Spring Training 2009

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Can't believe it's that time of year already. I'm positively giddy.

 

Anyways, here are a couple of stories to remind us that, yes, it is in fact spring.

 

Mike Hampton leaves camp (irregular heartbeat)

 

JD Drew's back is acting up

 

[the max 0]

http://www.rotoauthority.com/2009/02/spring-training.html

 

Spring Training cliches. Nice to have them all in one place.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I just skimmed that site quickly, but didn't notice any "best shape of my/his life" quotes. That's usually the go-to expression this time of year. You could make a drinking game out of these Spring Training cliches.

[Bored 0]

Mike Hampton leaves camp (irregular heartbeat)

Tomorrow's headline: Doctors Tell Hampton He's Been Clinically Dead For Five Years

 

In other news...Operation Shutdown 2009: Odalis Perez Edition

[the max 0]

I just skimmed that site quickly, but didn't notice any "best shape of my/his life" quotes. That's usually the go-to expression this time of year. You could make a drinking game out of these Spring Training cliches.

 

Nate Robertson - added flexibility with Pilates; told agent he "never felt this good physically"

Freddy Garcia - "I feel like I have a new shoulder"

 

I'm sure there will be more too.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Word is that Ken Griffey is joining the Braves. Not sure what they are thinking, unless they mistakenly thought that the NL was adding a DH this year. Deal is apparently for $2-3 million so it's not a total albatross if he's cooked.

 

Everyone wanted him to go to Seattle for PR purposes, but it wasn't a good fit. He just doesn't fit into their plans at all and given the budgetary constraints affecting the team, the money could have been better spent elsewhere. I still think they should have gotten in on Dunn, or even Abreu at the prices they went for.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Word is that Ken Griffey is joining the Braves. Not sure what they are thinking, unless they mistakenly thought that the NL was adding a DH this year. Deal is apparently for $2-3 million so it's not a total albatross if he's cooked.

 

Perhaps Jeff Francouer walked into camp and it reminded them they had something left on their to-do list.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I'd peg them both for an OPS around .750. The biggest difference between the two is Francoeur is a competent fielder, while Griffey is at least a -20 defender and that's before we talk about the potential injury implications from having him in the field everyday.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'd peg them both for an OPS around .750. The biggest difference between the two is Francoeur is a competent fielder, while Griffey is at least a -20 defender and that's before we talk about the potential injury implications from having him in the field everyday.

The problem is that while Griffey posted that OPS last season, Francoeur was 100 points south. Given the Braves' outfield options, a left handed bat is an ideal fit. And the contract is really pocket change.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

By the way, Griffey is now denying the story.

[Sideburnious 0]

Apparrently Dave Ortiz has gotten skinny. Though the only picture I've seen could be bigfoot.

 

EDIT:

[St. Gabe 0]

****EYe on Aybar****

 

From msnbc.com:::

 

Willy Aybar's new contract isn't officially complete yet because the Rays haven't received the final results from the infielder's physical, but it's finished enough that he was all smiles about it Monday.

 

"It's good for me and the team is giving me a good chance," Aybar said. "I like the team, I like my teammates, I like the manager - everybody. Good people."

 

Aybar should be about as sharp as anyone in Rays camp considering how much winter ball he played this offseason in reaching the Caribbean Series with Licey, his team at home in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

[Cartman 0]

Apparrently Dave Ortiz has gotten skinny. Though the only picture I've seen could be bigfoot.

 

EDIT:

 

On NESN they are showing some 2 hour blocks of live coverage and there's no doubt he lost considerable weight.

[Sideburnious 0]

In his defence, by the end of last season he was looking alot better. Im just glad he kept it up.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Prince Fielder has reportedly slimmed down quite noticeably, and seems serious about keeping the weight off that he seemed to gain before last season. I guess $18 million can be pretty good motivation for staying fit.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Interesting tidbit from espn.com.

 

Henry believes cap would garner support

Associated Press

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is renewing his call for a baseball salary cap.

 

Henry said Wednesday he thinks all owners would support an "enlightened" salary cap to improve competitive balance and that players might agree. He did not give details.

 

Henry's call came Wednesday at spring training after the New York Yankees signed three free agents for a total of $423.5 million during the offseason. The Red Sox gave out much shorter and cheaper deals.

 

Exactly five years earlier, Henry called for a salary cap when the Yankees obtained Alex Rodriguez in a trade with Texas after the Red Sox failed to complete a trade for him.

 

At that time, he advocated a cap to deal with a team that he said has far more resources than any other team.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Would he be singing the same tune if the Red Sox signed Mark Teixeira instead?

 

Edit: The Boston payroll would also be much higher if the Matsuzaka posting fee counted towards it.

[Boon 0]

Would he be singing the same tune if the Red Sox signed Mark Teixeira instead?

 

Edit: The Boston payroll would also be much higher if the Matsuzaka posting fee counted towards it.

How do you figure? The posting fee was approx $51 million and Matsuzaka signed a 6 year deal for $52 million. If you average the posting fee into his yearly contract, that would add less than $9 million per year to the annual payroll. For the top echelon of payrolls, $9 million really isn't that much.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

How would a salary cap help the lower tier teams that spend $30-$50 Million a season into spending more money?

 

For all that's said about the Yankees, Sox, Mets, etc. spending a ton of money, there's no incentive for a mid to small market to spend a lot even with the salary cap in place. Would the smaller teams have a chance at big ticket free agents? Yes, but they only have so much money to spend as it is so how does overpaying for Player A with the cap in place offset what's going on now where they sign Players B, C, and D with that money instead?

