Ugueth Urbina's EXCELLENT Prison Adventure 2007-2021 (also, spring training)

[Mayor Quimby]

The Indians have supposedly been waiting for him to be posted, but they don't have the ability to bid that much. The Red Sox, might have screwed over any mid-market teams looking to bid on foreign players.

[Andy]

kei igawa. but he wants to pitch for a west coast team, preferably (obviously if he posts, it's not his choice). he's a good consollation prize, but he doesn't have the media hype of matsuzaka, so i dunno...with this exorbitant red sox posting, i'd GUESS $25-30 millionish.
Ah yeah, I read that name today because apparently the Cubs are interested in him too. Of course, that means absolutely nothing and he'll probably be a Dodger.

[Dewey Finn]

Yankees and Moose agree on 2 year, 22.5 million deal. Seriously, getting 15 win pitcher with mid-3.00 ERA for 11.25 million is bargain compared to even Ted Lilly wants 8 million bananas.

Here's more on Kei Igawa:

His stuff 88~92mph fastball, good slider, but his best weapon is changeup, which locks the right-handed batters up. Igawa was extremely strong against right handed batters, but was also weak against left handed hitters (.292 opp. avg vs lefties) as a southpaw. His stats kind of declined for last few years (as a mid-20's, I know), but he bounded back being one of the best pitchers of Japan right now.

[thecapecoddah]

taking unproven talent and spending that much money on it is absurd.

absurd perhaps, but teams are willing to do it.


"We at ESPN.com surveyed 20 general managers, assistant GMs, and assorted scouts and personnel people for their takes on six hot stove questions of interest. Here's how they responded:

1. Given a choice between Barry Zito and Daisuke Matsuzaka, which free-agent pitcher do you prefer?

Responses: Matsuzaka 13, Zito 5 and two undecided."


more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2662662

if boston takes zito, they're out of their minds

there's no place for him with matsuzaka in the rotation and papelbon joining it (plus both clement and lester could potentially join the active roster again sometime in 2007)

[Mike]

referring to that question though, when money comes into it, i'm sure their answers change.

i mean, the numbers being thrown around are just ridiculous.

a total of $60 million spent on barry zito (5 year deal)

OR

a total of $100 million spent on daisuke matsuzaka ($50 to talk to him, 50 on a 4 year deal)

[Dead Nigga Storage]

yeah, i saw that article already eric, but it was written without any regard to the price tag for them. zito, if nothing else, is a consistent arm who you know can stick around for a long time and give you 200+ innings of sub-4.00ERA, and as many wins as your offense will allow. matsuzaka will ???. no one knows. there is a distinct possibility of him coming over and doubling his ERA (ESPECIALLY in boston), and being a very league-average pitcher. if you asked those same owners if they'd take matsuzaka for $100 million for 4 years, they'd say you were out of your fucking mind.

[thecapecoddah]

"NAPLES, Fla. - The Texas Rangers' new approach to team building: If you can't beat `em, steal `em.

With pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka officially out of the picture and Mark DeRosa headed for the Chicago Cubs, the Rangers are turning their attention to two key free agents from Oakland's AL West championship team. The Rangers are courting left-hander Barry Zito and designated hitter Frank Thomas, major league sources said Tuesday.

Zito and Thomas have already phoned to congratulate new manager Ron Washington, who also came from Oakland, on getting the Texas job. Both said they would consider playing for the Rangers."

[thecapecoddah]

hahah DNS let's just agree that all boston fans, media, and front office personnel are insane when it comes to baseball

I am planning on buying several $100 tickets to fenway next year, after all. and god knows how many $7 miller lites... whoooooo

looking forward to the $20 fenway park sushi. just kidding lolz I hate sushi.

[smyce]

Yeah the most insane thing said in the previous post was "miller lite".

[Dead Nigga Storage]

and that's why i hate boston baseball.

but of course, mike and i can agree that west coast baseball is ridiculously under-appreciated and that the A's/Angels rivalry is quickly becoming far better and far more interesting than any fake yankees/red sox headline. and our ticket prices are better. amiright, mike? how many one run games are we up to in the last 4 years?

[Rekart]

Looks like they're also building a "Ballpark Village" much like the one in St. Louis.

The one supposed* to be in St. Louis. It's still just a large hole on the north end, they don't have the funding to do it, and for now, they're not getting much done.

[thecapecoddah]

espn.com reporting that the blue jays are closing in on a deal for frank thomas.

[Jeff]

upwards of a three year $30+mil contract. very very risky imo.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

not according to the reports i saw. 2 years, and a club option 3rd, for $23 million in the first two years. it's alot of money, and if he's healthy in the DH spot, it's worth the money for sure.

[robb]

i heard a rumor today that the tiger's lost 1B "prospect" josh phelps to the orioles, has anybody seen anything about this?

for the record he's a 28 year old power hitting first baseman who strikes out a ton and fields poorly, but he's still a 1B and the tigers need somebody there next year.

[Mike]

and that's why i hate boston baseball.

but of course, mike and i can agree that west coast baseball is ridiculously under-appreciated and that the A's/Angels rivalry is quickly becoming far better and far more interesting than any fake yankees/red sox headline. and our ticket prices are better. amiright, mike? how many one run games are we up to in the last 4 years?
more than enough that have me antsy while following the game on yahoo most of the time.

the question is... how many steals of home plate to end the game?



AND FUCK YOU TORONTO!

not work the risk of frank thomas at $10 million per year. sorry, he still IS a risk simply because he's nearly 40 and so heavy, with the recurring foot and ankle injuries. that said, he was in much better shape for the last season as well.

thanks for the season though big hurt. would have loved to have you back in OAF (someone get the abbreviation, the jokes have to start soon), but that much money over 2 years is just way too much. this isn't even about oakland being cheap at this point, it's about oakland being smart and knowing that there are other guys out there that could be had. hell, i'd rather trade away a couple guys and get adam dunn, and then spend $10 mill a season on him instead.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

home plate eh? who won the division that year? or the WS in cognitive memory? ;)

the OAF jokes are already a couple weeks old on halosheaven, and so is the trash talking and word-eating going on with halosheaven guys going through archives at AN to find the A's fans who were shit-talking when the Angels got their name change.

beane is still for some reason saying he'll consider thomas, but i doubt that. it's a lot of money, but i think toronto knows the risk going in, and doesn't really mind. it's a short term deal, so they're not going to be shitting their pants for years to come on it. i'd like the potential of it as a toronto fan, but still think it was excessive money. it's a make-or-break year for them, though. wells (if not traded), glaus, overbay, and thomas is a very VERY good middle of the order. if rios and johnson and hill perform like in 2006, they could sieze the division out of nowhere...look where they finished this year.

[tones]

i heard a rumor today that the tiger's lost 1B "prospect" josh phelps to the orioles, has anybody seen anything about this?

for the record he's a 28 year old power hitting first baseman who strikes out a ton and fields poorly, but he's still a 1B and the tigers need somebody there next year.


i just heard jamie walker went to o's, but i haven't heard anything on this.

[Mike]

the OAF jokes are already a couple weeks old on halosheaven, and so is the trash talking and word-eating going on with halosheaven guys going through archives at AN to find the A's fans who were shit-talking when the Angels got their name change.
it doesn't help that the biggest tool of an angel fan is running that site...

but toronto does look very deadly with thomas in the lineup, however i can see it failing them in a lot of ways if gibbons doesn't manage it well enough.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

HH's master is a pretty funny guy, and he does know his stuff. he's just a bit odd sometimes. most of the A's fans (EXCEPT for the blogmaster) on AN are pretty unbearable, though. won't speak for all of them, but damn...i think only tard sports fans go on SBN.

[robb]

i just heard jamie walker went to o's, but i haven't heard anything on this.

yeah, i heard the same thing, but at 3-4 million per year, i say good riddance.

[Andy]

If I say that only one of the Managers of the Year this year still has a job, can you guess both before clicking?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061115/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_managers_of_the_year

Of course you can.

[robb]

tigers sign casey to a one year deal:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2664598

guess that answers a lot of questions, and I really don't know if dombrowski will do a whole hell of a lot more this winter, but you never know.

[Mike]

if i were you i'd hope that he makes more changes other than just sheffield. coming back the next year with the same team usually doesn't do too well.

[robb]

yeah, i agree, but i don't know what other changes he can make. a leadoff hitter would be nice, but how would it happen?

[Dewey Finn]

Some rumors for today

Nov 16 - The Boston Globe has a ballpark figure on J.D. Drew's price tag: four years, $56 million.
"That's the money we're hearing," a National League general manager told the newspaper. "It's getting a little crazy. I don't know if people will pay it, but he's a guy a few teams are eyeing and in the end, they'll probably come close to that."

13+ million per year for Drew.. iiiinteresting... he's still plus option than Nixon IMO

Neal Cotts traded
The Cubs acquired left-handed reliever Neal Cotts from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday in exchange for relief pitcher David Aardsma and minor-league pitcher Carlos Vasquez

Some of you may have known this, well, Jays are on the verge of signing Big Hurt for 2 year 20~36 million range deal. He'd fortify Jays lineup, but he ain't getting younger

According to some sources, Yankees could make an offer to Gil Meche... I wouldn't want him... GET ZITO

[brad]

And the A's and Padres are both talking with Jeff Borris about Barry. :o|

[kevin]

i dunno about trading cotts away... he had a pretty bad season last year, but he was great before that. i have no idea how good the two guys the sox are getting are, but since they are cubs relievers, i have no choice but to assume that they are terrible.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Jays are on the verge of signing Big Hurt for 2 year 20~36 million range deal.???

who said $36 million? that's a huge, huge range.

