MLB: 2013-2014 Off-season - Pre-season

8-10

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

I don't want sliding banned, but I do want them to a little more measured and less aggressive. Clearly runners are looking to injure. Take the man and he won't catch it...

I think you see it more when it's a double play opportunity, not sliding to injure, but impede footing for the throw to first. As long as it's umpired correctly I have no issue with it, don't really see it as being on a par with charging homeplate.

rockonollie

Brandon Phillips is doing his best to destroy his reputation this off-season.....Reds ownership want rid of him because he publicly criticised them over his contract.

Reds and Yankees had a deal in place last night to swap Phillips and Brett Gardner, but Phillips refused to waive his no-trade clause unless the Yankees gave him a bigger contract.

krustydoyle

rockonollie wrote: »

Brandon Phillips is doing his best to destroy his reputation this off-season.....Reds ownership want rid of him because he publicly criticised them over his contract.

Reds and Yankees had a deal in place last night to swap Phillips and Brett Gardner, but Phillips refused to waive his no-trade clause unless the Yankees gave him a bigger contract.

Good!! His numbers have been very much in decline in the last few seasons.
And id be worried about his integration in the team (heard rumours about his ego) and even at the yankees (A-Rod an example) that might cause problems in the locker room

rockonollie

krustydoyle wrote: »

Good!! His numbers have been very much in decline in the last few seasons.
And id be worried about his integration in the team (heard rumours about his ego) and even at the yankees (A-Rod an example) that might cause problems in the locker room

they have been declining.....since any team interested is asking the Reds to eat some of the salary because he's making too much, I don't see how he expects to get a bigger contract.

I think $12.5 million per year for 4 years is pretty good for a declining player.

Worst part is that his antics are negatively effecting the Reds' efforts to re-sign Bronson Arroyo who told the GM last night that he doesn't know how much longer he can wait because the Phillips situation keeps going back and forth without signs of actaully getting anywhere.

rockonollie

Shock........Johnny Bench

supports the ban on collosions.

Pete Rose

is against it....

Waitsian

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

I feel the same about sliding 2nd base (mainly). A runner will go through the infielder, mostly from the back as the 2nd or SS will be receiving the ball from the outfield.

I don't want sliding banned, but I do want them to a little more measured and less aggressive. Clearly runners are looking to injure. Take the man and he won't catch it...

8-10 wrote: »

I think you see it more when it's a double play opportunity, not sliding to injure, but impede footing for the throw to first. As long as it's umpired correctly I have no issue with it, don't really see it as being on a par with charging homeplate.

I can see where both of you are coming from, and am kinda caught between both on the issue; can't really make up my mind.

Having said that, when I read your comments, a certain somebody sprang to mind - Mr. Ty Cobb, ladies and gentleman. He'd like a word!

krustydoyle

Boone logan to the rockies
3yr deal for 16 mill.

Little surprised the yankees let him go but that's a nice pay day for him

krustydoyle

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10134537/omar-infante-kansas-city-royals-reach-four-year-deal

Only reason he didn't sign with the yankees is that they only offered him a 3yr deal.
I like this move for the royals, its gonna help them contend and maybe turn a few heads.

rockonollie

krustydoyle wrote: »

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10134537/omar-infante-kansas-city-royals-reach-four-year-deal

Only reason he didn't sign with the yankees is that they only offered him a 3yr deal.
I like this move for the royals, its gonna help them contend and maybe turn a few heads.

This will also make the Yankees revisit the Brandon Phillips offer that they turned down last week.....with Infante off the market, there's not much by way of 2nd basemen available.

krustydoyle

rockonollie wrote: »

This will also make the Yankees revisit the Brandon Phillips offer that they turned down last week.....with Infante off the market, there's not much by way of 2nd basemen available.

Can they persuade the reds to eat some of that contract??
Thats not gonna be easy.

rockonollie

krustydoyle wrote: »

Can they persuade the reds to eat some of that contract??
Thats not gonna be easy.

