2006-07 MLB Offseason Thread

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Comcast reported that the Phillies are expecting to make an offer to Soriano this week. They also mentioned a possible deal sending Burrell to Arizona for Johnny Estrada. And, they are apparently interested in Gary Sheffield.

 

My thoughts on this:

1) I'd love to see Soriano get signed, but I just don't see it happening. Then again I didn't see them signing Jim Thome either.

2) I like the move, even if they eat a chunk of Burrell's salary.

3) I'd be cautious of signing Shef. I'm not convinced that his personality would mesh well with the Phils.

1. I don't want Soriano, period. If people bitch about Burrell striking out, then what'll they think of Soriano? At least Burrell walks almost 100 times a year. I would rather see the Phils persue Dave Roberts if they think they need another outfielder.

 

2. Trading Burrell for Estrada at any price seems like an ungodly stupid move. Estrada's OBPs the last two years were .303 and .328. It's nice that he wants to come back to Philly, but what does he do that Carlos Ruiz can't replicate at 1/10th the price?

 

3. I don't give a damn what personality meshes. The 1976-83 Phillies had some terrible personality issues. Gary Sheffield can mash the ball and provides legitimate right handed protection between Utley and Howard. Goodbye situational lefties.

[vivalaultra 0]

I feel a twinge of sadness as Jeff Bagwell's career is officially over today. The Astros declined his 2007 option, opting to pay a $7 million buyout, instead. Arguably the best 1st-basemen of the 1990s, Bagwell was the ROY in 1991 and the NL MVP in 1994, and possibly should've gotten it in 1999. Only 8 other players besides Jeff Bagwell have won both the ROY and the NL MVP (a gold star sticker to the first person to name the other 8). Bagwell was a 2-time 40/30 man with 449 career homeruns and a career .297 BA. If there's any justice whatsoever, he'll be a first-ballot HOF in 2011, but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, it's going to be a Hell of an emotional jersey retirement cermony on Opening Day 2007.

[strummer 0]

3. I don't give a damn what personality meshes. The 1976-83 Phillies had some terrible personality issues. Gary Sheffield can mash the ball and provides legitimate right handed protection between Utley and Howard. Goodbye situational lefties.

 

 

In the 2001 off season the Mets had a deal completed to acquire Gary Sheffield from the Dodgers. At the last second, King dipshit Steve Philips listened to Al Leiter and John Franco who told him that Sheffield was a "Clubhouse Cancer" and that he would hurt the club. Instead the Mets traded for Jeremy Burnitz. Oh and Sheffield wound up on the Braves. Yeah so fuck "Clubhouse Cancer"

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

I feel a twinge of sadness as Jeff Bagwell's career is officially over today. The Astros declined his 2007 option, opting to pay a $7 million buyout, instead. Arguably the best 1st-basemen of the 1990s, Bagwell was the ROY in 1991 and the NL MVP in 1994, and possibly should've gotten it in 1999. Only 8 other players besides Jeff Bagwell have won both the ROY and the NL MVP (a gold star sticker to the first person to name the other 8). Bagwell was a 2-time 40/30 man with 449 career homeruns and a career .297 BA. If there's any justice whatsoever, he'll be a first-ballot HOF in 2011, but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, it's going to be a Hell of an emotional jersey retirement cermony on Opening Day 2007.

 

I can tell you off hand that Chipper Jones is one. (95 ROY, 99 MVP)

[vivalaultra 0]

Oh, I mistyped. I meant to say that Bagwell is one of 12 men in the National League to win ROY and MVP. Since I know the 12 in the NL offhand, here they are. Somebody else can fill in the AL.

 

The 12 players to win ROY and MVP awards in the NL are:

 

1. Jackie Robinson-ROY 1947, MVP 1949

2. Don Newcombe-ROY 1949, MVP 1956

3. Willie Mays-ROY 1951, MVP 1954

4. Frank Robinson-ROY 1956, MVP 1961

5. Orlando Cepeda-ROY 1958, MVP 1967

6. Willie McCovey-ROY 1959, MVP 1969

7. Pete Rose-ROY 1963, MVP 1973

8. Johnny Bench-ROY 1968, MVP 1970

9. Andre Dawson-ROY 1977, MVP 1987

10. Jeff Bagwell-ROY 1991, MVP 1994

11. Larry 'Chipper' Jones-ROY 1995, MVP 1999

12. Albert Pujols-ROY 2001, MVP 2005

 

An impressive group, indeed.

