The Official MLB Offseason Topic

[Bored 0]

Just a PTBNL? *phew* A's have been talking to them about Lo Duca.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Let me just make a comment on the Marlins next year, and I would love to hear what Al has to say.

 

Everyone is expecting a big dropoff from the world championship year, and while I am not proclaiming them NL east champions or anything, I'm still not seeing a big dropoff.

 

Let's look at it.

 

Pudge, gone: and yes that hurts. Javy Lopez is quoted on record as saying he wants to be a Marlin next year, and if he can put up a season like last year (which remains to be seen) it wouldn't be that big of a loss.

 

Miguel Cabrera, I think, has what it takes to be MVP of the National League. He was only 20! years old and put up amazing numbers this postseason and from July on, for that matter. He was UNFAZED by Yankee mystique in the playoffs. I really think he is the superstar of the Marlins.

 

Also, I think the pitching will be improved. Sure, Redman will probably be gone. Everyone expects Willis to drop off, but he's only 21 and a whole year of Major League offseason conditioning will do him well. A rotation of Beckett, Willis, Pavano, and AJ Burnett, and let me remind everyone that he has the best "stuff" of all of them, even Beckett. He lead the entire MLB in complete games last year and if he can stay healthy, that's like a big time free agent signing.

 

All I'm saying is don't expect a collapse.

Pretty good sum up there. Lets take a look.

 

The Marlins are taking a hit at catcher. I seriously doubt Javy Lopez will match last year's performance, especially since he drew the same number of walks he did in previous years. Also consider he hit 26 of his 42 home runs at home. So even if the Marlins sign him, they're going to see a drop off. Otherwise their options are Ramon Castro and Mike Redmond, who are passable.

 

The Marlins replaced Derrek Lee with Hee Seop Choi. Choi can hit, its only a question of when he takes the next step. If Lee explodes next year, its just an illusion of his home park. He hit 20 home runs on the road last year, compared to 11 at home. For next year, this is a step down, but long term its a good move for the Marlins.

 

I would not expect AJ Burnett to contribute this season. And his complete games were only a result of previous management pushing his arm until it fell off.

 

The way I see it, the Marlins success next year depends on four things.

 

1. The players who improved maintain those improvements. Mike Lowell had a career year. We'll see if its a step forward, or just a good year. Same with Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Alex Gonzalez.

 

2. Who the Marlins get to replace I-Rod. Currently they're looking at a huge drop in production.

 

3. How quickly Hee Seop Choi develops. He, not Cabrera, is the Marlins best hitting prospect in my view.

 

4. Can the pitching staff avoid injuries? A key question for most teams.

 

Realistically, I see the Marlins winning 81-86 games next season.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

Source? I think most players will go for the best offer. If some team offers him 3 years, he'd likely take it.

[Guest Anglesault]

Breaking news...Keith Foulke signs with the Red Sox 3-years, $21 million.

 

Gee and he kept saying he loved Oakland. Fuck this.

I agree. None of these fuckers have any integrity anymore. He probably got one million extra per year to go to Boston. Big whoop. If you like a city and an organization - why not make a sacrifice?

If you're gonna play baseball, you play for two reasons

 

To make money and win.

 

If you see a better shot to do both of these somewhere else, you'd have to be a retard to not take it.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

Source? I think most players will go for the best offer. If some team offers him 3 years, he'd likely take it.

The Source is his agent saying so in the New York Star Ledger when they asked about Maddux before getting Brown.

[The Czech Republic 0]

If you're gonna play baseball, you play for two reasons

 

To make money and win.

What happened to playing for the love of the game? Oh I'm so naive.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

Source? I think most players will go for the best offer. If some team offers him 3 years, he'd likely take it.

The Source is his agent saying so in the New York Star Ledger when they asked about Maddux before getting Brown.

Fair enough. I have no reason not to trust an agent.

[Cartman 0]

Breaking news...Keith Foulke signs with the Red Sox 3-years, $21 million.

 

Gee and he kept saying he loved Oakland. Fuck this.

I agree. None of these fuckers have any integrity anymore. He probably got one million extra per year to go to Boston. Big whoop. If you like a city and an organization - why not make a sacrifice?

If you're gonna play baseball, you play for two reasons

 

To make money and win.

 

If you see a better shot to do both of these somewhere else, you'd have to be a retard to not take it.

So Pettitte is a retard?

[Cartman 0]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

Source? I think most players will go for the best offer. If some team offers him 3 years, he'd likely take it.

The Source is his agent saying so in the New York Star Ledger when they asked about Maddux before getting Brown.

Fair enough. I have no reason not to trust an agent.

