The 2008 MLB Offseason Thread

[Dobbs 3K]

Not sure if this belongs in here, but ESPN had another report this morning, saying MLB will not allow Mark Cuban to buy the Chicago Cubs.

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

"Sorry, Mark, you're not allowed to buy the Cubs. This is the No Cubans Club."

"You let Arte Moreno in!"

"No Cubans. We're allowed to have one."

 

Yes, I know, Mexican. Creative license. The alternatives were "no, you read wrong. It said they're not allowed to play for the Cubs" and "now I know how Ken Dodgerman must feel about Frank McCourt."

[Guest Vitamin X]

That's kind of stupid for them. What's with the personal vendetta they seem to have against Cuban?

[Slayer]

Sorry Leo, you're not allowed in here... this is the "No Cubans" thread

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't want a good businessman to compete in his territory, and Jerry Reinsdorf makes the call. The crisis means that the Trib is only selling 50% of the team, anyway. I knew they couldn't let the Cubs go. I'd be surprised if they even sold any of it, at this point.

 

Has anyone seen the print version of the Chicago Tribune, by the way? Blecch! The fuck IS that shit? It's a tabloid in broadsheet's clothing; a publication for people who are too developmentally disabled to tackle USA Today. I hope it goes out of business. Maybe the Daily Herald can capitalize on the Trib's old market of moderate suburbanites who are smart enough to read.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Sorry Leo, you're not allowed in here... this is the "No Cubans" thread

 

No Cubans! There can be one.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Mark Cuban would make waves. MLB wants their owners to be soul-less functionaries, presenting a united front in the name of profit-taking. I mean seriously, when's the last time you heard a non-Steinbrenner give an honest opinion?

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

Sorry Leo, you're not allowed in here... this is the "No Cubans" thread

 

No Cubans! There can be one.

And there can also only be one Stonecutters reference per thread.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Well, that made three right there, so there goes that rule.

[Broward83]

Wow, so someone that could possibly enfuse some energy into the team and spend money wisely to get players and build them up, they "ban" because he's a bit over the top?

 

Chicago: 200 years, here we come!

[Guest C*Z*E*C*H]

I don't think Cuban is any sort of panacea for this organization. I think he's the best option, but let's not get carried away about energy and buying players. It's not the same as taking over the Mavericks, where his challenge was getting Dallas and elsewhere to care about a moribund organization that only existed to exist, and building them up by being smarter than the rest of the sport. The Cubs don't need to be put on the map, they don't need more revenue streams, and they don't need someone to spend big bucks. They need someone to come in and actually build a top-to-bottom baseball organization. They were a toy for the Wrigley family, and a business for the Tribune. They've never been a baseball team. This team is so devoid of prospects and arife with backloaded contracts for mediocre players that there's no way anyone can do anything positive with this team for another ten to fifteen years. It doesn't matter who's signing the checks, and let me repeat that if Mark Cuban isn't allowed to buy the team, the Cubs aren't at fault.

[jwest27]

Apparently, right now the Cardinals are the favorites to land Matt Holliday in a trade. Ryan Ludwick is a piece in the trade, which seems kind of odd considering their similar production and that we'd only be guaranteed to have him for a year when we'd have Ludwick for 3 years. I guess if it works out as well as the Glaus/Rolen deal did, I'd certainly be happy.

[the pinjockey]

I don't know, maybe I am just looking at it way too much, but I keep looking at Holliday away from home and basically seeing Jayson Werth. I don't see a guy I want to give up assets for either a rental or a huge extension. I am glad to see the Phillies have been pushed to the back of the line for him.

 

And giving up a cost controlled player of similar production seems nuts. Sure Ludwick may be a fluke, but for a fraction of the cost I think you have to give him the chance to prove otherwise.

[jimmy no nose]

I'm inclined to agree with you there. Holliday had a pretty good 2008 road season, but looking at his career numbers it's really clear how much he's benefited from hitting at Coors.

[Bruiser Chong]

I've heard some reports the Padres are expected to trade Peavy within a week. The Cubs and Braves are currently the leaders, with the Dodgers being a long-shot team. Felix Pie, Sean Marshall, and Ronny Cedeno were among the names I heard mentioned. That's fine by me.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

I don't know, maybe I am just looking at it way too much, but I keep looking at Holliday away from home and basically seeing Jayson Werth. I don't see a guy I want to give up assets for either a rental or a huge extension. I am glad to see the Phillies have been pushed to the back of the line for him.

 

Give me a team of Jayson Werths, I'll show you a pennant. The Phillies do need a lefty bat of some sort though, and if they can get it done with just prospects it might be worthwhile.

[the pinjockey]

If it was just prospects that is one thing, but if it is a Ludwick based deal from St. Louis they would have to include either Victorino or Werth since they don't have a major league ready OF prospect to offer. And I don't see how moving either of those two plus something else for Holliday improves this team.