Reds are willing to eat some of the contract....the sticking point last week was that Phillips wouldn't waive his no-trade clause unless he was given an even bigger contract......he's come across as being quite dillusional about his value.

krustydoyle

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10151364/brian-roberts-deal-new-york-yankees

Is this the cheapest solution because thats all it looks like maybe to free all the remaining cap for pitching?

smackbunnybaby

He is so injury prone that we can 100% expect him to miss time.

They will using their back up at some stage for an extended period.

jack presley

Sin Choo Choo off to Texas for 7 years. I don't know why but for some reason I don't see him as a player that's worth a huge contract.

rockonollie

jack presley wrote: »

Sin Choo Choo off to Texas for 7 years. I don't know why but for some reason I don't see him as a player that's worth a huge contract.

He may be for the first couple of seasons.....but 7 years is crazy for someone who's decline is going to start within the next couple of years.

jack presley

rockonollie wrote: »

He may be for the first couple of seasons.....but 7 years is crazy for someone who's decline is going to start within the next couple of years.

You'll know better than most as you've probably seen the most of him recently but doesn't he struggle with either lefty/righty pitching?

rockonollie

jack presley wrote: »

You'll know better than most as you've probably seen the most of him recently but doesn't he struggle with either lefty/righty pitching?

In 2013: AVG .317 vs right, .215 vs left.....his strikeout rate was close to similar 1 per 4.36ABs vs 1 per 4.12....but his walk rate dropped to 1 walk per 7.55ABs against left vs 1 per 4.41 vs right.

Throughout his career, his average lefties vs rights has always had about a 40-50 point difference (which is just about league average), but in the last 2 seasons that has been 100+

Certainly cause for concern

jack presley

rockonollie wrote: »

In 2013: AVG .317 vs right, .215 vs left.....his strikeout rate was close to similar 1 per 4.36ABs vs 1 per 4.12....but his walk rate dropped to 1 walk per 7.55ABs against left vs 1 per 4.41 vs right.

Throughout his career, his average lefties vs rights has always had about a 40-50 point difference (which is just about league average), but in the last 2 seasons that has been 100+

Certainly cause for concern

Earlier this off season Choo was rumoured to be a target for the Mets as he'd tick the need for both an outfielder and lead off hitter. But I was hoping they wouldn't bite and give him what the Rangers seem to have done and it was probably the L/R split that was the reason why.

krustydoyle

So it's official..

Tanaka is been posted
Let the negotiations begin
(come to the yankees please)

krustydoyle

So it's official..

Tanaka is been posted
Let the negotiations begin
(come to the yankees please)

jack presley

krustydoyle wrote: »

So it's official..

Tanaka is been posted
Let the negotiations begin
(come to the yankees please)

I read somewhere that he fancied a west coast team. But money talks and if the Yankees stump up enough cash he could easily end up there.

krustydoyle

jack presley wrote: »

I read somewhere that he fancied a west coast team. But money talks and if the Yankees stump up enough cash he could easily end up there.

Dodgers then jack?? In fairness he's gonna have plenty of choice considering the posting fee is only 20 mill

jack presley

krustydoyle wrote: »

Dodgers then jack?? In fairness he's gonna have plenty of choice considering the posting fee is only 20 mill

I don't know. It's all well and good saying you want to play in a certain area until some other team offers you twice as much money. Then location preference will probably go out the window.

jack presley

The circus looks like it could be opening up for business again soon. A-Rod's suspension reduced to 162 games. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

His statement sounds like he's going to continue fighting anyway. Has he always included the abolishing of guaranteed contracts into this? I wasn't aware of it anyway.

“The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. This is one man’s decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable. This injustice is MLB’s first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review.

I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court. I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension. No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players’ contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."

jack presley

$27.5m extra in the kitty for the Yankees to go get Tanaka now!

Waitsian

jack presley wrote: »

$27.5m extra in the kitty for the Yankees to go get Tanaka now!

I still think he'll end up at Seattle.

krustydoyle

jack presley wrote: »

$27.5m extra in the kitty for the Yankees to go get Tanaka now!

Hopefully so but im less confident than i was when he was initially posted.

MoyVilla9

mod9maple wrote: »

I still think he'll end up at Seattle.

How much money do the Mariners have to spend this offseason?