[Andy]

i dunno about trading cotts away... he had a pretty bad season last year, but he was great before that. i have no idea how good the two guys the sox are getting are, but since they are cubs relievers, i have no choice but to assume that they are terrible. http://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpg

As for Frank... $10m/year is WAY too much for his services.

[Dewey Finn]

who said $36 million? that's a huge, huge range.
Fuck my typo (should've been 26 million), and BTW, here's an article related to it

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, Frank Thomas will get a two-year, $23 million contract from the Blue Jays.

[Andy]

Whoa!

The Aardsma picture changed from a Cub to a Sox uniform since I posted it.

Nice job, MLB.com photoshoppers.

[Andy]

doublepost

The best man at Billy Beane's second wedding will reportedly be named the A's new manager.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2660147&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[Dead Nigga Storage]

http://www.tci.tdcj.state.tx.us/products/garment/leather/images/200_bull_whip.jpg

[Mike]

well i think this was the biggest joke of a process ever for hiring a manager. too obvious it would be geren, although i had hoped for bud black or ron washington. really hoped.

interesting rumours about bonds. i'm not sure about my opinion on it... i'd rather see them trade away something to get somebody like adam dunn... or someone who isnt barry bonds.

obviously the guy is still good at hitting some bombs and getting on base, but i absolutely hate him and do NOT want to see him break that record. if he signs with the a's, well, then i have to hope he does, for the team's sake.

[kevin]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpghttp://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_430911.jpg

As for Frank... $10m/year is WAY too much for his services.

creepy. i wonder if his eyes will strike FEAR into opposing batters? or maybe they will just laugh.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061117&content_id=1742394&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp

deal for thomas is 2 years and $18 million. to be honest, it doesn't sound THAT bad. worst case scenario, that's ALL that they're on the hook for, and only until the end of 2008.

[kevin]

yeah, sounds like a good deal for the jays. big hurt showed what he can do when he's healthy last season.

[Mike]

$9 mill a year is still too much... i don't think a guy that is STILL that kind of risk is worth more than $7 million.

[Voodoo Monkey]

If it means another huge payroll boost for the Jays, I'm all for it (remember last year, when they quickly nabbed BJ Ryan, and nobody expected much else to come of the offseason?)

[Dead Nigga Storage]

$9 mill a year is still too much... i don't think a guy that is STILL that kind of risk is worth more than $7 million.7 million, 9 million. BFD. it's a two year contract, EVERY team has a ton of money to pay, it addresses a need, and it gives them the ability, right now, in 2007, to compete for the division title. vernon wells is a free agent after '07, and they need to compete now. sometimes the price tag you pay for the player isn't just for the man himself, it's for what it will contribute as a whole. the blue jays finished in second last year. if he brings even 2/3rds the production of last year, it could push them over the hump and make them a dark horse candidate for the division. and like i said, worse comes to worse, he's gone after '08 (in which he is getting paid 8 of the 18 million). not every team has to make their free agent acquisitions with small, high-risk contracts...they wanted their man, and they weren't going to let an extra 2 million dollars (by your standards) hold them from a division. if they have the money to spend, and it could be the push over factor, all the more power to them.

[Mike]

well, i never exactly said this was a bad signing for the jays. i think they overpaid by at least $2 million, but at the same time they are getting someone who may just give them a boost they didn't have last year. although pitching was their real issue, and they still hit the ball a ton, a good defense is a good offense as well.

i do like what was said on an a's blog though, and from beane's point of view, it makes a lot of sense. i'm sure he might have even gone to wolff and said "can we spend this extra $3 million to match the offer" and the answer was no, or "only if you think we NEED him no matter what".

Given how good Thomas was in 2006, given that Beane recognizes how much the A's need a Thomas in their lineup, and given that Thomas signed for an amount within the A's budget, one has to conclude this: Billy Beane simply does not believe Frank Thomas can approach his 2006 level of health and performance in 2007-08. And when it comes to those judgment calls, Billy's track record has been remarkably close to 100%.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

aside from the arrogant presumption there that beane is some omnicient being, i don't think thomas really was in the "a's budget" range, anyway. an extra 3 million would have been 10.5 million a year for the A's to pay for thomas, and their track record shows that they DON'T often pay 8 figure single season numbers to players. i don't know the A's as well as you do, but i'm pretty sure (and correct me if you know otherwise), chavez is the only player with a salary over 10 million per year, and so far for '07, is really the only player all that close to it (i believe loaiza might be in the 7-8 million range). i don't think there is some beane-prognostication in which he knows that thomas will collapse in the next two years...it was just as much a matter of money that the A's DON'T spend at that kind of level. and don't sell the jays' GM short, either. with the exception of burnett (who still has plenty of time to make it up), the jays were probably the kings of the market last year, and all of their pickups, ESPECIALLY ryan and overbay (who absolutely broke out), turned out very, very good for them.

[Mike]

kendall was over $10 mill in '05 and '06 but will be around $7 or $8 mill in '07 because of some money the pirates are picking up in the 3rd year of the deal.

loaiza averages out at $7 million and kotsay makes $7.5

and i wasn't trying to sell ricciardi short at all. obviously everything worked out for the most part anyways, but their need is still pitching and i think even with frank thomas, and even if halladay can stay healthy for the whole year, the jays don't win the division unless they make another improvement either in their bullpen or their rotation.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

holy fuck...how did kendall justify that kind of money? that's what the pirates gave him in contract, right? still, there was no way that beane could match or exceed that offer, and i doubt wolff would have paid it, even if they could get decent production from thomas.

[Mike]

oh yeah, that was the pirates' contract, not the a's. it was a swap of 2 useless players with bad deals for a need of a fairly good catcher with a bad deal.

mark redman who was around $6 million and arthur rhodes who i don't think was making much less

and jason kendall for $6-$8 million (the money actually paid by the a's) in this final year of the deal is pretty good for a catcher that can hit for a decent average and get on base, while being a good game caller as well.

and just to continue on this... kendall has said he'd take a $5-7 million contract extension after this year to stay with the a's, which is good for 2-3 years until 1 of the 2 decent catching prospects develops, if they ever do.

[Mike]

pujols caught with 130 bags of cocaine, released by team

www.steroidlist.com

[Dewey Finn]

pujols caught with 130 bags of cocaine, released by team

www.steroidlist.com
Ha! You didn't fool me, I know it's some OTHER Pujols from Dodgers AAA team (sorry for the spoiler folks)

Do you honestly think Soriano deserve $17 million per year, Andy?
The Cubs are on the verge of signing free-agent outfielder Alfonso Soriano, FOXSports.com has learned.

Soriano, 30, is believed to be seeking an eight-year deal for approximately $17 million per season, which could put the total value of his package in the range of $135 million.

from foxsports.net

[Mike]

i actually think he does. i'd take him over a-rod and a few other guys that make that much or more.

and yeah, i read it on another forum yesterday and i did gasp briefly.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

no way he's worth that much money. he just had his career year in the NATIONAL LEAGUE, and the last time he was in the American league, he hit .268 in one of the most hitter friendly parks in baseball. he'll be getting paid 15-20 million in his age 38 or 39 season...that's insane. he's a very average (below average even, at second) fielder, he can't hit for average, he doesn't walk, and he strikes out like crazy. you'd have to be insane to take him over a-rod, and even more insane to offer him a contract worth that much money to go well past his prime. his career OPS+ is 115; not that impressive. i was afraid of the angels signing him for that much money, but i guess i wouldn't complain if we got him, period. it'd probably make us an instant lock for the division.

i saw the pujols story the same way you probably did; mlbtraderumors.com posted it. the fact that he said "pujols" and not "albert pujols" was a give away to me.

also, the angels signed justin speier to a 4 year/18 million deal. we needed the middle relief help, and he was probably the best reliever available. i like it...bullpen could be VERY dangerous this year for opponents. good strike out guy, and we didn't pay TOO much, considering how much he made in his contract year, and how well he did in it.

[Mike]

well i didnt think about how long the deal is... that is a long ass contract.

[Dewey Finn]

It's gonna be 8 year contract. He's 30 now. He'll be 38~39 yrs old by the time the contract ends. I can see Pinella jumping up and down while we're posting on this thread.

Speier is a good addition for Angels bullpen, even though he's 33 right now. IMO.

[Homer Jay]

also, the angels signed justin speier to a 4 year/18 million deal. we needed the middle relief help, and he was probably the best reliever available. i like it...bullpen could be VERY dangerous this year for opponents. good strike out guy, and we didn't pay TOO much, considering how much he made in his contract year, and how well he did in it.
The money isn't bad, but I don't like giving relievers four year contracts, there's just too much variation year to year. But in today's marker, it might be a risk that teams need to take.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

the four year part sorta scares me, but relievers have long shelf lives. even with alot of variance, i'm glad to grab a guy that has american league success. worst case scenario, the contract ends up being pretty much a wash...he doesn't earn, or not earn the money.

[Dewey Finn]

worst case scenario, the contract ends up being pretty much a wash...he doesn't earn, or not earn the money.
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/images/baseball/mlb/players/5114.jpg
You called?

