Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[Rainbow Bright]

Tis a shame its the last year the Ems will use Civic Stadium. Damned thing was built in 1933.

[killeverything]

Royals acquired SS Yuniesky Betancourt from the Mariners for RHP Daniel Cortes and LHP Derrick Saito.

I knew Betancourt wore out his welcome in Seattle, but they got value for him? Amazing.

Betancourt doesn’t hit for power, walk, take coaching well, field, or keep himself in shape. His contract calls for 3 million next year, 4 million in 2011, and 6 million in 2012 (although the Royals can always pay him the 2 million buyout instead), so he’s not cheap either.

The Royals give up Derrick Saito and Dan Cortes. Saito is a low-level reliever striking out a ton of batters, meanwhile Baseball America ranked Cortes as the third best prospect in the Royals system.


http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... betancourt

Betancourt's career OBP line is .302 You expect these kinds of fuckups from Dayton Moore. Then Baseball's worst GM turns around and does this:

Mets trade Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francouer.

So this:
Francoeur: .250/.282/.352
For this:
Church: .280/.332/.375

Francouer is 25, Church is 30. Maybe that has something to do with it. After the Kazmir for Zambrano trade, I was begining to wonder if Minyana was retarded. Then I stumble across this little gem: "One thing we like about Francoeur is the amount of games that he plays." annnnnddddd I have no doubts.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0- ... p-RFs.html

If the market for bad players is really like this, then why can't we find someone to take Lugo?

Okay, I'm done picking on the other retarded NY franchise. No more quotes from Hardball Times, etc. ( there are a few ).....

Wait! One more! Someone just needs to change the jersey.



This is too much fun.

[SkyDog112046]

Everyone likes Minyana, mainly because he is like the kid in elementary school that would trade you a devildog and a hoho for your 3 crushed chips ahoy.

Seriously, how the hell does he still have a job?

[Sabu]

I know Francoeur isn't exactly Albert Pujols... but the Mets gave up Ryan fucking Church for him. Church has always been an enigma in that he should be able to put up solid numbers, but just doesn't. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the guy could get hurt reading this post... but still.

Despite being 5 years younger than Mantle... I mean Church... Francoeur came into the league one year later, has played in 130 more games, hit 30 more homers, driven in 140 more runs, scored 100 more runs, and has 230 more hits. Defensively they are about the same... but Francoeur has one of the best arms in the game.

Francoeur is also one of only FIVE active players to have two 100+ RBI seasons before the age of 24. Church's season high is 70.

Sure Francoeur has struggled since 2007, but he's still only 25 years old. IF he goes back to hitting 20+ homers and driving in 100+ and Church continues to spend as much time n the trainer's room as he does the field, than this is simply an AWFUL trade by the Braves and one of the few good moves Omar has made.

Even if they both play like they have been the last two years, Omar will have acquired a 25-year old right handed bat (which they needed) and a great defensive presence for a 30 year old who forgets that you have to touch 3rd base before you go home.

[tin00can]

It's official: the Angels own the Yankees.

Damn, that was sweet.

[SkyDog112046]

I think I saw something showing that the Yankees are 4-13 against the AL division leaders and 47-24 against everyone else.

[Machado]

It's official: the Angels own the Yankees.

Damn, that was sweet.

i was not surprsed we lost all 3 games over the weekend. for whatever reason we are unable to get a win at their park.
someone put the jinx on the Yankees and won't let that go.
we had the lead in every game if memory serves me right. bad pitching. we pitched great at the twins and did the opposite vs the angels.
next game is Friday vs the tigers i think. nice to have the 4 days off, instead of 3 after
the break.
this time last year Yankees were i believe 8 games back. much better record and standing
this year at the break.

[Machado]

Is it fair to pick on Bud yet again? I think so. Here is another example how the guy shows up very, very late to the party.
Only now does he want to change the rule. If manny was not suspended, you can be sure Bud would not have the idea for a rule change.
Memo to Bud: You could have changed this rule years ago, but you and Fehr were too busy enjoying the revenue from all the players who were on steroids.
FUCK YOU BUD!!!


ST. LOUIS -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wants to keep players on drug suspensions from going to the minor leagues before they return.

Manny Ramirez drew sellout crowds last month in the minors when he played two games at Triple-A Albuquerque and three at Class-A Inland Empire on his rehabilitation assignment before his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 3.

"I believe that should be changed," Selig said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "Their logic was OK -- look, guys get hurt, they can go out on rehab, and so and so forth. But I think that's something we need to really change in the next labor negotiation."

