Showing posts with label Trades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trades. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Edwin Jackson Is Ruining The White Sox
Apparently that's the new theme in the Chicago Newspapers. You know, ignoring his sick stats since coming to the White Sox. Even with his .98 ERA, he's the reason for them falling apart because...he killed team chemistry. It's obvious to everyone in know:
Leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, some Sox players had said Trader Kenny didn't need to make a move, especially one to acquire a hitter. He traded for a pitcher, Edwin Jackson, and the Sox nosedived.
See! You get a good player and your team collapses. It's just logic!
Case Closed.
Leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, some Sox players had said Trader Kenny didn't need to make a move, especially one to acquire a hitter. He traded for a pitcher, Edwin Jackson, and the Sox nosedived.
See! You get a good player and your team collapses. It's just logic!
Case Closed.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Phil Rogers is the Worst Reporter Ever
I know people hated Mariotti, but at least he's no longer employed at a major newspaper. Marrioti was just a stuff-stirrer. He wanted to get everyone riled up under the theory of "any reaction from the reader is a good reaction." Phil Rogers just doesn't seem to understand baseball. At all. And he's been covering it for like 5000 years or so. I don' even know what number of article this is about him. But he's turning this blog into his own personal showcase. Here's the newest entry (Phil in italics, me in regular typeface):
Standing pat at deadline right move for Sox
This is a continuation of his theory that adding good players hurts you team. Why? Cause change kills unicorns.
No Adam Dunn, no worries.
Well no worries except every time Juan Pierre and his 72 OPS+ come to the plate to pop out to the shortstop. (Though thanks to his fielding his WAR is .7, gotta give him that.)
And, hey, Kenny Williams, way to go. Way to say no.As constructed during the 26-5 stretch that carried them from 9 1/2 games back into the American League Central lead, there was really nothing wrong with the White Sox.
Team OPS+ 98, slightly below the league average.
That's why Paul Konerko took some time at the All-Star Game to talk about how he hoped Williams wouldn't do what's so easy to do in this age of short attention spans and ceaseless public pressure to do something, anything!
And this is how you write a run on sentence by just throwing in word after word and confusing everyone who is reading and trying to enjoy what you wrote the night before when you were watching the game with a can of Milwaukee's Beast and you had to get an article in before deadline and you might as well congratulate the GM on failing to get land any offensive help because obviously if the White Sox were playing .800+ ball for a month that will continue for eternity as long as you don't mess with the "gosh dang it" chemistry of the ball club.
That is, to try to fix something that wasn't broken.
Team OPS+ 98. Black holes of offense include:
A.J. Pierzynski: OPS+ 65
Gordon Beckham: OPS+ 74 (Though definitely hot as of late.)
Juan Pierre: OPS+ 71
Mark Kotsay: OPS+ 72
Konerko prodded Williams to believe in the role players who have meant so much to this point.
If by "role players" he meant the best bullpen in the MLB, then yes, he should believe in them. If he meant "role players" as in Mark Kotsay...then no.
This shouldn't have been too tough of a sales job, as it was Williams who brought all those guys to Chicago.But the temptation to add a fourth run-producer to the middle of an order Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin and Konerko anchor was great.
Yes. The temptation to improve the frickin team was great. Good thing Williams recognized the only thing that could come from that is winning a lot more games. Phew...close one there.
That's why Williams even called Dodgers GM Ned Colletti at one point to discuss Manny Ramirez.Williams' nature is to be hyperactive. But this time Williams did the right thing. He refused to consider trading Gordon Beckham and says he let it be known he valued Dayan Viciedo so highly teams didn't even ask about him.
Yes...that's why they didn't ask about him....You know in 66 plate appearances he has walked a grand total of.......................ZERO TIMES!!!! Not even hit by a pitch. That's actually hard to do. You have to have a real dedication to swinging the bat at everything to accomplish that one. (Yes small sample size I know. But 66 times and no walks...geez.)
Williams might have been able to say no Saturday because he had scratched his trading Jones
At first I thought he was talking about Andruw Jones...
...on Friday, dealing Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg to the Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson. For those counting — OK, I may be the only one in America doing this — they were the 52nd and 53rd ranked prospects (Sox's top 30, Baseball America) that Williams has traded in his decade as a GM........
It's a good sign that Williams wouldn't mortgage the future once again by trading Beckham for Dunn or Jose Bautista. He hoped Nationals GM Mike Rizzo would give him a way to add Dunn without having Beckham in the package, but the counteroffer never arrived."I was not trading Gordon Beckham,'' Williams said.It's an even better sign that teams did not even ask about Viciedo, who the Sox project as a game-changing power hitter at either third base or (post-Konerko) first base. He's in the second year of a four-year, $10 million contract and is valued higher than it might have seemed heading into the weekend of the trade deadline."People know how we feel,'' Williams said, explaining why no teams asked for him. "He's 21 years old. A talent like that will be a major force in the league. I'd like you to find one or two (prospects) at his level who can do the things he can do, are as explosive. The ball comes off his bat. People understood we weren't going to (consider trading him)."
