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Re: The MLB Thread
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/73175 … st-targets
DALLAS -- Now that they've checked Jose Reyes off their to-do list, the Miami Marlins have an even bigger name on their radar screen -- Albert Pujols.
Sources told ESPN.com on Sunday night that the Marlins still plan to make an aggressive run at Pujols, even after committing $106 million to Reyes over the next six years, and plan to meet with Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, Monday or Tuesday at the winter meetings.
Throughout much of this offseason, Marlins officials have downplayed the possibility that they could afford both Reyes and Pujols. However, one source who spoke with the Marlins' brass said Sunday that Reyes' contract was structured in a way that would enable them to sign one more prominent free agent -- and that Pujols was their No. 1 target.
The source said the Marlins plan to make a major push to sign Pujols over the next two days. The team met with Pujols in Miami before Thanksgiving, just days after a similar session with Reyes, and made the free-agent first baseman a nine-year offer for considerably less than the reported nine-year, $198-million offer from the Cardinals that Pujols turned down last winter.
But just as they increased their original offer to Reyes over the weekend in their attempts to get him signed, the Marlins now will turn their attention to Pujols -- and appear prepared to up their offer to him if they get indications he has sincere interest in coming to Miami.
Lozano is also tentatively scheduled to meet with the Cardinals about Pujols on Monday, sources said.
Re: The MLB Thread
Sorry for the lack of updates. Was really busy several days.
Knew Pujols would go back to the Cards. Looking more and more like that will happen.
I think the problem now with Fielder issue will become down to which team/city Fielder wants to be in. Because now that Pujols is looking locked up with St. Louis, MANY teams are gonna jump in and start a bidding war for Fielder.
Unless it just boils down to Fielder wanting to be with a Cubs and Dale Sveum, over a Marlins and Ozzie Guillen kinda thing. I don't see Pujols going to the O's, Nats, or Mariners. Maybe the Angels.
C.J. Wilson will go the Angels imo, not the Marlins.
The Jose Reyes deal is excessive, and right now the Marlins have to start getting skittish. Because as someone who has seen several Marlins games in Florida, I DO NOT BELIEVE that the Marlins attendence is gonna turn around with the team in south Miami.
The Marlins are making HUGE gambles right now. Gambling that if the Marlins buy another championship team like in 1997, that "people will come". I doubt it.
I still think Fielder goes to the Cubs. There's been talk of Pena returning to the Cubs, but I think it's more likely that Pena might go back to Florida, except to Miami. I could see Pena on that hispanic-dominant new-look Miami Marlins.
I think Pena would be a great fit for Miami.
If Fielder doesn't sign with the Cubs, I think he'll go to the Rangers. Still stand by that.
Like I said, i'll catch up in the coming days.
P.S.
Mark Buehrle signed a 4-year deal with Miami, to stick with Ozzie Guillen.
Re: The MLB Thread
Unless it just boils down to Fielder wanting to be with a Cubs and Dale Sveum, over a Marlins and Ozzie Guillen kinda thing. I don't see Pujols going to the O's, Nats, or Mariners. Maybe the Angels.
I won't say you called it, since earlier in the post you said Pujols would be staying with the Cards. But nice "maybe" thrown in there. What a surprise. I went to bed last night hearing the Angels were offering even less than the Marlins did and I wake up and he's signed for 10 years 250 million. What a shock and shot to the Cards. I suppose they could shift their focus to Prince now, as a lot of other teams will. He'll end up benefiting from this quite nicely as well.
A major score for the Angels though. Gotta hand it to them. They kind of stayed quiet the last couple of years and lost out on the perceived free agent prizes. But in the end they got the best player in baseball for the rest of his career, presumably. Not a bad deal for them in the end. I read they have a new TV deal which made this possible. And they may not be done either, as CJ Wilson is still in play. Talk about a power shift in the West. The Rangers had their chance the last 2 years. Unfortunately their time at the top may be over. Luckily they have the extra wild card to fall back on.
Re: The MLB Thread
The Jose Reyes deal is excessive, and right now the Marlins have to start getting skittish. Because as someone who has seen several Marlins games in Florida, I DO NOT BELIEVE that the Marlins attendence is gonna turn around with the team in south Miami.
