MLB Off Season 2011/2012

hmm too bad your hating will be in vein when you're watching the tigers annihilate your team in the world series...

Kilroy


hmm too bad your hating will be in vein when you're watching the tigers annihilate your team in the world series...

Thanks for the LOL 

Yet another reason why the Mets are a joke.

Ugh. I really hope the Wilpons are forced to sell the team.

Further proof that Justin Verlander is not human:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

We should somehow think of ways to make frendly (likely  non $) bets in this thread regarding some of the more mentioned players / teams in this thead.
 
Things I'm thinking of:
 
Cabby commits an error in his first game. Prince jacks a HR in his first game.
 
Verlander's May ERA is a run lower than his April ERA. Fister's April ERA is lower than JV's, but JV's May is lower than Fister's. 
 
Teix reaches 10 HR's before / after both Prince and Cabby. (That'd be about a wash IMO). 
 
Pujols does not bat .300 in April.
 
Jesus Montero ends April with a BA higher than all the Yankees. (Doubt he'd do that with OBP, but BA would be interesting.) 
 
Cliff Lee has an ERA over 3.50 in April. 
 
Granderson leads the Yankees in HR's in April.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obviously we can go beyond April and for longer wagers, but to get the blood moving fast and early first month bets are always solid.

As a huge Tex fan, I would never say that Tex would be first to 10 HR. he always has awful, slow starts.

But I agree about the friendly wagers!

I think it would be more interesting if we decided to not talk about anything related to the Yankees, Phillies, or Tigers for a month.
 
Might get more people involved in the thread.

I fail to see how having this thread fall to page 6 will get anyone else involved.
 
 
But, along those lines. I've made it known my (distant) #2 team is the Rockies. They just traded for Mark Guthrie. considering they traded 2 guys whose ceilings are "ok" I'm ok with it. Hardly a game changer either way. I sent a txt to my diehard Rox fan about it and his response was the same as mine "sure why not." 
 
Their Jacob Turner is the kid they got for Ubaldo - Drew Pomeranz. Hope he blossoms this year, I think he's a little more ready than Turner is. Will be interesting to see what he does.

Bails


Yet another reason why the Mets are a joke.

Saw that. And as somebody who will soon be applying for such credentials, that really made me take a step back. Wow.

portnoy311


I fail to see how having this thread fall to page 6 will get anyone else involved.


But, along those lines. I've made it known my (distant) #2 team is the Rockies. They just traded for Jeremy Guthrie. considering they traded 2 guys whose ceilings are "ok" I'm ok with it. Hardly a game changer either way. I sent a txt to my diehard Rox fan about it and his response was the same as mine "sure why not." 

Their Jacob Turner is the kid they got for Ubaldo - Drew Pomeranz. Hope he blossoms this year, I think he's a little more ready than Turner is. Will be interesting to see what he does.

Fixed the name
 
As for the deal itself, Hammel is a consistent #5. Lindstrom burst onto the scene with two really good years in Miami, but was a 27-year-old rookie and has since cooled off. Guthrie is another guy who came on really strong late in his 20's, but is now 32 and has had one good year in the last three.

portnoy311


I fail to see how having this thread fall to page 6 will get anyone else involved.

 
Not really what I'm saying.
 
I mean we should do more like what you followed that up with.  We're all baseball fans, we all watch MLB Network and Baseball Tonight, we should all be able to talk about things beyond our respective favorite teams, right?
 
I'm sure you guys are all tired of hearing me bitch about the Phillies' anemic offense by now, right?

Honestly, no. That is, I could not speak intelligently about any teams beyond the Yankees, Mets, or Tigers really. I can make a passing comment about someone, but I know last year, I did not even come close to following all of baseball like I used to. What we need in here are a couple of Fantasy guys. If it's anything like football, fantasy guys are following more players on all teams than most regular fans.
 
But honestly, I'm fine with our discussion as it plays out now. If someone new joins, great, but I couldn't care less if more teams were brought into the fold or not.

Lol we should do a fantasy league then. I did one last year and it made me actually care about games like miami vs Washington because I wanted certain players to do well. Really expanded my baseball watching.