Here is a list of the top 50 prospects in the Minors at the beginning of the year one MLB.com. Use Edit->Find to look for Viciedo's name. See what happens. Go on. Try it.
Williams said he understands why some analysts have said the Sox are only "marginally better'' after adding Jackson in Jake Peavy's rotation spot, where Hudson had been. But he remembers being criticized for not making major moves at the deadline in 2005.
Past results may not predict future returns.
Names aren't known but it appears he would have added Nos. 54 and 55 to the list of those he traded away if Lance Berkman had been willing to come to Chicago.Berkman vetoed a deal with the White Sox so he could join old Astros teammate Andy Pettitte with the Yankees. This could be a blessing in disguise, as his batting average has been in steady decline (from .312 in 2008 to .274 in '09 to .245 this year) and he never has had to deal with the adjustments that come from being traded.
Wow. Still using batting average huh? Berkman's OPS+ 114. Beats the chum the White Sox are throwing out at DH right now doesn't it? Also the whole "dealing with the adjustments that come from being traded" thing. My suggestion? Remember to set your watch ahead a couple hours. There's, you've adjusted. Heck, your cell should do it automatically.
Nothing sometimes can be the right thing to do.Given the price tag placed on the available run-producers like Dunn and Bautista, this was one of those times.
I don't know the exact terms of the agreement for Beckham and Dunn and everyone else. All I know is Dunn hits like a mythological beast and would have a fun time hitting in US Cellular. (Park Factor 104. Favorable to hitters.) Beckham may be the future, but Dunn is the present.
Case Closed.
Standing pat at deadline right move for Sox
This is a continuation of his theory that adding good players hurts you team. Why? Cause change kills unicorns.
No Adam Dunn, no worries.
Well no worries except every time Juan Pierre and his 72 OPS+ come to the plate to pop out to the shortstop. (Though thanks to his fielding his WAR is .7, gotta give him that.)
And, hey, Kenny Williams, way to go. Way to say no.As constructed during the 26-5 stretch that carried them from 9 1/2 games back into the American League Central lead, there was really nothing wrong with the White Sox.
Team OPS+ 98, slightly below the league average.
That's why Paul Konerko took some time at the All-Star Game to talk about how he hoped Williams wouldn't do what's so easy to do in this age of short attention spans and ceaseless public pressure to do something, anything!
And this is how you write a run on sentence by just throwing in word after word and confusing everyone who is reading and trying to enjoy what you wrote the night before when you were watching the game with a can of Milwaukee's Beast and you had to get an article in before deadline and you might as well congratulate the GM on failing to get land any offensive help because obviously if the White Sox were playing .800+ ball for a month that will continue for eternity as long as you don't mess with the "gosh dang it" chemistry of the ball club.
That is, to try to fix something that wasn't broken.
Team OPS+ 98. Black holes of offense include:
A.J. Pierzynski: OPS+ 65
Gordon Beckham: OPS+ 74 (Though definitely hot as of late.)
Juan Pierre: OPS+ 71
Mark Kotsay: OPS+ 72
Konerko prodded Williams to believe in the role players who have meant so much to this point.
If by "role players" he meant the best bullpen in the MLB, then yes, he should believe in them. If he meant "role players" as in Mark Kotsay...then no.
This shouldn't have been too tough of a sales job, as it was Williams who brought all those guys to Chicago.But the temptation to add a fourth run-producer to the middle of an order Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin and Konerko anchor was great.
Yes. The temptation to improve the frickin team was great. Good thing Williams recognized the only thing that could come from that is winning a lot more games. Phew...close one there.
That's why Williams even called Dodgers GM Ned Colletti at one point to discuss Manny Ramirez.Williams' nature is to be hyperactive. But this time Williams did the right thing. He refused to consider trading Gordon Beckham and says he let it be known he valued Dayan Viciedo so highly teams didn't even ask about him.
Yes...that's why they didn't ask about him....You know in 66 plate appearances he has walked a grand total of.......................ZERO TIMES!!!! Not even hit by a pitch. That's actually hard to do. You have to have a real dedication to swinging the bat at everything to accomplish that one. (Yes small sample size I know. But 66 times and no walks...geez.)
Williams might have been able to say no Saturday because he had scratched his trading Jones
At first I thought he was talking about Andruw Jones...
...on Friday, dealing Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg to the Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson. For those counting — OK, I may be the only one in America doing this — they were the 52nd and 53rd ranked prospects (Sox's top 30, Baseball America) that Williams has traded in his decade as a GM........
It's a good sign that Williams wouldn't mortgage the future once again by trading Beckham for Dunn or Jose Bautista. He hoped Nationals GM Mike Rizzo would give him a way to add Dunn without having Beckham in the package, but the counteroffer never arrived."I was not trading Gordon Beckham,'' Williams said.It's an even better sign that teams did not even ask about Viciedo, who the Sox project as a game-changing power hitter at either third base or (post-Konerko) first base. He's in the second year of a four-year, $10 million contract and is valued higher than it might have seemed heading into the weekend of the trade deadline."People know how we feel,'' Williams said, explaining why no teams asked for him. "He's 21 years old. A talent like that will be a major force in the league. I'd like you to find one or two (prospects) at his level who can do the things he can do, are as explosive. The ball comes off his bat. People understood we weren't going to (consider trading him)."