A friend of mine moved to the Miami area about 2 years ago. He made a good point about the pitiful attendance, saying it is for 3 reasons:
1. The old stadium did suck, and wasn't condusive to baseball.
2. The heat. It's humid as fuck down there at night & bugs flying all around.
3. Almost everyone is from NY, Philly, Chicago, Boston etc. so they have their favorite team already, and when NY, Chi, Phi etc come to play, they sell better than the random games like Miami v Cincinatti or San Fran.
1 & 2 will be fixed with the new stadium, as I think it's convertible & they plan on keeping it closed for hot nights.
Re: The MLB Thread
Axlin08 wrote:Unless it just boils down to Fielder wanting to be with a Cubs and Dale Sveum, over a Marlins and Ozzie Guillen kinda thing. I don't see Pujols going to the O's, Nats, or Mariners. Maybe the Angels.
I won't say you called it, since earlier in the post you said Pujols would be staying with the Cards. But nice "maybe" thrown in there. What a surprise. I went to bed last night hearing the Angels were offering even less than the Marlins did and I wake up and he's signed for 10 years 250 million. What a shock and shot to the Cards. I suppose they could shift their focus to Prince now, as a lot of other teams will. He'll end up benefiting from this quite nicely as well.
A major score for the Angels though. Gotta hand it to them. They kind of stayed quiet the last couple of years and lost out on the perceived free agent prizes. But in the end they got the best player in baseball for the rest of his career, presumably. Not a bad deal for them in the end. I read they have a new TV deal which made this possible. And they may not be done either, as CJ Wilson is still in play. Talk about a power shift in the West. The Rangers had their chance the last 2 years. Unfortunately their time at the top may be over. Luckily they have the extra wild card to fall back on.
Lou Gehrig isn't worth a 10-year deal.
I guess the Angels can be proud they scored a "game changer" for the middle of that order, plus the 10 years works alot better in the AL, because as he gets older they turn him more into a utility player. Possibly some LF/RF starts, combined with DH most of the time. But that's years down the line.
It's not about the money, it's more about the years. Pujols deserves the money based on market value, but beyond that a contract that runs until Pujols is 42 is insanely stupid, and write this down -- the Angels will end up regretting it when he's 39, 40 years old.
I don't see Pujols spending the rest of his career with the Angels. I think he ends up getting traded to someone during the tail end of that contract.
And on top of all of that, the Angels got Pujols AND C.J. Wilson, the premiere hitter AND pitcher on the market. Amazing.
YET
They STILL aren't better than the Rangers. There's still a very good chance that even with their moves... they finish 2nd in the AL West.
Axlin08 wrote:The Jose Reyes deal is excessive, and right now the Marlins have to start getting skittish. Because as someone who has seen several Marlins games in Florida, I DO NOT BELIEVE that the Marlins attendence is gonna turn around with the team in south Miami.
A friend of mine moved to the Miami area about 2 years ago. He made a good point about the pitiful attendance, saying it is for 3 reasons:
1. The old stadium did suck, and wasn't condusive to baseball.
2. The heat. It's humid as fuck down there at night & bugs flying all around.
3. Almost everyone is from NY, Philly, Chicago, Boston etc. so they have their favorite team already, and when NY, Chi, Phi etc come to play, they sell better than the random games like Miami v Cincinatti or San Fran.1 & 2 will be fixed with the new stadium, as I think it's convertible & they plan on keeping it closed for hot nights.
I can personally vouch for that seeing the Cubs games every year or two down there. The attendence for those games versus the other (i've been to an Astros, Rockies, Rangers in interleague), and the attendence is night and day.
Other than the Cubs, the Rangers (pre-back to back AL Champs), had the biggest turn out. I was actually kind of shocked the Rangers game had such a large, strong Texan turnout, unlike the Astros game.
The Marlins obviously do the best box office, when the big market teams are there. I've been told Dodger & Met games have a bigger turnout too.
Plus take in consideration it takes like 20-30 minutes to get from ACTUAL Miami to the ballpark. A living joke.
Tampa Bay Rays are the same way. They're actually in St. Petersburg. They're called "Tampa Bay", but in fact are like 15-20 minutes from actual Tampa. Hell, they're 5-7 minutes away from the actual 'Tampa Bay'. 