I've just read an article that Yanks are eyeing Ted Lilly.. GAWD NO
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11192006/sports/yankees/yanks_eye_lilly_return_yankees_george_king.htm

Sure, he owns Red Sox, but I wouldn't waste 9 million per year on the pitcher who throws 100 pitches in 6 innings with junkball stuff

[Dead Nigga Storage]

he's the best second-tier starter on the market. it probably means that the yankees realize they don't have a shot at zito for whatever reason, so they're moving on. you can do alot worse than a guy who will give you six quality innings most of the time out.

[Andy]

Um... wow. I have to say I was extremely startled when I found out about Soriano going to the Cubs. Partly because the Cubs hardly ever get the biggest FA of the year... actually, they never have. And also partly because of the massive expanse of the contract.

All I can really say right now is... dammit Hendry, now get pitching. The offense is done. Go get pitching. Get it, boy! Come on, you can do it!

What a good sports day. The Cubs have Soriano, and the Bears once again share the best record in the NFL. 8-)

addendum: Leave it to Gammons to all of a sudden proclaim that the Cubs are instant contenders because of Soriano. I don't know about that, Pete. http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=gammons_peter&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2 findex%3fname%3dgammons_peter&skipPrestitial=true
note: insider is free this weekend

[brad]

pujols caught with 130 bags of cocaine, released by team

www.steroidlist.com


thats a sweet website :silly:

[Dead Nigga Storage]

cubs offense can probably compete with the cardinals', and both have an ace and an otherwise shit staff. sounds like potential competition in an absolutely CRAP division. astros have no offensive support, and there are not alot of places to turn. their pitching for the last few years has hinged on whether or not roger clemens returns to them, and it probably once again will.

soriano's career year was (gasp) in his contract year, but he will also be going from a pitcher friendly to a hitter friendly park. he could potentially turn the place into a launching pad. it's also better for him to be in the national league, because it seems that his speed is probably going to be better utilized over there...or so it seemed when he was with the nationals (although the yanks and rangers were both fairly conservative running teams with alot of power when he was with them).

[Mike]

just to follow up...

Thomas signed with Toronto for two years and $18.12 million -- of which $9.12 million is payable in January -- with a $10 million vesting option for 2009. The A's offered two years and $15 million without the up-front money.

so the a's only offered $1.5 million less per season, no 3rd year option, and the big thing i guess was the guarenteed money, should he get injured in spring training and never play again, the a's didnt want to be on the hook for money if he never plays.

[brentholomew]

always loved him as a player, but once an ass, always an ass.

and kudos to cubs on the soriano deal. if they get 2 decent SPs, i'd say they'll definitely be in contention.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

why do they need two decent SP to be in contention? they already are now. like i said, their offense now matches the cards' (perhaps even better?), and no other team in the division has a remarkably solid rotation. we saw what won the division this year...the cubs may only need 85 wins to take it, and they have the talent now. this is still the weakest division in baseball.

[brentholomew]

well, i said ' decent' for a reason. i know they aren't going to get schmidt or zito, but getting a westbrook or a meche might help them seal the deal a bit. the division's weakness is starting pitching, and they need to take advantage of that

[Andy]

Pitching would still be nice, though. And I seriously doubt Hendry is going to leave that untouched. And if the Soriano deal taught me anything, it's that there's finally a sense of urgency around there.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

they can compete as is now. the addition of a good arm would only seal the deal, it would seem.

i'm assuming that you're IMing as usual, but i dunno. sorry, i'm not at that computer right now...i'm signed on elsewhere, at a different computer.

[Roarke]

while i have my not loves about the cubs deal (anyone know how the individual year-by-year payout it? a front loaded contract here may help), as andy said, the fact that there seems to be a sense of urgency in chicago is good for that team. it seems for the last few years they've been in the "it's ok, prior and wood are going to be healthy!" mode and not doing anything huge to make the team better (albeit, acquiring lee turned into something huge). however, angry fingers for bringing up the market for bats :(

dodgers resigned nomar to a two year deal. no word on the numbers, but it was believed to be between 8-10 a year, which i can't be too upset about.

[Homer Jay]

The reason there's a sense of urgency about the team is that the Cubs are perceived as a drag on the Tribune's profits, and there are very strong rumors that they are going to be up for sale. The best thing from a business perceptive is to get as much talent, even overpaid talent, on the team to inflate its value. The Cubs are a team that should always be among the biggest spenders in the game and should be competing for the division year and year out. Hendry's job is also on the line, so he's willing to spend big to keep it. I think the Tribune keeps him until they sell the team and then let the new ownership decide who to bring in to run the franchise

[thecapecoddah]

bill mueller retires at age 35 and joins the dodgers' front office


http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/997970~Bill-Mueller-Hits-game-tying-RBI-single-9th-inning-Game-4-2004-ALCS-Photofile-Posters.jpg

thank you, bill!

[Dewey Finn]

Dodgers on verge of signing Pierre
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6191380

And according to above article:
The Orioles are on the fringes of the Roberts sweepstakes but they are also pursuing free-agent left fielder Carlos Lee, sources say.
Since I'm living in Baltimore region, I wonder how local fans would react if they really sign one of them, or both.

EDIT: UPDATE, it's pretty much official that Dodgers got Pierre for... 5 yrs 45 million??? Boy, he has bad OPS (good avg though), which is important for hitters.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2669903

[Roarke]

Boy, he has bad OPS (good avg though), which is important for hitters.

http://www.drdonnica.com/images/celeb_madden.jpg

not upset about this deal, as much as it is, with the way the market is going this may be below market value in a year or two. sort of confused as to where ned thinks he's getting his power source now that he clogged outfield with another speedster, but pierre is a usable top of the line up (him and furcal are going to get in cat fights) bat, a great fielder and has potential to return to his florida form--not that i expect this. not super thrilled, but not upset.

[brad]

well i guess that means the giants will have to settle for carlos lee then

[Andy]

The reason there's a sense of urgency about the team is that the Cubs are perceived as a drag on the Tribune's profits, and there are very strong rumors that they are going to be up for sale. The best thing from a business perceptive is to get as much talent, even overpaid talent, on the team to inflate its value. The Cubs are a team that should always be among the biggest spenders in the game and should be competing for the division year and year out. Hendry's job is also on the line, so he's willing to spend big to keep it. I think the Tribune keeps him until they sell the team and then let the new ownership decide who to bring in to run the franchise Bingo. A contender is sure to bring in more money than a 66-win cellar-dweller. Plus, don't forget Cub fans' two most reviled teams (White Sox, Cardinals) are the last two teams to win the Series, leaving Cub fans fuming. And the Cub front office is also very afraid of losing the bandwagon crowd to the statistically better Sox, and empty seats at Wrigley in the ending months of the 06 seasons really alarmed the front office, which probably led to MacPhail's departure.

I should mention that for the first time since I can remember, ticket prices aren't going up. They're frozen them for 2007, but anything else would have probably enraged Cub fans to no end.

Also, I wish Pierre all the best in LA.

[Roarke]

andy, update on how pierre looked last year? stats, as most of us know, can lie a great deal. effort and all that doesn't come up.

[Andy]

Had a really slow start in '06, but got better as the year went on. Led the NL last year in hits, but you need to have some pop in the 2-3-4 holes to benefit from his services. The Cubs obviously didn't with Lee out for most of the year, etc. It looks like he could fit in with the Dodgers.

[vinceq]

Morneau Valuable Player

[Dewey Finn]

I'd have understood if Mauer got MVP, but Morneau? Mauer has higher OPS than Morneau (.936OPS is so freaking unreal for catchers). Once again, Power dominates pure hitting on the MVP vote. (At least I think Howard deserved it in NL)

Congrats to Morneau anyway

In other news, it's OFFICIAL that Yankees resigned Moose (2yrs 23 million deal is not bad considering those moronic deals going on, I'm just worried about his health), and another news on Cubs:
Jason Schmidt.... Bruce Levine on ESPN 1000 in Chicago reported on Monday the Cubs have offered Schmidt a 3-year, $45 million dollar contract. Levine said the Cubs are not interested in signing Barry Zito. And mentioned the fact free agents will want to come to Chicago after the signing of Soriano.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

as long as it wasn't jeter.

OPS isn't the most important gauge though, i can concede that. 130RBIs is a pretty ridiculous number to overlook...OPS is more about hitting for moderate power while getting on base. what morneau did was absolutely guarantee run production by knocking in guys on a consistent, highly impressive basis. producing runs has to win out.

[Dewey Finn]

Right now, I'm kind of pissed of something related to AL MVP... it's not that Jeter lost it, but it's that some idiot who voted Jeter 6th place- Joe Cowley-the ChiSox beat writer from Chicago Sun Times.

Cowley just went on Mike & The Mad Dog and didn't represent the profession very well. He claimed the Yankees would have done just as well without Jeter in the lineup, that Ortiz kept the Red Sox in contention and that Ortiz had better numbers in the clutch than Jeter did. Never mind that the Red Sox were out of the ace in mid-August, the Yankees played nearly all season without Sheff and Matsui and Jeter had better RISP numbers than Ortiz. from LohudYankeeblog

'Yankees have done just as well w/o Jeter in the lineup'- okay, with two batters who choke in the clutch and late situations (Giambi and you-know-who), Jeter hit .389 in clutch situation and .344 in late situation. Without him being healthy throughout the year, Yankees wouldn't have scored more runs.

Ortiz had better numbers in the clutch than Jeter did
Okay, bring in the clutch stats:

Jeter: .381/.482/.581
Ortiz: .288/.429/.538

(ARod hit .302 in RISP in 2006, folks)

[Dead Nigga Storage]

arod inflated his RISP at the end of the season when he was at his hottest. his best hitting was after the sox fell out of contention, no joke.