Here is a list of the top 50 prospects in the Minors at the beginning of the year one MLB.com. Use Edit->Find to look for Viciedo's name. See what happens. Go on. Try it.
Williams said he understands why some analysts have said the Sox are only "marginally better'' after adding Jackson in Jake Peavy's rotation spot, where Hudson had been. But he remembers being criticized for not making major moves at the deadline in 2005.
Past results may not predict future returns.
Names aren't known but it appears he would have added Nos. 54 and 55 to the list of those he traded away if Lance Berkman had been willing to come to Chicago.Berkman vetoed a deal with the White Sox so he could join old Astros teammate Andy Pettitte with the Yankees. This could be a blessing in disguise, as his batting average has been in steady decline (from .312 in 2008 to .274 in '09 to .245 this year) and he never has had to deal with the adjustments that come from being traded.
Wow. Still using batting average huh? Berkman's OPS+ 114. Beats the chum the White Sox are throwing out at DH right now doesn't it? Also the whole "dealing with the adjustments that come from being traded" thing. My suggestion? Remember to set your watch ahead a couple hours. There's, you've adjusted. Heck, your cell should do it automatically.
Nothing sometimes can be the right thing to do.Given the price tag placed on the available run-producers like Dunn and Bautista, this was one of those times.
I don't know the exact terms of the agreement for Beckham and Dunn and everyone else. All I know is Dunn hits like a mythological beast and would have a fun time hitting in US Cellular. (Park Factor 104. Favorable to hitters.) Beckham may be the future, but Dunn is the present.
Case Closed.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Haugh-Ball!
After a brief hiatus to clean up the 'Great Bronson Flood' of 2010, we're back. So far in the flood, the town has lost the barber shop, Chubby's Diner (which has a great fish sandwich), and the town's only mailbox. Chaos ensued as Charlie skinny dipped in the flooded street in full view of the adjacent pre-school. But enough about that, we're here to meta-criticize the media. Take us away David Haugh:
Sox's Williams weighs pros, cons of tinkering with 1st-place club
Pros include: getting better
Cons include: crazed science experiments involving something called team-chemistry...I'm not familiar.
When Ken Williams talks about the status quo like it is a bigger enemy than the Tigers or Twins, it is what you admire most about the football coach trapped inside a baseball executive's body.
How come every time some baseball player/manager/gm shows a desire to win they compare the guy to a football player (Erstad). Do high school cheerleading coaches not want to win? I say we start going with that one.
He oversees one of baseball's most overachieving teams, one that only Hawk Harrelson and the Guillen family thought would be in first place this late in July.
Both are, of course, completely insane.
Instinctively, Williams wants more. He wants the left-handed bat, the fifth starting pitcher, the bullpen lefty and Albert Pujols too, if that's not too much to ask. The compulsive competitor in Williams wants it all mostly because he can't possibly have it.
How do you prove that last statement? I thought he wanted it because he wanted to win like football coaches do.
"When we won the World Series (in 2005), I was on the bus thinking what we could have done to make this easier,'' Williams recalled Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.
Nerd. Take that kettle!
This is the trademark intensity many Sox fans love most about Williams. Five days before the non-waiver trading deadline, it also should be what scares them out of their black pinstriped slippers.Williams was asked if the Sox team that beat the Mariners 6-1 Monday night is good enough, as is, to accomplish all the things he wants to accomplish this season. He hesitated, supplying the kind of dramatic pause producers of MLB's "The Club'' surely have come to appreciate."I don't know,'' Williams answered.
Honest at least.
The confident answer the 25 players in the clubhouse wanted to hear was yes. The answer Ozzie Guillen has maintained is yes.
Semantically I'll argue that it is the Manager's job to lie to the players and tell them they're better than they are. The GM's job is mostly dealing with media and fans where it does pay to be a little more honest.
The man spending the week with his ear pressed to the phone listening to trade proposals, given a chance to cast a vote of confidence, abstained. Uh-oh. Somewhere, Daniel Hudson's heart just skipped a beat.
He should get that looked at. Tachycardia is a serious issue.
"You've got to be cognizant of making a move that's a little too shortsighted and jeopardizing your future (and) I certainly don't want to do that,'' Williams said. "However … you guys know me, I can't B.S. you. If there's something to do in a major way that doesn't disrupt what we have, and adds to what do have, I'll take that shot.
Sounds prudent.
'If Williams' aim is for his team to win the American League Central, he may want to think twice about pulling that trigger.For about 30 minutes before Monday night's game, Williams leaned patiently against a dugout railing as Guillen spoke within earshot about 15 feet away. He really should have been listening to Sox captain Paul Konerko.Inside the Sox's clubhouse before either Williams or Guillen addressed baseball's Hallmark holiday — the manufactured, overhyped July 31 trade deadline — Konerko spoke in a volume much lower than his bosses. But with words that should carry the most weight in this potentially pivotal week."The character of this team and the makeup is why we're probably competing at all,'' Konerko said. "That's a fragile thing and you have to watch that … but who knows, you could add somebody in a move that actually enhances that.''
