Good LOOGY guy, but highly overpaid for sure. $2.5 million a year to get one batter a game out.

Teach your kids to throw left-handed fastball and curveball = millionaire

12/6/2012 6:10:03 PM

Quote :

".250 average and .350 OBP career should not equal $13 million a year. Plus he's terrible on defense at catcher. And if you are going to play him at first, those hitting numbers are well below average at the premium position of 1B. He threw out only 20.8% of SB attempts in 2012. Bad move by the Sox"

hey thanks for selectively quoting where i said he puts up good numbers for a catcher in response to someone saying he's had one good half season and leaving out the part where i said i wouldn't pay him $13 million.

12/6/2012 6:44:09 PM

LA DODGERS:

12/8/2012 10:08:32 PM

grienke is money well spent with that stadium. I'd expect him to challenge for a cy young award most years there

12/8/2012 10:13:31 PM

James Shields, Wade Davis to the Royals for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and a PTBNL

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove12/story/_/id/8731167/tampa-bay-rays-trade-james-shields-wade-davis-kansas-city-royals-wil-myers

I really like the deal for the Rays. Myers is going to be legit, odorizzi could be a #2 starter and montgomery is a project with a ton of potential.

This trade is bordering on trade rape. We'll be able to look back on this one in about 2 years and laugh when Wil Myers is hitting 30HRs a year (TB controls him for 6 years!! ) and Odorizzi is a better pitcher than James Shields and the Royals do no better than finish 2nd in the AL Central

[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 12:46 AM. Reason : d]

12/10/2012 12:30:52 AM

Dodgers sign some Korean guy for 6-yrs/$36m and a $25m posting fee. So:



[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 1:34 AM. Reason : ..]

12/10/2012 1:34:27 AM

Quote :

"TB controls him for 6 years!!"

isn't this standard for anyone who hasn't been called up yet though? and i guess that kid went to wesleyan academy in high point. i used to play against them in high school. they were always ridiculously good. i had already graduated by the time he got there though.

12/10/2012 7:20:23 AM

yes, my point was that since he had not started his MLB service he is even more valuable for the Rays

12/10/2012 11:18:14 AM

haha dayton moore needs to be fired over this. i'd be furious if i was a royals fan

12/10/2012 5:05:25 PM

I understand the Royals desire to acquire pitching and trying to win now after all these years, but they gave up a TON to get one good, and one decent pitcher. Dodgers throwing that money at Grienke was surprising, but the money they threw at the Korean pitcher is absurd. I understand the whole it's not your money so why do you care argument that their ownership is using, but jesus that's a ton of payroll.

Being a Sox fan that Royals/Rays trade sucks in terms of the Sox' future as the Rays should stay very competitive in the years to come. I like the Napoli and Gomes signings, but I'm not a fan of the Victorino one. They've got money to spend though and are still way below their financial limit so it shouldn't hurt them in any way if the contracts don't pan out like the Gonzalez and Crawford ones could have (thanks Dodgers). Plus the FA market isn't really brimming with quick fixes to this team's flaws this year anyway. With guys like Bradley Jr. and Boegarts in the minors I'm good with getting good club house guys as the prospects try to break into the big leagues.

12/10/2012 5:20:03 PM

being completely objective, I can't think of any way the red sox will compete for anything more than at best 4th place in the AL east. and even that may be a stretch. The pitching is absolutely terrible.

Napoli can't stay healthy
Victorino is regressing at the plate

I'd give the red sox an F so far for this offseason. If you are going to suck anyways and you know it, why give these guys 3 year contracts?

12/10/2012 5:27:18 PM

I don't expect them to finish hire than 4th next year either, even if Lester recovers and Buccholz pitches like he did the last 3/4 of the season we still don't have depth at the backend of the rotation.

I think they get rid of Ellsbury at the deadline for prospects/pitching help with Victorino taking over in CF in '14 and Jackie Bradley Jr. starting in RF. Think that's why they opted for him over Cody Ross at this point. Napoli at 1B should be healthier than him at C, but they don't really have any major 1B prospects so a 3 year contract on the hope he stays healthy is what I guess the thinking was there. Gomes gets a shot to produce with the monster in LF, but he's only signed for 2 years and is easier to platoon with someone else. They're still way under their financial threshold and I think they're waiting until the prospects are ready and for a better pitching FA market.