[kevin]

hooray for jermaine dye fifth place

if we would have made the post season, i'm confident he would have won it.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

doubt that there's any reason to believe that. homers are the only category where he trumps morneau, and he was more of a single unit in an effective offensive team, rather than the essential centerpiece of the offense.

and for the record, RISP is a shit category to individually cherry pick. clutch isn't about getting a hit with a runner on 2nd or 3rd, it's about getting a hit in a situation where it is an essential turning point for the team to win. david ortiz had 36 hits that gave the sox the lead this year...jeter had 20. and you used OPS earlier as your gauge? ortiz's was a staggering 1.049, jeter's was .900. ANYWAY, i don't give a shit about any of that. i'm very content with the results, and i'm glad that people can see through the media fabrication around jeter and his "god" status. fuck'em.

[smyce]

Has a team ever had the MVP, Cy Young and batting champ on the same team? I'm sure since we havent heard "ZOMG Holy shit same team" that its more common than it seems. Not only that but the batting champ and MVP are not the same.

Amazing.

[Homer Jay]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6198342

This looks like a bad contract, not as bad as the Pierre signing, but it's close. 313/19/79 is not worth 50 million. They would have been better off spending 10 million more if that is what it would have taken to get Drew

[Dead Nigga Storage]

i was just going to post that. my head fucking exploded when i read about it. he's a career .249 hitter with no power and an average glove. and no, drew for 18 million a season or whatever was not worth it. he's one of the most injury prone players in baseball, and we can't afford to add more injuries to our team than we had issues with last year. this contract is a direct result of every single bullshit free agent signing made this offseason where teams overpay out the ass, and stoneman getting stuck with an absolutely shitty signing because he was the only one who wanted to spend within reason on the market, when people were paying soriano for 8 years of service, or throwing $9 million at juan pierre. the rationale is that anderson's contract is up at the end of the season, and he won't get re-signed. matthews would be moved to left field, and we'd take a shot at free agents wells and jones. the problem there is that those teams now have an extra year to come to terms with this guy. however, we get to now have an expendable chone figgins to potentially jettison for a guy like miguel tejada, who can come in and be the "big signing" of the offseason. as of right now, as is, i couldn't be more pissed off. we had better products coming up in our system, or in house solutions better, and EXORBITANTLY cheaper.

[Dewey Finn]

Boy, since Mattews is 32 next year, he's gonna be 37 years old when this massive contract ends. This is definetly not a good signing since he had a fluky year this year considering how he did in his career.

Those crazy signings this year makes me think that Damon signing was a great deal, even for 13 milllion per year

[Dead Nigga Storage]

it's not that massive a contract anymore...i think that point has been proven. it's 1/3rd of soriano's, 2/3rds of aramis', and god knows how it will compare to the free agents of next year. i'm not saying he's as good as the others, but this is no longer a "massive contract".

[Dewey Finn]

According to the Baltimore Sun, it's believed the Orioles will offer free agent Carlos Lee about $80 million to $90 million for six years.-rotoworld.com
Orioles on the hitters again... I just want to know when will Angelo realize that pitching is the way to win it.

[Roarke]

no idea how signing an older,slower, worse bat for more money is worse than pierre, but yeah. go 51.1sawx

[tones]

well, it appears as though carlos lee is going to the astros:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2674398

:o|

[brad]

wake up, brian sabean :(

[Homer Jay]

Wow, looking at the contracts handed out this off-season really changes my views towards trading Manny. A couple of months ago, I was willing to have him traded for a young pitching and some top prospects and would even have been willing to send money to make sure the deal happens. But by now, he's reasonably priced. Look at his production and cost 37 million over two years really isn't that bad when Carlos Lee is getting 100 million. There is also no way for the Sox to replace his production in the lineup.

[Andy]

Jerry Colangelo interested in the Cubs, if they do get put up for sale:

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061122&content_id=1745550&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Doesn't seem too bad. The Suns have generally been good in the last few years, and he did get the D-Backs that ring.

[Dewey Finn]

I just wonder why Cashman is really quiet in these days... if THE BOSS was still on the control, Yankees would've (fixed) signed Soriano right away while we would've sold Cano and package for Beckett and company.

The Boston Red Sox are closing on a deal for free-agent outfielder J.D. Drew, SI.com has learned.
Drew became an instant hit on the free-agent market after stirring controversy in Los Angeles by opting out of the $33 million and three years remaining on his Dodgers deal, as his unusual contract allowed. The Rangers, Indians, Orioles, Giants and Padres were among teams who expressed an interest in signing Drew, but several major league executives who were bidding on Drew said Saturday he is ticketed to Boston. A deal could be announced within a week.
It wasn't immediately known how much Boston will pay Drew, but it is presumed by the executives who lost out for Drew to be well in excess of the money he left in Los Angeles. Drew is beloved by statistical aficionados who cite his consistently high on-base and slugging percentages (he has a career .393 on-base percentage and .512 slugging percentage). However, he has come under fire for being injury prone; his 146 games in 2006 was a career high and he's averaged 118 games played over his eight full seasons.
The impending signing of Drew likely signals the end of Trot Nixon's career in Boston and provides needed outfield insurance should Boston trade one of its incumbent outfielders -- Wily Mo Pena, Coco Crisp or even Manny Ramirez, who've all been mentioned as trade possibilities. Ramirez has requested a trade and suddenly looks like a bargain in this red-hot players market, with just $38 million and two years remaining on his Red Sox contract.
The Drew deal will be the second between Boston and agent Scott Boras this winter (following a two-year, $4 million contract for Alex Cora), an indication the parties have a good working relationship as they embark on the most difficult negotiation of all, the one involving superstar pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Boston paid a $51.1 million posting fee to the Seibu Lions for the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka.
Drew, who turned 31 this week, hit .283 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs for the Dodgers in 2006.


From SI.com, it's basically stating that Red Sox are going after Drew (which means that they are more likely to trade Manny... or Pena). Boy, he'd be a big gamble since he can show up big while healthy and he's also an injury prone

[brad]

I just wonder why Cashman is really quiet in these days... if THE BOSS was still on the control, Yankees wouldn't signed Soriano right away while we would've sold Cano and package for Beckett and company.


i've read that five times and i still can't figure out what you might be talking about

splain yoself

[Dewey Finn]

i've read that five times and i still can't figure out what you might be talking about

splain yoself
Never mind, it's a typo

"Yankees wouldn't signed Soriano right away"->"Yankees would've signed Soriano right away"

[thecapecoddah]

red sox and giants are discussing a manny ramirez deal: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=1884&line=197181&spln=1


scott boras wants $15 million a year (!!) for matsuzaka. boston's original offer was half that: http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=169222&srvc=sports

[Voodoo Monkey]

Rod Barajas to the Blue Jays...2 years, $6 million.

[Homer Jay]

red sox and giants are discussing a manny ramirez deal: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=1884&line=197181&spln=1

Who do the Giants have to give up? They won't part with Cain, and their farm system is pretty bad. Lincecum and Sanchez are a start, but I don't think that they are enough

[brad]

Lowry... uh... hmm. Hmm. It would definitely need to be a three team trade.

Benitez could get mixed in to match up the money. Don't forget the Giants have a lot of young bullpen pitchers too; but I really doubt it could happen.

[boogie down mikel]

barry being manny?

[Mike]

jays click undo with barajas... didn't show up for his physical. then they signed zaun.

[Dewey Finn]

FUCK YES YANKEES WIN THE NEGOCIATION RIGHTS FOR A JAPANESE ACE

Oh, wait, it's Igawa? Aww screw it. Hey, at least he's a lefty, but more like Darren Oliver-like lefty
Kei Igawa stands a shade over 6 feet tall and weighs in at about 190 pounds, but pitches much bigger and tougher than that. He’s fashioned himself a power pitcher, and though his fastball is more than a tick above Major League average, the 27-year-old reminds some of a current Seattle Mariners, as far as velocity goes.
“He does make me think of (Jarrod) Washburn,” says one NL Central scout who was assigned to Matsuzaka, and later Igawa by his employers, who were expected to be serious contenders for both pitchers this offseason. “He’s got a little swagger in him, more than Matsuzaka, at least demonstrably. He’ll sit right in the 90mph range until he needs a big strikeout and than he reaches back for added gas. But, like Washburn, he throws quite a few fastballs up in the zone and if he misses with it, it gets hit, and that will be big for him in the U.S,”

Igawa, however, who has 190 starts and nearly 1250 innings of work in parts of eight seasons, all with the Hanshin Tigers, has only allowed more than 17 home runs twice in his six full years, and allowed right at that number in 2006.
“Ishii was a disaster, but it may have been due to all the unknowns,” said the scout. “When you are evaluating a foreign player you have to take more than physical tools into consideration, and not many teams were doing that five, 10 years ago. Pretty much every club in the game has extended their homework these days. They can’t afford not to. With Igawa, he has more than just physical talents, as does Matsuzaka. They both know how to pitch, and should adjust enough to be solid to good major leaguers.”

So what does Igawa do well?

“He attacks hitters, and very aggressively,” said the scout. “It’s not a secret that he’s going to come after hitters, but as soon as the batter thinks he’s got it figured out, he gets a pretty good change thrown at him out of nowhere. Igawa is a pretty adept at mixing things up effectively, while doing a decent job of staying within himself. At times he’ll try and throw one 120 miles per hour or throw the greatest breaking ball ever, but he’s been able to fend off those urges, at least the past two years.”
“He uses a four-seamer in the 88-91 mph range, with that 92+ capability on occasion, and an above-average change that I had in the 78-81 mph area. His breaking ball is a solid slider he’ll throw mostly to lefthanders, though he did use it to backdoor some right-handed bats.

