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Orioles don't have as much money to play with as they boasted they would in the off-season. Thus they declined options on Deivi Cruz and Kerry Lightenberg which will give them another $3mill to put towards Vlad. Right now they want a player who will put asses in the seats

 

How does that mean they don't have as much money as they claim? Cruz had an OBP of .269 last year. I wouldn't take Cruz for the league minimum. Hell, I wouldn't take him for free. The Orioles would've been absolutely stupid to take Cruz back.

 

Tigers might be signing Brent Abernathy, who got his requested release from the Royals...so as you can see, it can always get worse

 

I'd take Abernathy before those three guys. At least Abernathy has time to get better.

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and cause MLB.COM can't give ya what I gots here's a tidbit

 

Orioles don't have as much money to play with as they boasted they would in the off-season. Thus they declined options on Deivi Cruz and Kerry Lightenberg which will give them another $3mill to put towards Vlad. Right now they want a player who will put asses in the seats

Actually they did just I didn't bother noting it since it was pretty much expected so thus didn't really think it was news.

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Guest Smell the ratings!!!

the giants may have made a wise move...

 

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The San Francisco Giants have acquired catcher A.J. Pierzynski from the Minnesota Twins for reliever Joe Nathan, minor league pitcher Boof Bonser and a minor league player to be named, according to a radio report.

 

The teams have not yet confirmed the trade, which was reported by ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago.

 

Pierzynski hit .312 with 11 homers and 74 RBI for the Twins last season and is eligible for arbitration. He could replace 38-year-old Benito Santiago, who is a free agent.

 

The Twins were looking to clear the position for Joe Mauer, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

 

Nathan could provide much-needed bullpen help, with the Twins facing the possibility of losing both closer Eddie Guardado and set-up man LaTroy Hawkins in the free agent market. Nathan went 12-4 with a 2.96 ERA last season, allowing just 51 hits in 79 innings.

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Guest Smell the ratings!!!

he's one of probably 5 catchers who can hit for average.

 

of course he won't play the chisox anymore, so he might hit like .216

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Paul Abbott and John Halama sign with the Devil Rays

 

Abbott's showing in 2003 with KC as a starter

 

8/11/03: 4.2 innings - 6 runs, 9 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

 

8/21/03: 5.2 innings - 3 runs, 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

 

8/28/03: 6 innings - 1 hit, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts (the game was delayed for a long time due to rain)

 

9/2/03: 4.1 innings, 1 hit, 2 runs, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts

 

9/7/03: 7 innings, 5 hits, 3 strikeouts and a win

 

9/12/03: 6 innings, 9 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts (loss)

 

9/17/03: 5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts (loss)

 

9/22/03: 4 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

 

Anybody care to guess why I disliked Abbott?

 

because he put too many people on base and he didn't last too long (because he threw so many pitches)

 

Plus, he's going to be 36 next year. Goodbye Paul!

 

(I wonder who will sign Graeme Lloyd)

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It appears that Graeme "the Boomerrang" Lloyd was mentioned for a relief job in Colorado.

 

Lloyd's time in KC was ugly.. like the time that he came into the game in the third inning when Appier got hurt.

 

3 outs, 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout.

 

It seems the only team he didn't blow against was the Yankees. Then again, maybe he remembered when he was worth a damn as a Yankee.

 

It takes a special kind of pitcher to give up 15 runs in 12 1/3 innings

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Here is Friday's quick notes from MLB.com's Hot Stove Report. Again anything already mentioned in previous reports or was already mentioned in the thread today were left out.

 

-Derek Lee is getting some trade interest from the Diamondbacks because the Richie Sexson trade talk has died down.

 

-Diamondbacks are trying to cut their payroll to $80 million. It was at $94 million last year.

 

-Phillies talked to Bartolo Colon's agent but nothing is expected to come out of it as he will likely be too pricey for them.

 

-Gary Sheffield is in talks with the Yankees.

 

-Mike Piazza has reportedly said he would be willing to be traded.

 

-Dodgers re-signed reliever Todd Martin to a two-year, $3.2 million deal. They will apparantly try to re-sign Wilson Alvarez next.

 

-Rockies might listen to trade offers on Shawn Chacon but a deal is unlikely.

 

-Mike Timlin's deal will earn him $2.5 million in 2004.

 

-White Sox have reportedly reach a verbal agreement on a one-year deal with Sandy Alomar.

 

-Mariners will offer a two-year deal to Arthur Rhodes.

 

-Mets are interested in Jose Guillen.

 

-Angels could be interested in Mike Piazza although the interest doesn't seem that great. Unrelated to Piazza, they might trade Jarrod Washburn if they sign or trade for a big-name pitcher.

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The Pierzynski trade was purely financial on the Twins part. Mauer wasn't supposed to be ready until 2005. I'll miss A.J. he wasn't well liken be the other team, but he was popular up here.

