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Re: The MLB Thread
Cubs are nowhere near playoff contention yet so I don't see how this really helps them at all
Oh the Cubs are WAY OFF. I don't even like Dale Sveum. I think Theo has made decent moves tho.
The Cubs need to continue to binge & purge, but they are sitting on an almost Red Sox-level of wealth to spend. Don't just let it sit there.
Soriano ironically has re-proven himself to be a quality LF. Great defense last year (believe it or not, Gold Glove-caliber), and was the Cubs only source of real offense, despite the fact his bat didn't show up until late May. Brett Jackson was laughable. He's been overrated for years in the Cubs minor system. He might become something but imo he needs another whole year in the minors. DeJesus will be back in the leadoff spot. Love that guy. A hustler. Cubs need another FA outfielder. Don't know if Josh Hamilton is the answer, but at the same time they actually need a CF. The Cubs will eventually trade Soriano, he's gonna have to be a DH somewhere eventually with those knees, but the Cubs are going to NEED to bring another OF in, even if just for insurance. DeJesus is offensive enough, Jackson is a bust for now, and Soriano has no range. The Cubs don't have anything in the minors to bring up either, and just keeping Brian LaHair in RF isn't the answer either. He's the new Micah Hoffpauer. A backup 1B or fourth outfielder, and not an ounce more.
Infield needs work too. Castro & Rizzo are the future and aren't going anywhere. Cubs need a 3B, and other than David Wright, I don't know of much. Barney will be kept for his D, but his bat is no more than a Ryan Theriot. Big deal. Castillo might become a power hitting catcher with a full season behind the plate, but that's another question mark.
The pitching is a disaster area. Smardijiza is a bright spot, and bringing Haren in a good deal, and more than likely I think the Cubs keep Garza now. After that... things get scary. For as much as I cherished Marmol getting traded, look at that bullpen now. The Cubs now have lost Marmol & Kerry Wood within the same year. It changes the context of that bullpen.
They literally could re-cast that entire staff down there at this point.
Really comes down to how much work Theo wants to do. I don't like Ian Stewart at 3B, but I don't know what else the Cubs could do. It makes the Cubs needing a BIG outfield bat even more obvious to put in the middle of that order with Rizzo & Soriano if they have any hope of trying to stay afloat in the NL Central.
They look so rough, I doubt i'll even buy MLB13: The Show. I haven't bought one since MLB10, because of the Cubs level of suckitude.
Re: The MLB Thread
Angels decline Haren's option. So he hits the FA market. Red Sox were supposedly interested as well. It works out for Haren as well, I think he should be able to get a multi year deal worth more than 15.5 million.
The Angels have more than enough money now to resign Greinke having shed 12 million from Ervin Santana's contract and now Haren's option.
Axilin, Hamilton reportedly wants a 7yr deal worth 175 million. Don't know if the Cubs (or any club) will offer that given his off the field problems and the way Texas nosedived during the last week.
Re: The MLB Thread
Angels decline Haren's option. So he hits the FA market. Red Sox were supposedly interested as well. It works out for Haren as well, I think he should be able to get a multi year deal worth more than 15.5 million.
The Angels have more than enough money now to resign Greinke having shed 12 million from Ervin Santana's contract and now Haren's option.
Axilin, Hamilton reportedly wants a 7yr deal worth 175 million. Don't know if the Cubs (or any club) will offer that given his off the field problems and the way Texas nosedived during the last week.
Hamilton is not gonna get that money, not unless he leans on some sort of Christian owner of one of these teams. Hamilton wants the money for the church, which is admirable, but he's not gonna get that.
Especially after his off-field problems resurfaced this off-season, and during the regular season. I think Nolan is done with him, and I doubt anyone is gonna pay him that kind of money. If he wants a long-term deal, he'll need to take less money. If he wants more money, he'll have to deal 1-2 year deals for the rest of his career imo. Then again, Detroit & Anaheim were dumb enough to way overpay for their 1B just to make sure no one else got them.
Re: The MLB Thread
Twins won World Series in 1987, Appetite For Destruction was released in 1987
Twins won World Series in 1991, Use Your Illusions were release in 1991
The next time the Twins win the World Series will be the year a big Gun N' Roses album is released, or vice versa
Re: The MLB Thread
Surprised no one has talked about the offseason moves so far.
Everyone is waiting on Greinke to sign in either LA or Texas. He signs in Texas and Hamilton goes off somewhere else. Seattle, Boston, New York have been mentioned as possible destinations. Greinke signing also affects Annibal Sanchez as the Dodgers will probably go after him hard if they lose out on Greinke.