The current rules are in place through December 2011. Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, said management would not ask for a rules change before then.

"I'll let them work that out. I don't want to do our negotiating here," Selig said. "But it's 50 games and then go do what you got to do to get back into [shape]."

The Dodgers outfielder was suspended 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy by obtaining a prescription for a banned female fertility drug.

Union general counsel Michael Weiner, who has been designated to succeed Donald Fehr as players' association head, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Selig's remarks.

[killeverything]

Is it fair to pick on Bud yet again? I think so. Here is another example how the guy shows up very, very late to the party.
Only now does he want to change the rule. If manny was not suspended, you can be sure Bud would not have the idea for a rule change.
Memo to Bud: You could have changed this rule years ago, but you and Fehr were too busy enjoying the revenue from all the players who were on steroids.
FUCK YOU BUD!!!


ST. LOUIS -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wants to keep players on drug suspensions from going to the minor leagues before they return.

Manny Ramirez drew sellout crowds last month in the minors when he played two games at Triple-A Albuquerque and three at Class-A Inland Empire on his rehabilitation assignment before his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 3.

"I believe that should be changed," Selig said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "Their logic was OK -- look, guys get hurt, they can go out on rehab, and so and so forth. But I think that's something we need to really change in the next labor negotiation."

The current rules are in place through December 2011. Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, said management would not ask for a rules change before then.

"I'll let them work that out. I don't want to do our negotiating here," Selig said. "But it's 50 games and then go do what you got to do to get back into [shape]."

The Dodgers outfielder was suspended 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy by obtaining a prescription for a banned female fertility drug.

Union general counsel Michael Weiner, who has been designated to succeed Donald Fehr as players' association head, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Selig's remarks.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

If he gets injured on his return from suspension, since he had no way to stay in game shape? Also he needs to miss more time to get in game shape on top of the 50 games he's already been out?

It's punishing the team and fans more than being suspended already is. Since Selig helped keep PED use super hush-hush. We don't know how much the owners or managers knew about it to begin with. Remember Joe Torre has presided over some of the greatest steroid teams of all time.......yet he never saw any use of it on his squad.

I think the guys' should be punished and not have a chance to play the games early. If they have a season ending injury because of it though? If it was an impact player on my team, I'd be pissed. The arrogance of the juicers is appaling, because their actions fuck everybody.

[SkyDog112046]

I say that they should not allow a player suspended for steroids to have access to anything in the organization until the suspension is up. That would range from working out with the team, to any minor league affiliates, to any training facilities used by the organization. They should be responsible for working out out on their own, and then should have to accept a minor league rehab to get back into game shape.

A 50 day suspension is way too lenient. Personally I would ban them, but if it is only going to be 50 days then make it a true 50 days away from baseball completely. If it pisses off their fans and teammates then all the better.

[Machado]

I say that they should not allow a player suspended for steroids to have access to anything in the organization until the suspension is up. That would range from working out with the team, to any minor league affiliates, to any training facilities used by the organization. They should be responsible for working out out on their own, and then should have to accept a minor league rehab to get back into game shape.

A 50 day suspension is way too lenient. Personally I would ban them, but if it is only going to be 50 days then make it a true 50 days away from baseball completely. If it pisses off their fans and teammates then all the better.

I can not agree with you more.
If Bud has the brains to come up with a plan like yours, he would have suggested such a thing years ago.
Instead he turned the other way, enjoyed all the $$ being made and was very happy to lead the fans by their noses.

Fuck Bud.
The piece of shit has been bad for the game and should be banned himself.

[killeverything]

I say that they should not allow a player suspended for steroids to have access to anything in the organization until the suspension is up. That would range from working out with the team, to any minor league affiliates, to any training facilities used by the organization. They should be responsible for working out out on their own, and then should have to accept a minor league rehab to get back into game shape.

A 50 day suspension is way too lenient. Personally I would ban them, but if it is only going to be 50 days then make it a true 50 days away from baseball completely. If it pisses off their fans and teammates then all the better.

I can not agree with you more.
If Bud has the brains to come up with a plan like yours, he would have suggested such a thing years ago.
Instead he turned the other way, enjoyed all the $$ being made and was very happy to lead the fans by their noses.

Fuck Bud.
The piece of shit has been bad for the game and should be banned himself.

Look I hate Selig just as much as the next guy, but what are you gonna do?

