2006-07 MLB Offseason Thread

[Brett Favre 0]

That's not bad at all for Arroyo. Seriously. Gil Meche, Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan. They got like just as much.

[geniusMoment 0]

In what could be the biggest news of the offseason, now all 30 teams will use the humidor.

 

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

[Bored 0]

This reeks of MLB trying to seperate itself from the "Steroid Era" by coming up with an artificial way to control homerun totals. That being said I don't think humidor will have as big effect on homeruns overall as it does in a higher elevation like Denver.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

That's not bad at all for Arroyo. Seriously. Gil Meche, Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan. They got like just as much.

 

Those guys were free agents in a year when teams were awash in cash and desperate for pitching. Arroyo was still under team control for a couple of seasons. It just seemed unncessary to give him $12.5 mil/year when he's had one good season. Let him do it again and then lock him up.

[Brett Favre 0]

He was only going to eventually get more than he is now the way the market is shaping; since he's already better than the above people mentioned. I don't think he's going to pitch worse.

[devo 0]

The Mets apparently have signed or are about to sign Chan Ho Park to a one year, three million dollar contract.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/breaking_...1p-418081c.html

 

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20...09143639E0.html

 

Not a bad signing, but I think that's enough mediocre->average arms for one system. Surely Randolph can now create a halfway decent rotation without having to bring in Mark Redman or Trachsel.

 

Edit: Confirmed.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?i...ce=MLBHeadlines

[naiwf 0]

Awesome, now we've got Chan "Ho SHIT that guy smoked that one out of the" Park on the team. This offseason has been uninspiring to say the least. I don't see any way we can win the division with our rotation being what it is, and the WC is such a crapshoot since at least 4 to 6 teams will be strongly competing for it by the time Pedro comes back.

[CanadianChris 0]

In what could be the biggest news of the offseason, now all 30 teams will use the humidor.

 

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

So THAT'S what MLB came up with to keep Bonds from breaking the HR record.

[sfaJack 0]

Would've been easier just to pressure teams not to sign him.

[devo 0]

I like the Chan Ho Park deal a lot more now that I've learned that only $600k of it is guaranteed.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-m...p&type=lgns

 

That's a hell of a lot better than three million guaranteed, which he'd be more than deserving of he actually returns to circa 2000 form and throws around 200 innings.

[geniusMoment 0]

Tampa Bay Devils Rays to Possibly Change Nickname

 

Name could be big change

 

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

 

ST. PETERSBURG - The team on the field might not reflect it, but the Devil Rays organization is undergoing significant change.

 

With a fresh approach and attitude under the new ownership and management, there are millions being spent to upgrade the facility and improve the fan experience. There are creative executives being hired, and holdover ones being empowered. There are all kinds of innovative concepts (clean restrooms! a decent sound system!) floating around along with new ideas, such as plans for a huge touch tank of live rays on the right-centerfield patio.

 

Bigger news might be coming.

 

Top officials are privately talking about ideas that would change the entire look and identity of the team for the 2007 season - from the name to the colors to the logos to the uniforms.

 

At the least, it seems likely the word "Devil" will be dropped, as it already is in some official team references. Then a decision has to be made whether to continue associating Rays with the sea creatures or to connect with the sun. Or there could be a new name, such as the Tampa Bay Tarpons.

 

The name issue likely will drive the others, and it reasons that if one is changed they all will be, and done neatly to commemorate what will be marketed as the 10th anniversary season.

 

Discussions are very much preliminary. Concepts have to be designed. Focus groups need to be convened. MLB officials have to be consulted. Procedures must be followed, including a March 31 deadline to notify MLB of a possible change and details by May 31. Decisions have to be made.

 

The team on the field in 2007 is expected to be considerably better. From the sound of the whispers, it will look considerably different too.

[naiwf 0]

Tarpons looks too much like Tampons to be taken seriously.