Sure, Adam Dunn may fit in as well as Jake Peavy did even if Dunn would grudgingly have to accept a DH role. Prince Fielder may have no effect on the Sox chemistry despite giving Konerko the occasional day off at first base he doesn't need and Guillen a lineup conundrum he doesn't want.
So Guillen doesn't want Fielder because...it would give the 34-year-old Paul Konerko some days off. And Guillen would have to learn how to spell 'Fielder' for the lineup card.
But adding either player guarantees the Sox nothing but change.
That is just a stupidly obvious statement. Really really stupid.
And change makes a first-place team as uncomfortable as Konerko seemed discussing that possibility.
Why? Why would it make them uncomfortable? One reason? Anything?
If Williams somehow can engineer a trade that involves prospects who haven't contributed to this turnaround season, then applaud and nominate him for baseball executive of the year.
Nope. No reason. It just would.
But subtracting anything from the Sox's current roster now would only make it trickier to add another division title this year ...
Why? Because Fielder is a Mounds guy and Konerko likes Almond Joy? I've never heard anything about Prince being a club house cancer. Or Dunn for that matter.
Please don't start complaining about the Sox's viability in the playoffs if they stand pat. That's like worrying how you would pay the taxes after winning the lottery.
That is NOT a cheerleading coach's mentality. "Well our cheers are good enough to get us TO state, lets stop here and just be happy for ourselves...everyone gets ice cream!"
It's all about winning the Central first, and tinkering with the roster would disrupt the flow of a team that thinks it has something special going.
Please someone explain to me what that last sentence means. I have no clue. So first you have to win the Central division to make the playoffs. Right. Then you can't get a stud left-handed hitter because it would cause A.J. to become incontinent or something.
It doesn't matter if you agree or if the Sox actually do. It only matters that they believe they do.
David, do you have an editor? If so, he should have printed his paragraph out, slapped you, and rubbed your nose in the printed copy while yelling "No!".
"I don't know why this is, but baseball just seems like a certain vibe you get in the clubhouse where you feel like you can win and sometimes when pieces move or one little thing gets altered, it changes things to where teams that believe don't believe and something gets out of kilter,'' Konerko said.
I don't really buy that logic, but I'll defer to an ALCS MVP on that one.
For the record, Guillen would rather acknowledge Wrigley Field as a baseball landmark than team chemistry as a factor in his team's success."You know how you make chemistry? Win games,'' Guillen said.
YES!!!! Dead frickin on!!!! Ozzie Guillen is now the smarted person in the room.
Yet in the next breath, Guillen allowed that there was something inexplicable about this team that he would like to keep in tact, and that is the message he keeps sending Williams.The quality that's easier to pinpoint than for anybody to explain."Big names don't win games, good teams win games,'' Guillen said.
Hmmmm...true, but big time talent tends to win more games than it losses.
There's only one person Guillen has to worry about not feeling satisfied with the Sox roster before the trade deadline, and he's busy pacing in his office at 35th and Shields.
Case closed!
Sox's Williams weighs pros, cons of tinkering with 1st-place club
Pros include: getting better
Cons include: crazed science experiments involving something called team-chemistry...I'm not familiar.
When Ken Williams talks about the status quo like it is a bigger enemy than the Tigers or Twins, it is what you admire most about the football coach trapped inside a baseball executive's body.
How come every time some baseball player/manager/gm shows a desire to win they compare the guy to a football player (Erstad). Do high school cheerleading coaches not want to win? I say we start going with that one.
He oversees one of baseball's most overachieving teams, one that only Hawk Harrelson and the Guillen family thought would be in first place this late in July.
Both are, of course, completely insane.
Instinctively, Williams wants more. He wants the left-handed bat, the fifth starting pitcher, the bullpen lefty and Albert Pujols too, if that's not too much to ask. The compulsive competitor in Williams wants it all mostly because he can't possibly have it.
How do you prove that last statement? I thought he wanted it because he wanted to win like football coaches do.
"When we won the World Series (in 2005), I was on the bus thinking what we could have done to make this easier,'' Williams recalled Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.
Nerd. Take that kettle!
This is the trademark intensity many Sox fans love most about Williams. Five days before the non-waiver trading deadline, it also should be what scares them out of their black pinstriped slippers.Williams was asked if the Sox team that beat the Mariners 6-1 Monday night is good enough, as is, to accomplish all the things he wants to accomplish this season. He hesitated, supplying the kind of dramatic pause producers of MLB's "The Club'' surely have come to appreciate."I don't know,'' Williams answered.
Honest at least.
The confident answer the 25 players in the clubhouse wanted to hear was yes. The answer Ozzie Guillen has maintained is yes.
