Author Topic: Offical MLB Thread! (Read 417973 times)

Saburo · « **Reply #580 on:** December 14, 2006, 08:37:42 AM »

Not as crazy as the Gil Meche deal, me thinks. Or Alfonso Soriano, even.

The Monster just may earn his keep.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2696321

ohbahsan · « **Reply #581 on:** December 14, 2006, 04:35:29 PM »

True true, I still can't believe that Gil Meche deal :ON@_@:

I heard on the radio, maybe incorrectly, that teams are getting $100m or so in revenue sharing this year, maybe that's why they're throwing cash around so indescriminately.

Saburo · « **Reply #582 on:** December 14, 2006, 08:58:11 PM »

Market forces certainly indicate that MLB organizations aren't as broke as they claimed to be several years ago, when the owners and players union were negotiating a new labor agreement.

However it's not the dollar amounts that pique my fancy, it's the LENGTH of these contracts that are so generous. Particularly when they're given to pitchers who have had moderate success in the big leagues, at best. Does anyone really project Gil Meche to put up the same (mediocre) numbers for the next five (5) years? He's coming from an environment (Safeco Field) that was advantageous to pitchers to a crappier ballclub in a park that favors hitters (Kauffman Stadium). Someone said this signing will define Royals GM Dayton Moore's career: either he's a genius at evaluating talent or a spend-happy bozo.

And I'm sorry, I think I'd get sick of Alfonso Soriano after just a couple years, let alone the seven or eight that the Cubbies threw his way, just to make a statement to their long-suffering fans. Does anyone believe that Soriano is as good a player as Manny Ramirez or Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter. If someone like that gets over $15 million a year then what do you pay the REAL superstars? $30 million?

Boy all this economic talk is making my eyes sore. That's enuff for now...

Saburo · « **Reply #583 on:** December 14, 2006, 11:47:14 PM »

They just had the press conference to present Matsuzaka as a newly signed member of the Boston Red Sox. He will wear #18, also worn by Jesus Damon.

Boy, I sure hope he's turns out to be badass.

Thimas X · « **Reply #584 on:** December 15, 2006, 02:28:13 AM »

I hope he does well in the MLB. I love his name...Dice-K. haha

Saburo · « **Reply #585 on:** December 15, 2006, 10:04:20 AM »

Great bit by Steven Goldman from a chat at Baseball Prospectus:

There is absolutely nothing rational about the A-Rod haters. Pointing out facts only makes them angrier. It's just a self-sustaining thing that feeds on its own anger, over nothing.

During the season I would get a dozen trade A-Rod emails a day and I would run some of them in the column. At least a half-dozen times I would say, "I don't agree with you, but fine, let's get rid of A-Rod. NOW TELL ME WHO THE ALTERNATIVE IS." I never, ever got even a single message suggesting what would happen after the Yankees traded A-Rod . From that, among other things, I have concluded that the haters aint serious.

Thimas X · « **Reply #586 on:** December 17, 2006, 05:34:49 PM »

HAHA. A-Rod is gonna be a beast this season, and when they start praising him again hes gonna be like...what! shut up!

Saburo · « **Reply #587 on:** December 18, 2006, 09:49:05 AM »

The alternative was, of course, Scott Brocious.

daigong · « **Reply #588 on:** December 29, 2006, 09:26:45 AM »

HOLY FUCK. Giants coughed up 126 Million for Barry Zito. Pitching sure was at a premium this offseason.

Saburo · « **Reply #589 on:** January 01, 2007, 07:15:51 AM »

Quote from: daigong;269796

HOLY FUCK. Giants coughed up 126 Million for Barry Zito.

I have mixed feelings about this deal.

Zito is durable, remaining in a pitchers park, and is a lefty.

On the other hand, SF is gonna be an old-fart shitty team and Zito is at the age when he enters the decline phase of his career. And who knows if he's going to be the same kind of pitcher six or seven years down the road, to say nothing of an arm injury.

Hopefully Zito retains his quirky, positive essence on the other side of the Bay. He may be in for some long, frigid summers at the ballpark.