Re: The MLB Thread
Brewers' Ryan Braun named NL MVP
by Adam McCalvy / MLB.comhttp://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images … vWEIaS.jpg
MILWAUKEE -- And now, a dose of tradition to follow a day of debate. Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun -- a prolific hitter from a contending team -- is the National League's Most Valuable Player.
Braun outpolled the Dodgers' Matt Kemp to become Milwaukee's first league MVP since Hall of Famer Robin Yount won for the second time in 1989, when the Brewers were still an American League franchise. Braun was nervously waiting on the balcony of his Malibu, Calif., home with his home phone in one hand and his cell in the other, when the happy call finally came Tuesday from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
"It sounds cliché to say that I'm living the dream, but this really is a dream," Braun said. "This is beyond my wildest dreams, to be in this position at this point in my career. I'm proud."
Braun received 20 of a possible 32 first-place votes -- two BBWAA members in each NL city cast ballots -- for a total of 388 points. Kemp received 10 first-place votes and 332 points. Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, currently a free agent, finished third with one first-place vote and 229 points, giving the Brewers two players in the top five for the first time since Yount won his first AL MVP Award and Cecil Cooper ran fifth in 1982.
D-backs outfielder Justin Upton garnered 214 points, including one first-place vote, to finish fourth. Braun, Kemp, Fielder and Upton were the only players to appear on all 32 ballots.
Career Cardinal Albert Pujols, also a free agent, finished fifth, making this the 11th consecutive year in which he has placed in the top 10 of MVP voting.
"It's going to take a while to come to terms of what this actually means for me," Braun said. "It's an incredibly prestigious award and a special group of guys to be mentioned with. Whenever you win an award like this, forever next to your name it will say, 'MVP.'"
This year's AL MVP was Detroit's Justin Verlander, the first starting pitcher so honored in a quarter century. In the NL, the debate was not about pitchers vs. position players but whether an MVP should come from a winning team. Statistically, Braun and Kemp were nearly dead even, with a nod in most categories to Kemp.
But the Brewers won the NL Central, and the Dodgers finished 11 1/2 games out in the NL West. Braun, who traded text messages Tuesday with runner-up Kemp, figures the Brewers' winning ways made the difference.
"That's probably the one thing that separates us," Braun said "If you honestly assess our seasons individually, his numbers are probably slightly better than mine. I just feel fortunate to have been on the better team."
And that makes a difference to BBWAA voters. Including Verlander and Braun, 16 of the 24 MVPs since 2000 have come from division winners, 19 have come from teams that made the playoffs and 21 -- all but three -- have come from teams that finished the season within 2 1/2 games of first place.
Braun fit the bill, leading the Brewers to a franchise-record 96 wins in the regular season and the NL Central crown, their first since moving to the NL in 1998 and Milwaukee's first division title overall since 1982.
Braun hit .332 with 33 home runs, 111 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Kemp batted .324 with 39 homers, 126 RBIs and 40 steals for the Dodgers.
Kemp had the edge in homers, RBIs and steals, and he also made 60 more plate appearances than Braun, who finished second in the league in average and led NL players in slugging percentage (.597) and OPS (.994).
"Let everybody know," Kemp said, "I hold no ill will against Mr. MVP. He's the man, he won the award, nobody should take anything away from him. He had an amazing season.
"I'm happy for Braun. I knew it would be close. He had a great season and his team made the playoffs. I'm happy for him. We've got to work harder next year."
The MVP honor capped a dream season for Braun, who turned 28 last week. He signed a record-setting contract extension in April that can keep him with Milwaukee through at least 2020 and positions Braun to be this generation's Yount, a player who spent all 20 of his Hall of Fame seasons in one uniform.
"Ryan Braun is going to have a statue outside Miller Park someday," Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said last week.
Braun has already provided some bronze-worthy moments. He hit the home run that clinched the NL Wild Card in 2008, and another that clinched the NL Central this September. By then, Braun was already the Brewers' first player with 30 homers and 30 steals in a season since Tommy Harper in 1970.
Braun was voted by fans to start the All-Star Game for the fourth straight season, though a leg injury kept him out. After the season, he won the Silver Slugger Award for the fourth time.
The Brewers have had four league MVPs in 43 seasons as a franchise. Reliever Rollie Fingers won in 1981 and Yount in '82 and '89. Both are in the Hall of Fame, and their numbers hang, retired, at Miller Park.
