2006-07 MLB Offseason Thread

[vivalaultra 0]

Hey, Texans have Pac-Man Fever...what can I say?

 

And my Mom's a Yankee. I don't love her any less because of that.

 

Re: Wily Mo Pena- I don't really see what's so great about him. I mean, he's got power out the wazoo, for sure, but he seems pretty one-dimensional. He's not a good on-base guy, he's not particularly fast, he's got a K/BB rate of about 5:1 for his career. When there were rumors of Lidge for Wily Mo, I was incredulous that that trade would be even discussed. Now, Lidge for Wily Mo and Craig Hansen would work, but Lidge for Wily Mo straight up...I just couldn't do it...even with Lidge's horrible 2006. Is there something about Wily Mo that I'm missing or is it just that he has enormous potential?

[the max 0]

Re: Wily Mo Pena- I don't really see what's so great about him. I mean, he's got power out the wazoo, for sure, but he seems pretty one-dimensional. He's not a good on-base guy, he's not particularly fast, he's got a K/BB rate of about 5:1 for his career. When there were rumors of Lidge for Wily Mo, I was incredulous that that trade would be even discussed. Now, Lidge for Wily Mo and Craig Hansen would work, but Lidge for Wily Mo straight up...I just couldn't do it...even with Lidge's horrible 2006. Is there something about Wily Mo that I'm missing or is it just that he has enormous potential?

 

Pena swings at bad pitches and needs an overhaul on his plate awareness. He's coming along defensively and seems to run the bases well at times.

 

If you think that Lidge would fetch both Pena and Hansen, you're crazy. He was once dominant, but he's a fucking headcase now. The Red Sox like headcase relievers (as evidenced by Byung-Hung Kim), but as much as they seem to think Hansen is slipping, I'd rather hang onto him than Lidge at this point.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The way that I remember the difference between < and > is that < means "greater than" because the < symbol resembles Pac-Man with mouth agape, and Pac-Man eats bigger numbers.

 

In other news, the LA Times said today that Carlos Lee doesn't want to play for a West Coast team, ruling out the report that he had signed with the Giants. The article mentioned the 'Stros and the O's as the two biggest suitors for El Caballo, with the Phillies as the Wild Card. However, if the Phils did get Carlos Lee, I think it would be probable that they'd be looking to trade Pat Burrell, and, if it came to that, I'd love for the 'Stros to jump on the much maligned Pat "the Bat". And I find it interesting that yesterday the Astros added two AAA players to the 40-man roster, 1...Johnny Ash a 2B who is supposedly better than Chris Burke, and the other a CF, Mike Rodriguez. Could this be signalling an impending trade of Chris Burke and/or Willy Taveras? Possibly.

I intended to bring this up earlier. The transaction log is filled with teams who purchased minor league contracts. Essentially teams have to decide what players to protect from the Rule V draft. If a player has been in the system something like 4-6 years and is not on the 40-man, the organization can lose him. Adding a player does not necessarily mean an impending major league callup.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I kind of like this Keith Law guy over at espn. From his blog:

 

The reality of baseball is that a great offensive player at an up-the-middle position is substantially more valuable than a slightly better hitter at a corner position. And when that up-the-middle player is one of the best fielders at his position in baseball, there's absolutely no comparison. Joe Mauer was more valuable than Justin Morneau this past season. If you don't understand that, you don't understand the first thing about baseball.

I read that earlier, and it was outstanding. A couple of other parts I liked:

 

It's hard to fathom why any voter would put Morneau at the top of his ballot with so many obviously better candidates -- Mauer, Jeter, Ortiz, Jermaine Dye, unanimous Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana or the criminally neglected Carlos Guillen (the best player on the AL pennant winner) -- and in reality, more than half the voters did just that. If you don't watch the games, fellas, don't fill out your ballots.

 

Incidentally, the following voters should be removed from the voting process permanently:

 

• The guy who put Jeter sixth.

• The guy who put Mauer 10th ... and the five guys who left him off their ballots entirely.

• The three guys who put Frank Thomas second.

• The guy who put A.J. Pierzynski 10th.

 

It's time for some of these voters to put aside their fantasy-baseball mentality -- one that assumes that RBI measure something important and that OBP is a hip-hop song from the early 1990s -- and to take the MVP vote seriously again.

 

The Twins rubes are pissed at Law for that article.I don't think they noticed how much praise he gives to Joe Mauer.