Semantically I'll argue that it is the Manager's job to lie to the players and tell them they're better than they are. The GM's job is mostly dealing with media and fans where it does pay to be a little more honest.
The man spending the week with his ear pressed to the phone listening to trade proposals, given a chance to cast a vote of confidence, abstained. Uh-oh. Somewhere, Daniel Hudson's heart just skipped a beat.
He should get that looked at. Tachycardia is a serious issue.
"You've got to be cognizant of making a move that's a little too shortsighted and jeopardizing your future (and) I certainly don't want to do that,'' Williams said. "However … you guys know me, I can't B.S. you. If there's something to do in a major way that doesn't disrupt what we have, and adds to what do have, I'll take that shot.
Sounds prudent.
'If Williams' aim is for his team to win the American League Central, he may want to think twice about pulling that trigger.For about 30 minutes before Monday night's game, Williams leaned patiently against a dugout railing as Guillen spoke within earshot about 15 feet away. He really should have been listening to Sox captain Paul Konerko.Inside the Sox's clubhouse before either Williams or Guillen addressed baseball's Hallmark holiday — the manufactured, overhyped July 31 trade deadline — Konerko spoke in a volume much lower than his bosses. But with words that should carry the most weight in this potentially pivotal week."The character of this team and the makeup is why we're probably competing at all,'' Konerko said. "That's a fragile thing and you have to watch that … but who knows, you could add somebody in a move that actually enhances that.''
Sure, Adam Dunn may fit in as well as Jake Peavy did even if Dunn would grudgingly have to accept a DH role. Prince Fielder may have no effect on the Sox chemistry despite giving Konerko the occasional day off at first base he doesn't need and Guillen a lineup conundrum he doesn't want.
So Guillen doesn't want Fielder because...it would give the 34-year-old Paul Konerko some days off. And Guillen would have to learn how to spell 'Fielder' for the lineup card.
But adding either player guarantees the Sox nothing but change.
That is just a stupidly obvious statement. Really really stupid.
And change makes a first-place team as uncomfortable as Konerko seemed discussing that possibility.
Why? Why would it make them uncomfortable? One reason? Anything?
If Williams somehow can engineer a trade that involves prospects who haven't contributed to this turnaround season, then applaud and nominate him for baseball executive of the year.
Nope. No reason. It just would.
But subtracting anything from the Sox's current roster now would only make it trickier to add another division title this year ...
Why? Because Fielder is a Mounds guy and Konerko likes Almond Joy? I've never heard anything about Prince being a club house cancer. Or Dunn for that matter.
Please don't start complaining about the Sox's viability in the playoffs if they stand pat. That's like worrying how you would pay the taxes after winning the lottery.
That is NOT a cheerleading coach's mentality. "Well our cheers are good enough to get us TO state, lets stop here and just be happy for ourselves...everyone gets ice cream!"
It's all about winning the Central first, and tinkering with the roster would disrupt the flow of a team that thinks it has something special going.
Please someone explain to me what that last sentence means. I have no clue. So first you have to win the Central division to make the playoffs. Right. Then you can't get a stud left-handed hitter because it would cause A.J. to become incontinent or something.
It doesn't matter if you agree or if the Sox actually do. It only matters that they believe they do.
David, do you have an editor? If so, he should have printed his paragraph out, slapped you, and rubbed your nose in the printed copy while yelling "No!".
"I don't know why this is, but baseball just seems like a certain vibe you get in the clubhouse where you feel like you can win and sometimes when pieces move or one little thing gets altered, it changes things to where teams that believe don't believe and something gets out of kilter,'' Konerko said.
I don't really buy that logic, but I'll defer to an ALCS MVP on that one.
For the record, Guillen would rather acknowledge Wrigley Field as a baseball landmark than team chemistry as a factor in his team's success."You know how you make chemistry? Win games,'' Guillen said.
YES!!!! Dead frickin on!!!! Ozzie Guillen is now the smarted person in the room.
Yet in the next breath, Guillen allowed that there was something inexplicable about this team that he would like to keep in tact, and that is the message he keeps sending Williams.The quality that's easier to pinpoint than for anybody to explain."Big names don't win games, good teams win games,'' Guillen said.
Hmmmm...true, but big time talent tends to win more games than it losses.
There's only one person Guillen has to worry about not feeling satisfied with the Sox roster before the trade deadline, and he's busy pacing in his office at 35th and Shields.
Case closed!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Funny Quote
This is from Ozzie Guillen discussing whether or not Kenny Williams (Sox GM) give Ozzie any input into what players are brought in:
''Kenny should know what we need, what we [don't need],'' Guillen said. ''I'm not the type of manager who gets involved in players, who should be here, who should not. We always talk about this club. We don't have a meeting about anything. Every time me and Kenny have a meeting, it's just because something stupid I did. "
''Kenny should know what we need, what we [don't need],'' Guillen said. ''I'm not the type of manager who gets involved in players, who should be here, who should not. We always talk about this club. We don't have a meeting about anything. Every time me and Kenny have a meeting, it's just because something stupid I did. "
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Brian Sabean Hate Late Fees
I'm not sure if that title really works for this article, but here we go:
Brian Sabean: Giants Won't 'Rent Players'
My title works with that concept. I dunno. In a Netflix world that joke seems dated I guess.