"When I made the commitment to the city of Milwaukee, to the Milwaukee Brewers organization and to this fan base, my intent was to spend my whole career in Milwaukee and one day be mentioned alongside names like Robin Yount and Rollie Fingers. It's a process to get there. I think I need to accomplish more to truly be in that conversation."
Braun is the 13th player to win both an NL MVP Award and the NL Rookie of the Year Award, which he was awarded in 2007. That puts him in very good company; the other dual winners are Ryan Howard, Pujols, Jeff Bagwell, Andre Dawson, Johnny Bench, Dick Allen, Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays and Don Newcombe.
"I think it will take a few days to truly grasp what this means," Braun said.
Uh oh!
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/ … ncing-drug
National League MVP Ryan Braun, who last season led the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades, has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if the initial finding is upheld, two sources familiar with the case told "Outside the Lines."
Major League Baseball has not announced the positive test because Braun is disputing the result through arbitration.
A spokesman for Braun confirmed the positive test Saturday and issued a statement: "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."
USA TODAY reported Saturday night that Braun said of the test result: "It's B.S."
The 28-year-old Braun had to provide a urine sample for testing during the playoffs, and he was notified of the positive test sometime in late October -- about a month before he was named the National League's most valuable player.
The positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in Braun's system, the sources also told "Outside the Lines." A subsequent, more comprehensive test revealed the testosterone was synthetic -- not produced by Braun's body.
Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1-to-1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4-to-1 or higher during testing, a player is deemed to have tested positive. The sources did not indicate how high above the threshold Braun's sample tested.
To affirm the results and strengthen its case, MLB asked the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal, which conducts its testing, to perform a secondary test to determine whether the testosterone spike resulted from natural variations within Braun's body or from an artificial source. The test indicated the testosterone was exogenous, meaning it came from outside his body.
Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes said Saturday that the team had not been contacted by the commissioner's office and the team had no knowledge of a failed test. Messages left for MLB officials were not returned. Greg Bouris, spokesman for the Major League Baseball Players Association, declined comment.
Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his case. A source close to Braun said that when he was told about the positive test, he immediately requested to be tested again. That second test, using a different sample that was tested by Braun's camp, the source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe that the difference between the two tests will show that the first test was invalid. Although Braun's representatives acknowledge that a non-positive test would not negate a positive one, they believe the second test shows certain anomalies that will suggest problems with the first. They declined to specify.
Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his case. A source close to Braun said that when he was told about the positive test, he immediately requested to be tested again. That second test, using a different sample that was tested by Braun's camp, the source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe that the difference between the two tests will show that the first test was invalid.
The outfielder has told those around him that he did not knowingly take any banned substances and hoped to prove that during the arbitration process. No major league player has ever successfully appealed a positive test.
MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Policy calls for strict liability among players, meaning if a player tests positive, the league is "not required to otherwise establish intent, fault, negligence or knowing use of a Prohibited Substance on the Player's part to establish such a violation."
Even if a player can establish he did not knowingly take a banned substance, he must show he was not in any way negligent to appeal successfully. For example, taking a dietary supplement that contains an unlabeled performance-enhancing drug would not be sufficient grounds for appeal, but if he were to show that he ingested something that was either tampered with or no player reasonably could have assumed to have been contaminated, the appeal might succeed.
The source close to Braun said he believes that standard can be met.
Once criticized for protecting its biggest stars from scandal, the league is now faced with the possibility of suspending one of the game's best and most-admired players.
Braun had never been linked to PEDs previously; in fact, at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, when commissioner Bud Selig addressed efforts by Albert Pujols to tamp down questions about steroid use, he invoked Braun as a shining example of the sport's tough testing policy.
"Albert Pujols is absolutely right. He has been tested since he started playing," Selig said. "So has Ryan Howard. So has Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman. Since they were in the minors."
About a month before that, Selig was quoted in The Arizona Republic as saying, "Our minor league testing program is in its ninth year, and that means all the great young players in baseball, from Ryan Howard to Ryan Braun, have all been tested for nine years. There's a system in place, and it's working. We know we have the toughest testing program in major league sports."