“He gets most of his strikeouts on the change and the fastball up in the zone, and I suspect he’s going to continue that trend wherever he ends up. His ground ball tendencies aren’t heavy enough to think he can be considered even a mild version of a ground ball pitcher, and the best hitters in the world will get more lift on his pitches.”

What I saw of Igawa, mostly this year’s version, showed that he has no problem trying to bite off a righties’ toes with that slider, that sat in the 80-83 mph range. It also appears that he changes speeds - and planes - on it to give it more of a curve ball type appearance. The grades I have seen on the slider don’t match what I saw. I think his slider is a little bit better than he’s been given credit for, at least compared to what I have read and heard..

“He’s a fringe frontline guy, for me, somewhere between that innings eater at No. 4 and the occasional dominant start that good No. 3’s can display five or six times a year. Is he Mark Buehrle? He might be better, but that’s a decent comp. I liken him to guys like Wolf (Randy), Buehrle, or someone like Noah Lowry in style.
ProspectInsider

[Dead Nigga Storage]

randy wolf and jarrod washburn...what lofty comparisons.

david wright said the guy isn't major league calibur...they teed off on him over there, apparently.

[Mayor Quimby]

Well I'm glad the Indians spent their money wisely in the offseason aquiring another worthless Philly hack in David Dellucci. Why do we sign worthless people. Someone bring me the head of Mark Shapiro!

[Dewey Finn]

The following link lead to...what Igawa did for fun. He's truly a weird guy (lol at #26):

http://boards.yesnetwork.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=116775

According to braves scout.com

The Braves Show has learned that the Atlanta Braves are close to a contract to bring back left-hander Tom Glavine.

Glavine has been contemplating a return to New York, where he has spent the last four seasons pitching with the Mets. But with his family and home still in Atlanta, and the prospect of winning his 300th career game in an Atlanta uniform, the lure of once again being a Brave is strong.

Sources say the deal could be in the $7-$8 million area and could also include some type of option for the 2008 season

That's cheap price if he can repeat what he did this year. And Zito just got richer (if Mets want him)

[Homer Jay]

The Boston Herald is reporting that the Sox have signed JD Drew for 14 million a year for four years, and a fifth option year.
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/redSox/?p=758

I think I like this deal. The money is pretty reasonable considering what Lee and Soriano got and the length isn't bad either. The Sox will pay him only one million more a year than they would have paid Damon. I'm a little concerned about injuries, but the ones that he has gotten over the past few years don't appear to be chronic. What I'm really concerned about is whether or not he can handle playing in Boston. If he can't, then he might not be worth 4 million a year let alone 14

[thecapecoddah]

not confirmed yet, my friend.

epstein's "We might have something done before the winter meetings with one free agent" is the latest info we have I believe.

$14 million is way too much but we need someone to fill that outfield hole.

[Number 909]

:confused: if Derek Jeter is gay why does he date supermodels and the like? Just a cover? OR were you looking for a date and hoping he would reply?

[brad]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_RrQF4vUPw4


also, please don't post in this thread you're confusing me

[Dead Nigga Storage]

In regards to the Marlins deal for Delgado in '04/'05 offseason:It's not as bad as what JD Drew got, but it's still a horrible deal for the Marlins.
In regards to the Dodgers deal for Drew in that offseason:
Drew has had injury problems his whole career until his free agent season and will continue to until his next one.
if you sign him, you're paying more for him than the dodgers did, for a year less of service time (within the guaranteed contract time). drew CANNOT be compared to soriano, lee, or ramirez, because all of them do it consistently. he deserves nothing in comparison to them, regardless of what the market is like right now.

[Dewey Finn]

:confused: if Derek Jeter is gay why does he date supermodels and the like? Just a cover? OR were you looking for a date and hoping he would reply?
http://www.freshdames.com/jessica-biel/desktops/thumbnails/jessica-biel-laid_jpg.jpg
If Jessica Biel is actually a man, I'd say Jeter is gay.

Paying Drew for 14 million per year then trading Manny for Boston is ridiculous since his best season (2004) CANNOT even match Manny's worst season in Boston (2006).

[thecapecoddah]

drew CANNOT be compared to soriano, lee, or ramirez, because all of them do it consistently. he deserves nothing in comparison to them, regardless of what the market is like right now.

agreed.

I can't wait to see what boras gets for zito.

[Homer Jay]

In regards to the Marlins deal for Delgado in '04/'05 offseason:
In regards to the Dodgers deal for Drew in that offseason:

if you sign him, you're paying more for him than the dodgers did, for a year less of service time (within the guaranteed contract time). drew CANNOT be compared to soriano, lee, or ramirez, because all of them do it consistently. he deserves nothing in comparison to them, regardless of what the market is like right now.
Over the past three years JD Drew has been healthier than he was earlier in his career. He missed like 20 games this year and two seasons ago, not great, but not horrible. In 2005 he missed a lot of time, but it was due to a broken wrist caused by being hit by a pitch. It appears as if the chronic injuries which plagued his career with the Cardinals is over. I am still concerned with his health going forward, but I would be significantly more concerned with Lee's health in the future because of his rapidly increasing weight. I've heard a lot of Mo Vaughn comparisons and they make a lot of sense. He will have to play DH and he can't do that with the Astros. As for Soriano, he's worth the money if he performs like he did this year, but I don't think that it's a good idea to pay a player with a career 325 OBP for eight years. He has not put up the stats that he did last season consistantly. The length of the deals is the problem more than the dollar amounts for the season. If the deal is for four years and a vesting option (like Drew's reported deal), there is not as much risk as if it was for eight. Teams are flush with cash this offseason so all deals are inflated this offseason, I like the deal given the circumstances at the time, which is how you judge the deals.

I don't like comparing deals from two years ago, the market has changed significantly. I didn't like a lot of the deals then, but many of them look good compared to what players are getting this year. The Drew deal wasn't as bad as the I thought it was for the Dodgers although the opt-out clause and the inability to offer arbitration really takes some of the luster off of the deal. Many of the deals from two years ago look a lot better now, all of those mediocre starting pitchers who got 7-8 million for three years would now be getting about 10 million a season and Pavano might get like 12 million.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

a major league player's PEAK prime is from 26-29 years old. drew is now 31 years old. he has never once played in over 150 games, he has averaged 115 games per year in his career, he's missed 106 games in the last two years, and he's two years older than when he signed with the dodgers for LESS money. he's ONCE hit 30 home runs. he's ONCE driven in 100RBIs (exactly 100, at that), he's ONCE hit .300 in a full season (.305 in 2004) and he's only TWICE played 140 games. you can't write off this signing as being not-so-bad, simply because they DIDN'T sign him for 8 years. if they had done that, it would have been one of the biggest joke contracts in major league history. as is, it's just an overpriced deal for a perennial injury threat and underachiever. he's also about to play in the AL for the first time in his career. he gets a launching pad at fenway, where ANYONE could hit, but he'll still be on the road half of the season.

the changing market doesn't some how justify the signing either. a guy whose career averages are 115 games played, 19 homers, and 63RBIs with a .286AVG is just NOT worth what he's getting. at least with soriano you can point to year in and year out production and health. same thing with carlos lee, and the same thing (to a slightly lesser degree) with aramis ramirez. all are healthier, all have performed every year.

don't write off injuries as being "non-chronic", either. clearly the man has problems staying healthy, regardless of whether or not the problems are chronic. whether it's his conditioning, or just his body in general that have problems, the simple fact is that the guy CANNOT stay healthy. and he just got a contract the same size as vladimir guerrero's...except for him to play his 5 years out at an age past his prime, and 3 years older than guerrero at the time of his signing. face it, you were right two years ago. not now.

[thecapecoddah]

hey I think DNS's head will explode if somebody mentions gary matthews jr. right about now

oops too late

[Dead Nigga Storage]

i think i already said it was a shit signing when it happened. and it was. and still is.

fortunately, i'm not paying for it.

[brad]

jd drew once had a condition also known as "secretary's knee"

thats all you need to know about jd drew and his injury history

[thecapecoddah]

nancy drew lolz

[Dead Nigga Storage]

oooh...even better. according to medicinenet.com, it's also known as "housemaid's knee".

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Pujols becomes even MORE of a whiner:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2680495

what the fuck, douchebag?