It's not like he can just say "this is how it's going to be" and change it. I half blame him for the PED cover up, and the half ( rightfully ) blame the players.

See it's a Union. There was a strike. One that the Roid HR race helped bring back the public's interest. Anything decided on will have to be cleared though the MLBPA. Unless Congress gets involved and impliments Olympic style testing.

I hope Congress gets involved since I don't trust MLB to take care of it. Plus the Government owes it to the American people for us dealing with Bush for 8 years.

[killeverything]

It's being reported that Pedro Martinez passed his physical, and has a deal in place with the Phillies which is slated to be announced Wednesday.

[Machado]

care to predict how "Not" well he will pitch for the phils?
not sure about road games, but in philly pedro will be doing a lot of good for fans
in the bleachers. those balls will be flying out of the park when pedro is on the hill.
i don't follow the phills, but they must be desperate for a starting pitcher.

i will get much joy from seeing him struggle in '09.

[bighairdiscs]

care to predict how "Not" well he will pitch for the phils?
not sure about road games, but in philly pedro will be doing a lot of good for fans
in the bleachers. those balls will be flying out of the park when pedro is on the hill.
i don't follow the phills, but they must be desperate for a starting pitcher.

i will get much joy from seeing him struggle in '09.

bitter much?

I think Pedro will do alright..... he's not even close to being the pitcher he once was, but he'll still be a serviceable starter.... look around the league - hell, he can't be much worse then some of the starters around Baseball.

[killeverything]

care to predict how "Not" well he will pitch for the phils?
not sure about road games, but in philly pedro will be doing a lot of good for fans
in the bleachers. those balls will be flying out of the park when pedro is on the hill.
i don't follow the phills, but they must be desperate for a starting pitcher.

i will get much joy from seeing him struggle in '09.

bitter much?

I think Pedro will do alright..... he's not even close to being the pitcher he once was, but he'll still be a serviceable starter.... look around the league - hell, he can't be much worse then some of the starters around Baseball.

Yeah, he'll be a decent #5. Philly is a bandbox so I expect him to give up a few dingers. I hear it's 1m + 1.5m in incentives.

The big speculation is they were going after Pedro, so they could make a big push for Halladay. If Philly added him to the rotation that would be awesome for them.

[Machado]

care to predict how "Not" well he will pitch for the phils?
not sure about road games, but in philly pedro will be doing a lot of good for fans
in the bleachers. those balls will be flying out of the park when pedro is on the hill.
i don't follow the phills, but they must be desperate for a starting pitcher.

i will get much joy from seeing him struggle in '09.

bitter much?

I think Pedro will do alright..... he's not even close to being the pitcher he once was, but he'll still be a serviceable starter.... look around the league - hell, he can't be much worse then some of the starters around Baseball.

I am not bitter at all. It's common knowledge the Yankees are pedro's daddy



With the type of park the phils have, acquiring pedro in '09 just seems like a very big reach.
Based on his stats last year, how can anybody expect him to pitch well.
Who knows, with almost 4 months off in '09, he could return to pitch very well because
his shoulder is well rested.

[killeverything]

care to predict how "Not" well he will pitch for the phils?
not sure about road games, but in philly pedro will be doing a lot of good for fans
in the bleachers. those balls will be flying out of the park when pedro is on the hill.
i don't follow the phills, but they must be desperate for a starting pitcher.

i will get much joy from seeing him struggle in '09.

bitter much?

I think Pedro will do alright..... he's not even close to being the pitcher he once was, but he'll still be a serviceable starter.... look around the league - hell, he can't be much worse then some of the starters around Baseball.

I am not bitter at all. It's common knowledge the Yankees are pedro's daddy



With the type of park the phils have, acquiring pedro in '09 just seems like a very big reach.
Based on his stats last year, how can anybody expect him to pitch well.
Who knows, with almost 4 months off in '09, he could return to pitch very well because
his shoulder is well rested.

They hit him well in 2004, and that's about it.

Last time he pitched in MFY Stadium with the Mets. He had an 8K shutout that Wagner blew the save for. I can't tell you how many times he's shut the MFY down, only have the BP blow the save for him. Or lose 1-0. I should look it up.

"Really? Yeah, I've heard that. *laughs* Someone should tell him though. That way I don't have to see him strikeout ten of us in the Playoffs again". - Scott Brocious when told of the MFY dominance of Pedro Martinez

^
That's one of my all-time favorite quotes

[Machado]

"I just have to tip my hat to the Yankees and call them my daddy."
Now that is one of my fav quotes for pedro.