Earlier that spring, after Alex Rodriguez was exposed for using steroids, Braun spoke to MLB.com about the "mistakes" made by the superstar. Braun said he met Rodriguez in 2001 during a recruiting trip to the University of Miami.
Asked if he were surprised that Rodriguez had been exposed as a steroid user, Braun was quoted saying, "I don't know if I would say I was surprised. I feel like it was so rampant, so prevalent, in baseball during that time period that not much surprises me anymore. If anything, I was surprised he got caught, that it came out this long after he supposedly did it."
On whether he had ever been tempted to try performance-enhancing drugs, Braun said, "It's never something that I sought."
MLB.com wrote that Braun then showed "a flash of his sense of humor and his well-documented self-confidence" by adding, "I would never do it because if I took steroids, I would hit 60 or 70 home runs."
Braun was speaking to the website prior to the news conference at which Rodriguez admitted his use.
"... The best thing he can do is come out, admit to everything and be completely honest," Braun said. "The situation will die a lot faster if he tells the whole truth."
Since breaking into the majors in 2007 at 23, Braun has emerged as one of the sport's top young players. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and was an All-Star each of the past four seasons.
In his rookie season, Braun hit 34 homers and drove in 97 runs, while amassing a .634 slugging percentage in just 113 games. He had 37 home runs and 106 RBI the following year, then saw his power numbers decline modestly over the next two seasons. He still hit 25 home run runs and had a .501 slugging percentage in 2010.
In April, Braun signed a five-year contract extension worth $105 million. He then went out and had his best season ever, carrying the Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades. He led the league in slugging percentage at .597, with a .332 batting average, 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 109 runs scored and 33 stolen bases.
Braun turned 28 on Nov. 17 and five days later was named the NL MVP. Now, though, he's looking at a 50-game suspension to open the 2012 season, and, of course, all sorts of questions about what role steroids have played in his success.
Re: The MLB Thread
I flipped when I first read it. In some ways i'm not shocked looking at those numbers, but i'm shocked it came down only weeks after Braun winning the MVP award.
NO ONE has EVER successfully appealed a positive test. And EVERYTIME something like this happens, a player or team spokesman says "it's a big misunderstanding, we are confident all allegations are bs", blah blah blah, and basically they stay positive and their reputation is tarnished forever.
If he stays guilty, it'll be another massive black eye on baseball as Braun has been one of the organization and media darlings in the last few years, many projecting him to be the next great player in the NL, following in "young" Albert Pujols footsteps.
However on a side note... MLB has to eventually figure out what the hell they're gonna do with the steroid era. 'Cause this shit just isn't gonna work. They either need to denounce it and ban these players for life instantly, or they need to embrace it, alter the sport, not officially endorse it (because of legality issues), but just ignore testing, and let guys like McGwire & Palmeiro in the Hall.
This constant back and forth that "I can do 'roids & HGH, and get multi-million dollar deals and WS rings, but everyone's just gonna pretend I don't exist and not let me in the Hall"
Does anybody else find that absolutely absurd?
We root for these guys to win and be the best, but just kinda pretend they're not there later on. I just find that weird.
MLB and it's fans still haven't figured out how they feel about it.
Re: The MLB Thread
Angels take control of own future with Pujols, Wilson
by Tim Brown / Yahoo! Sports
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Angels – be they of California, Anaheim or Los Angeles – have enjoyed two days greater than Saturday, those being the day they were born more than 50 years ago and the day they won a World Series nine years ago.
Beyond that, near-misses chased hollow wins, heartache chased promise and, generally, the Angels chased the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lovable and gentlemanly Gene Autry couldn’t ever get them quite right, and soulless Disney somehow earned a championship in spite of itself, and then the rakish Arte Moreno bought the Angels, stabilized them, glammed them up, and somehow never raised another World Series banner.
Yet, on as glorious an afternoon as a team may enjoy in mid-December, thousands of Angels fans crowded the entryway of Angel Stadium. They held signs in their hands praising their new favorite ballplayer, and chanted his name, and warmed at the sight of the sun bouncing from his shorn dome.
“Pujols! Pujols!” they cried.
They saved some breath for the new pitcher, too, an ace from Texas who’d be a No. 3 in this town.
“C.J.!” they shouted. “C.J.!”
By then the podium, eight seats long, had filled but for one man.