[Homer Jay]

you can't write off this signing as being not-so-bad, simply because they DIDN'T sign him for 8 years. if they had done that, it would have been one of the biggest joke contracts in major league history. as is, it's just an overpriced deal for a perennial injury threat and underachiever. he's also about to play in the AL for the first time in his career. he gets a launching pad at fenway, where ANYONE could hit, but he'll still be on the road half of the season.
If you are going to account for ballpark factors then you should note that he spent his last three years playing in historically pitcher-friendly ballparks, so his statistics are higher in a neutral playing field. But the length of the deal is more important in determining whether a deal is bad or not than the AAV. That's one of the reason why Manny is becoming more and more tradeable every year, the total amount do is becoming less even though the AAV stays the same. The reason why the Pavanno deal is worse than the Clement deal isn't that the Yankees are spending a about 2 million more a year, its that they are paying him an extra year at ten million.
the changing market doesn't some how justify the signing either. Teams have to make deals given the market at the time (and based on their predictions of future makets). The Yankees deserve more credit if they saw this market explosion last winter and the Red Sox didn't and were able to get Damon and Abreu at prices that they thought would be bargin. I give the Red Sox a lot of credit for negotiating a deal with Ortiz that was below in April when he market value was considerably higher. The Cubs should be praised for the contract they got out of Ramirez who might have been the best free agent on the market. You have to judge deals based on the market at the time.

at least with soriano you can point to year in and year out production and health. same thing with carlos lee, and the same thing (to a slightly lesser degree) with aramis ramirez. all are healthier, all have performed every year.

don't write off injuries as being "non-chronic", either. clearly the man has problems staying healthy, regardless of whether or not the problems are chronic. whether it's his conditioning, or just his body in general that have problems, the simple fact is that the guy CANNOT stay healthy. You know as well as I that the contracts are about what you think the player will do in the future, not what they did in the past. The past is an indication of how they will do, but it is not the only indication. I think that Lee will be a productive hitter for the next couple of years until he develops weight related injuries. I don't think that he will get injured this season, but that is not what I'm most concerned with, if three years from now, Lee is so fat that he doesn't even have falldown range and can't be traded because of his contract will the contract suddenly look bad because of the developments. I have very serious concerns about his ability to play the field in the very near future. That beginning said, I would love to have his bat in the lineup for 2007 and 2008. Soriano is a different case, he is being paid to play like he did this year, not how he played throughout his career. I'm sure that Cubs fans would be thrilled if he has the season he had two years ago. You don't know what you are going to get from Soriano year to year.

In Drew's case, no one argues that he is a talented hitter when healthy, the problem is the phrase "when healthy." The type of injuries do matter the phrase injury prone is very interesting it could mean that a player gets a lot of different injuries or it could mean that he has been plagued by one throughout his career. If it's the former then there is risk, but it doesn't carry the same risk as the latter. Being an injury magent can be any number of things ranging from pure luck to poor conditioning. It's important to note that most of his health problems have occurred early in his career, he played over 110 games twice in five seasons in St. Louis. Over the past three seasons he has played in 146 games once and 145 games another time, the other season he broke wrist after being hit by a pitch, I think that is what is called a freak injury. At the time of his broken wrist, he had played in 72 of the Dodgers 81 games. I willing to risk that that won't happen again. I don't know if he is actually over the injury problems that prevented him from living up to his potential with the Cardinals, I don't know enough about them. I do know that I am more concerned with his character issues, particularly whether or not he can play in Boston.

and he just got a contract the same size as vladimir guerrero's...except for him to play his 5 years out at an age past his prime, and 3 years older than guerrero at the time of his signing.This is a strange argument to make, the market was vastly different two years ago. It favored the owners, players got less money than they did the years before despite the high quality of players available. For the most part, I liked the deals for the teams because their were good in relation to what other contracts were at the time and what other contracts are going to be like in the future. Right now, the going rate for the Gary Matthews Jrs and Juan Pierres of the world is 9-10 million. So the question isn't whether Drew is worth 14 million compared to what Guerrero's getting paid, the question is if he's worth 14 million compared to what Matthews and Pierre are getting paid. A much stronger argument is that next year, Andruw Jones, Vernon Welles and Torii Hunter will be free agents and the Sox would be better off waiting a year and going after one of them. But that would probably mean having a season of Wily Mo in right field at Fenway Park for 81 games.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you're arguing exactly what you said before, and it still is total bullshit. you hated the contract 2 years ago, when he was still at least SOMEWHERE near his prime...you said it was one of the worst contracts handed out that offseason. all of a sudden YOUR team signs him, after missing 106 games in two years, while he's two years FURTHER removed from his prime, and it's a "good move". horseshit. you like the move because the red sox were the ones to do it. you're paying 14 million dollars over 4 (or 5) years for a man who has only ONCE in 9 years managed to put together a (nearly) full season and good numbers at the same time. hell, even juan pierre and gary matthews jr. stay healthy. this is almost rush-esque biased you're trying to pull, and it's transparents as hell. j.d. drew is past his prime, he's had one good, full year in a career, he misses exorbitant amounts of playing time, and he's an average fielder. i don't care what you think the state of the market is right now, because you're trying to compare him to 5 other players (matthews, pierre, ramirez, lee, and soriano) who don't have ONE-TENTH the injury history of drew. consider the extra money that you're spending over the "bad" contract the dodgers gave him two years ago as the money that is a result of the fluctuating market...you've compensated for that, and you're paying for a man two years older, and what you're left with is that base contract the dodgers gave two years ago...that you called bad.

you're working as little more than a spin doctor now. don't tell me this has nothing to do with it being the sox's signing. everyone knows that sox fans are the most self-centered in the league. more than with every other team's fans in baseball, every move and every action in the entire game is a reflection of "how this will effect the red sox". it's fucking insane.

[thecapecoddah]

Drew is unquestionably the best remaining outfielder available in free agency, and may well be ("when healthy") better than either Soriano or Lee. Yet given his questionable health history and the skepticism surrounding how he might adapt to Boston, the signing has its justifiable detractors.

(In a moment in conference call history with little precedent, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan informed a somewhat stunned Epstein: "On behalf of an eager constituency, I hope the rumor (of a Drew deal) isn't true.") - Alex Speier, New Hampshire Union Leader

good stuff... I listened to this ryan/epstein conversation and theo really was taken aback.

don't tell me this has nothing to do with it being the sox's signing. everyone knows that sox fans are the most self-centered in the league. more than with every other team's fans in baseball, every move and every action in the entire game is a reflection of "how this will effect the red sox". it's fucking insane.

you're wrong; we also analyze moves to see how they will affect the yankees :-$


EDIT: red sox sign japanese free-agent lefthanded pitcher Hideki Okajima to a two year deal - http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2006/11/sox_ink_okajima.html

[thecapecoddah]

mia hamm expecting twins... man I wish I still had my nomar myspace account these days.

[DAntae]

someone should do "if theymated" even though they have. kids are going to be seriously fucking ugly.

[Dewey Finn]

red sox sign japanese free-agent lefthanded pitcher Hideki Okajima to a two year deal - http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...k_okajima.html
Well he's not really that special except that he has a nice breaking ball. He'll be a risky sign since he had his best season in 2006 following one of his mediocre ones in 2005

[Spartan]

Pujols becomes even MORE of a whiner:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2680495

what the fuck, douchebag?

classy guy.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

funny thing is that the phillies won more games than the cardinals.

[brentholomew]

didn't he win it last year anyway? what a douche

[DAntae]

pujols makes it sound like howard is going to be a one year wonder type of guy. if anything I think howard has tons more potential than pujols. albert is about as good as he will get, howard can always learn to become more patient and disciplined at the plate. when that happens watch the fuck out.

[thecapecoddah]

albert is about as good as he will get

...which is only like one of the best hitters of all time. if howard's going to be even better that's pretty damn scary.

[DAntae]

exactly. pujols not only has the numbers everyone recognizes but the stuff baseball stat nerds also gawk at.

howard can match the hr,rbi with pujols easily. if he learns to be patient and make the pticher work more, his potential seems a lot better to me.

also I am talking out of my ass a little, it was the way pujols made the comments and planted seeds about howard not being as good as his numbers. in closing pujols is a dickhead.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

howard will never get to be that good. pujols is one of the few people in baseball HISTORY that have managed to keep their home run and strikeout numbers almost equal. ryan howard has been a high-strikeout player for much of his life, and that's just a mold for some players. it's not a bad thing...it just is what it is (strikeouts for hitters, btw, is an overrated category anyway). pujols hasn't necessarily topped out anyway, take away his injury this year, and he was chasing 60 homers, far above his career averages before. also, ryan howard's numbers should, all told, not change much. yes he'll mature and get better, but repeated exposure to a league's pitching and opposing coaching staffs will balance all of that out.

[DAntae]

so your saying his willingness to swing away at everything cant be corrected? I have seen a lot of mid 20 age guys, develope into studs in their early 30's by just taking a few extra pitches each game. in no way am I saying he will reach elite status, but the guy is going to knock in a lot of runs over his career. as said my biggest grief is with pujols acting like a bitch.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

no, i'm not saying he won't become more patient, i'm saying that the number of people who break out of a lifelong strikeout mold is ridiculously LOW. very few players do it. he can learn to take pitches, but he's been billed as a 150 Ks player for quite some time, and he's lived up to that...it's who he is. but it's not a bad thing. and like i said, his maturity and plate discipline will more than likely also be compensated for by pitchers that learn to adjust to his plate approach. that's how it happens...young pitchers and young hitters often get a period of time where they can do exceptionally well until the film clips and mechanics on the guy get a chance to be fully studied by the opponent. once they do, things will even out whatever he gains from maturity...putting him, most likely, about where he is now. not that that's a problem, but he is just not a pujols...except in attitude. he trumps pujols in that.

[Andy]

Official: Bud Selig is retiring in 2009, once his contract expires.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2681764

[pat]

VOTE SCOTT KELLEY FOR MLB COMMISSIONER

[Dead Nigga Storage]

it took SIX YEARS for him to lose the interim title? wow.

[thecapecoddah]

the red sox will reportedly offer trot nixon salary arbitration by today's deadline, meaning he may be patrolling the fenway outfield after all in 2007.


boston and san diego still discussing a swap that would involve both manny ramirez and jake peavy.


and zito & boras now talking to the texas rangers about a contract for one... billion... dollars.


