And So it Begins

[DerangedHermit]

It's a shame Anglesault isn't around. We would LOVE to see his opinion.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

The Carlos Delgado era is officially over in Toronto. No surprise, as Delgado would've earned at least $15.2 Mil in arbitration.

 

Also, the Enrique Wilson era is officially over in New York.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Almost missed this one. The Phillies declined to offer arbitration to Eric Milton, so he is gone.

[King Kamala]

Bah forget about the Yankees signing Jaret Wright...how about the Yankees signing the immortal Tony Womack? $4 million for two years

[the pinjockey]

I am just thankful the Phillies offered Doug Glanville arbitration (is it possible for an arbitrator to rule below the league minimum?). And I know Jayson Stark is so he will still have material for his column. Remember kiddies, being popular with the sportswriters > ability.

[The Czech Republic]

Tony Womack is about to become the new Kenny Lofton.

[bob_barron]

The Braves declined arbitration on JD Drew which is pretty stupid.

 

Ortiz is also gone- but good riddance. He sucked anyway

[strummer]

It's official, Al Leiter is a Marlin

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/transactions

 

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...s_fla&fext=.jsp

[The Czech Republic]

Have the Cubs even made a formal offer to Carlos Beltran yet? This is getting silly. We need him in the outfield.

[Mik]

You guys are hating on Leiter a bit too much, especially Al, which I'm surprised at. At 38, he was 8th in the NL in ERA last year. He's only going to be the 4 and he can offer more guidance to the Marlins young staff. For the majority of last season, the oldest pitcher on the staff was Brad Penny.

 

Super extra bonus: Starting next season, the Marlins will have one of the best color announcers in baseball.

[Guest Smues]

The Braves declined arbitration on JD Drew which is pretty stuipid.

 

Ortiz is also gone- but good riddance. He sucked anyway

FUCK we didn't offer to Drew? Damnit and I thought last off season was bad. This one isn't looking any better.

[The Man in Blak]

Oh thank goodness, the Cardinals keep Matt Morris.

 

 

I mean that.

Of course you do.

 

Actually, I think it's a tremendous move by the Cardinals. At $2.5 million a year, Matt Morris is a much more reasonable gamble than, say, Cory Lidle, even with the health issues. Plus, with a one year contract, Morris now has the avenue and the proper motivation to prove himself to other free agent suitors next year. I applaud Morris for taking a much-deserved pay cut while staying loyal to the organization that brought him up.

 

The Tony Womack signing, however, is pretty damn hilarious. I'm not going to say that Womack can't perform at the level he achieved in 2004, but the odds of him doing so - given his age, injury history, and career performance - are slim to none.

[Fökai]

The Braves declined arbitration on JD Drew which is pretty stuipid.

We're calling Scott Boras' bluff and seeing what offers are actually out there for Drew. For all we know, the market on high-priced injury-prone outfielders are shallow. Especially ones seeking 5-7 years as Boras stated.

 

He did this ploy with Maddux last year -- let's see it happen again.

[2GOLD]

Does Womack still have decent speed? So they just signed a clutch punter and pinch runner.

 

Perhaps the Yankees want to add some small ball off the bench?

[bob_barron]

The Braves declined arbitration on JD Drew which is pretty stuipid.

We're calling Scott Boras' bluff and seeing what offers are actually out there for Drew. For all we know, the market on high-priced injury-prone outfielders are shallow. Especially ones seeking 5-7 years as Boras stated.

 

He did this ploy with Maddux last year -- let's see it happen again.

Yea- and Maddux left. Which sucks.

 

And by declining to offer arbitration Drew is gone as well. Ortiz and Alfonseca were expendable but they should've done everything to keep Drew.

[Bruiser Chong]

Have the Cubs even made a formal offer to Carlos Beltran yet? This is getting silly. We need him in the outfield.

Not gonna happen. Nomar resigning and the slim chance of dumping Sosa solidifies that. He's gonna be New York-bound, if he goes anywhere else. I'm fine with that as long as he gets the hell out of the NL Central. I would like to see the Cubs go after a good outfielder, though, since there is a hole in leftfield at the moment. If not, I guess it's hello Jason Dubois.

 

Honestly, their pen needs the most work. The tools for the offense are all there, it's just a matter of the dumb fucks in charge knowing how to utilize them.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Alot of interesting players not offered arbitration

 

Jeff Kent, JD Drew, Magglio Ordonez, Steve Finley, etc

[mike546]

Phillies are close to signing Lieber.