As the Giants continue to have trouble scoring runs,
7th worst in MLB.
...while grounding into double plays at what manager Bruce Bochy called "epidemic" levels,
83 GDP which is 2nd most in MLB behind the Twins.
...general manager Brian Sabean has cast a wide net on the trade market in his search for a bat.
San Francisco and their fishing metaphors.
While still allowing for the possibility that his team will start to click as currently constituted, Sabean said Tuesday night that the Giants have only one limitation in pursuing another hitter."We are not interested in free agents," Sabean told FanHouse. "We don't want to rent players."
Good god why not? You get use of a guy for a run in the playoffs and then he's off the books at the end of the year. What's wrong with that idea?
"That doesn't make sense for us. We've got to find someone we can control,"
Sabean said as he palmed the giant globe that sits in the middle of his office.
"...much like the Freddy Sanchez deal, and hope that presents itself."
Oh no, his plan for world domination involves signing mediocre light-hitting middle infielders. Quick, somone hide Walt Weiss.
When the Giants got Sanchez last July, they had control of him for at least one more year, and they eventually signed him for two more."Anybody that fits that mold," Sabean said,
So anyone who will sign with you? Wouldn't that possibly be anybody you trade for?
"we are going to be heavy in the scouting side of it and see if it makes sense to explore."
Yes, you shouldn't just trade for players randomly. That would be just awful GMing. That's how the Cubs lost Rafael Palmeiro
Sabean said the Giants have money to spend, too: "We won't have a problem from that standpoint. We're in good shape there."
Gee, so you would be able to offer a rented player more money to stay for longer, seems like you should probably consider that option then.
The only position where the Giants might have difficulty squeezing in a new acquisition is first base, a spot where they can currently play Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval or Aubrey Huff.
So don't look for one. Obviously you're not going to trade for a position you already have sowed up.
Given those parameters, the best fits for the Giants are probably outfielders like Corey Hart, David DeJesus and Josh Willingham. Prince Fielder might also be a fit. He'd be enough of an upgrade for the Giants to do the lineup shuffling required to fit in another first baseman.Forget about Adam Dunn, Jose Guillen, Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko and Ty Wigginton. All are free agents at the end of the season.
That's rough, I mean I guess you could get one of those players and then offer them a new contract with all that money Sabean was talking about earlier. But whatever.
Other than a bat, the Giants are probably going to be in the market for a setup man. Closer Brian Wilson has been very good this year, but the rest of the bullpen has been shaky, as the Giants have rolled through several pitchers in various setup roles. Sabean said the Giants might even consider adding a starter, even though they appear to be set with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner."I don't know you ever have enough starting pitching," he said. "I'm not sure what our depth is."
That's a great line by a GM.
The rest of this is inoffensive, but if I was a Giants fan, and felt the team was one bat away from a WS run, I would be ticked off at Sabean.
Case Closed!
Brian Sabean: Giants Won't 'Rent Players'
My title works with that concept. I dunno. In a Netflix world that joke seems dated I guess.
As the Giants continue to have trouble scoring runs,
7th worst in MLB.
...while grounding into double plays at what manager Bruce Bochy called "epidemic" levels,
83 GDP which is 2nd most in MLB behind the Twins.
...general manager Brian Sabean has cast a wide net on the trade market in his search for a bat.
San Francisco and their fishing metaphors.
While still allowing for the possibility that his team will start to click as currently constituted, Sabean said Tuesday night that the Giants have only one limitation in pursuing another hitter."We are not interested in free agents," Sabean told FanHouse. "We don't want to rent players."
Good god why not? You get use of a guy for a run in the playoffs and then he's off the books at the end of the year. What's wrong with that idea?
"That doesn't make sense for us. We've got to find someone we can control,"
Sabean said as he palmed the giant globe that sits in the middle of his office.
"...much like the Freddy Sanchez deal, and hope that presents itself."
Oh no, his plan for world domination involves signing mediocre light-hitting middle infielders. Quick, somone hide Walt Weiss.
When the Giants got Sanchez last July, they had control of him for at least one more year, and they eventually signed him for two more."Anybody that fits that mold," Sabean said,
So anyone who will sign with you? Wouldn't that possibly be anybody you trade for?
"we are going to be heavy in the scouting side of it and see if it makes sense to explore."
Yes, you shouldn't just trade for players randomly. That would be just awful GMing. That's how the Cubs lost Rafael Palmeiro
Sabean said the Giants have money to spend, too: "We won't have a problem from that standpoint. We're in good shape there."
Gee, so you would be able to offer a rented player more money to stay for longer, seems like you should probably consider that option then.
The only position where the Giants might have difficulty squeezing in a new acquisition is first base, a spot where they can currently play Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval or Aubrey Huff.
So don't look for one. Obviously you're not going to trade for a position you already have sowed up.