[vivalaultra 0]

Oh, come on...Lidge isn't anywhere near as much a headcase as BK Kim. And Kim seems to be doin' a nice job for Colorado lately. I still think Lidge for Wily Mo and Hansen or some other upper-level prospect would be fair. Lidge still strikes out a bunch and towards the end of the year, he seemed to be getting his act back together.

 

Supposedly the Astros are in a furious bidding war with the Orioles for Carlos Lee according to the local AM station in Houston. The Houston offer is, according to them, at least $80 million for 6 years. It's not Soriano money...but still...that's quite a long commitment...

Maybe if the Astros hold off on signing anyone until January, they can scoop up Preston Wilson for cheap...since it turned out so well last time.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Re: Wily Mo Pena- I don't really see what's so great about him. I mean, he's got power out the wazoo, for sure, but he seems pretty one-dimensional. He's not a good on-base guy, he's not particularly fast, he's got a K/BB rate of about 5:1 for his career. When there were rumors of Lidge for Wily Mo, I was incredulous that that trade would be even discussed. Now, Lidge for Wily Mo and Craig Hansen would work, but Lidge for Wily Mo straight up...I just couldn't do it...even with Lidge's horrible 2006. Is there something about Wily Mo that I'm missing or is it just that he has enormous potential?

 

Pena does have some glaring weaknesses in his game. The problem is his upside is so good you tend to overlook everything else. With a few tweaks in his game he could be a dominant hitter. Seeing that he is just 25 and had almost no minor league development, the chances that he puts it all together are still good. He'll never be an MVP, but it's very hard to find young power hitting.

 

He hit .300/.348/.487 last year while battling injury. An .850 OPS for a 24-year-old in his first trip through the AL is really good, at least in my opinion. As for the defense, he's an enigma. He's a butcher in the corners but is actually average to good in centerfield. His speed is phenomenal for a guy of his size.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Red Sox this week had a thing on last night saying that Manny to the Angels could be for Orlando Cabrera, Ervin Santana, and a big relief prospect. Sean McAdam was on the show.

 

I'd do that deal.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Red Sox this week had a thing on last night saying that Manny to the Angels could be for Orlando Cabrera, Ervin Santana, and a big relief prospect. Sean McAdam was on the show.

 

I'd do that deal.

 

I wouldn't. That lineup would be abysmal.

 

If Scott Shields and one of their busted prospects (MacPherson, Kotchman, etc.) were included then maybe, but only if JD Drew was signed first. Manny means far too much offensively to throw away for 50 cents on the dollar. The way things are going in this market, he's bordering on being underpaid.

 

I prefer the Manny to the Rangers rumors (which include Young or Teixeira coming back). At least we would be bringing back a big time bat. We'd have to throw in lots of money and probably a prospect to make that deal work, though.

[strummer 0]

For once Mike and the Mad Dog (and their listeners) had it right. Jeter should have been MVP. Of course they had all the wrong reasons why (clutch, intangibles, "heart and soul")

[Brett Favre 0]

To get back on topic I must admit it's funny seeing how enraged Yankees fans are that Christ Jeter didn't win the MVP this year, but last year they thought it was hi-larious that Sawx fans were bitching about Big Papi getting swerved.

 

That's because A-Rod was actually the better choice. And if he wasn't, which he was, it was far closer than this bullshit of a result.

[KingPK 0]

I think we're forgetting something here.

 

How the fuck did Frank Thomas get fourth? Did I accidentally travel back to the mid-90s when I took a dump this morning?

 

(See, because Hiro looks like he's trying to pinch a loaf when he.......oh, never mind.)

[Guest NYankees]

I heard a rumor that Espn radio in Chicago is reporting that the Cubs offered Jason Schmidt a 3 year 45 million dollar contract.

[vivalaultra 0]

I also heard that rumor. $120 million seems like alot to spend for fourth place if you ask me...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Cardinals won the division with 83 wins last season. I would think that any team could rise up and win that.

[CanadianChris 0]

The Cardinals won the division with 83 wins last season. I would think that any team could rise up and win that.

Quit teasing the Pirates fans, Al.

[vivalaultra 0]

Hey, the Pirates did come in ahead of the Cubs last season...

 

And come on...no matter who they add, they're still the Cubs. They could have an infield of Derrek Lee, Chase Utley, Derek Jeter, Miguel Cabrera, and Brian Schneider, an outfield of Lance Berkman, Vernon Wells, and Carlos Beltran, with a rotation consisting of Carlos Zambrano, Roy Oswalt, Roger Clemens, Chris Carpenter, and Johan Santana...with Mariano Rivera as the closer and they'd still find some way to screw it up. They're the loveable losers...but bless their little hearts for trying so darn hard.