He arrived in a black suit, his hair pushed back, and with dark shades wrapped coolly around his head. His signature mustache – pencil-thin, of course – had recently merged with an equally reedy goatee.
In the weeks since the end of the regular season, the second in a row to end with the Angels falling short of the playoffs, he’d been heard from now and again. He’d cleared out his front office, for one, firing the general manager and a handful of others. He’d hired a new general manager, then strafed the winter meetings with the signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, the top bat and arm on the free-agent market. In all, he’d spent $332 million, or nearly twice what he’d paid for the franchise nine years ago.
Had he a sense of humor, he might have appeared Saturday wearing a white turtleneck, blue blazer and aviator sunglasses.
Yes, he is El Jefe.
Reared a Yankees fan, Arte Moreno had tired of second place. He’d tired of the wrong answers from the men working for him. He’d tired of coming in a couple bucks short, of watching the grandest free agents run off to New York and Boston and, perhaps worse, Texas.
Hell, it wasn’t a year ago when Moreno was cautioning Angels fans not to expect the types of ballplayers the Yankees and Red Sox buy. It was how he explained Mark Teixeira three years ago, and then Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre last year. The Angels, he said, aren’t those franchises.
And then they were. And he was making it so.
“Everybody can be a victim,” he said, “when they want to be a victim.”
With $332 million, he was blacktopping the Vernon Wells catastrophe and healing the Kendrys Morales calamity. He was creating offensive production from nothing but fresh TV money, ticket sales and Rally Monkey dolls.
He was standing beside Pujols, raising Pujols’ arm like the trainer of a winning prizefighter, grinning at the people who now chanted his name.
“Arte! Arte!”
The game needed a new Boss.
Moreno saved us from that being Jeffrey Loria.
The game needed a new villain.
(Although I suppose Loria could still be that.)
Around the offices in Anaheim, he is known as being tough and fair. He notes criticism and holds grudges forever. He is known to have incredibly high standards.
“He lives up to them,” team president John Carpino said Saturday, “and he expects his people to live up to them as well.”
And so when his organization appeared to grow old in places and bog down in others, when it could not catch the Yankees or Red Sox consistently enough, when it was passed up by the Rangers in its own division, Moreno found new people to make the baseball decisions and then took matters into his own checkbook.
He bought himself an Albert Pujols. He recruited Albert Pujols, along with wife, Deidre. Completely out of character, completely away from his perceived philosophies, he stood on a stage Saturday afternoon with Albert Pujols, applauded Albert Pujols and helped Albert Pujols into an Angels uniform.
And he didn’t care who liked it or who didn’t.
“We have basically no debt on the team,” he said. “Economically we’re stable enough to accomplish this. We look at it as an investment.”
Moreno, the same guy who railed against the system last winter, claimed it wasn’t even really a different philosophy.
“I just think it’s a different kind of player,” he said. “I had an opportunity. And we could afford it.”
That simple. So, he gave a man in his 30s the second-richest contract in baseball history, one that will pay him into his 40s. He quite possibly tied the health of his franchise to the type of contract that hardly ever works. He looked at this man Pujols and believed he would no longer be the victim, at least not today, one of the great days in franchise history, and maybe not tomorrow either.
“Hey,” El Jefe said, “we’re not going to play 2021 today. We’re going to play 2012.”
Re: The MLB Thread
Big moves highlight Marlins' big week in Dallas
by Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
DALLAS -- Big spending underlined the Marlins' stay in Big D.
For most of the Winter Meetings at the Hilton Anatole, Miami was the team that made the biggest splash. Heading into the event, team officials made it clear that they were willing to pay top dollar for top talent. Any doubts that the newly rebranded team meant business were erased.
By the time the Meetings had concluded on Thursday morning, the Marlins had an All-Star closer, an All-Star shortstop and an All-Star pitcher.
In Dallas, the team announced the signings of Heath Bell and Jose Reyes. The club also reached an agreement on a deal with lefty Mark Buehrle, who is taking his physical on Thursday and who will be introduced at a news conference on Friday in Miami.
"We could not be happier with Jose Reyes on this team with Heath Bell," president David Samson said. "When we drew up our offseason plan, and how we wanted our team look, we are in the A box right now."