Given those parameters, the best fits for the Giants are probably outfielders like Corey Hart, David DeJesus and Josh Willingham. Prince Fielder might also be a fit. He'd be enough of an upgrade for the Giants to do the lineup shuffling required to fit in another first baseman.Forget about Adam Dunn, Jose Guillen, Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko and Ty Wigginton. All are free agents at the end of the season.
That's rough, I mean I guess you could get one of those players and then offer them a new contract with all that money Sabean was talking about earlier. But whatever.
Other than a bat, the Giants are probably going to be in the market for a setup man. Closer Brian Wilson has been very good this year, but the rest of the bullpen has been shaky, as the Giants have rolled through several pitchers in various setup roles. Sabean said the Giants might even consider adding a starter, even though they appear to be set with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner."I don't know you ever have enough starting pitching," he said. "I'm not sure what our depth is."
That's a great line by a GM.
The rest of this is inoffensive, but if I was a Giants fan, and felt the team was one bat away from a WS run, I would be ticked off at Sabean.
Case Closed!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Five Star Radio Show
On the Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Daily website, they have an extensive audio archive of a show called Five Star Radio. It's not my favorite, but it's something to listen to while playing hour upon hour of competitive chutes and ladders. Now Five Star radio does not solely deal with MMA/Wrestling. It branches out into...well other sports which I guess isn't really branching out so much as spreading roots, but in any case. I was listening to one episode when, right after the guy I was playing rolled three 6's in a row, the host claimed that Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune was the worst columnist out there. His reasoning was that every year, Phil proposed trades involving players that were completely unrealistic and would never happen in a million years. Like:
Milwaukee Brewers: Look for Prince Fielder to be on market
As opposed to "at the market". HA! Cause he's fat.
Gulp.That was the sound emanating from Milwaukee on Tuesday, when the Phillies announced they are stinking rich. The twice-defending National League champs made the proclamation by signing first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, moving quickly so Albert Pujols wouldn't set the bar.
I'm not going to weigh in on the Howard debate. Probably too long to to sign him for, but he is the face of the franchise, that's worth something extra.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin must want to vomit.
That would be a bit of an over reaction.
That's because the shrewd deal they put together for Prince Fielder two years ago ends after this season. He can't go to free agency until after 2011, but the Brewers can't wait that long to decide what they're going to do with him.
He doesn't give a reason why they can't wait, he just leaves it there. The worst that can happen is you get another year of great production from a premier young player. Well the WORST that can happen is they get AIDS. But that has nothing to do with Prince.
Don't be surprised if the homer-hitting first baseman is playing for the Red Sox or someone else by the end of July, maybe even the White Sox. Attanasio would love to keep Fielder long term, but assuming he keeps hitting the way he did from 2007 to 2009 (an average of .286-33-123 with 95 walks),
Still using RBI's and batting average huh Phil? Did you use your 56K modem to look those stats up while you were back in 1995?
...he will be in line for a bigger deal than Howard. At 26 in May, he's 4 1/2 years younger and as a five-plus arbitration guy he can compare numbers with anyone in the game next winter, including Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Howard. Then he can demand his own supersized long-term deal as a free agent. Does it make sense for the Brewers to pay $25 million-plus a year to keep him? Probably not, considering three factors — they are 25th in the majors in revenue, according to Forbes; they have the equally productive Ryan Braun signed through 2014;
That's kinda true. Braun and Fielder. Where Braun is a god-awful fielder, Prince is just awful.
...and they have been only a .500 team the last couple of years thanks to a pitching shortage.
Well, in '09 they were a .500 club. In '08 they won 90 games with a .550 winning percentage. You can definitely blame their pitching for last year though with an 84 ERA+.
The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez, yet another run-producing first baseman, has generated a ton of trade talk over the last year, most of it coming out of Boston.
My friend in Chicago has talked about Gonzalez. He said Peavy has encouraged the idea of trading for his former teammate. Considering the Sox have more pitching than hitting, I wonder if Peavy would support BEING TRADED for Gonzalez.
But unlike Fielder, he's signed to a team-friendly contract through 2011. It seems more likely Fielder, not Gonzalez, will be the biggest name available before the July 31 deadline.
Like the Red Sox, the White Sox have the parts to do a deal if they decide they're not going to re-sign Paul Konerko. What about Fielder to the White Sox for a package built around pitching and Triple-A first baseman Dayan Viciedo?
They might be willing to do that, unless they read this.
John Danks certainly would get Melvin's attention.
Yes, for being a mediocre prospect that he would never trade Prince Fielder for. This is like one of those fantasy baseball trades where someone offers you Orlando Hudson, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Kaz Matsui, and Peralta for...well...Prince Fielder. "Look, I'm giving you Huff to replace him, plus 4 other guys! Why won't you do this?"
Gavin Floyd might to a lesser degree, and both Daniel Hudson and Sergio Santos have a ton of value.
Hudson looks like a good prospect, K's a lot of people and doesn't give up HR's. Sergio is having a great start to the season.