 

*sigh*

[Guest Failed Mascot]

According to Gammons on ESPN Radio the Red Sox sign RHP Matt Mantai to a one year deal. Dunno the cash but its suppose to be low. If this is true then its a great signing. Low risk, high reward.

 

Edit: Here's the official thing from rotoworld

 

ESPNews reports that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with Matt Mantei on a one-year deal.

Since he's surely coming cheap, Mantei is a pretty good risk. Odds are he'll miss a good chunk of the season with one ailment or another, but he'll also probably be effective when healthy. In other words, Boston has found its replacement for Scott Williamson

[Guest Posada20]

Phillies are close to signing Lieber.

 

*sigh*

It's official:

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/phi/news/phi...r_phi&fext=.jsp

 

 

Now if the Yankees get the scrub Eric Milton it's basically a bad trade. Oh and may Lieber's arm fall off.

[mike546]

Is it me, or do the Yankees LOVE not sigining pitchers who basically saved their asses in the playoffs?

 

First Pettite, now Lieber.

 

Unless we get Pavano, this offseason is a disaster.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

expect disaster then because Pavano will not be headed to NY. Once the Yanks make the Milton thing official their rotation is set. Nobody will take Kevin Brown off their hands, especially since he was added to the list of steroid takers.

[The Czech Republic]

Have the Cubs even made a formal offer to Carlos Beltran yet? This is getting silly. We need him in the outfield.

Not gonna happen. Nomar resigning and the slim chance of dumping Sosa solidifies that. He's gonna be New York-bound, if he goes anywhere else. I'm fine with that as long as he gets the hell out of the NL Central. I would like to see the Cubs go after a good outfielder, though, since there is a hole in leftfield at the moment. If not, I guess it's hello Jason Dubois.

 

Honestly, their pen needs the most work. The tools for the offense are all there, it's just a matter of the dumb fucks in charge knowing how to utilize them.

I'm still optimistic. After all, I'm a Cubs fan. And I know that he'll be out of the NL Central if he's not on the North Side: Houston is ruled out by its roof, St. Louis by its payroll constraints, and the other three by common fucking sense. He should do the right thing and come to Chicago.

 

Also, we should take Kyle Farnsworth, drive out to, oh, I don't know, the Quad Cities, and leave him there.

[Bored]

Poor White Sox fans:

CHICAGO (AP) -- Pitcher Dustin Hermanson and the Chicago White Sox agreed Wednesday on a two-year, $5.5 million contract that contains a club option for 2007.

[The Czech Republic]

Watch the fuck out, Comedy Central: Dustin Hermanson.

 

Hey, forget taking Kyle Farnsworth all the way out to the Quad Cities, that wastes gas. Can we just drop him off outside Comiskey?

[Brett Favre]

Ugh. You'd think the Yanks would offer Cairo arbitration. I would have liked to see a Cairo/Womack platoon. They have to sign another 2nd baseman to even this out; Womack really isn't an everyday player. He would have been perfect coming off the bench though. They have to look at Craig Counsell with Enrique gone, that would be a huge upgrade.

 

I like the Jaret signing because he's still about 28-29, and he has postseason experience (pitched game a 7, last year too). Hopefully last year wasn't a fluke. He didn't have the best strikeout/walk ratio, not the worse either, but he did strike out quite a few and didn't allow too many hits. Crossing my fingers in hoping that he doesn't turn into this year's Vazquez.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

Dustin Hermanson?! Fuck this.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

You guys are hating on Leiter a bit too much, especially Al, which I'm surprised at. At 38, he was 8th in the NL in ERA last year. He's only going to be the 4 and he can offer more guidance to the Marlins young staff. For the majority of last season, the oldest pitcher on the staff was Brad Penny.

 

Super extra bonus: Starting next season, the Marlins will have one of the best color announcers in baseball.

Leiter's strikeouts the last three years have gone 172, 139, to 117. That is not a good sign. Leiter barely struck out more batters than he walked. That is a serious red flag. Most of his value came from his low rate of hits. Pitchers just cannot maintain that kind of luck without a high strikeout rate. If I had to pick a list of five pitchers on a collapse list, Leiter is one of them.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Not to mention Leiter is often over 100 pitches in the 5th inning.

[Mik]

That's a good point, Al. I didn't check the DIPS on Leiter. The way I look at it though, he's offering a lot more than just his pitching. He can mentor the young staff, most importantly Willis, as they are both lefties. As I mentioned, he is going to be the #4, #5 if a miracle occurs and they keep Pavano, or even if they get another FA.

 

Price wasn't insane... I'm happy with the signing, to be honest.