Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

Don't you think the A-Rod situation last year did not show
boras in the best light?
Sure boras still got paid, but A-Rod spoke publicly about boras in a negative way. A-Rod talked about going to the Yankees alone and having not spoken to Boras after the contract was worked out.

Yeah, but in all seriousness. Has Boras done anything to project himself in a positive light?

Boras is the best there is at what he does. Get money. Bleed every last cent out of who he deals with. I bet Boras would steal your grandmother's wallet if he knew there was cash in there.

Sure he was behind the Manny debacle. Player's still use him though. Here's some food for thought. It's not the MFY and their massive contracts that are destroying baseball. It's the Player's Union. As long as there's a MLBPA there will be a Scott Boras.

That was exactly my point to Lickety about the salary cap. The players don't want it. The Major League Player's Union is the strongest, most successful union in history. Look how they dealt with the steroid issue. They still only test for HGH not steroids.

But with regard to Boras, he doesn't care about you, or I or anything else except the fact that he gets his guys money and the players love him. What he did to that idiot in Texas to get A-Rod $252 million cemented his reputation. I don't think the fucking owner negotiated. It was like what the fuck happened to $200 million, let alone $252, PLUS an out option that A-Rod ultimately benefitted from.

And he never let Texiera tip his hand and he got an extra $20 million. If I could play baseball, I know I'd use him.

With Teix he used the media perfectly. Have Epstein, Henry and Lucchino fly out to sign the player. That makes Cashman want him too. What's been repeatedly said is Teix wasn't going to sign with Boston. His wife would rather live in NY. Makes sense. If I was the wife of a millionaire I'd rather live in Manhattan than Boston. Boras played the media though, "Teix want's to play for Boston, etc."

Also it's HGH they don't test for, since it's not 100% proven in the tests they have availible now. They're testing for amphetamines ( which is the real problem ) and steroids. Most of the players use HGH. Since Congress has gotten involved the MLBPA can't win anymore. That's why there is the Mitchell Report and the upcoming release of the names from the 2003 anonymous test.

[killeverything]

The Mighty Red Sox made a contract offer to Takaishi Saito.

I like this give him a one year, incentive-laden deal. If he can "bounce back" the only better pitcher than him in the BP would be Pappelbon. Plus it helps on the image of Boston being the place to go for Japanese players.

---------IP----H--HR--BB----K
2006--78.1--48--3---23--107
2007--64.1--33--5---13--78
2008--47.0--40--1---16--60

Good stuff.

[Machado]

read in the paper today that griffery jr would prefer
to play for the rays in '09. he has 3 knee procedures
last year. that guy is breakin down at a very fast rate.
he is no longer the kid and no longer puts fear into the opposing
pitcher.

tell me why dunn has not yet been signed?
tell me how abreu has not yet been signed?

i have to think the month of Jan will be very active
with free agent signings yes?

[JakeYonkel]

January HAS to be a huge free agent month - spring training is 6 weeks away!

Besides the guys you mentioned, Lowe, Sheets, Orlando Cabrera, Orlando Hudson, Giambi... these guys are all unsigned as of 1/5.

I figure teams are wary of Dunn and Abreu's defensive shortcomings, and possibly their lingering contract demands. Let's face it, even Mark Teixeira didn't get what he was initially demanding (not that he has reason to complain, just saying). I had heard the Cubs as an Abreu suitor for a while but now that they're on the verge of signing Milton Bradley I'd be interested to see where he goes.

I think the Rays will get one of Burrell, Abreu, Giambi, or Griffey for RF/DH. Maybe even two if the money/contract length is right.

These guys just became free agents in the wrong offseason.

[Facedown]

Pat Burrell signs 2yr/16mil with Rays.

[tin00can]

January HAS to be a huge free agent month - spring training is 6 weeks away!

Besides the guys you mentioned, Lowe, Sheets, Orlando Cabrera, Orlando Hudson, Giambi... these guys are all unsigned as of 1/5.

I figure teams are wary of Dunn and Abreu's defensive shortcomings, and possibly their lingering contract demands. Let's face it, even Mark Teixeira didn't get what he was initially demanding (not that he has reason to complain, just saying). I had heard the Cubs as an Abreu suitor for a while but now that they're on the verge of signing Milton Bradley I'd be interested to see where he goes.

I think the Rays will get one of Burrell, Abreu, Giambi, or Griffey for RF/DH. Maybe even two if the money/contract length is right.

These guys just became free agents in the wrong offseason.

Good call on the Rays, although you did cast a pretty wide net.

I hope the Angels get either Dunn or Manny, and Sheets. I have a hunch sheets will be a bargain.

[Machado]

January HAS to be a huge free agent month - spring training is 6 weeks away!