 

That Park to the Mets deal looks MUCH better when 80% of the value is in incentives.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Jeez, who the fuck is John Shea and why does he feel compelled to write about baseball? And why does his shit get placed on ESPN's website? He has an article up right now on the best lineups in baseball (not even going to provide a link... the article isn't worth your time). Anyways, here's how he ranks the top lineups:

 

1. Mets - He said that the addition of Moises Alou puts them over the top because he can take at-bats away from Lastings Milledge. Superb idea there Shea. Yes, the Mets do have a great offense but it's because they have Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Delgado (and soon Milledge). Alou means nothing.

 

2. Cubs - He says that they added Soriano to solve their on-base problems. Does he know that Soriano has a career OBP of .325? He's a good hitter but that offense will still be pedestrian until they can get Eric Patterson, Felix Pie and Matt Murton playing regularly and find a way to get some guys on base.

 

3. Yankees - No argument here, except for the fact that they are the best offense in baseball, not third.

 

4. Indians - Yeah, they are good too.

 

5. Twins - The Twins have nothing on offense outside of Mauer and Morneau, and they both had breakout seasons last year that they might not recreate. They are a top 15-20 offense at best. Cuddyer and Punto are not two guys I'd hang my hat on to carry an offense.

 

6. Rangers - He said that Sosa will bring some extra power to that offense. No, he won't. The Rangers look good because they play in the ultimate hitter's paradise. That offense is pretty standard.

 

And to top it all all off, he gives the Red Sox the "Cold Plate Special"! Yes, the team that was second in OBP last year in the enire majors and scored 820 runs. The same offense that added JD Drew and Julio Lugo, two premier hitters, at positions where they got no offense last year. Real smart, John Shea.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Looking through 2007 PECOTA projections, here are the top 5 lineups in baseball based on equivalent average. The rankings are based on the mean projection for the expected starters of each squad.

 

1. New York Yankees

2. Boston Red Sox

3. Cleveland Indians

4. New York Mets

5. Philadelphia Phillies

 

The Cubs, Rangers and Twins all fall in that meaty 10-15 range, where I would have expected them to be without even looking at the numbers. Good research there, Mr. Shea!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

In fairness, I didn't see that the "cold plate" represented the worst lineup, just the one on the decline. Which is still silly for those aforementioned reasons. A few teams he missed...

 

Atlanta Braves: Does anyone realize this team led the National League in OPS+ last year? Two Hall-of-Famers and a catcher who slugged .572 last season.

 

Toronto Blue Jays: Lyle Overbay, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, and they added Frank Thomas.

 

Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell. Wes Helms hurts the defense but adds pop.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

As an aside, these articles demonstrate that the offseason lasts far too long.

[CanadianChris 0]

Well, there's only a week to go before they start beating spring training stories to death.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

John Kerry doesn't like the Directv/MLB EI deal

 

The pending deal to shift Major League Baseball’s Extra Innings package exclusively to DirecTV starting in April is still not ready to be announced, but Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, would like to undo it.

 

...

 

“Here’s what bothers me,” Kerry said yesterday in a telephone interview. “You get M.L.B. and DirecTV marshaling their forces to go out and make money while cutting out fans. In my judgment, more fans watching games strengthens baseball.”

 

He added, “There’s a whole movement toward fans being screwed by consolidation which raises prices and reduces options.”

 

DirecTV has agreed to pay $700 million over seven years to carry Extra Innings and a new baseball channel (which will begin in 2009).

 

Kerry isn’t sure the deal can be scotched, but last week he wrote to Kevin Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, asking him to investigate it.

 

“The F.C.C. doesn’t have the right to say, ‘You can’t do this,’ but they have levers that affect this business,” said Kerry, who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees communications.

 

Rest of the Article if you can access NYTimes

[CanadianChris 0]

Good. Now get him to go after the NFL and Sunday Ticket and everything will be hunky-dory.

[Guest Smues]

The DirectTV deal wouldn't bother me as much if it did if TBS wasn't phasing out the Braves.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Os avoided arb on Corey Patterson 1 year 4.3 million

 

I totally forgot he had 45 SBs last year (career high) and I suppose .276/16/53 was decent enough to warrant that increase (up from 2.8 last year)

 

Also, Hank Bauer died..of note to Os fans cause he managed the team that won the first WS for the Os in Baltimore back in 1966.