I think we're all trying to talk more baseball than just those teams. But until the Pirates actually make a move, I don't see them getting any posts.

Although, I heard they offered E-Jax a multiyear deal that would have been lucrative. Good for them and him he didn't.

I've played fantasy in the past but I don't really like it. I don't like caring more about what the LF of the Diamondbacks is doing that day than what the Tigers as a whole are doing. 
 
 
Also, thanks Dobe. Not really sure how I messed that one up, I obviously know who he is  - he's not the old reliever for the Twins. Who retired years ago. 

Whoa
 
 

Clubs linked to Cespedes

Miami Marlins

Washington Nationals

Philadelphia Phillies

Cleveland Indians

New York Yankees

Oakland Athletics

Pittsburgh Pirates

Detroit Tigers

Chicago Cubs

Boston Red Sox

Baltimore Orioles

Chicago White Sox

Toronto Blue Jays
UPDATE: The price for Cespedes hasn't changed much over the winter. It started at $30 million and reached rumors of a potential $60 million total very early in the process.
ESPNCHicago.com's Bruce Levine reports Tuesday that a six-year, $60 million deal is very possible, according to industry sources.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that Cespedes has secured a visa and is expected to arrive in Miami sometime Tuesday.
...
UPDATE: The Detroit Tigers were linked to Cespedes early in the process and it does not appear that the signing of Prince Fielder has removed the club from the chase for the Cuban outfielder. General manager Dave Dombrowski told reporters Monday that the club is still among the interested clubs.
UPDATE: At this point, who knows if Cespedes is going to meet with the Marlins or not, but team president David Samson did say in Friday's Miami Herald that the club's offseason does not depend on adding the Cuban outfielder. All other indications are that the Fish are as high on him as anyone else.
UPDATE: Cespedes, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, is expected to meet with the Miami Marlins within the next week. We assume this means he will also talk with other interested clubs, most notably the Chicago Cubs.
Katz told Rosenthal that he expects his client to be in camp with a big-league club, which suggests a deal will not take very long to complete, since we're under three weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting.
Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun reports that the Blue Jays will not be bidding.

- Jason A. Churchill

...
The bidding for Yoenis Cespedes officially opened last week when he was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball after securing residency in the Dominican Republic. Is he any closer to finding a major league team?
Adam Katz, an agent for Cespedes, tells Ken Rosenthal that he is "aware of the (spring training) dates" and expects his client to be in camp with one of the clubs.
About a dozen teams have been linked to Cespedes at one time or another in recent weeks. ESPN Insider's Jim Bowden tweeted Monday night the Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles and Tigers are five of the six clubs that have been the most serious in negotiations with Cespedes' agents.
The Baltimore Sun's Eduardo A. Encina reported Thursday that the O's are, indeed, in the mix for Cespedes, noting that team officials, including manager Buck Showalter, liked what they saw in a private workout last month.
Meanwhile, Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweeted Wednesday there is a feeling that Cespedes doesn't want to play for the Marlins, which might make the Cubs the overwhelming favorites.
The Detroit Tigers were believed to have strong interest in Cespedes, but the commitment of $214 million to free agent Prince Fielder could alter that equation, says James Schmel of MLive.com.
 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/wall/article.jsp?content_id=26600068
 
 
awesome commercial inside.

Honest question - would you want your team to sign Josh Hamilton? Let's say to 4 yr / 80 Mil at the end of this season. 
 
The quick answer is undoubtedly yes for the majority reading this. But consider:
 
He's 30 years old already. in 5 seaons he's averaging 117 games per season. His MVP season he played 133 games. Last year he played 121. He has put insane amounts of mileage on his body. Crack doesn't "do the body good." He'll likely break down pretty quickly, and is already injury plagued. Imagine what he would do at the age of 35 at the end of the deal. His OBP last year was .346. (yuck). His OPS was a more decent .882. His career high in HR is 32. 
 
I can see his numbers going up for a year, but is he worth a 4 year deal? 

honestly i wish him well, but there's no way i'd want him. too risky.

For the record, I'm not interested in playing Fantasy either. I just mentioned having them in here because it might spark discussion of other teams, which was of interest to some.

Not interested in fantasy at all.
 