Besides the guys you mentioned, Lowe, Sheets, Orlando Cabrera, Orlando Hudson, Giambi... these guys are all unsigned as of 1/5.

I figure teams are wary of Dunn and Abreu's defensive shortcomings, and possibly their lingering contract demands. Let's face it, even Mark Teixeira didn't get what he was initially demanding (not that he has reason to complain, just saying). I had heard the Cubs as an Abreu suitor for a while but now that they're on the verge of signing Milton Bradley I'd be interested to see where he goes.

I think the Rays will get one of Burrell, Abreu, Giambi, or Griffey for RF/DH. Maybe even two if the money/contract length is right.

These guys just became free agents in the wrong offseason.

since the rays now have signed burrell, that probably they are done as far as the outfield goes.

if the other outfielder's are asking for many years and a lot of $$, then these fools need to realize they don't deserve that much and need to take a step back into reality.

why a team would prefer milton bradley over abreu is a mystery to me.

as for dunn, he would probably hit about 50 hr's as a cub. that park will treat him well.

[Facedown]

Milton Bradley signs 3yr/30mil with Cubs.

[Machado]

Milton Bradley signs 3yr/30mil with Cubs.

i guess we can erase the cubs from contention in '09

[killeverything]

Not neccesarily.

Bradley is worth about 3 wins per year. Wins have been going for about 4.5m this offseason, so they got him on the cheap. The problem is last season was his first getting 400ABs. If he can stay healthy it could be a good signing.

Milton Bradley is a sociopath, I think Pinnela could deal with him fine.

[JakeYonkel]

Well, Giambi is about to sign with Oakland - they do value OBP and I guess they figure Holliday/Giambi is a nice middle of the lineup.

As for Abreu, I don't know. Sometimes the guy looks like a Hall of Famer, other times he was just so nonchalant it was sickening. He is the type of guy that like Kansas City is going to come in and "steal" because they're the only ones willing to spend money on him in a few weeks. You know, somebody who doesn't fit their long-term goals or any of that shit, just trying to make a splash - see Guillen, Jose and Meche, Gil.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Pat Burrell signs 2yr/16mil with Rays.

That's some irony right there.

I would take Milton Bradley in a heartbeat. He's got a lot of upside if he can stay healthy. Sociopaths are entertaining. Great combination.

[killeverything]

Man, two years 16 million? Mid-level to good guys are getting squeezed. Or maybe they're getting what they deserve. I don't know.

He got squeezed a little. Refering to my earlier post about Bradley, and the Win Shares value. Burrell is a League Average DH, worth about 2 wins per season. It seems the Rays beat the market by 0.5m.

How'd they do that? It's really apparent that teams are terrified because of the economy. It's to the point Boras can't even get it ( Manny want's 100m. Nope. Lowe want's 90m. Nope 3/35 offer ). So was other offers just not there, or was it he wanted to play for a contender? I think he saw what Tampa Bay is capable of, and wanted a shot at the Post Season.

Looking at his numbers/projections. Tampa got very lucky with this contract. A very good Rays team just got a hell of a lot better. He's put up over the last 3 seasons an OPS+ ranging from 122 - 128. Since he will DH almost exclusively, I expect an even bigger spike in his numbers. James and Marcel's predictions are a little more pessimistic than mine.

James: .253/.377/.490/.867
Marcel: .250/.371/.483/.854

Burrell's away OPS over the past three years is one point lower than his home OPS, and he's hit substantially more HRs on the road. There is no reason that Burrell shouldn't be expected to have a borderline .900 OPS for the Rays, and that's a scary thought given the hitters they already have in the middle of that order.

The only team that's glad about this signing is the Mets. It seems that he was always the one to get "the hit" against them. I'm sure they're fucking estatic.

[killeverything]

Twins cheapskate/owner Carl Pohlad is dead.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Carl Pohlad, a billionaire banker whose Minnesota Twins won two World Series titles during nearly his nearly quarter-century as owner, died Monday. He was 93.
The Twins and Major League Baseball each issued a statement confirming his death. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig called Pohlad "a true leader in our sport for the past 25 years."


http://kstp.com/article/stories/S729817.shtml?cat=206

I haven't seen it anywhere else yet. Soooooo....

Also!

I guess it was all about the money afterall. Andy Petitte rejects a 1/10 offer. Aparently all talks have stalled.

I don't have the link, because I'm just feeling fucking lazy right now. It's all over www.yankees.com though.

[Sabu]

Twins cheapskate/owner Carl Pohlad is dead.

LOL! Yes, I literally LOL'd! I thought that was the exact headline for a second. That would have been fucking awesome...

[johnk5150]

Milton Bradley signs 3yr/30mil with Cubs.

i guess we can erase the cubs from contention in '09

Hendry is smarter than I am, but I'd love to hear his press conference explaining how having this retard is better than keeping a great clubhouse guy that will play any position like DeRosa.