 

Look for more trades to happen with the Twins. Possibily Jacque Jones to someone like the Dodgers.

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A few things about the Orioles -

 

To hell with the idea of the Mets trading Piazza and all of his 2 year/$30 million contract to the O's for Jay Gibbons and minor leaguers. Jay Gibbons will definitely have a big year next year and Piazza will probably end up hurt again.

 

Rafael Palmeiro as the DH for the O's would be a good move. He was well liked by the fans and he could DH for 2 or 3 more years.

 

Im all for the Yankees signing Shefield since that means they won't need Vlad, and it will pretty much lock up Vlad either going to the O's or staying with the Expos.

 

The O's should avoid Sexson..

 

The O's didn't pick up the option on Cruz cause he sucks and they can play Roberts at SS. I don't know why they didn't pick up the option on Ligtenberg, he was halfway decent in the bullpen.

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Guest FrigidSoul
Boston signing Timlin = VERY, VERY good. Best pitcher for Boston in the postseason.

Damn straight. He was a very, very under-rated guy out of our bullpen. I like how we have a club option for him next year and its automatically picked up if Timlin gets 50 games in and doesn't end the season on the DL. Meaning do your thing and you automatically have a job next year.

 

Word around here is our major FA starting pitcher pick-up will be Kelvim Escobar who pitched pretty well away from the Skydome

 

Edit: Hey Marvin, read this...doesn't look like your Orioles want Sexon...they have a better option in mind

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-mar...ports-headlines

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Surprised at the lack of reaction the Pierzynski trade got. Lets see.....

 

Giants get AJ Pierzynski. Pierzynski hit 312/360/464 at the age of 26. Really good numbers, and consistant with his production of the last four years. He turns 27 soon, so don't be surprised if he busts through with a big year.

 

Twins get Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and someone else. Nathan broke through as a middle reliever, but its nothing to get overly excited about, I think. He could close for some teams. Bonser's a decent prospect, but walks too many guys for my taste. Its obvious the Twins traded Pierzynski to make room for Mauer down the line.

 

The Giants won this trade. They have plenty of pitching in the system, so losing a guy or two won't hurt. Best of all, they make a serious upgrade at catcher.

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Twins get Boof Bonser,

 

The Giants won this trade.

Greatest Name in Baseball history.

 

Twins didn't make the trade to win or lose. I'm excited to see young Mauer though.

 

Gammons is reporting Eric Milton might be available.

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The Pierzynski trade was purely financial on the Twins part. Mauer wasn't supposed to be ready until 2005. I'll miss A.J. he wasn't well liken be the other team, but he was popular up here.

 

Mauer hit .341 in AA. If he hits anything close to that in AAA, he'll be a Twin by the All-Star break.

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Guest FrigidSoul

Kaz Matsui announced in a press conference today he will play in the U.S. for the 2004 season. Let the over bidding commence!

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Guest FrigidSoul
Kaz Matsui announced in a press conference today he will play in the U.S. for the 2004 season. Let the over bidding commence!

Did he really need to make a formal announcement?

Yes, because he was thinking of staying until after the Olympics so he could play on the Japan Olympic team

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Swiped from the pages of ESPN.com:

 

The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to announce Tuesday that they have signed free-agent pitcher Pat Hentgen to a one-year, $2.2 million contract, sources told ESPN Insider's Jerry Crasnick.

 

Hentgen, entering his 14th season in the major leagues, spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Blue Jays, compiling a 105-76 record.

 

The veteran right-hander and former Cy Young winner was 6-8 for the Baltimore Orioles last season. Hentgen, who had Tommy John elbow surgery in 2001, struggled before the All-Star break -- going 1-5 with a 5.25 ERA in 15 appearances (nine starts). After the break, he was 6-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 13 starts while working exclusively in the starting rotation.

 

Last week, Bob LaMonte, Hentgen's agent, told Crasnick, "Pat's pitched in a lot of places where he hasn't had much run support. We want him in a place where he's not always dragging a 1-0 lead into the ninth. That wears on you after a while."

 

The Orioles declined to pick up Hentgen's option for 2004, then offered him a two-year contract, which he rejected.

I'm excited about this and he should be a decent number 3 starter.

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Guest FrigidSoul

You need a #2 starter before he can be your #3 (remember, Escobar isn't resigned yet and neither is Lidle). This should however bring back fans from the 92, 93 season who felt snubbed in past years.

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I don't know why, but I'm still confident that Escobar is going to be re-signed, just some weird vibe I get from him (expect him to sign with someone else as early as tomorrow). And no way Lidle's coming back, what a waste he was.

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Guest FrigidSoul

Red Sox are going after Escobar big time since they know they can't afford Colon, Pettite, Milwood, etc

 

I'd love to see Escobar in Boston, so long as the man doesn't pitch on artificial turf he's solid

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