[Brett Favre 0]

For 3 years, that isn't that bad.

[Guest Felonies!]

vivalaultra, it's okay when I rip the Cubs for being fiscally irresponsible asses that attack their own fanbase, make stupid excuses, and annually disappoint everyone involved, but when you do it, I want to throttle you.

[vivalaultra 0]

You mean throttle as a term of endearment, correct? It's because of you I don't utterly despise the Cubs anymore. Now it's just a mild dislike.

[Red Baron 0]

Not posted anywhere but the Rangers signed LF Frank Catlanatto for a 3year 13 million dollar contract.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Dont know if it was mentioned but the Os signed Roger Cedeno..

 

File it under big frigging deal cause its a minor league contract..

 

The Os are also supposedly one of 3 teams in the hunt for Carlos Lee (along with the Phillies and Astros) but he'll never sign with the Os over those 2 teams that have more of a shot at playoffs..

[Brett Favre 0]

vivalaultra, it's okay when I rip the Cubs for being fiscally irresponsible asses that attack their own fanbase, make stupid excuses, and annually disappoint everyone involved, but when you do it, I want to throttle you.

 

Same way I feel about everyone else that's not a Knick fan. Even those naiwf is an ass sometimes when it comes to that stuff, atleast he's a fellow Knick fan.

[Guest Felonies!]

But you don't bash the Knicks. You defend Isiah at every turn.

[Precious Roy 0]

I'm speechless over Morneau winning the MVP. It's not even that Jeter didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed about that, but Justin F'n Morneau?1??!?! The fact that he beat out a stronger candidate (or two if you support giving the MVP award to a pitcher) from his own team just boggles my mind.

 

I thought Howard over Pujols was bad, but at least it was understandable. I can't figure out what the fuck the voters were thinking on this one.

 

Justin Morneau: MVP

 

Meh

[Brett Favre 0]

But you don't bash the Knicks. You defend Isiah at every turn.

 

That's because everyone else is bashing him. Someone has to defend him. And I have bashed him at times, just not too explicitly.

[v.2 0]

Is the Morneau case based on the fact that he lit up late when the Twins made the big push, or are voters just throwing darts?

[Vern Gagne 0]

The voters will say it's because of the Twins big push.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Two things.

 

1. Voters love RBIs.

 

2. Voters notice a guy having an out-of-context season. Guys like Pujols, Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial won less MVPs because they performed every single year.

[Failed Bridge 0]

How the fuck did Frank Thomas get fourth? Did I accidentally travel back to the mid-90s when I took a dump this morning?

Because they actually voted on what the award should really be and not turn it into "Best Statistical Player of the Year"?

 

Without the Big Hurt that offense doesn't do anything this season. When he did actually get a hit he was mashing it.

[CanadianChris 0]

How the fuck did Frank Thomas get fourth? Did I accidentally travel back to the mid-90s when I took a dump this morning?

Because they actually voted on what the award should really be and not turn it into "Best Statistical Player of the Year"?

 

Without the Big Hurt that offense doesn't do anything this season. When he did actually get a hit he was mashing it.

Win Shares, American League, 2006:

 

1. Derek Jeter (NYY) - 33

2. Joe Mauer (Min) - 31

3. David Ortiz (Bos) - 29

4. Manny Ramirez (Bos) - 29

5. Justin Morneau (Min) - 27

6. Raul Ibanez (Sea) - 27

7. Carlos Guillen (Det) - 26

8. Jermaine Dye (ChW) - 26

9. Jim Thome (ChW) - 26

10. Michael Young (Tex) - 26

11. Alex Rodriguez (NYY) - 25

12. Grady Sizemore (Cle) - 25

13. Ivan Rodriguez (Det) - 25

14. Johan Santana (Min) - 25

15. Travis Hafner (Cle) - 25

16. Vladimir Guerrero (LAA) - 25

17. Vernon Wells (Tor) - 25

18. Ichiro (Sea) - 24

19. Jorge Posada (NYY) - 24

20. Carl Crawford (TB) - 23

21. Jason Giambi (NYY) - 23

22. Jason Kendall (Oak) - 23

23. Michael Cuddyer (Min) - 23

24. Miguel Tejada (Bal) - 23

25. Paul Konerko (ChW) - 23

26. Frank Thomas (Oak) - 22

 

DHs ahead of Thomas (as well as fellow Athletics ahead of Thomas) are helpfully bolded.

 

If you're a DH, and you're going to compete for the MVP award, you'd better have an out-of-this-world season. Thomas had a very good season, but certainly not MVP-quality.