 

They need to just resign Burrell and be done with it. Either that or sign Milton Bradley as he would be hilarious in Philly.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

I actually think Rocco Baldelli might be a suitable option. He could platoon with Jenkins and Stairs, giving him opportunity to rest. He's a right hander, which the Phillies need. And he has a world of upside.

[2GOLD]

I've heard some reports the Padres are expected to trade Peavy within a week. The Cubs and Braves are currently the leaders, with the Dodgers being a long-shot team. Felix Pie, Sean Marshall, and Ronny Cedeno were among the names I heard mentioned. That's fine by me.

 

Why is it every center fielder the Cubs have high hopes for ends up having absolutely no skill to HIT the god damn baseball? Both Corey Patterson and Felix Pie looked to be such great prospects and neither one of them can hit the ball with any consistency. Do the Cubs just have no one in the minors who can teach guys how to be patient and make good solid contact??

 

[Bruiser Chong]

No clue, but if the Cubs can turn Felix and some other pieces into Jake Peavy, I'm all for the move. I, like most Cub fans, had high hopes for Felix, but he doesn't look like he's going to be given the opportunity to blossom or capitalize on such a chance. I say move him while he's still got some value and then hope he becomes another Corey Patterson. I think Patterson's failure to develop much further in his three seasons out of Chicago shows that it wasn't entirely the organization's fault.

[MarvinisaLunatic]

Heres how bad the Os Starters are..they are actually considering trying to convert Danys Baez back to a starter (like he was in 2002 with Cleveland) if they cant sign anyone.

[garfieldsnose]

If they could get a good pitcher who can win a few games every Sunday, they're right back in the AL East hunt.

[naiwf]

Longoria and Soto win the ROY awards.

[strummer]

John Heyman on WFAN reporting that Matt Holiday is headed to the A's

[2GOLD]

John Heyman on WFAN reporting that Matt Holiday is headed to the A's

 

The hell?? I thought he was a dead set lock to the Cards. How did the A's get into the mix?

[Bored]

Talks broke off with the Cardinals over the weekend. I'll reserve judgment until the prospects in the deal are known, although again I still don't think the move makes a whole lot of sense at this point since I don't see Holliday going out of his way to get an extension done with a team coming off a rebuilding year. I'm just hoping they didn't give up Trevor Cahill or Brett Anderson.

 

Edit: Only name so far seems to be Greg Smith, which I'm fine with but obviously there will be more.

[Guest Smues]

Seems like a very odd move to me. I wonder how much they gave up for one year of Matt Holiday.

[Cheech Tremendous]

Seems like a very odd move to me. I wonder how much they gave up for one year of Matt Holiday.

I find it odd that they can't seem to nail down any of the names that are in the package. We know Greg Smith is part of the deal, but I've also heard Brett Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez. Is it one of those guys? Two of them? None?

 

Beane must think that this team can compete this year, and he'll ride Holliday for a year and then collect draft picks. Either that or he thinks he can get a superior package at the deadline if he decides to trade him. The only thing we can know for sure is that he won't be coming up with $200 million to get an extension done.

[naiwf]

http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270335/11618874

 

Oakland acquires Holliday from Colorado

 

The ever-unpredictable Oakland Athletics have acquired slugger Matt Holliday from Colorado, sources with knowledge of the talks have confirmed to, CBSSports.com, pending the outfielder's passing a physical examination on Tuesday.

 

The Rockies will receive outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, left-handed pitcher Greg Smith and closer Huston Street in return, though they may not keep Street. One source said Monday that the Rockies are prepared to turn around and trade him -- though to which team he wasn't sure.

 

That seems like a lot to give up for a guy who won't be nearly as good as he was in Colorado for one season or less.

[Bored]

Seems like a very odd move to me. I wonder how much they gave up for one year of Matt Holiday.

I find it odd that they can't seem to nail down any of the names that are in the package. We know Greg Smith is part of the deal, but I've also heard Brett Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez. Is it one of those guys? Two of them? None?

Word is that Gonzalez has been told that he's been traded to the Rockies and that Street is still the likely third player. Since the rumor is that the Rockies are going to flip Street to another team (I know the Indians have had interest in him), I'm wondering if the hold up on the official announcement is Rockies are trying to make sure they have another deal in place for Street.

 

In terms of the players they gave up I'm satisfied with the deal, assuming there are no last second changes. Smith was expendable and Street lost his closer job at the end of last season. Gonzalez is the only one I'll be sad to see go as even though there's some serious concerns about his plate discipline, I liked his potential and he's a fantastic defensive outfielder. Now if Brett Anderson does end up in the final deal, then they've lost their minds.

 

Again in the great scheme of things, this is a very odd move for this organization but it's clear they've decided to be major players this offseason so maybe they will sign a Rafael Furcal. Given the delays on the Fremont ballpark it is also possible that ownership is resigned to the fact that they will be in the Coliseum longer than they want to and that in the meantime they need to put butts in the seats. Not only were the A's a bad team this year, they were also a very boring team with no marketable players. If anything, adding Holliday will be a good PR move.