[the pinjockey 0]

I am enjoying going to a couple of Braves boards and seeing all of the people optimistic with "If Drew stays healthy....." comments.

 

Has he shown any reason to believe he is going to play more than 125-130 games in a season if even that?

 

I don't know how the trade looks for the Braves. Marquis and King are negligible, but I have read things anywhere from Wainright is a Gavin Floyd level prospect to it is 50/50 if he makes a real impact in the league. Maybe a Braves fan could help with that, but if he really is that good of a prospect the trade seems absurd. Why give that up when Jose Guillen, Reggie Sanders and Jose Cruz are on the market and wouldn't cost you a top prospect?

[DerangedHermit 0]

Mets finally sign Cameron:

 

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/6920685

 

Decent, would be better if the Mets didn't overpay like they usually do...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Might as well give my thoughts on today's moves....

 

JD Drew, Eli Marrero for Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, Ray King

 

-Strange to see the Cards trading away both Drew and Marrero. They have three holes in their lineup now at RF, 2B and LF/1B (wherever Pujols doesn't play). Steve Cox isn't an answer. It'll be interesting to see what else the Cardinals have up their sleeves this offseason.

 

-Adam Wainwright becomes the Cards top prospect, almost by default.

 

Juan Encarnacion for a PTBNL

 

-The Dodgers are looking to upgrade their offense this offseason. So why in the name of all that is holy did they made this f'n dud of a trade. Encarnacion hit .270/.313./.446 last year. His career totals are almost exactly the same (his slugging pct. is one pt higher, and his BA and OBP are the same). And you're moving him to one of the worst hitting environments in the majors? Encarnacion certainly isn't better than Shawn Green. I don't think he's better than Chin-Feng Chen for that matter. Unfortunately, they'll probably play him at left over Chen. The Dodgers need to do better than this.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Re: The Cameron signing. The Mets have lacked a true center fielder for quite some time. Cameron will not only boost the offense, but provide a great addition to their outfield defense. This signing does more for the Mets' pitching staff than any moves made with their actual pitchers. So thumbs up from me.

[Bored 0]

Great in one day the A's lose Foulke and lose out on Cameron. This offseason is pretty near close to a disaster for them. I know with their pitching they can sleepwalk to 85-90 wins but that might not be enough to get back to the playoffs for a 5th straight year.

 

Let's see if Steve Schott pulls a Grinch here and his heart grows really big and he re-signs Tejada at the last second before he darts to the competition in Seattle tommorrow. Ya right.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I really doubt the A's will pursue Tejada. Bobby Crosby is the real deal.

[DerangedHermit 0]

Re: The Cameron signing.  The Mets have lacked a true center fielder for quite some time.  Cameron will not only boost the offense, but provide a great addition to their outfield defense.  This signing does more for the Mets' pitching staff than any moves made with their actual pitchers.  So thumbs up from me.

Of course, anybody is better than Roger Cedeno and Timo Perez. Even some schlub playing for the Padookaville Nobodys is better.

[Bored 0]

I know that...but what the hell are they going to do now? They have some money, should have more if it weren't for that piece of shit owner, to spend now that they lost out on their #1 priority from their own team (Foulke) and the #1 outside the team priority (Cameron). They need to save face right now and sign Tejada. They can not get back to the playoffs with the offense they have right now.

 

C-Melhuse

1B-Hatteberg

2B-Ellis

3B-Chavez

SS-Crosby

LF-Kielty

CF-Kotsay

RF-Dye

DH-Durazo

 

They'd need Hatteberg's 2002 numbers, Chavez to breakout with a 40 homerun season, Crosby to be ROY, Kielty to breakout, Kotsay to go to his 2002 numbers, Dye to return to form, and Durazo to live up to the hype. You could get maybe 2 or 3 of those things to happen but not all of them. Oh and right now they have no closer to protect those 2-1 games that they will be in a lot.

[DerangedHermit 0]

Unless they sign Armando Benitez...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BWAAAHHHAHAHAHAHA! That's a good one.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Why not? Benitez still had a 2.96 ERA last season. He strikes out more than a batter an inning, and because his stock is down, the A's could pick him up cheap.

[DerangedHermit 0]

I don't think the A's don't need any further choking. And I'm a Mets fan, so I'm supposed to hate him. Seriously though, I think the A's might be able to get a bargain in him and probably won't have other teams going after him (except maybe the Marlins?).

[Bored 0]

I'd prefer Benitez over Urbina as at least Armando has been dominant at times in his career where Urbina is just about inconsistent as a closer can get. I could see a Billy Koch situation with Benitez (they're similar: flame throwers who can't always handle the pressure) where the A's get him, keep his head on straight for a year, get a good season out of him, and then ship him out after the season before he meltsdown again like Koch did with the White Sox. I just don't know mentally where Benitez is right now.

