Jump to content
TSM Forums
Sign in to follow this  
Cheech Tremendous

Spring Training 2009

Recommended Posts

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

****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.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Apparrently Dave Ortiz has gotten skinny. Though the only picture I've seen could be bigfoot.

 

EDIT:

sp0216_sox1_bb_02-16-09_8DDB7NQ.jpg

 

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

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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?

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×