 

Edit: Strike Chipper from the list. Damn you, Jack Bauer, for giving me false memories!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Andre Dawson did it too.

[vivalaultra 0]

Yeah, and Pujols. I forgot Pujols. How can anybody forget Pujols?!?!?!?!?!!?!? Brad Lidge certainly can't. This is why I shouldn't try to do baseball trivia type posts. I forgot Jackie Robinson, too. I shall now amend my previous posts to make it look like I knew what I was talking about and wasn't distracted by an influx of trick-or-treaters.

[Guest Smues]

Chipper finished 2nd (IIRC) to Mike Piazza (I believe, i know it was a Dodger) for ROY.

 

Edit: A quick trip to baseball-reference and it was Hideo Nomo that took ROY that year, Pizza was 93.

[bob_barron 0]

Oh and Sheffield wound up on the Braves.

 

I wish he had gone to the Mets

[Guest Smues]

Oh and Sheffield wound up on the Braves.

 

I wish he had gone to the Mets

 

Oh come on. He put up decent 2002 numbers, and great 2003 numbers. And he didn't cause any trouble (that I'm aware of) while he was in Atlanta. Yeah he sucked in the post season, but I still wish we'd been able to keep him.

[bob_barron 0]

He was awful in the postseason, and became more of a hinderance then a help in both series.

[Guest NYankees]

I don't really want him. Good postseason pitcher, but just a barely above average pitcher.

The Yankees only had two above-average starters last year. I'd rather have Jeff Suppan every fifth day than trotting out Sidney Ponson, Shawn Chacon or Kris Wilson and seeing if they don't suck today.

 

Yeah, but 40 million, 10 million a year for a fifth starter?

If any team can pay that for a fourth/fifth starter, it's the Yankees.

 

 

The Yankees are not going to miss the playoffs due to their 5th starter. It's going to be the difference between him winning 12 or 8 games. They should just let Jeff Karstens be the 5th starter next year and invest the 10 million into either the bullpen or the bench.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Sons of Sam Horn posters are starting to get crazy with this Daisuke Matsuzaka stuff. Most are advocating a posting fee of $30-$40 million or basically whatever post it takes to get his negotiating rights. They act like the guy is this once in a lifetime player that you have to get no matter what the cost. The thing is, I bet 90% of these people have never even seen the guy pitch. We've seen how hard it is for pitchers to make the NL to AL jump, why would anyone suspect that coming from Japan is any easier? Seems like a lot of money to sink into an unsure thing even if his stuff is off the charts.

 

 

Try like 99 percent. People have only seen him via highlights. I still remember that Hideki Irabu was supposed to be the Japanese Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. He ended up turning into the Fat Toad who drank a 2 liter bottle of soda per day.

You forget about the World Baseball Classic.

 

Edit: Let me add this. Here are their Japanese statistics.

 

Hideki Irabu: 59-59, 3.41 ERA

Matsuzaka: 108-60, 2.94 ERA

[Guest NYankees]

The Yankees supposedly have a deal in place to trade Sheffield and are waiting to see if there are going to be any better offers. They have until the 6th to pick up his option and are only going to do so if they have a trade in place.

[tominator89 0]

Comcast reported that the Phillies are expecting to make an offer to Soriano this week. They also mentioned a possible deal sending Burrell to Arizona for Johnny Estrada. And, they are apparently interested in Gary Sheffield.

 

My thoughts on this:

1) I'd love to see Soriano get signed, but I just don't see it happening. Then again I didn't see them signing Jim Thome either.

2) I like the move, even if they eat a chunk of Burrell's salary.

3) I'd be cautious of signing Shef. I'm not convinced that his personality would mesh well with the Phils.

1. I don't want Soriano, period. If people bitch about Burrell striking out, then what'll they think of Soriano? At least Burrell walks almost 100 times a year. I would rather see the Phils persue Dave Roberts if they think they need another outfielder.

 

2. Trading Burrell for Estrada at any price seems like an ungodly stupid move. Estrada's OBPs the last two years were .303 and .328. It's nice that he wants to come back to Philly, but what does he do that Carlos Ruiz can't replicate at 1/10th the price?