Re: Hamilton, given how much I hate the Phillies' lineup, sure, I'd take him. 

Russell Branyan signed a minor league deal with the Yanks. Nothing earth-shattering, but he hit 4 homers in 77 PA for LAA last year, so who knows? He'll likely platoon at DH.

Raul Ibanez to the Yanks? Wow, that average age of the team is just going to keep going up. LOL!
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/b...es-deal-112948612.html

Before reading the "consider this" about Josh Hamilton I said no in my mind. After reading it, all issues have been discussed. If you could count on him for more than 135 games, he would get one hell of a contract.

That's the thing. I bet he will regardless. The 4 years / 80 Mil was a very conservative estimate. He'll likely get more, even after his last "debacle." Had he not slipped up, he'd be a shoe in for a 100M contract. If it goes as predicted, those were basically $5M shots he was taking... and he'll still be in line to make about $80M.  

Oil Can Boyd says he did coke before 2/3's of his games.
 
If we took away booze, coke, roids, and all the other substances I wonder how many players were 100% natural?

emtee


Oil Can Boyd says he did coke before 2/3's of his games.

If we took away booze, coke, roids, and all the other substances I wonder how many players were 100% natural?

This is why I put absolutely no weight behind the argument that steroid users should be kept out because the substances were illegal by law. Rules of the game are all that count.

Dobe the Drummer


I put absolutely no weight behind the argument that steroid users should be kept out [of HOF]

 
As a baseball "fan" that you say you are, this is an absolutely RIDICULOUS statement!

Not going to say that it's ridiculous, but I definitely disagree.
 
What else is new, right, Dobe?!!!

I mean if you can throw a no hitter on acid, who knows what you could accomplish on coke

Hells Patio


I mean if you can throw a no hitter on acid, who knows what you could accomplish on coke

Cocaine is a helluva drug.

Cruz, on the other hand, who just signed a two year deal, I would love to have.
 
I am so ready for the season to start. Two more weeks till pitchers & catchers?

Kilroy

Two more weeks till pitchers & catchers?

 
Phillies report in 9 days.

Rumors swirling that Pittsburgh is willing to take AJ Burnett (and a nice wad of cash) for Garret Jones.
 
And Sandy Alderson signed up for Twitter today (@metsgm). His first tweet:
 

Getting ready for Spring Training-Driving to FL but haven’t left yet. Big fundraiser tonight for gas money. Also exploring PAC contribution.

pullmyfinger

Dobe the Drummer


I put absolutely no weight behind the argument that steroid users should be kept out [of HOF]

As a baseball "fan" that you say you are, this is an absolutely RIDICULOUS statement!

Dobe has made these views known for quite a while. He is aware that probably 99% of people who have read it disagree with him.
 
 
Dobe - I thought last go around we realized all illegal substances were technically always banned by the MLB, there were just no set ramifications or precedent of users being punished. 

ESPN Insider has an article up ranking the best 100 prospects. Mike Trout is #1 - a total copout which they admit but he is technically just under the threshold of being considered a 2012 rookie so I guess it's valid. Harper is obviously #2. I would post the whole list here, but not sure how to format it correctly. Basically, Tigers fans, our farm system is drained at the moment according to them. The two big ones are the only ones in the top 100 to crack the list at 29, and 37. (According to Keith Law Turner still has the potential to be an ace, but is a little more raw than he thought he was just a year ago). I thought Drew Smyly would be somewhere on there, but no such luck. 
 
Also, as is well known, the Royals fared well, Seattle and Baltimore looking decent, and after that a pretty solid mix. Jesus Montero is ranked at #7, and the top Yank is Banuelos at 23. 
 
 
These are all meaningless rankings, as I'm not sure what his criteria is - he discounts Turner slightly because he's not quite there, but still has Harper as #2 citing what he will turn into. Not sure what the hell is going on, but it is still somewhat interesting.

Just read the recent article on Oil Can. What an idiot. He claims bigotry is why his career didn't last more than 10 seasons. It wasn't the fact that he was a cokehead who put up mediocre stats? No, couldn't be!

Interesting, but it is only an "expert's" analysis and as with all things in the land of predicting talent and outcomes, it's little more than an educated crapshoot and playing the odds.