12/10/2012 6:05:16 PM

i can't wait for the red sox to suck for the foreseeable future while the o's continue to finish 5th

12/10/2012 6:40:52 PM

my guess is the rays win the east next year and the Yanks and Blue Jays both make the playoffs.

As much as I like the O's and their story, it is hard to believe it was anything but a flash in the pan. They didn't do anything this offseason and had a run differential of +7 with winning 93 games which is insane. Their ptching remains highly questionable and I am a huge seller of their strikeout heavy/poor plate disciplined lineup.

Adam Jones is completely overrated as a hitter and nick markakis is the only player in the lineup that can work a count. I expect regression from the 5 guys remaining on this that struck out over 100 times in 2012 (the O's actually had 7 guys strike out over 100 timesbut reynolds and andino are gone). No way does Chris Davis bat north of .250 again.

[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 7:00 PM. Reason : e]

12/10/2012 6:59:53 PM

i don't think anyone ever said the 2012 orioles were anything but a flash in the pan.

12/10/2012 7:13:40 PM

Rays need a Lance Berkman-type at DH assuming he's healthy. This team could still win the AL East.

Price, Hellickson, Niemann, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb and Rodney closing.

Jennings, Escobar, Longoria, Joyce, Berkman, Loney, Lobaton, Roberts, Sean Rodriguez.

12/10/2012 7:16:05 PM

niemann has trouble staying healthy, and i wouldn't be surprised if the rays try to deal rodney. if they're not considering it, they should. they could probably take advantage of someone desperate for a reliever and then just shift jake mcgee into the closer's spot. archer and odorizzi will probably get a chance to duke it out for a spot in the rotation in spring training. james loney is not good.

12/10/2012 7:24:07 PM

Quote :

" james loney is not good."

Very true unless he gets back to his .280 and 80 RBI numbers, but I doubt it. Myers could take his spot before the year is over. Maybe even in ST.

[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 7:31 PM. Reason : at least he wasn't $13 million like other .250 hitters]

12/10/2012 7:30:48 PM

Loney is apparently viewed as an above average defensive 1B which is all the rays care about. Theyve had carlos pena and casey kotchman there before loney. Both of those guys are great defensive 1B's

12/10/2012 7:42:44 PM

Casey Kotchman was a can't miss prospect in MVP Baseball '05. Need to trade for Oliver Perez for your parent team and keep Kotchman in the minors and you were all set.

Anyway, how good is Mike Olt? Mets reportedly need more than Olt for Dickey. Can't see the Rangers trading Olt and Profar for Dickey, as much as they need pitching.

12/10/2012 7:49:32 PM

Mike Olt is a top tier prospect

no way in fuck they give up prufar for dickey

12/10/2012 7:58:40 PM

Figured.

If I'm the Mets I just pull the trigger for either/or. No way in hell we compete in the next two years anyway so get younger.

Pitching in the future should be OK with two top of the rotation youngsters like Wheeler and Harvey. You can always find 3-5 starters if you have any money and a brain.

12/10/2012 8:00:26 PM

Quote :

"Reds acquired OF Shin-Soo Choo, INF/OF Jason Donald and cash, Indians acquired RHPs Trevor Bauer, Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers and Diamondbacks acquired SS Didi Gregorius, LHP Tony Sipp and 1B Lars Anderson in a three-team trade. The rumored massive deal is official. Choo will be asked to play center field with the Reds, a position he's started just one game at since 2007. However, he's a massive improvement over Stubbs offensively and gives the Reds the leadoff hitter they've coveted. The Tribe also made out extremely well in getting Bauer in the deal. As for the D'Backs, they did manage to get a shortstop they really like. The problem is that no one is convinced Gregorius will hit. "

As a Tribe fan, I'm sad to see Choo go, but he was going to leave after next season anyways. There is a drop off from Choo to Stubbs, but I do like that they got someone in return who could step into a starting Of role.

but the real gem here is Trevor Bauer, kid could be dominant in the next year or two if he lives up to his potential (and triple A numbers).

The Indians are finally doing things right this offseason - they also picked up Mark Reynolds last week

12/12/2012 11:41:46 AM

My analysis of this trade coming shortly...the early winner is the reds

12/12/2012 12:55:09 PM

this year, yes

in three years, probably not

12/12/2012 2:05:50 PM

the real story here was that the Diamondbacks, an organization known for its strong evaluation of pitching prospects gave up Bauer for almost nothing. DROD, I know being an indians fan it is hard hearing this, but Bauer is not as good as you would hope he is.