 

If there were a cap of $100 Million and a floor of $45-50 Million, as a team owner I'd still spend closer to the 45-50 range.

[Mik 0]

Surprise, Griffey to the Mariners after all.

 

Makes much more sense.

[Guest Smues]

I just read that. Thank you Griffey. The AL makes much more sense for him.

[KingPK 0]

EDIT:

 

"Turnout was low today at the dedication ceremony for the new Alex Rodriguez Field."

[sfaJack 0]

If there were a cap of $100 Million and a floor of $45-50 Million, as a team owner I'd still spend closer to the 45-50 range.

What if they made the floor 75% of whatever the cap figure is?

 

 

[HarleyQuinn 0]

If there were a cap of $100 Million and a floor of $45-50 Million, as a team owner I'd still spend closer to the 45-50 range.

What if they made the floor 75% of whatever the cap figure is?

 

Even at a $75 Million floor (which would not be implemented due to outcry), only 17 teams topped that total last season, with 2 other teams apart by only $2 Million. That would still leave at least 11 teams needing to raise at least $6 Million to meet the floor.

 

From the way it looks last season, it seems that a $100 Million Cap and $60 Million floor would be around the ideal. Only 6 teams were under $60 Million and 2 of those teams (KC at 58 and Washington at 54) were close. Florida was the large outlier at $22 Million but the other teams (Pittsburgh, Oakland, Tampa Bay) all spent at least $43 Million.

 

25 Man Roster at 100 Million = Average $4 Million per player salary. Only 9 teams exceeded that figure last season. 25 Man Roster at 60 Million = Average $2.4 Million per player salary. Only 10 teams underperformed that level with San Diego, Texas, and Arizona all in the $2.3 range.

[YourKock'sReallyGreat 0]

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

 

Nationals and Bowden get fooled.

[YourKock'sReallyGreat 0]

If there were a cap of $100 Million and a floor of $45-50 Million, as a team owner I'd still spend closer to the 45-50 range.

What if they made the floor 75% of whatever the cap figure is?

 

Even at a $75 Million floor (which would not be implemented due to outcry), only 17 teams topped that total last season, with 2 other teams apart by only $2 Million. That would still leave at least 11 teams needing to raise at least $6 Million to meet the floor.

 

From the way it looks last season, it seems that a $100 Million Cap and $60 Million floor would be around the ideal. Only 6 teams were under $60 Million and 2 of those teams (KC at 58 and Washington at 54) were close. Florida was the large outlier at $22 Million but the other teams (Pittsburgh, Oakland, Tampa Bay) all spent at least $43 Million.

 

25 Man Roster at 100 Million = Average $4 Million per player salary. Only 9 teams exceeded that figure last season. 25 Man Roster at 60 Million = Average $2.4 Million per player salary. Only 10 teams underperformed that level with San Diego, Texas, and Arizona all in the $2.3 range.

 

MLBPA would never agree to a cap. Players are making less percentage of revenue then they were before. The luxury tax was anything above 155 million. Lets say they put in a salary cap of 125 million. Well in football they have a salary floor of 85 percent which goes up to 90 percent by 2012. How many teams in baseball have a fanbase that can support a 110 million dollar team?

 

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I think if they're going to do a cap, they should do a salary floor, too. Make teams like the Marlins actually spend some money instead of pocketing all of their revenue sharing.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Andy Marte, the former number one prospect in baseball, was designated for assignment yesterday by the Cleveland Indians.

 

During the 2006 offseason he was the key piece traded in the Braves acquisition of Edgar Renteria and the Sox' pursuit of Coco Crisp. Unfortunately he never showed the ability to hit anything at the major league level and now sports a career OPS+ of 56.

[jimmy no nose 0]

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

 

Nationals and Bowden get fooled.

It's weird when things like this come out, because what is the team supposed to do? I know it makes him old for the league he was playing in, but he was still dominating in a league that was probably where he should be based on experience level. It's tough down there though, once the players reach 18 they're just about done if they don't end up lying about their ages. I'm not sure how common it is right now, but the Pirates have been bone testing their Latin American signings. They had one guy forced to give back his signing bonus last year. Ultimately that's probably where every team is going.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

It's weird when things like this come out, because what is the team supposed to do? I know it makes him old for the league he was playing in, but he was still dominating in a league that was probably where he should be based on experience level. It's tough down there though, once the players reach 18 they're just about done if they don't end up lying about their ages. I'm not sure how common it is right now, but the Pirates have been bone testing their Latin American signings. They had one guy forced to give back his signing bonus last year. Ultimately that's probably where every team is going.

 

What's unfortunate too is that the guy played the last two seasons in the GCL at ages 21 and 22 (as opposed to 17 and 18). If he had been truthful about his age, the Nationals may have started him possibly in Low A but instead, he's wasted 2 seasons in the GCL and could still wind up in Low A at age 23 as opposed to being in Single A or High A at this point in time.

 

He was originally the youngest hitter in 2007 on his team as opposed to being tied for oldest with Angel De Castro (of players with more than 50 AB). In 2008, there were only 4 players on his team who were 21 or 22 years old when he was supposedly 18.

 

Given the history with players like Miguel Tejada, I'm curious if some teams shy away from taking DR players due to the fact that they can select HS players around the same age (17-18) without worrying that this 17 year old kid they've grabbed could really be 19, 20, or 21 years old instead.