Coeus

jack presley wrote: »

The circus looks like it could be opening up for business again soon. A-Rod's suspension reduced to 162 games. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

His statement sounds like he's going to continue fighting anyway. Has he always included the abolishing of guaranteed contracts into this? I wasn't aware of it anyway.

I guess he has 25 million reasons to fight it. MLBs evidence against him is on the way...
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-details-in-rodriguez-case/

krustydoyle

Big rumours tonight that it's come down to the Los Angeles teams and the yankees for Tanaka.

He has until the 24th to decide and sign a contract

jack presley

Instant replay confirmed for 2014.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10305223/mlb-owners-ok-expanded-replay-2014

This will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Waitsian

I don't have a problem with replays per se, but I hope they don't slow up games to the point where they become overly long. I mean that's a long list included in that link. Too long in my opinion. Managers have a possible two requests and a crew chief can view as many as he likes. That's the possibility for some very long games! A few years ago there were complaints that in fact games were too long. I think it's time to start getting pitchers and especially batters (leaving the box to adjust your gloves before every pitch?) to speed things up.

Tbh I think umpires behind the plate not getting calls right is a far more serious problem than the odd call at a base but heaven forbid they lose their jobs to technology. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for them. You have to wonder why you need them at all.

smackbunnybaby

Clayton Kershaw inks a massive new deal cus of stuff like this. I could watch all day:

jack presley

Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio were jokingly breaking down that deal yesterday working out how much he's going to be paid per start, per inning and per out and how much he'll be paid when he actually pitches compared to what he'll be paid when he's not.

I know the Dodgers have the money but it'll all boil down to whether he can stay healthy which isn't a given for any pitcher.

Does this rule them out if Tanaka now do you reckon?

MoyVilla9

mod9maple wrote: »

I don't have a problem with replays per se, but I hope they don't slow up games to the point where they become overly long. I mean that's a long list included in that link. Too long in my opinion. Managers have a possible two requests and a crew chief can view as many as he likes. That's the possibility for some very long games! A few years ago there were complaints that in fact games were too long. I think it's time to start getting pitchers and especially batters (leaving the box to adjust your gloves before every pitch?) to speed things up.

Tbh I think umpires behind the plate not getting calls right is a far more serious problem than the odd call at a base but heaven forbid they lose their jobs to technology. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for them. You have to wonder why you need them at all.

I don't get this "it will make the game too long" argument. (I know you're only saying that you hope it doesn't make it too long). Baseball is a game in which people SING during the middle of the 7th!
Adding 1 or 2 minutes to a game to get the call right is not a problem.

jack presley

MoyVilla9 wrote: »

I don't get this "it will make the game too long" argument. (I know you're only saying that you hope it doesn't make it too long). Baseball is a game in which people SING during the middle of the 7th!
Adding 1 or 2 minutes to a game to get the call right is not a problem.

I agree. If they really wanted to make he game shorter they could add a strike to the count whenever a hitter steps out of the box to adjust his gloves that he had just adjusted before the previous pitch.

rockonollie

mod9maple wrote: »

I don't have a problem with replays per se, but I hope they don't slow up games to the point where they become overly long. I mean that's a long list included in that link. Too long in my opinion. Managers have a possible two requests and a crew chief can view as many as he likes. That's the possibility for some very long games!

I can't remember the exact figure, but when this was discussed last year they worked out the average time it took from the umpires walking off the field, until they came out with a decision......it was something like 1minute 40 seconds.....again, can't remember the exact figure, but it was under 2 mintes..

Baseball is a relatively slow moving game with constant breaks and delays.......ballparks already have things in place to entertain the crowds during delays...... occassionally having a game go an extra 10 minutes or so (in the rare occassion that managers would use all their challenges) isn't going to destroy baseball.

jack presley

With these new replays it won't be the umpires on the field assessing them. It'll all be done from a central location in NY so that should speed up the decisions as well. I don't understand anyone who thinks this is a bad thing.

rockonollie

jack presley wrote: »

With these new replays it won't be the umpires on the field assessing them. It'll all be done from a central location in NY so that should speed up the decisions as well. I don't understand anyone who thinks this is a bad thing.