Hudson gives the Sox the flexibility to deal a big-league starter, assuming he doesn't have to be in the package himself.It's hard to see the Sox having the will to keep Fielder long term, however, which makes it a huge risk to give up young talent for 1 1/2 seasons of his mashing. But what if the Brewers are interested in Alex Rios, who is signed through 2014 at a level just beyond what they have paid Fielder?
Why on EARTH would they take a player whose OBP last year was under .300. Yeah, you read that right.
Trading for a veteran is easier than signing a proven player through free agency.
It's cheaper. I don't know if it's easier. You have more people involved in a trade.
If Rios went to the Brewers in the deal, the Sox might be able to sign Fielder to a Teixeira/Howard contract long term.
Yes, I'm sure the Brewers are dying to take on his overpriced contract as he descends into Cory Patterson-level production. Just what they need.
Case Closed.
Milwaukee Brewers: Look for Prince Fielder to be on market
As opposed to "at the market". HA! Cause he's fat.
Gulp.That was the sound emanating from Milwaukee on Tuesday, when the Phillies announced they are stinking rich. The twice-defending National League champs made the proclamation by signing first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, moving quickly so Albert Pujols wouldn't set the bar.
I'm not going to weigh in on the Howard debate. Probably too long to to sign him for, but he is the face of the franchise, that's worth something extra.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin must want to vomit.
That would be a bit of an over reaction.
That's because the shrewd deal they put together for Prince Fielder two years ago ends after this season. He can't go to free agency until after 2011, but the Brewers can't wait that long to decide what they're going to do with him.
He doesn't give a reason why they can't wait, he just leaves it there. The worst that can happen is you get another year of great production from a premier young player. Well the WORST that can happen is they get AIDS. But that has nothing to do with Prince.
Don't be surprised if the homer-hitting first baseman is playing for the Red Sox or someone else by the end of July, maybe even the White Sox. Attanasio would love to keep Fielder long term, but assuming he keeps hitting the way he did from 2007 to 2009 (an average of .286-33-123 with 95 walks),
Still using RBI's and batting average huh Phil? Did you use your 56K modem to look those stats up while you were back in 1995?
...he will be in line for a bigger deal than Howard. At 26 in May, he's 4 1/2 years younger and as a five-plus arbitration guy he can compare numbers with anyone in the game next winter, including Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Howard. Then he can demand his own supersized long-term deal as a free agent. Does it make sense for the Brewers to pay $25 million-plus a year to keep him? Probably not, considering three factors — they are 25th in the majors in revenue, according to Forbes; they have the equally productive Ryan Braun signed through 2014;
That's kinda true. Braun and Fielder. Where Braun is a god-awful fielder, Prince is just awful.
...and they have been only a .500 team the last couple of years thanks to a pitching shortage.
Well, in '09 they were a .500 club. In '08 they won 90 games with a .550 winning percentage. You can definitely blame their pitching for last year though with an 84 ERA+.
The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez, yet another run-producing first baseman, has generated a ton of trade talk over the last year, most of it coming out of Boston.
My friend in Chicago has talked about Gonzalez. He said Peavy has encouraged the idea of trading for his former teammate. Considering the Sox have more pitching than hitting, I wonder if Peavy would support BEING TRADED for Gonzalez.
But unlike Fielder, he's signed to a team-friendly contract through 2011. It seems more likely Fielder, not Gonzalez, will be the biggest name available before the July 31 deadline.
Like the Red Sox, the White Sox have the parts to do a deal if they decide they're not going to re-sign Paul Konerko. What about Fielder to the White Sox for a package built around pitching and Triple-A first baseman Dayan Viciedo?
They might be willing to do that, unless they read this.
John Danks certainly would get Melvin's attention.
Yes, for being a mediocre prospect that he would never trade Prince Fielder for. This is like one of those fantasy baseball trades where someone offers you Orlando Hudson, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Kaz Matsui, and Peralta for...well...Prince Fielder. "Look, I'm giving you Huff to replace him, plus 4 other guys! Why won't you do this?"
Gavin Floyd might to a lesser degree, and both Daniel Hudson and Sergio Santos have a ton of value.
Hudson looks like a good prospect, K's a lot of people and doesn't give up HR's. Sergio is having a great start to the season.
Hudson gives the Sox the flexibility to deal a big-league starter, assuming he doesn't have to be in the package himself.It's hard to see the Sox having the will to keep Fielder long term, however, which makes it a huge risk to give up young talent for 1 1/2 seasons of his mashing. But what if the Brewers are interested in Alex Rios, who is signed through 2014 at a level just beyond what they have paid Fielder?
Why on EARTH would they take a player whose OBP last year was under .300. Yeah, you read that right.
Trading for a veteran is easier than signing a proven player through free agency.
It's cheaper. I don't know if it's easier. You have more people involved in a trade.
If Rios went to the Brewers in the deal, the Sox might be able to sign Fielder to a Teixeira/Howard contract long term.
Yes, I'm sure the Brewers are dying to take on his overpriced contract as he descends into Cory Patterson-level production. Just what they need.
Case Closed.
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