 

3. I don't give a damn what personality meshes. The 1976-83 Phillies had some terrible personality issues. Gary Sheffield can mash the ball and provides legitimate right handed protection between Utley and Howard. Goodbye situational lefties.

 

Just as a follow-up...

 

- Why would you not want Soriano? He'd produce in Citizen's Bank Park.

- I don't think it's the strikeouts that upsets people about Burrell. Ryan Howard struck out quite a bit this year.

- I agree on Ruiz. I'd like to see him get more playing time.

- I think personality issues are important for this particular team. Sheffield could turn out like Kenny Lofton did.

[hyperchord24 0]

I hate how Weaver's going to get overpaid this season, and all he did was produce for 1 postseason in the last 6 years.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Aaron Heilman has asked the Mets to trade him if they don't plan on moving him to the rotation next year. If this is true, I hope (and fully expect) the Red Sox to make a major play for him. I think he has been undervalued and underutilized the past couple of seasons.

[Guest NYankees]

Mota of the Mets has been suspended 50 games for substance abuse.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Mota of the Mets has been suspended 50 games for substance abuse.

 

That's not going to help his bargaining position as a free agent this winter.

[Mik 0]

Baseball Prospectus end of the year awards

[naiwf 0]

If only Mota had been suspended for Game 2 of the NLCS.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

So does this hint at what may have helped Mota's return to Dodgers form with the Mets?

[strummer 0]

Apparently the Cubs are interested in Heilman

[The Man in Blak 0]

I'd say so, considering that he had gained about 2-3 mphs and some extra movement on those breaking pitches from his stint in Cleveland.

 

I'm a little confused on the timing of the announcement - obviously, he either tested positive before the playoffs began or during the playoffs themselves. Wouldn't it make sense to hand down some punishment sooner? Or is this a case where the positive test came far too late?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Apparently the Cubs are interested in Heilman

 

I think a lot of teams are going to be interested in him. Like I've said before, I think he could be a #3 starter in the league if just given the chance. I'd rather go after him than spend tens of millions on Jeff Suppan or Vincente Padilla.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Just as a follow-up...

 

- Why would you not want Soriano? He'd produce in Citizen's Bank Park.

- I don't think it's the strikeouts that upsets people about Burrell. Ryan Howard struck out quite a bit this year.

- I agree on Ruiz. I'd like to see him get more playing time.

- I think personality issues are important for this particular team. Sheffield could turn out like Kenny Lofton did.

 

1. Soriano is a flat out overrated player. He had a career year last year. Otherwise he's got poor plate discipline and a .325 career OBP. There are a few things about his numbers I find suspect. One, his career high in walks came with 16 intentionals. Second, his 46 home runs resulted in just 95 RBIs. When I see those numbers, I get the impression that he didn't see anything to hit in important situations, and he was challenged when the game wasn't on the line. I don't think he can replicate his 2006 numbers.

 

Pat Burrell produced just about as well as Soriano last season. Replacing Burrell with Soriano would not make the team noticeably better. And you would still have holes at right field and third base. If there is one player this team should throw money at, it is Aramis Ramirez.

 

2. It's the way that Burrell strikes out, either looking or flailing away at pitches low and away. Soriano flat out swings at bad pitches.

 

4. What did Kenny Lofton cost the team in terms of personality? That 2005 club with Lofton hitting .333 did better than the 2006 club with Rowand running into walls and hitting .262.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Anyone else heard the rumor that the Detroit Tigers will be looking to trade Bonderman in the offseason? Supposedly they are looking to move him for an impact bat (probably at 1B/DH). Any idea what it would take to pry him away? I'd bet Texas would jump in with a Teixeira swap if he is truly available.

[Brett Favre 0]

I know Yankee fans want to trade Sheff for him, but that's wishful thinking.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I know Yankee fans want to trade Sheff for him, but that's wishful thinking.

 

That is wishful thinking. The whole reason they are looking into trading Bonderman is that he is going to get very expensive the next couple of years. What good would it do to trade him for a one year rental at $13 million?

 

That's nearly as bad as the Boston fans that think we could get him for Wily Mo Pena.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Apparently Mark Mulder has some interest in the Orioles, but of course he was injured and theres no way in hell Peter Angelos is gonna give a deal that would land him to a guy that had injury problems this past year (or any year).