[Precious Roy 0]

1. Mets - He said that the addition of Moises Alou puts them over the top because he can take at-bats away from Lastings Milledge. Superb idea there Shea. Yes, the Mets do have a great offense but it's because they have Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Delgado (and soon Milledge). Alou means nothing.

 

Yes, Alou and his career 301/368/516 means nothing....

 

He certainly doesn't hold a candle to Lastings "and soon" Milledge

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

That was my bad. I didn't realize that Moises was still putting up a .900 OPS. For some reason I was thinking he had dove off a cliff the past few years. Maybe it's all the urine on his hands.

 

By the way, the point still stands that Milledge is going to be way good. The Mets will really regret trading him if they get back anything less than premium talent.

[Mik 0]

Yeah... I'm hoping that he does something else to piss off the Mets to the Marlins can get their CF of the future for like .10 on the dollar. Ridiculously young to even be in the bigs, let alone to produce a bit.

[vivalaultra 0]

I had hoped it was only a rumor, possibly just a joke, but it appears that it's not. According to various sources a week or so ago, the Astros were 'flirting' with Steve Trachsel. It appears in the course of this flirting, the Astros' were passed, by Trachsel, a drink laced with roofies, as they are 'close' to him to a deal, not, mind you, a NRI deal, but a fully loaded one-year contract to hold down the back end of the rotation. Apparently, Steve Trachsel was reciting epic Italian love poems to get the Astros to sign him after a season where he had a K/BB rate of almost 1:1 and an ERA of nearly 5, despite pitching half his games in the cavernous Shea Stadium. I applauded the Carlos Lee and Woody Williams signings; I eventually came around on the Jennings trade; I was nearly orgasmic at the signing of Mark Loretta, but I will, in no way, endorse the signing of Steve Trachsel. I can only assume that Drayton McClane figures that all games started by Trachsel will take at least 5 hours to finish due to his dilatory pitching style and he can sell more concessions in 5 hours than he can in 3 hours, but, honestly, will Steve Trachsel be that much of an upgrade over Matt Albers or Chris Sampson or Fernando Nieve? I think not.

[strummer 0]

So Buster Olney wrote an article on his blog about Bernie Williams (possibly) retiring. Fine. That's great. But does he say that Bernie's legacy will be that he was a damn good hitter who walked a ton? Or played a solid CF? Anything about his talent for baseball? Of course not. Apparently he was great because he ran out pop ups and was sad when he flew out with runners on base. I'm getting to the point where I can't stand sportswriters. FJM will do that to you.

[Mik 0]

There are reports out of the Marlins FanFest that a few of the front office personnel have said that mega-prospect Chris Volstad and "very good" prospect Gaby Hernandez will be ready by September.

 

In of itself, that's nothing anyone here cares about.

 

The reason that I'm mentioning it here because if it's true...this will be the year you see a Dontrelle Willis megadeal.

 

It almost makes me giddy thinking what he could bring back.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I wouldn't get too excited. Teams are throwing money out the window, but they seem loathe to part with good prospects. Also, I'd be STUNNED if Volstad made the Majors this season.

[KingPK 0]

So Buster Olney wrote an article on his blog about Bernie Williams (possibly) retiring. Fine. That's great. But does he say that Bernie's legacy will be that he was a damn good hitter who walked a ton? Or played a solid CF? Anything about his talent for baseball? Of course not. Apparently he was great because he ran out pop ups and was sad when he flew out with runners on base. I'm getting to the point where I can't stand sportswriters. FJM will do that to you.

 

Luckily FJM rushes to the rescue.

 

Every time. Not just when the weather was nice, not just when the game was nationally televised, not only when he felt like it. Every time.

 

And he would take a wide turn at first base, doing it exactly the way Babe Ruth League coaches tell you to do it, and then hit the bag, conducting himself as if he had every expectation that the ball would drop and he would be in position to take second base.

 

So, you're saying...when he made contact, and hit the ball into fair territory, he...ran to first base. Like baseball players often do.

Edited February 11, 2007 by KingPK

[Vampiro69 0]

ESPN is reporting that the Twins and Joe Mauer have reached a 4 year 33 million dollar deal avoiding arbitration.