Justin Upton was getting pursued hard by the Rangers but the trade fell apart for whatever reason.
Boston signed several players in the last month--David Ross, Shane Victorino, and Mike Napoli. Ross was signed as a backup which is fine. Napoli got a 3yr deal to play first base at market value which is ok since they needed another hitter after trading Adrian Gonzalez. But they paid Victorino 13 million. I can't figure that one out if Victorino doesn't bounce back and supply some sort of offense. I don't really like paying outfielders 10+ million dollars just for defense and intanglibles.
Twins weren't kidding when they said they were looking for pitching. Traded Span to the Nationals for Alex Meyer. Traded Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley (Twins own his rights through 2018) and propect Trevor May. I think they did well in both those trades especially the Phillies one.
Phillies acquire Michael Young from Texas for a reliever and a pitching prospect. Ugh, even with Texas paying 10 million of Young's salary why do the Phillies feel the need to get older? They'd better win something in the next two years otherwise that team is going to go downhill fast.
Rays acquire Yunel Escobar from the Marlins for a minor league IF. The minor league IF (name escapes me at the moment) seems like the Marlins got a good player. Escobar is an enigma he seems to be a good player but he's been traded several times and you hear the same stuff each time. He's a bad teamate seems to be the common theme. The Rays got very little production out of SS so this works for them too. Rays also willl probably move one of their young pitchers not named David Price for a young hitter.
Mariners are looking for anybody who can hit. They signed Jason Bay as a reclamation project and are pursuing Josh Hamilton. They're not going after Michael Bourn which is a good move since they need more power and Bourne doesn't provide that. They're probably gunshy too after wasting a whole bunch of cash on Chone Figgins a few years ago.
BJ Upton signed a five year 75 million dollar deal with the Braves. It seems like the Braves overpaid a little for him.
The only thing I have to say about the Marlins is that I wish the voters of Florida gave the Rays a new ballpark instead of the Marlins.
Pirates overpay Russell Martin and I'm really close to picking another MLB team (or just another one in addition to the Pirates) to root for. This type of signing is a typical Pirates signing that will blow up in their face.
ARod will be out for a while after hip surgery. Yankees are interested in Youkillis which makes for a very interesting signing and plotline. Back to Arod, he has 647 HR and I don't think he'll reach 700 at the rate his body is breaking down. He's also signed through 2017 although I think I read somewhere that insurance will cover part of the contract.
Re: The MLB Thread
Nobody is talking about the off-season moves, because frankly they're boring. Nothing is happening. There are no King Albert to Anaheim. Baby Cec returns to Detroit-type stories.
Nothing has major happened. Greinke and Hamilton still haven't signed, B.J. Upton being the 2nd best OF option on the market is absolutely laughable. Based on his numbers, Sammy Sosa in 2007 at age 39 should've been given a 8-year deal.
Baseball is falling back into .240/25HR is a major power source, which although clean, is absurd how much these jokers are paid for that crappy of a product, compared to the price point.
Right now baseball has no heat. This is a PISS POOR Free Agent market, and the fact the Giants won the 2012 World Series (the only team deserving of it), just is boring to me right now.
The Marlins should be put on trial for fraud, and at this point are a fake team.
This is a down year for me.
Re: The MLB Thread
Boston signed several players in the last month--David Ross, Shane Victorino, and Mike Napoli. Ross was signed as a backup which is fine. Napoli got a 3yr deal to play first base at market value which is ok since they needed another hitter after trading Adrian Gonzalez. But they paid Victorino 13 million. I can't figure that one out if Victorino doesn't bounce back and supply some sort of offense. I don't really like paying outfielders 10+ million dollars just for defense and intanglibles.
Agreed. Some people thought they overpaid for Napoli, and maybe they did a little. But if that's the case, then they overpaid a lot for Victorino. The one thing that move does for them though is give them flexibility. Ellsbury is in the last year of his deal and he is most likely gone after this season. When/if he does, Victorino can take over in CF and not sure if this makes any sense but I think he's more valuable as a CF than a RF. Also it allows the Sox the option of seeing what they could get in return by trading Ellsbury in this off season or during the season. If they do it this off season, they could always re-sign Cody Ross to play RF. The hot rumor for a day last week was that the Phillies may have had an interest in Ellsbury and Cliff Lee's name was floated around. I'd be on cloud 9 if that deal went down. Don't see it making much sense though from the Phillies perspective. Yes Lee is owed 75 million for the remaining 3 years of his contract, but I would think you could still get more for him than a player who only has one year left on his deal and will demand a large sum of money.