[WOLF]

All these signings are getting me primed for the season.

When can we start our Sludge Fantasy Baseball League?

[Facedown]

Looks like Phils J.C. Romero and Yanks Sergio Mitre will be suspended for 50 games for drug policy violations.

[killeverything]

Looks like Phils J.C. Romero and Yanks Sergio Mitre will be suspended for 50 games for drug policy violations.

Romero seems to have been fucked over by the MLBPA. Here's the cliff notes, basically.

Romero purchased a supplement OTC at a GNC in July under the impression (via MLBPA) it was a legal supplement. He was tested and it came back positive. MLB sent out a memo saying said supplement was illegal as of a certain date. MLB would reduce suspension to 25 if he admitted guilt, which he would not. An arbitrator upheld the MLB suspension of 50 games to be announced tomorrow.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3812334

Seems kinda fucked. I like that MLB is coming down hard on PEDs, but this seems just a bit much.

Also as for Carl Pohlad's passing. I might post some later, but if you want to look. There is some pretty scathing things being written about him in Minnesota, fuck they really hated that guy.

[Machado]

last night on Sportscenter, Buster Olney stated that the rays are
the favorite to win the AL East.
Why even bother making a prediction?
It's Jan 5, weeks away from the 1st pitch and this clown goes on to predict a winner.

I could care less if he said my Yankees were the favorite. Does not mean a damn thing right now.

Oh yeah, with the burrell signing, Olney also said that the rays now have the best line-up in baseball.

[Machado]

NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte still wants to rejoin the Yankees, and the Yankees want the veteran back in pinstripes.
But dollars may come between a happy reunion for the longtime stalwart, who could be ready to walk away from his stated hopes of pitching in the club's new stadium.

The New York Times reported late Monday that Pettitte has rejected the Yankees' one-year, $10 million offer, and the Yankees no longer have a standing offer for the 36-year-old left-hander.

While no divorce between Pettitte and the Yankees is final -- the New York Daily News reported that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Pettitte's representatives have "had dialogue" recently -- a reunion appears less likely in light of New York's winter spending.

Pettitte's agents, Alan and Randy Hendricks, have advised Pettitte not to take such a sizable pay cut from the $16 million he earned in each of the last two seasons while pitching for the Yankees.

But the Yankees appear to be drawing the line at $10 million for what essentially would be their fourth starter. New York has spread $423.5 million among free agents CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira -- the latter of whom is set to be introduced Tuesday.

"Andy's a free agent, and the one thing I've been consistent in saying is that we'd like to have Andy back," Cashman said last month. "I know he'd like to come back. That's set up for maybe a positive end result. It doesn't guarantee it."

[killeverything]

last night on Sportscenter, Buster Olney stated that the rays are
the favorite to win the AL East.
Why even bother making a prediction?
It's Jan 5, weeks away from the 1st pitch and this clown goes on to predict a winner.

I could care less if he said my Yankees were the favorite. Does not mean a damn thing right now.

Oh yeah, with the burrell signing, Olney also said that the rays now have the best line-up in baseball.

It's ridiculous to pick winners right now. Although on paper, they are the favorites in the East. With Burrell going into the middle of that scary line-up? I don't see how they don't have to potential to have the best line-up in all baseball.

A good team got a whole lot better.

[Machado]

last night on Sportscenter, Buster Olney stated that the rays are
the favorite to win the AL East.
Why even bother making a prediction?
It's Jan 5, weeks away from the 1st pitch and this clown goes on to predict a winner.

I could care less if he said my Yankees were the favorite. Does not mean a damn thing right now.

Oh yeah, with the burrell signing, Olney also said that the rays now have the best line-up in baseball.

It's ridiculous to pick winners right now. Although on paper, they are the favorites in the East. With Burrell going into the middle of that scary line-up? I don't see how they don't have to potential to have the best line-up in all baseball.

A good team got a whole lot better.

Not that is matters much, but I want to believe that the Yankees 8 and 9 hitters in the line-up are better than the rays.
Then again, does it really matter on Jan 6? Not really.

burrell is slotted to play DH for the rays. not sure if you were aware of that or not.

the rays added price to their starting rotation. making room for him by letting edwin jackson go. we'll see how this kid pitches now as a starter for a full season-will there be an innings limit on him as well? just wondering.

[killeverything]

last night on Sportscenter, Buster Olney stated that the rays are
the favorite to win the AL East.
Why even bother making a prediction?
It's Jan 5, weeks away from the 1st pitch and this clown goes on to predict a winner.

I could care less if he said my Yankees were the favorite. Does not mean a damn thing right now.

Oh yeah, with the burrell signing, Olney also said that the rays now have the best line-up in baseball.

