensive metrics that they are using to build this team, and how they will prevent runs to win games......

Fact is, they were the worst scoring team last year with a 31 homer guy in Branyan (who is now gone).... the have Cliff Lee with an injury (the same injury that has placed him on the the DL twice in his career), a closer whose career numbers suggest that he may be nothing but a one year wonder, Kotchman as a #3 hitter??, and the ever-cancerous Milton Bradley in the clubhouse.

I'll call it now.... the Mariners will be sub .500

I'm still excited to see how they turn out. They are a sabermetric dream. Plus they have enough pieces in Tacoma, for Jack Z to pull a good trade. Milton Bradley signing?

[bighairdiscs]

I'm interested to see how Seattle, Philly and Boston turn out this season. Injuries aside of course.

The more I see and read, the more I believe that Seattle will be the biggest letdown of the season.

Last year, they had the WORST offense in all of Baseball.......

I know all about the defensive metrics that they are using to build this team, and how they will prevent runs to win games......

Fact is, they were the worst scoring team last year with a 31 homer guy in Branyan (who is now gone).... the have Cliff Lee with an injury (the same injury that has placed him on the the DL twice in his career), a closer whose career numbers suggest that he may be nothing but a one year wonder, Kotchman as a #3 hitter??, and the ever-cancerous Milton Bradley in the clubhouse.

I'll call it now.... the Mariners will be sub .500

I'm still excited to see how they turn out. They are a sabermetric dream. Plus they have enough pieces in Tacoma, for Jack Z to pull a good trade. Milton Bradley signing?

He'd be crazy to swing a deal that included Dustin Ackley......

I'm curious to see how this team turns out as well, but my thinking is that it will crash and burn.

[Machado]

2010 MLB on TBS Schedule





Date Time ET
Yankees @ Rays April 11 1:30 p.m.
Rays @ Red Sox April 18 1:30 p.m.
Cubs @ Brewers April 25 2 p.m.
White Sox @ Yankees May 2 1 p.m.
Braves @ Phillies May 9 1:30 p.m.
Twins @ Yankees May 16 1 p.m.
Red Sox @ Phillies May 23 1:30 p.m.
Cardinals @ Cubs May 30 2:15 p.m.

[Machado]

MLB Network Live game schedule for April 2010

April 6 7:00 p.m.* Yankees @ Red Sox

10:00 p.m. Twins @ Angels

April 7 1:00 p.m. Rockies @ Brewers

April 8 12:30 p.m. Dodgers @ Pirates

3:30 p.m. Mariners @ Athletics

7:00 p.m.* Thursday Night Baseball: Cubs @ Braves

April 9 4:30 p.m. Braves at Giants

April 10 9:00 p.m. Saturday Night Baseball: Athletics @ Angels

April 12 7:00 p.m. Reds @ Marlins

April 13 1:00 p.m. Angels @ Yankees

4:00 p.m. Diamondbacks @ Dodgers

April 14 1:00 p.m. Red Sox @ Twins

April 15 3:00 p.m. Nationals @ Phillies

7:00 p.m.* Thursday Night Baseball: Angels @ Yankees

April 16 2:15 p.m. Astros @ Cubs

April 17 9:00 p.m. Saturday Night Baseball: Tigers @ Mariners

April 19 11:00 a.m. Rays @ Red Sox

April 20 7:00 p.m. Phillies @ Braves

April 21 12:30 p.m. Royals @ Blue Jays

April 22 1:00 p.m. Indians @ Twins

7:00 p.m.* Thursday Night Baseball: Dodgers @ Reds

April 23 8:00 p.m. Tigers @ Rangers

April 24 9:00 p.m. Saturday Night Baseball: Cardinals @ Giants

April 27 7:00 p.m.* Dodgers @ Mets

April 28 12:00 p.m. Padres @ Marlins

3:30 p.m. Phillies @ Giants

April 29 2:00 p.m. White Sox @ Rangers

7:00 p.m.* Thursday Night Baseball: Yankees @ Orioles

April 30 2:15 p.m. Diamondbacks @ Cubs

7:00 p.m. Twins @ Indians

* Indicates games produced by MLB Network

[SkyDog112046]

Opening Day is not being played during the day this year. It's bad enough that they took away Saturday day games because of the stupid contract with Fox. At least let them have opening day during the daytime.