EDIT: the news about nixon was wrong, as was the info about jake peavy being involved in a deal.

[vinceq]

zito on the Rangers, 'kay... but a billion dollars...
aren't they still paying for parts of A-Rod's contract?

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you know that was a joke, right? ever seen austin powers?


zito in texas would be a disaster, for zito's ERA and for the rangers.

[Dewey Finn]

Zito has 11-1 career record in Arlington Park in Texas home, but I think it's just that he's strong against Texas in his career. And they are still paying big part of ARod's contract.
If Towers is dumb enough to trade Peavy (and possibly Gonzalez) for Manny, he's going into the deep hole.

Lilly to Cubs? Take a look at page 27 of this PDF file
http://www.metronews.ca/uploadedFiles/PDFs/20061201_Toronto.pdf

Yankees are eyeing on Julio Zuleta (a Panamanian 1st baseman) who has murdered Japanese pitching (31yrs old) and also a patient hitter unlike Hillenbrand. He has also faced Matsuzaka alot as well with 7 homers off him.
Here's a video that includes a footage of Zuleta. The pitcher who's getting shelled is a former Yankee prospect Alex Graman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5gsvBwr2M0

[Mike]

zito in texas would indeed be a disaster. like i said, what is the thinking putting a fly ball pitcher who, when he misses, is always up in the zone, and depends on a curveball, in a serious hitters park.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

the tom glavine drama-rama power hour ends:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2682818

mets re-sign him to a 1 year, 11 million dollar deal. not bad at all.

[Andy]

The Reds have changed their uniforms for 2007.

Old:

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/images/nl_2006_cincinnati.gif

New:

http://cmsimg.enquirer.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20061202&Kategori=SPT04&Lopenr=612020442&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=450&MaxH=475&Site=AB&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

A lot of the black from the old unifoms are gone, the sleeveless vests are out, pinstripes are gone from the home uniform, and the Reds get their own font, which has an old-timey look to it.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

a pig in a dress...

[Andy]

...can still finish with a better record than the Cubs.

Anyway, I just noticed AcidLake mention Julio Zuleta... Cub prospect.

And one of the awesomest dudes ever.

[brad]

According to the New York Post, the Yankees could entertain offers for Kyle Farnsworth at the winter meetings.
The thought is that Scott Proctor could step into Farnsworth's role. But who then steps in for Proctor? There isn't a lot left in free agency unless the Yankees have a great deal of faith in Octavio Dotel's ability to bounce back from Tommy John surgery. Since Farnsworth is due $10.75 million over the next two years, he won't bring a lot in return. The Giants and Reds are among the teams that could consider him.

Oh heeeeeellllls yeah. The Giants are going to suck anyway, might as well have fun with it.

[Mike]

dunno about everyone else, but i really like the new reds unis, including the numbering/lettering on the back, which some people aren't a fan of.

[kevin]

those new reds uniforms are a definite improvement... those vest-type things are pretty ugly. have the dbacks released their new jerseys yet?

[Andy]

Yeah.

Really old: (1998-2000)

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/images/nl_1998_arizona.gif

Not as old: (2001-2006)

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/images/nl_2005_arizona.gif

New:

http://www.trashcity.com/pics/sedona1.jpg

http://www.trashcity.com/pics/sedona5.jpg

As you can see, they've now embraced "D-Backs" officially as a secondary team name. The "A" logo was left unchanged, just recolored; the "D" logo was freshened up. All in all, they've totally ripped off the Astros.

[brad]

well the astros colors are f'ed up to begin with. they set their colors to match the brick motif of the nearby train station or something... but they're the ASTROS. stupid.

[mayo]

the diamondbacks uniforms were lame to begin with, but these new ones are just HORRIBLE

[Dead Nigga Storage]

they look like minor league uniforms...or maybe practice jerseys.

[kevin]

yeah they are pretty awful. nice try, arizona.

[Mike]

definitly not a fan of arizona's jerseys. and they still kept that stupid black alternate for some reason.

too many team's going to the red/brick and tan/gold as their colors. i really like the astros uniforms, but if they kept their current style with the blue and gold they had in the late 90s, they'd be even better.

[thecapecoddah]

mets offer "a little more than $100 million over six years" to zito

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16044902/


jon lester's cancer in remission and he plans to return in time for spring training

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2686799

[Dead Nigga Storage]

good news about the cancer, bad news about him pitching...unless he becomes a dud, then i'm all for it.mets offer "a little more than $100 million over six years" to zito

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16044902/so did the rangers, apparently.

edit: wait a minute, eric. you didn't even read your own link. it says the mets MET with zito and boras, but that it was the rangers who offered the money.

[futuramawillneverdie]

the diamondbacks uniforms were lame to begin with, but these new ones are just HORRIBLE

i agree with this guy..what about rocket rodger and good ol andy, might be coming back to NYY??

[thecapecoddah]

edit: wait a minute, eric. you didn't even read your own link. it says the mets MET with zito and boras, but that it was the rangers who offered the money.

good catch, my mistake... meant to say the rangers did.

[Dewey Finn]

i agree with this guy..what about rocket rodger and good ol andy, might be coming back to NYY??
There's an update for our ol' Andy

The free-agent left-hander, who is strongly considering retirement, is said to be intrigued with the idea of returning to pinstripes and "could possibly have a deal by the end of the week" with New York, according to a baseball source familiar with the negotiations.
The Yankees are willing to wait as long as necessary for Pettitte, whose original timetable was to defer a decision on 2007 until later this month. Pettitte is the club's No. 1 option because the former Yankee is New York-proven, is left-handed (possibly joining Johnson and Kei Igawa to give them three lefties in the rotation), does not require a lengthy term to his contract and is coming off an impressive second half of 2006.
In this market, the Yankees would do well to get Pettitte at two years and about $26 million. At 34, he's just seven months older than the more expensive Schmidt.

I loved Andy in stripes but I think his injury concerns are strong as he's getting older... (older than Schimidt, yep) If it's 2/17 type of deal without incentives, I'll be happy

[Mike]

jesus CHRIST

$16-17 million for zito?

wow. just wow.

[Timothy]

On the rumor front, the Cubs are reportedly close to trading Marmol & Jones to the Rockies for Jason Jennings, and also close to signing Ted Lilly to a 4 yr\$40 mil contract.

Any truth to this?

ETA: from Rotoworld, Andy Pettite reportedly offered a one year $15 million contract.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&id=2021

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Angels are close to a deal that will send Chone Figgins and Scot Shields to the Braves in exchange for Adam LaRoche. I like it. We need the bat, he's young, and Shields is getting older and wants to close eventually with someone else eventually anyway, and is at his peak in return value. Figgins may have already peaked as well. Kinda hoping it will go through, even though I'd miss both guys.

And Mike, it's not THAT bad considering the market...he's the best out there, and alot of teams need the help.

[Timothy]

The market's insane this offseason, B+ talent making A money, imagine if it was like this in the winter of 04, Vlady wouldve gotten 6-120 instead of 5-70.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

and since that isn't the case, i don't care, and i'm plenty, plenty happy with how it turned out. jd drew making the same money as vlad is pretty funny.

[Timothy]

Are the Sox still gunning on Gagne? Even with his injury situation, and the steroids testing going on, I think he's the best move the Red Sox could make in the offseason.

[thecapecoddah]

that isn't funny. not funny at all.


breaking news... JD Drew officially signed by the red sox (pending a physical)... 5 years, $70 million. :ashamed:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/12/05/drew.redsox/

[Dead Nigga Storage]

:train:
lol'ing

[gravymaster]

HA-HA!

[Dewey Finn]

I wonder what the Theo wonderboy's up to... Well I think keeping Manny is the best 'move' that Sox can to in 2006.
Jason Jennings is kind of weird of having lower ERA in Coors Field in 2006. But I think he could to fine in Wrigley if he gets traded.

15 million for Pettitte :-O. Well he did have solid second half, but as long as it's 1 year deal, I'll be happy

[brentholomew]

looks like the white sox aren't going to make much noise this week. i know kenny williams is patient, and certainly won't just make a deal to just to make a deal, but i've been pretty agitated by this offseason so far. i'm glad they didn't sign any big free agents, considering what happened with matthews, lee, and soriano, but i wish they would just make a trade.

we overplayed in 2005 as it is, so i don't think going into 07 with the same 25 man roster as 06 is such a bright idea. epsecially with the re-signing of pods, which despite being a bargain, is a huge gamble considering how he played this year.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

it's not a bargain. it's what he's worth, and barely. the dude blows ass.

[brentholomew]

:ashamed:

despite his nagging groin injury, the guy still has pretty decent speed. i think some teams would be interested in him. the only reason they resigned him is because they don't want to overpay a potential replacement for the leadoff position, especially in today's market.

[kevin]

still need bullpen help badly. and javier vazquez needs to gtfo of my team.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

:ashamed:

despite his nagging groin injury, the guy still has pretty decent speed. i think some teams would be interested in him. the only reason they resigned him is because they don't want to overpay a potential replacement for the leadoff position, especially in today's market.his OPS+ last year was 76, which puts him near the bottom rung of leadoff hitters in the entire game. and his speed, which is his ONLY useful tool, is raw speed...not baserunning speed. he steals alot of bases, but is also thrown out way too much for someone who is as fast as him.