It's ridiculous to pick winners right now. Although on paper, they are the favorites in the East. With Burrell going into the middle of that scary line-up? I don't see how they don't have to potential to have the best line-up in all baseball.

A good team got a whole lot better.

Not that is matters much, but I want to believe that the Yankees 8 and 9 hitters in the line-up are better than the rays.
Then again, does it really matter on Jan 6? Not really.

burrell is slotted to play DH for the rays. not sure if you were aware of that or not.

the rays added price to their starting rotation. making room for him by letting edwin jackson go. we'll see how this kid pitches now as a starter for a full season-will there be an innings limit on him as well? just wondering.

Yeah, I knew Burrell is going to DH. Which I think would suit him just fine. As for Price, he's proven he can handle pressure. So I'm not sure how being a starter now would really effect him.

I don't know about what kind of IP limits would be placed on him. All young pitcher's have them. I think they'd be fairly moderate. Unlike Joba, he doesn't have an injury history or weight issues. Unless I read something different from Baseball America or Baseball Prospectus, I would expect 170 or above. We won't have a better idea until ST.

Believe what you want, but unless we get an Anaheim 2003. The Rays are still the team to beat. With the way the AL East has shaped up so far though. I think it will be a 3 team slugfest all season long. I'm looking forward to it. It would be like '48 or '67. Last game of the season it's decided. We've got a good season ahead of us all. \m/

[Facedown]

Indians sign Pavano.

[JakeYonkel]

Indians sign Pavano.

Amazing that anybody would waste any more money on that spineless sack of shit.

[Machado]

Indians sign Pavano.

Amazing that anybody would waste any more money on that spineless sack of shit.

take it easy. reports are if and when he signs, the contract will
be loaded with bonuses based on performance.
they are comparing the contract to mike hampton.

[killeverything]

Indians sign Pavano.

Amazing that anybody would waste any more money on that spineless sack of shit.

take it easy. reports are if and when he signs, the contract will
be loaded with bonuses based on performance.
they are comparing the contract to mike hampton.

I knew he'd possibly get signed. With the scarcity of SPs these days, it's hard to believe that some team wouldn't need him. I'm sure it will be a League Minimum/loaded contract. Not unlike the one offered to Saito by Boston. Maybe it's pertains to a ST invite first.

[killeverything]

Speaking of pitching scarcity. The MFY signed Jason Johnson, who they could use as AAA depth.

Now for the fun part. In my travels I've come across his blog when he was playing in Japan.

So i am standing on the train with the other Americans heading to the field and i look to my left and what is staring in me in the eye? What do ya know, there is a big ole poster of me pitching and in big bold print in plain English it has a quote from me…it said…” Women are like Angels”. Ok i admit it, i said that in Spring Training when they asked me what i thought of women, but i really did’nt think it was going to literally be on a poster on the train that goes to field…I’m not saying that i didn’t mean it, I was just saying I didn’t know all of Japan and now all of you who are reading this would know. I guess the cat is out of the bag, Take your shots at me, i don’t care. I just say what i feel when i feel it.

t was just a small rumble and shake this morning before i left for the field but i am waiting for a big one, i think that would be kinda cool to feel as long as no one gets hurt, of course. LOL!!!

Yep, I’ve had my fair share of FUN in Roppongi too. But from one American to another, BEWARE of those bj bars and ‘hostess’s’, my buddies and I got wasted and STD’s and what really pissed us off was that these chicks will say all this ego-boosting bulls*** just so you feel like a king and then the next thing ya know, your out moola and your wang is itchy as hell.

http://eastwindupchronicle.com/the-ball ... n-johnson/

*edit*

Upon further investigation, the last installment whore-house story was a fellow blogger's warning to him. Fuck, that would've been funny. Oh well better luck next time I guess.

[killeverything]

The MFY are looking to move Nady and Swisher.

Both Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing significant interest in trade talks, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
Neither figures to bring a whole lot in return with guys like Garret Anderson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Edmonds still out there as one-year possibilies. Still, the relative youth of Swisher and Nady could make them more attractive to some teams. It doesn't appear that the Yankees are prepared to keep both and play either Johnny Damon or Swisher in center field.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... 577&spln=1

I see Swisher as being difficult to move since he's still owed 20m. Plus he has the plate patience that the MFY covet. It brings it up interestingly to me. Who is the OF? Matsui, Swisher, Traitor, Melky, Nady, Gardner? I think maybe Cashman got Swisher out of a disbelief of thinking they could aquire Teix.

I have a hard time understanding how many Type-A Free Agents a team can sign in a season. If they can sign more than 3, who wouldn't be surprised to see them go after Manny? Arod whines for him, they have a roster full of basically bunch of Scott Boras's in a jersey. It would fit, for anyone who needed a reason post 2004 to still hate them.

Let's get the fucking season started already!