HA HA HA!!!


I pick on pedro because it's obvious his best years are behind him and I am a bit shocked that the phils would take a flyer on him. Especially since in '08 he had a +5 era and a very bad WHIP.

[killeverything]

There is a God!

Julio Lugo was DFA.

That makes 18 shortstops used since Nomah left. The curse of Orlando Carbrera continues. The team is still on the hook for his ridculous contract, but at least he's not on the team anymore.

In some weird bizzaro world way, it's better to pay him and not play him.




Of course it's not my money.

[Machado]

There is a God!

Julio Lugo was DFA.

That makes 18 shortstops used since Nomah left. The curse of Orlando Carbrera continues. The team is still on the hook for his ridculous contract, but at least he's not on the team anymore.

In some weird bizzaro world way, it's better to pay him and not play him.




Of course it's not my money.

was lugo your answer to angel berroa, whom the Yankees DFA'd about a week ago? just kidding.
anyway, excellent sweep over the tigers this weekend. good pitching by all our starters and if you ask me, Phil Hughes is looking nasty out of the pen. blowing away hitters.
bruney who?? just kidding(again).

[killeverything]

There is a God!

Julio Lugo was DFA.

That makes 18 shortstops used since Nomah left. The curse of Orlando Carbrera continues. The team is still on the hook for his ridculous contract, but at least he's not on the team anymore.

In some weird bizzaro world way, it's better to pay him and not play him.




Of course it's not my money.

was lugo your answer to angel berroa, whom the Yankees DFA'd about a week ago? just kidding.
anyway, excellent sweep over the tigers this weekend. good pitching by all our starters and if you ask me, Phil Hughes is looking nasty out of the pen. blowing away hitters.
bruney who?? just kidding(again).

That's because Phil Hughes is unbelieveably talented.

Joba The Fat is a flash in the pan and should be put back in the BP. I think it will be a major mistake for the team not to do that. There was "Joba Rules" in place, yet it takes him 20 pitches to get through an inning. I wonder how much of that Girardi understands. Maybe he's not getting enough rest.

For example:

Opponents batting:

4 days rest: .917 OPS
5 days rest: .711 OPS

Not sure if that means it's stamina, but it's a pretty big difference. He's averaging 91 pitches over 5 and 2/3IP.

He's currently at 17.5 pitches per inning.

If they want him throwing about 150 innings this year, and you assume that an inning is normally 13-15 pitches long, then he should be ideally throwing between 1950-2250 pitches total this year.

He's already thrown 1559 in his 89 innings this year... so he's theoretically got between 400 and 700 pitches left until he reaches the ideal 2009 workload on his developmental scale.

At his current 17.5 pitches/inning rate, that's 23-40 innings left.

There are 2.5 months left in the season and potentially another month of playoff games after that.

To me it seems best to switch Joba and Hughes roles. Hughes was averaging like 17 pitches an inning when he was starting so.

Joba's slider velocity is down this season. I think with the workload in his development he's going to end up being just a fastball pitcher, which is ideal for the BP. Why they don't flip him for Halladay is beyond me. I'd make that trade in a second, because I don't think Joba's gonna have a very long career.


*Edit*

In eagerness ( fueled by hate ) to get this post done. I didn't account for the totals of Joba's start against Detroit yesterday. So the IP went up etc.

I need to look into it and see if this game he relied mainly on his fastball. Which is why he needs to be back in the bullpen.

[Sabu]

Why they don't flip him for Halladay is beyond me. I'd make that trade in a second, because I don't think Joba's gonna have a very long career.

That's my feelings. IF Toronto will deal him in the division, Joba makes sense for a bunch of reasons. Most importantly for Toronto it gives them a legit closer for the next 10+ years (provided Joba stays healthy) and it also at least gets them a "name" to appease some of the fans that will be pissed about them dealing The Franchise away. The Yanks would have to include an Austin Jackson or a Cervelli as well, but it's definitely worth it. The guy is one of the Top 3 pitchers in the game. Matching him up with CC not only gives them the best 1-2 punch in the game, but they also eat up a ton of innings and will help protect the Yanks weak bullpen.

A Halladay, CC, Burnett, Hughes, and whoever rotation could be disgusting.

[killeverything]

Why they don't flip him for Halladay is beyond me. I'd make that trade in a second, because I don't think Joba's gonna have a very long career.