[killeverything]

Check out this site!

This is Morgan Ensberg's Baseball IQ page. It's a blog that's filled with great observations, and first hand knowledge. Plus he's starting to get into the use of Sabermetrics a little bit. He comes off as extremely modest, and just likes to talk about baseball.

http://morganensberg.wordpress.com/

Also there's reports coming out that the Mighty Red Sox are nearing the finalization of a 4 year extension with Josh Beckett.

[Machado]

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/br ... tional.jsp

[killeverything]

The Bluejays signed Adam Lind to a 4/18 deal.

Gardenhire annonced that Raunch will be the closer.

[killeverything]

John Dewan's Stat Of The Week

Which players are poised for a breakout based on their Spring Training statistics?

March 31, 2010

This is our sixth annual list of possible breakout players based on Spring Training statistics. We researched the value of Spring Training stats a few years back and it was quite revealing. For the most part, we agree with the common perception that they don't have value. A bad spring training means nothing. An average spring training tells us nothing. Nevertheless, we did find that when a player has an exceptional spring, it does suggest a better than 60% chance they will take their game up a notch. It applies to teams as well.

We define "exceptional spring" as a positive difference between a hitter's spring training slugging percentage and their lifetime slugging percentage of 200 points or more.

We analyzed hitters with both a minimum of 200 career regular season at bats and with a minimum of 40 spring training at bats (through spring training games of Tuesday, March 30) and found the following 18 players.

Possible Breakout Players

Slugging Percentage 200+ points better in Spring Training

Hitter, Team Difference Spring Career
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays .484 .884 .400
Mitch Maier, Royals .436 .760 .324
Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals .345 .824 .478
Colby Rasmus, Cardinals .316 .723 .407
Jerry Hairston, Padres .302 .675 .373
Delwyn Young, Pirates .288 .673 .385
Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks .283 .714 .431

Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies .282 .756 .474
Hunter Pence, Astros .272 .760 .488
Gregg Zaun, Brewers .262 .650 .388
Aaron Rowand, Giants .260 .708 .448
Nelson Cruz, Rangers .259 .732 .473
Justin Upton, Diamondbacks .254 .739 .485

Will Venable, Padres .252 .679 .427
Alberto Callaspo, Royals .242 .646 .404
John Bowker, Giants .229 .631 .402
Mike Aviles, Royals .223 .651 .429
Mark Kotsay, White Sox .204 .617 .413

[tin00can]

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnddd spring training is a wrap! The Angels finished it the right way, beating the Dodgers in both of the final two games. Suck it, blue! The only things I hate more than the Dodgers are the Red Sox and Yankees. Bring on the regular season!

I'm going to the second game of the season, just so I can get this sweet Hideki Matsui snuggie:

[killeverything]

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnddd spring training is a wrap! The Angels finished it the right way, beating the Dodgers in both of the final two games. Suck it, blue! The only things I hate more than the Dodgers are the Red Sox and Yankees. Bring on the regular season!

I'm going to the second game of the season, just so I can get this sweet Hideki Matsui snuggie:

Awesome!

There are some pretty good pitching matchups opening day.

Beckett vs. Sabbathia. Oswalt vs. Lincecum.

I actually can't wait to see how the AL West shapes up. A defense-heavy, King Felix/Cliff Lee led Mariners. A ( Baseball America #1 ranked farm ) Ranger's that finally is stockpiling young arms. Beane's "Money Ballers". Anaheim ruling the division year in and year out. It's gonna be tough.

I have no predictions for the season, except that the Mets will suck......that makes still makes me feel kinda warm inside. Not like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day warm. Like a shot of Patron on an empty stomach kinda warm......