In terms of excitement generated, the Marlins stole the show from Sunday through Wednesday. They were looking for even more, but on Thursday, the Angels grabbed the spotlight by acquiring Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson
Miami was heavily in the mix for Pujols until Wednesday afternoon, when the club withdrew its 10-year, $210 million offer. Wilson met with Marlins officials on Wednesday night and was presented a six-year, $80 million deal that he turned down in favor of the Halos.
But chasing big names wasn't Miami's only order of business. The Marlins interacted with teams on the trade front, and they are seeking some depth at the six-year free-agent level.
Tom O'Connell, the agent for infielder Nick Green, met with team officials, and Green is expected to sign a Minor League deal and compete for a utility role in Spring Training.
Right-hander J.D. Martin also is being added as a six-year free agent, and will bring with him big league experience when he heads to camp in February.
Deals done: Signed Bell to a three-year, $27 million deal with an option for 2015. Signed Reyes to a six-year, $106 million contract with an option for 2018. Reached agreement with Buehrle on a four-year, $58 million contract.
The total of the three signings is $191 million. Still, the team was willing to spend more, offering a combined $290 million to Pujols and Wilson.
Rule 5 Draft activity: No one wowed the Marlins in the Major League phase, so they took a pass. They didn't walk away empty-handed, though, as they claimed outfielder Donnie Webb off Cleveland's Double-A Akron roster in the Triple-A phase. The organization didn't lose anyone from its Minor League rosters.
Goals accomplished: For most of the Meetings, the Marlins were the talk of the baseball world. They landed three All-Stars, improving their rotation, bullpen and lineup with the additions of Buehrle, Bell and Reyes. These upgrades vaulted the club to contender status after finishing last in the National League East in 2011.
Unfinished business: After a hectic week, the revised shopping list includes finding a big league-tested starting pitcher on the trade front. The challenge is the high demand that clubs are placing on the established arms who are affordable. In addition, the search continues for another impact bat now that Pujols is off the market. A run at Prince Fielder is expected.
Team's bottom line: "We're working very hard on pitching. We're hopeful that things will come to [fruition]. We're still working on stuff. We're talking to teams, free agents. It's been an active week, needless to say." -- Larry Beinfest, president of baseball operations
Re: The MLB Thread
Brewers agree to 3-year deal with 3B Aramis Ramirez
by Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
The Brewers-Cubs rivalry may get a little more interesting.
Aramis Ramirez, considered the top free agent third baseman on the market, has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with one of the Cubs' National League Central rivals, the Brewers, pending a physical.
There were several reports saying the deal was done, with FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reporting Ramirez could get between $34 million and $37 million.
The Brewers will not make an announcement until Ramirez passes the physical.
Ramirez's agent, Paul Kinzer, said at the Winter Meetings last week in Dallas that Milwaukee was high on his client's list. Ramirez, 33, liked the idea of staying in the NL Central. Asked at the General Manager Meetings in November if Ramirez would consider staying with the Cubs, Kinzer said, "That ship has sailed."
"There's no problems there, but it's the point where it's the end of an era," Kinzer said of Ramirez, whom the Cubs acquired in July 2003 from the Pirates in a five-player deal. "They have some things they have to do and at this point in his career, [Rafael Furcal] got his ring, and now 'Ramy' wants his. He wants to go somewhere where he has a shot at a competitive team. He loves Chicago and it hurts for him to leave, but that's part of the sport."
Kinzer also represents Furcal, who was on the World Series champion Cardinals this season and re-signed with St. Louis.
Ramirez batted .306 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs in 149 games in 2011, his ninth season with the Cubs. It was his sixth season with at least 30 doubles and 25 homers.
He got off to a slow start, hitting two home runs in the first two months of the season. Ramirez has a career .261 average in April and playing in Miller Park early in the year could help him boost those numbers.
Ramirez has a lifetime .270 average and .503 slugging percentage at Miller Park, hitting 15 homers and 25 doubles there. Last season, he was 8-for-37 (.216) with one homer and six RBIs.
The Brewers are in need of some offensive help with the likely departure of free agent Prince Fielder. Milwaukee's third basemen combined to hit .215 with 11 homers, 30 doubles and drive in 67 runs. One of the reasons for the dropoff was the disappointing year by Casey McGehee, who batted .223 after hitting .285 in 2010. McGehee is one of seven Brewers who are arbitration eligible.