Being someone who prides himself on his judgement of prospects (see francouer being a bust for the braves after the braves fans on here were all over his nuts based on a limited sample size, dee gordon, andrew miller, cameron maybin, etc etc), I dont think Bauer is ever going to be the #1 starter that you hope for. From what I've seen, the guy is a thrower. He lacks control and the baseball intelligence that the immediate impact guys have. The guy he most reminds me off is a former top prospect/bust Matt Clement. I have other issues with his mechanics. Arizona was frantically trying to trade him this offseason because he was not taking to the coaching of the pitching coaches. Digging deeper you can see what they are trying to change when you watch his motion in slo mo. Bauer's delivery is a slightly less exaggerated verion of Tim Lincecum's delivery but with a more labor on his elbow per pitch. Unless Bauer makes the necessary adjustments, he will be prone to injury due to the repetitive acceleration/deceleration stress on the shoulder and elbow. Typically these guys tend to lose velocity as the years go on and the innings pile up.

On a personal note, I'm pulling for you guys in the fact that i feel for the small market teams in downward trending cities, but I have a feeling you'll see Bauer either be a flop and converted to a RP unless he stops being a dumbshit and starts listening to his coaches. He had a bad enough attitude where the Diamondbacks took this shitty package of players to get rid of him while he still had value/

[Edited on December 12, 2012 at 2:50 PM. Reason : k]

12/12/2012 2:50:02 PM

the cardinals sent skip schumaker to the dodgers for this guy

12/12/2012 7:48:52 PM

Hamilton to angels.

12/13/2012 2:27:34 PM

go west young man, haven't you been told. california's full of women, whiskey and gold.

12/13/2012 2:30:49 PM

ALL OF LOS ANGELES

12/13/2012 2:50:49 PM

And they still wont win the ALCS

12/13/2012 3:25:04 PM

For a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year, was Hamilton really their best move? I get it takes him away from Texas, but damn there's a lot of money tied up in Hamilton and Pujols.

12/13/2012 3:31:19 PM

a lineup with Trout, Hamilton and Pujols is scary

12/13/2012 3:32:33 PM

takes a lot of pressure off of Pujols. and pretty much signifies the end of Texas' recent run of success.

12/13/2012 4:22:30 PM

^^Trumbo?

Quote :

"Buster Olney ?@Buster_ESPN Angels' lineup:CF Trout 3B Callaspo 1B Pujols RF Hamilton LF Trumbo 2B Kendrick DH Morales C Iannetta SS Aybar. Lightning; thunder; balance."

[Edited on December 13, 2012 at 4:23 PM. Reason : ^yeah they are going to struggle without Young/Hamilton]

12/13/2012 4:23:13 PM

They better hope to win a bunch of high scoring games:

Rotation

Weaver
CJ Wilson
.....
......
Jerome Williams

12/13/2012 4:42:58 PM

They traded Jordan Walden for Tommy Hanson. He has talent for sure, just can't seem to put it together.

12/13/2012 4:53:32 PM

Hanson's a west coast guy and seemed to always pitch his best when on west coast road trips. He should be able to provide good innings as a middle rotation guy.

12/13/2012 4:56:18 PM

nobody derives strength from whichever coast they prefer

12/13/2012 5:21:30 PM

Thats right, totally forgot about hanson

[Edited on December 13, 2012 at 6:05 PM. Reason : B]

12/13/2012 6:05:01 PM

you're right. i'm completely making that up.

12/14/2012 8:55:15 AM

Cubs and Detroit in a bidding war over Anibal Sanchez....

12/14/2012 9:06:48 AM

Tigers.

12/14/2012 10:03:54 AM

57 minutes seems kind of short for a bidding war

12/14/2012 10:51:29 AM

Great news. I wak up today to find the tigers re-sign sanchez and gio bernard enters the draft

12/14/2012 10:57:16 AM

holy shit, RA Dickey might be headed to the Angels

12/15/2012 2:37:44 AM

Toronto.

Plz to include D'Arnaud like the rumors are saying..

12/15/2012 7:54:18 AM

RA Dickie to the Blue Jays sounds like it's close to done

12/17/2012 11:23:52 AM

12/18/2012 5:00:38 PM

Quote :

"For a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year, was Hamilton really their best move? I get it takes him away from Texas, but damn there's a lot of money tied up in Hamilton and Pujols two old fucks."

FTFY

also, the NL is officially 1. Washington 2. Cincinnati 3. everyone else.

12/18/2012 5:26:39 PM