One thing for sure: Boras sure timed the negotiations perfectly to get his client such a helluva contract.

Thimas X · « **Reply #590 on:** January 01, 2007, 05:39:06 PM »

I wanted Zito in Texas =[.

I wanna see that list of steroid positive players that they are making public.

Saburo · « **Reply #591 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:02:28 AM »

I think Texas offered Zito the most buck$ but there was probably no chance they'd land him since he:

1) probably wanted to move to the more pitching friendly National League,

2) wanted to remain closer to home, and

3) concluded that the Dallas/Fort Worth area offered a lesser stage in terms of publicity, the arts (doesn't he want to record an album or something?) or other ancillar prejudices.

There's very good reason that people had him tabbed for Flushing, Queens, including a bigger stage, better quality lineup and his old pitching coach. I assume the desire to stay in the Bay Area was a driving factor in his signing with the Giants. I'm not sure how much good this will do for his legacy, given the probability that the team will most likely STINK for the next few years due to a curious and ultimately destructive strategy in roster makeup (doesn't this organization have a farm system?!).

daigong · « **Reply #592 on:** January 06, 2007, 10:11:27 AM »

Nice, Big Unit gets traded back to Arizona. That Experiment went bad

At least they picked up Luis Vizcaíno + Doug Mientkiewicz but good bye Bernie Williams.

Saburo · « **Reply #593 on:** January 07, 2007, 04:55:03 AM »

Bill Simmons discusses Mark McGwire and his candidacy for the Baseball Hall of Fame: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2717504&type=story

You BET I'd vote him in...

daigong · « **Reply #594 on:** January 07, 2007, 09:40:38 AM »

It's a shame, no one remembers the stuff he did during his rookie year? All this HOF is not about the game but politics. Let's not vote him cuz there's too many Yankees. (just a made up example) uggh...

Thimas X · « **Reply #595 on:** January 08, 2007, 01:38:08 AM »

I guess I'd vote for him now.

I don't get why Arizona wants Randy Johnson so much. 26mil for 2 years? Does he have anything left in the tank?

daigong · « **Reply #596 on:** January 09, 2007, 11:15:05 PM »

WOW...McGwire got less than 25% of the votes...that was wack.

Congrats to Gwynn and Ripken Jr on joining the Class of 2007

I learned a lot today...they said something like Joe Dimaggio wasn't even a first ballot hall of famer?? :huh:

Saburo · « **Reply #597 on:** January 09, 2007, 11:28:45 PM »

I got PLENTY issues with the people (men AND women, as it turns out) who are accorded voting privileges for the Baseball Hall of Fame, mostly that they (the voters) don't REALLY take it all that seriously and let dippity-doo prejudices color their votes.

This is an institution that voted in Rick Ferrell, Travis Jackson and Joe Tinker. These are voters that, as a group, has slighted the likes of Ron Santo, Bert Blyleven, Joe Gordon and Goose Gossage.

I figure it's up to me whether or not to give this "Hall of Fame" the emotional weight I accord to other places of authority like universities and the Internal Revenue Service. I gave up caring some time ago.

A lot of these voters didn't check off Mark McGwire's name for moral reasons, the same way some clerks in drug stores refuse to dispense birth-control pills... I dunno, this entire topic is a drag.

Bill James wrote a good book about the Hall aptly titled "The Politics of Glory."

daigong · « **Reply #598 on:** January 10, 2007, 01:59:16 AM »

WERD. There's no such thing as a "2nd Time" entry. You either a Hall of Famer or your not...so depressing to see guys getting passed over time and time again...then get in after the nth try.

How does Andre "The Hawk" Dawson NOT get in after all this time, what did he do wrong?

In Hockey it's the same, there's this guy from my hometown Oilers who was a deadbeat dad and they take that in the account - and disregard all his playoff records.

If you fuckin take in being a drunk, wifebeater, gambler ... and not how YOU play the game? Why call it a Sports Hall of Fame??

Thimas X · « **Reply #599 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:34:59 AM »

Rangers are gonna sign Sosa. I don't think he has anything left. =/