Correct.....It's going to be run very much the same way as the TMO in rugby (except the "TMO" isn't on site)

Umpire calls the review official, he looks at the available replays and the decision is made.

You see the replays on TV all the time for these close calls, and 99% of the time, after watching the replay once or twice, the TV announcers are able to see what the call should be.

Nobody has addressed the possibility that it may even speed up the game, with plays now reviewable, it should reduce the number of arguments between managers and umps, and they always take much longer than the reviews did.

smackbunnybaby

jack presley wrote: »

Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio were jokingly breaking down that deal yesterday working out how much he's going to be paid per start, per inning and per out and how much he'll be paid when he actually pitches compared to what he'll be paid when he's not.

I know the Dodgers have the money but it'll all boil down to whether he can stay healthy which isn't a given for any pitcher.

Does this rule them out if Tanaka now do you reckon?

I'm not sure if they are out, but certainly Yankees and now Cubs are leaders. Be amazing if the cubs got him! What a boost for the club and the first ready-made piece to be added to the new look. Imagine if all their prospects came through! The farm is basically how they are selling the club to Tanaka. But I guess if he wants instant action, Yankees will win.

rockonollie

jack presley wrote: »

Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio were jokingly breaking down that deal yesterday working out how much he's going to be paid per start, per inning and per out and how much he'll be paid when he actually pitches compared to what he'll be paid when he's not.

I know the Dodgers have the money but it'll all boil down to whether he can stay healthy which isn't a given for any pitcher.

Does this rule them out if Tanaka now do you reckon?

Joey Votto will earn $17840 per inning through his age 40 season (if he played every inning).

Or $0.65 per second/$39 per minute/$2340 per hour for the next 9 years

jack presley

Looks like CC Sabathia decided to stop eating during the off season.

http://extramustard.si.com/2014/01/20/cc-sabathia-skinny/

rockonollie

Reds are apparently close to signing Grady Sizemore......low risk, high reward move.....hasn't played since 2011 and less than 200 games 2009-2011 due to injuries.

But prior to that he was one of the best OFs in the game, and because of the injury history, the Reds are likely to get him for almost nothing.

smackbunnybaby

jack presley wrote: »

Looks like CC Sabathia decided to stop eating during the off season.

http://extramustard.si.com/2014/01/20/cc-sabathia-skinny/

NO WAY!
Hope he gets his mojo back this year.
Great pitcher!

smackbunnybaby

TANAKA NEWS

Tanaka to #Yankees, seven years, $155M, opt-out after fourth year.

krustydoyle

https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/426003117428457472

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10331816/masahiro-tanaka-new-york-yankees-agree-seven-year-155-million-deal



YES!!!!! ok so we don't know how good he's gonna be but im one happy yankee fan today

Coeus

smackbunnybaby wrote: »

TANAKA NEWS

Tanaka to #Yankees, seven years, $155M, opt-out after fourth year.

Wow, thats a bit of an overpay but with so many teams bidding I guess they had to make sure they got him. Rotation doesn't look so bad now with CC - Tanaka - Kiroda - Nova plus one...

smackbunnybaby

Imagine if Pineda recovered well. He'd be a great, if a bit erratic #5.

jack presley

rockonollie wrote: »

Reds are apparently close to signing Grady Sizemore......low risk, high reward move.....hasn't played since 2011 and less than 200 games 2009-2011 due to injuries.

But prior to that he was one of the best OFs in the game, and because of the injury history, the Reds are likely to get him for almost nothing.

Gone to Boston now apparently. I know it's a low cost deal so it's low risk but do you think he still had anything left?

MilanPan!c

jack presley wrote: »

Gone to Boston now apparently. I know it's a low cost deal so it's low risk but do you think he still had anything left?

Sizemore has base of $750K

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1933309-grady-sizemore-reportedly-agrees-to-major-league-deal-with-boston-red-sox

That's SO cheap that even if he only played well for 50 games it'd be worth it...

On the OTHER hand if he bounces back... he's a three time all star...

It's typical Sox - low risk, high reward....

Compare that to the Yankess spending half a billion in the off season...

Put it like this, if both teams make the play-offs and one had to spend half a billion more to do it...