[treble 0]

I think the Jays might be after him, too, but I've heard a lot of rumours concerning possible closers for them.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Greg Maddux has said he will not pitch in the American League, so you can stop talking about him going to the Yankees.

Source? I think most players will go for the best offer. If some team offers him 3 years, he'd likely take it.

The Source is his agent saying so in the New York Star Ledger when they asked about Maddux before getting Brown.

Fair enough. I have no reason not to trust an agent.

Maddux told his agent no AL teams, the man likes to hit and can't do that in the AL.

 

He's most likely headed to San Diego

[Guest Anglesault]

Breaking news...Keith Foulke signs with the Red Sox 3-years, $21 million.

 

Gee and he kept saying he loved Oakland. Fuck this.

I agree. None of these fuckers have any integrity anymore. He probably got one million extra per year to go to Boston. Big whoop. If you like a city and an organization - why not make a sacrifice?

If you're gonna play baseball, you play for two reasons

 

To make money and win.

 

If you see a better shot to do both of these somewhere else, you'd have to be a retard to not take it.

So Pettitte is a retard?

Certainly.

 

He took less money to go to a team that gave him less of a chance to win.

 

The logic eludes me.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Certainly.

 

He took less money to go to a team that gave him less of a chance to win.

 

The logic eludes me.

 

Well, he pays less taxes in Houston, and lives closer to home. And the Astros are just as likely as the Yankees to win their division.

[Guest Anglesault]

Well, he pays less taxes in Houston, and lives closer to home

 

Those taxes must be crushing him, with his millions and all.

 

And the Astros are just as likely as the Yankees to win their division.

 

If they are, which I'm not so sure of to begin with, just as likely to win the NL central as the Yankees are to win the East, as the Astros finally CLIMB THAT INSURMOUNTABLE MOUNTAIN that is winning a playoff series, okay, make that two, and find themselves in the World Series against the Yankees, who do you put your money on?

[the pinjockey 0]

Would you have predicted the Marlins beating the Yankees?

 

All you have to worry about is getting into the postseason. After that, while I don't subscribe to the Billy Beane crapshoot theory, everyone has a chance to take down anyone.

[NYU 0]

Breaking news...Keith Foulke signs with the Red Sox 3-years, $21 million.

 

Gee and he kept saying he loved Oakland. Fuck this.

I agree. None of these fuckers have any integrity anymore. He probably got one million extra per year to go to Boston. Big whoop. If you like a city and an organization - why not make a sacrifice?

If you're gonna play baseball, you play for two reasons

 

To make money and win.

 

If you see a better shot to do both of these somewhere else, you'd have to be a retard to not take it.

So Pettitte is a retard?

Certainly.

 

He took less money to go to a team that gave him less of a chance to win.

 

The logic eludes me.

A tiny thing called respect. He got none from Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner made no serious attempt to sign Pettitte. He didn't visit him and try to convince him to resign. He didn't sit Pettitte down and explain to him how important he is to the team. Instead, he offered an aging and declining Sheffield $39 million, and actually expected Pettitte to take a paycut. Georgie Boy watched as Pettitte was given impressive offers from Houston and other teams, and only near the end tried to make a good offer. Too little, too late. Pettitte, and almost all Yankee fans, could see that Andy wasn't high on George's list of worthwhile players to the Yankees. Pettitte wasn't considered a cornerstone of the Yankee organization....he was considered a pitcher than can easily be replaced, and it was shown in Steinbrenner's actions. Just keep in mind that George tried to trade Pettitte various times during Andy's 9 year career with the Yanks but, when it really counted, Georgie refused to swallow his pride, admit he was wrong, and make a plea to bring Pettitte back.

 

Let's not forget the ultimate slap to the face. In the same press release talking about how Pettitte will be missed (we'll skip over the coldness of those words), he says "If you think the Yankees are done - don't bet the house on it." What the fuck? Once again, George's ego gets in the way of a letter that should have been used to praise the years Pettitte spent with the Yankees. How could you want to work for a person like that, when you're being offered millions and millions of dollars by a team that your family LIVES IN, has owners that will give you RESPECT, and yet still has a CHANCE to make a playoff run. For the way Andy had been treated, he made the right decison.

 

Believe it or not, there ARE things more important than money. Georgie didn't give Pettitte the respect he deserved for being a cornerstone of the Yankees for 9 years, and Pettitte gave a figurative "Fuck You" to Steinbrenner by turning down his contract. Money does not equal respect. Good for Pettitte.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

With Encarciron gone, are the Marlins pretty much stuck with Conine?