[kevin]

he also hits walkoff homeruns in the world series...just thought i'd remind everyone. but yeah, one solid year, and then last year was a disaster. but i have faith he can bounce back and at least be average/above average next season.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

when was his solid year? 2005 with the 86 OPS+? white sox fans seem to like the guy more than he deserves. he's NOT a good leadoff hitter. he was well below league average for his lineup slot in '05, too. teams can do much, much, much better. being exciting and energetic is step 1. step 2 is not sucking. he's not to step 2 yet.

[brentholomew]

well i do think he was a vital part of them winning the world series that year. notice how much the offense and the team struggled as soon as his groin injury came into play. his SB ability hasn't been the same since.

but yeah, i was dissapointed with the signing. there's always hope that they'd trade for another leadoffman and drop pods in the order ( which i do think would work quite well), but that's obviously unrealistic.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

the argument that they do well with him in the lineup doesn't mean anything. the argument should be about how MUCH better they'd do with a legit. leadoff man. didn't you guys trade him for carlos lee? man.

edit: looked it up out of boredom. you were above .500 when he wasn't the leadoff man in '05 (rowand, ozuna, and perez...mainly ozuna).

[brentholomew]

i'm pretty sure their 7 game losing streak came when he wasn't in the lineup, but i wasn't implying that he will continue to do what he did in the first half of 05 , because i don't think he will. i'm pretty skeptical. you pretty much took the words out of my mouth when it comes to them getting a true leadoff man. i wouldn't mind pods so much if he hit at the bottom of the lineup

rowand lead off in a game in 05? shit, i don't remember that

[Dead Nigga Storage]

yeah, he led off precisely one game...june 13th, 2005 against the diamondbacks.

and there was a 7 game losing streak...pods played in the first game of it, though. outside of that losing streak you were at about a .650 winning percentage with him not in the 1st slot, though. and 0HRs, 25RBIs? i know he's leadoff, but jeeeez.

[brentholomew]

he was an all star too. i know that really pissed you off :)

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you mean because chone figgins had better numbers in every single offensive category?

FUCK YES IT DID.

[brentholomew]

remember when ozzie picked his own players for the all star-roster? those were the days :D

[kevin]

remember when aj was voted in over all the more worthy candidates? that was awesome.

[brentholomew]

i know we're just pissing people off with our chicagoan antics ( joe cowley style) but i'll end it here

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/TomFornelli/aj-1.jpg

[Dead Nigga Storage]

remember when the white sox pulled a repeat of their 2005 world series victory in 2006, but this time they didn't need umpire assistance to do it?

oh wait, that didn't happen.

[brentholomew]

remember when the white sox pulled a repeat of their 2005 world series victory in 2006?

yes

tell me you wouldn't have rather had that than the cards

[thecapecoddah]

news is coming fast and furious now..


julio lugo to the red sox, 4 years $36 million

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/HeadLines.aspx?sport=MLB


greg maddux to the padres, 1 year $10 million

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2687700

[Dead Nigga Storage]

cards > any team with a.j. pierzynski.

already had heard about the lugo and maddux deals. red sox fans can never use the phrase "evil empire" or complain about payroll EVER again (with the addition of lugo). period. this is insane.

[thecapecoddah]

well the yanks are commonly referred to as the evil empire around here... just another fun name for the bad guys (we're more annoyed by their constant winning in the regular season than their constant spending). I don't think that nickname's going away for a long, long time.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

if they're the evil empire, you guys are like...wal-mart or something.

[brentholomew]

more like evil empirez amirite

[thecapecoddah]

those pesky blue jays are like the sandpeople to us

[Mayor Quimby]

Indians sign Borowski to step into the closer's role. I'm not sure if I am expecting too much, but this move doesn't really excite me. A banged up NL Closer, who failed a previous physical. Anyways if someone can explain why I should be excited please try.......

[Roarke]

you shouldn't.

[brad]

The Dodgers have reached a preliminary agreement on a three-year, $47 million contract with right-hander Jason Schmidt, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthak reports.
Schmidt chose the Dodgers over the Cardinals and Mariners. This looks a lot like the Rafael Furcal deal, in that the Dodgers got Schmidt to settle for fewer years in return for a higher annual salary. Scott Boras, who represents Barry Zito, has to be pleased to see Schmidt ending up at nearly $16 million per year.


Ned Colleti continues to collect ex-Giants. This season he's only taken Trainer Stan Conte and Schmidt so far.

Step it up, Ned.



see also: http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=mlb&menu=cartoon&mode=view&seq=36

[Timothy]

The Giants, Red Sox and Mariners are working on a three-team deal. The Mariners would wind up with Manny Ramirez, the Giants would get Richie Sexson and the Red Sox would get J.J. Putz and Adam Jones, according to SI. Doubt it'll happen though, even if the Red Sox need the pitching.

[Roarke]

that's an old rumor and i doubt it's going to happy. this is manny being manny business all over again.

also, i approve of the schmidt signing. he was the most consistant of the teir 2ish starters, and i can deal with his injury concerns as the dodgers have like, 3 swing-men in their bullpen that could fill in.

[Dewey Finn]

Red Sox are evil empire V 2.0. Some fans down there just cannot stand us winning constantly I see... while we cannot stand passing up another WS title every year. Red Sox will lose their 1 round pick by signing Lugo.

Oh, and according to sources, Lilly's choice is down to Yankees or Cubs (I'd take Lilly over Pettitte considering how Lilly is younger and can dominate Red Sox).

Posednick has nothing but speed and decent contact when it comes to offense.

Mets traded Brian Bannister for Ambiorex Burgos to KC. I think Burgos could be a gamble since he has an incredible fastball that he cannot locate with normal breaking stuffs. Bannister could be decent starter for Royals.

and if Adrianna Lima is actually a man, Jeter could be gay
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/celebp/12052006/photo01.jpg

[Timothy]

Ted Lilly was pretty inconsistent with the Jays last year, going 15-13, plus the money that he's asking for should be a signal that that trade is not worth it.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

punching his manager didn't help his image.

[Timothy]

And AcidLake, Bannister didn't have much of a future in the rotation given the logjam of young talent right now (Maine, Pelfrey, Humber, Perez, etc.) and it's still unclear whether he's fully recovered from the injury. Burgos is a great move to shore up the bullpen due to the loss of Bradford and the uncertainity of when Sanchez will be available. He's 22 years old and throws 102 and to get 18 saves in half a season is pretty impressive, especially when you consider he would've had at least 30 if he had anything resembling a real team behind him. It's a good trade for the Mets.

[Mike]

a's sign embree for two years. sounding like kennedy is on his way to the rotation :(

piazza is close to signing with the a's. if he does, i think they still need to pursue cliff floyd or something via trade, because piazza will not have the effect of frank thomas.

and a's site reported that they were talking with the mets about blanton for milledge, but then SI reported harden for milledge.

blanton for milledge = great
harden for milledge = :(

[Dead Nigga Storage]

milledge is a headcase and harden is the j.d. drew of starting pitchers so far. it sounds like a fair trade, and a good way to continue the trend of signing assclowns to the A's.

burgos is 22 freakin' years old. he throws harder than hell, and has all the time in the world to improve. i like it...alot.

[Dewey Finn]

punching his manager didn't help his image.
Ted Lilly is actually quiet guy. I think John Gibbons is the jerk.

Although Milledge and Harden has their weaknesses, it would be unfair if they trade Harden for just Milledge. (I mean, Harden is proven MLB starter while Milledge is a prospect)

[Dead Nigga Storage]

harden has 46 career decisions, and not even 450 career innings. that's jack diddly shit, ESPECIALLY considering his injury history and problems.

and ted lilly threw the punch, that's not a quiet, nice guy.

[Dewey Finn]

According to Korean sources, Yankees have signed Igawa for 4 yrs 18 million deal (4.5 million per year). I'm not going to believe it until Amercian sources confirm it. For Red Sox, they have 9 more days to sign Matsuzaka

Rafael Soriano to Braves for Horacio Ramirez, Meche more likely to be in Cubs (if Lilly goes to Yankees). And Lilly says that he's willing to take 4/40 deal to Yankees than to take more money to Cubs:
According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, free agent Ted Lilly has told the Yankees he'd join them if they're willing to give him a four-year, $40 million contract.
Lilly can probably get $1 million more per year from the Cubs, but he'd apparently prefer to join the Bombers. It's not yet clear whether the Yankees, who would actually be paying $56 million once the luxury tax is factored in, will take him up on his offer. They may have only until tonight to decide. Dec. 6 - 5:35 pm et

[Dead Nigga Storage]

10-11 million a year for a career 99 ERA+, and 59-58 record...14 million after the luxury tax. man, that's gary matthews jr./juan pierre/alfonso soriano contract territory. not a great pitcher, and he clearly had SOME problem last year...you can't justify punching a manager...you can't.

[Dewey Finn]

Okay, scratch Lilly, he's going to Cubbies. (4/40 deal, it's all over FOX and SI). Now he's gonna have to confront PINELLA.

It looks like Yanks are signing Pettitte

[Andy]

Jim Hendry hospitalized FOR SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY OMGRLOL

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2689330

[kevin]

garcia traded to phillies for gavin floyd and another prospect.

dunno about this. i would have rather seen vazquez go.

[Mike]

signing assclowns to the a's? just cause you think the guys are douchebags or because you think they're not good signings?

thomas was CLEARLY a great signing for the a's last winter, and although i'm not nearly as warm to piazza as i was to thomas, and the money seems a bit much (8.5 mil), but they still got some sort of a bat which is what they needed to do.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

milton bradley, jason kendall, and lastings