That's my feelings. IF Toronto will deal him in the division, Joba makes sense for a bunch of reasons. Most importantly for Toronto it gives them a legit closer for the next 10+ years (provided Joba stays healthy) and it also at least gets them a "name" to appease some of the fans that will be pissed about them dealing The Franchise away. The Yanks would have to include an Austin Jackson or a Cervelli as well, but it's definitely worth it. The guy is one of the Top 3 pitchers in the game. Matching him up with CC not only gives them the best 1-2 punch in the game, but they also eat up a ton of innings and will help protect the Yanks weak bullpen.

A Halladay, CC, Burnett, Hughes, and whoever rotation could be disgusting.

Totally.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want the MFY to do anything to get better. As it stands right now, their team as it's built is neck and neck with Boston to win the Division. They have as many flaws as the Mighty Red Sox. Each one rears it's ugly head for each team.

Not trading Joba + for Halladay is idiotic IMO. I think they would need to include both Montero and Jackson to get it done. Jackson is tearing up AAA. I just saw him in the AAA All-Star game. He blasted a triple his first at bat.

Montero is discussed as being the next premiere bat. He's still learning in the minors right now, but if his development goes as projected. He's gonna be a fucking bad ass.

[Sabu]

Interesting...

Jon Heyman at SI tweets that the Mets rejected a package of Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.

These are four of the Mets top 10 prospects, but aside from FMart, none of them are rated all that high on the prospect charts... Makes me think if this is what the Jays are looking for from a GM like Omar, the price may not be as steep as everyone has been saying it is.

If the Mets were healthy and in contention, I think Omar would have jumped all over this.

[TawnyVonJagger]

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/ Scroll down and watch the videos of what the new ballpark will look like, and also the groundbreaking ceremony. Cool shit.

[killeverything]

Interesting...

Jon Heyman at SI tweets that the Mets rejected a package of Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.

These are four of the Mets top 10 prospects, but aside from FMart, none of them are rated all that high on the prospect charts... Makes me think if this is what the Jays are looking for from a GM like Omar, the price may not be as steep as everyone has been saying it is.

If the Mets were healthy and in contention, I think Omar would have jumped all over this.

You're probably right.

NY's problem this year has been injuries to key players. They have a pretty solid core, but if their out adding Halladay ain't gonna help.

Halladay is a once in a generation type of pitcher. I'm surprised more teams haven't been all over him. I think that with the "Moneyball" mentality that's prevelant now. Teams are looking to build their core strictly from draft picks, etc. ala-Tampa Bay.

The unfortunate reality of that is, how often does it work out? There is too much luck involved.

Ask Kansas City.

[tin00can]

You're probably right.

NY's problem this year has been injuries to key players. They have a pretty solid core, but if their out adding Halladay ain't gonna help.

Halladay is a once in a generation type of pitcher. I'm surprised more teams haven't been all over him. I think that with the "Moneyball" mentality that's prevelant now. Teams are looking to build their core strictly from draft picks, etc. ala-Tampa Bay.

The unfortunate reality of that is, how often does it work out? There is too much luck involved.

Ask Kansas City.

I think part of why he hasn't bee traded is that Toronto is wisely trying to get as much as they can for him, and there is no sense in pulling the trigger early unless they are blown away by an offer. No matter where he goes, Halladay will be the #1 pitcher and they're not gonna let that go for a chump offer (unless we're talking about Toronto trading him in 2010).

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

A buddy of mine who is a host on ESPN radio in Atlantic City is reporting on his site that the Phils are working on a deal that sends P Kyle Kendrick to Washington for OF Josh Willingham. He's also said that the Phils might try to get Cliff Lee from Cleveland if they aren't successful in acquiring Halladay.

[killeverything]

A buddy of mine who is a host on ESPN radio in Atlantic City is reporting on his site that the Phils are working on a deal that sends P Kyle Kendrick to Washington for OF Josh Willingham. He's also said that the Phils might try to get Cliff Lee from Cleveland if they aren't successful in acquiring Halladay.

I usually don't listen to anything ESPN sources say. This holds a lot of water though.

It's said the reason they signed Pedro was to be the #5 guy in the post-season. Backing up Hammels and an addition of Halladay. If they can't get Halladay, they have to get someone.

I'm watching the Texas/Mighty Red Sox game on MLB EI right now. The Rangers announcers just said Ricciardi released a statement saying "he doesn't think any package will be good enough to move Halladay for" earlier today.