EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 No updates. I really wouldn't read too much into it. Everyone understands arbitration is not a business process and there really aren't personal feelings involved, any moreso than a normal contract negotiation. Really? I thought that the entire process gets very personal and that teams will try to avoid arbitration whenever they can, even if it costs them money. Arbitration hearings, by nature, force the team to argue against their own player's abilities and accomplishments. That can often cause bad feelings between player and team. If you can find it, check out Bill James' This Time Lets Not Eat the Bones. He talks about the arbitration process, having been involved as a consultant on numerous occasions in the 1980s. Teams that attempt to downplay their player's accomplishments will usually lose, that's a bad argument to take. The idea isn't to say a player sucks. A better argument is that, "yeah, he hit 47 home runs, but so did Carlos Pena and he got $7 million." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broward83 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 Signed back up for the TSM league. Hopfully I can make the live draft Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 Couple of notes: - The Twins have signed Livan Hernandez to a one-year deal worth around $5 or $6 million, plus incentives. Livan is a decent innings eater, but since the team already has five starting pitchers better than him, I'm not sure how he fits in. - Haven't seen this mentioned yet, but the Yankees are planning to start Joba in the bullpen this year, with Kennedy and Hughes most likely filling out the back end of the rotation (I guess Carl Pavano is somehow in the mix as well until he gets hurt again). The plan would be to keep Joba's innings down before stretching him back out as a starter later in the year. - Trade talks for Joe Blanton are heating up, with the Dodgers and Reds the front-runners, but Billy Beane wants a fortune (he asked for Bailey and Votto from Cincinnatti). Buster Olney mentions that the Rays and Twins are both in conversations as well. That'd be a great pick-up for Tampa Bay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 Let me just say that while I know nothing compared to what the Yankees do, asking a 22-year-old to stretch out mid-season seems like a bad idea to me. That's the kind of stress that begs for an arm injury. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 - The Twins have signed Livan Hernandez to a one-year deal worth around $5 or $6 million, plus incentives. Livan is a decent innings eater, but since the team already has five starting pitchers better than him, I'm not sure how he fits in. Understandable idea, but they signed the wrong pitcher. Hernandez wasn't even decent in the National League anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 He sure looked good in getting the Cubs to bounce into all those double plays in Game 3 last fall though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 12, 2008 He may not be the most credible person out there, but this is certainly interesting. Rocker: I failed drug test; doctors told me, A-Rod how to use 'roids Feb. 11, 2008 CBSSports.com wire reports ATLANTA -- John Rocker claims he flunked a drug test ordered by Major League Baseball in 2000 and that he, Alex Rodriguez and other Texas Rangers were advised by management and union doctors following a spring training lecture on how to effectively use steroids. "Bud Selig knew in the year 2000 John Rocker was taking the juice," the former pitcher said Monday of the baseball commissioner on Atlanta radio station 680. "Didn't do anything about it." Rocker was suspended for the first 14 days of the 2000 season by Selig for making racial and ethnic remarks the commissioner deemed insensitive. The penalty, originally set to cover 28 days, was reduced by an arbitrator following a grievance. "As part of the disciplinary process, Mr. Rocker was referred to the confidential Employee Assistance Program," Major League Baseball said in a statement. "Any test of Mr. Rocker would have been conducted by professionals who ran the EAP. Those professionals were obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the result and to use it in developing a treatment and education program for Mr. Rocker. Further discipline was not an option legally available to Major League Baseball at that time." Rocker said that doctors from management and the players association, following a spring training talk with the Texas Rangers about steroids and other topics, pulled himself, A-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez aside. Rocker was with the Rangers in 2002. "Look guys, if you take one kind of steroid, you don't triple stack them and take them 10 months out of the year like Lyle Alzado did," Rocker said the doctors told them. "If you do it responsibly, it's not going to hurt you." Rocker did not identify the doctors. Baseball did not have a drug-testing agreement between management and the union until September 2002 and did not have random testing with penalties until 2004. Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players association, declined comment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 Carl Pavano is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. And starting Chamberlain in the pen sucks. What does Mussina really have to offer at this point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 Carl Pavano is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. Pavano showed up at Yankees minor league camp the other day and played catch for about 12 minutes. He was throwing the ball up to 90 feet. His agent has indicated that he is ahead of schedule and is eyeing a spring or early summer return. And starting Chamberlain in the pen sucks. What does Mussina really have to offer at this point. Chamberlain can only throw about 140 innings this year. The other options are starting him in the rotation and shutting him down in September or keeping him in the minors to start the season. He doesn't have the durability to be a starter all year. Besides, I think Mussina is locked into the third starter position and Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy and Igawa are all in the mix for the final two spots. I don't think it's a Mussina or Chamberlain decision, but a Kennedy/Chamberlain one. Mussina was up and down last year, but he should get the first shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve J. Rogers 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 Carl Pavano is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. When does he become an ex-Yankee? I thought last season was it, I guess not? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brett Favre 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 I would rather just go with a six man rotation. That would limit Chamberlain's innings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 Carl Pavano is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. When does he become an ex-Yankee? I thought last season was it, I guess not? He is still under contract for 2008. This is the last season of his four-year deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2008 Carl Pavano is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. Pavano showed up at Yankees minor league camp the other day and played catch for about 12 minutes. He was throwing the ball up to 90 feet. His agent has indicated that he is ahead of schedule and is eyeing a spring or early summer return. I have a bridge you may be interested in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
