"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby I got the hat by the way, I wear it while watching Pats/Bruins games.
Kinsey for Fielder. Essentially Detroit is paying 90m for Kinsler. I LOVE Kinsler. I don't know if I 90m love Kinsler. If Fielder stays true to form, holy damn.
In the long run the Tigers are saving 76 mil. Fielder is a slight upgrade, but that contract could be a big problem towards the end of it.
Fielder had an off year last year, almost certainly because he was going through a divorce(and happy-fun-time child custody battle!) during the entire season*. Because of this(as far as I know the divorce is over), he's probably going to have a rebound season of sorts next year, maybe the next two years. But after that....it's not going to be pretty. This isn't really a winner-loser scenario, as both teams got something they needed, but purely from a financial standpoint, the Tigers are the winners here. Also of note, Kinsler's contract is the exact opposite of Fielder's, in that it pay Kinsler less annually as time goes on. *From personal experience(strictly from the child custody standpoint), I can attest that that A) It fucks with your head daily, and B) it takes forever.
But who would take him 5-7 years from now. It would be like trying to trade Arod two years ago, or Ryan Howard now: Nobody would want him at all, let alone for that money.
Yup. The Rangers are going to be stuck in a bad spot in about 4 years. There best bet is to hope he has a rebound year 2 more good years after that, and then trade him. They'll probably have to eat a least 30 mil like the Tigers did too. It's interesting that guys like Cano are still going to be getting these huge long term contracts, because it's becoming pretty clear that they're a big problem towards the end. I wouldn't want to see my team sign anybody but a pitcher to a deal longer than 5 years.
The contract itself is a departure of Rangers standard MO. That's what tells me he isn't long term - unless he just monsters through and becomes a permanent DH of sorts. I'm betting on two years and a trade with cash to go along. Mlb contracts are weird. These teams just keep fucking paying.
Dieformetal on Braves McCann: "What a jackass! What kind of mouth-breather actually gets in the way of the batter during his home run trot to scream some pseudo tough-guy horseshit in a pathetic attempt to look "old-school"...moron. Dieformetal on Yankees McCann: "Clearly you people don't understand: this man's got heart! He's standing up for his teammates and plays the game "the right way."* If the rest of the league had this gentleman's fortitude, the league...nay, the world, would be a better place to live in." *Good GOD I hate that saying.
There's a legitimate chance McCann tries and fails to kill Jonny Gomes (because Gomes might be immortal) by the trade deadline. I'm glad the Red Sox didn't sign McCann because he is a d-bag. I'd like to see them make a run at Hanigan after his shitty BABIP year...anyone but Salty or Pierzynski, really.
I feel like this can be said of most athletes, or anyone else who's been getting their ass-kissed by more or less everyone since high school.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sbnation/SBNation_20131202_MLB__Japan_working_toward_new_posting_system.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sbn ... ystem.html</a> One of the ideas supposedly on the table: have a maximum posting fee for Japanese players. If multiple teams offer the max, the player goes to the team with the worst record. Kneejerk reaction: I really don't like this idea. Forced parity, and it's dumb to treat NPB guys like they're being drafted when offering contracts is all about money in the first place. Also, if the worry is that big posting fees reduce salaries, then why increase the chances of a small-market team getting the player? Small-market teams are more likely to have bad records, and also more likely to offer a lower salary. I'd like to see a system like soccer's minimum fee release clause: any offer above a certain amount gets accepted, and the teams get to negotiate with the player and out-bid one another for his services. Obviously, the NPB team would pressure the player to choose the highest offer, but if a lower offer comes with a higher salary, the player('s agent) could push back, and eventually the three parties could agree on one of the offers.
Phillies send C Krass & LHP Rasmussen (from minors) to Blue Jays for RHP Lincoln. C Pierzynski signs with Red Sox, C Saltalamacchia with Marlins. OF Ellsbury to Yankees, 7/153. Jesus Christ Bankees. Paying that much for a brittle guy on the wrong side of 30? Guess you're not in for Cano. I hope the Sox are in for Beltran. We need another bat in CF/RF, and I don't want to put all the pressure on Jackie Bradley Jr. just yet. I hear the Royals made him an offer though.
From what I've been hearing the Yankees are nowhere near done shopping. They still intend to sign Cano(just not for the insane price he's asking), and they want to add pitching.
See I disagree on Beltran. It looks like they'll have to overpay for a bat the wrong side of thirty. Top $16 mil a year? No thanks.
Rangers and A's - gentry for choice. I don't know what the hell the A's front office was thinking with that one, unless Choice is broken and we don't know it. I love me some kitten face, but the Rangers got the better end of this deal, so far. Damn. Last offseason JD sat back and didn't do a whole lot. Now Nolan's gone and JD is...JDing up in this bitch.
We're good on pitching and now catcher - I'm thinking there's an outfield spot and an infield spot open for grabs right now. I'm iffy on the prospect of going into the season with Nava/Carp at 1B when Nava is also penciled in at LF with Gomes. Hope we re-sign Napoli, maybe go for Cano and move Bogaerts over to third so we don't have to start Middlebrooks who looked plain bad at the end of the year. If the Yanks want to sign Ellsbury, Cano AND spend for pitching, then that's just obscene. Especially if they go for Tanaka or somebody else out of Japan. I don't think Ellsbury's worth the money, but if you have it, I guess you can throw it at whoever you want.
The Ellsbury deal will be worth it....for the first three years. I'm a lot more iffy after that. His power will come back somewhat thanks to the right side of Yankee stadium, and an outfield with Gardner, Ellsbury and Ichiro should be great(or at the very least better than average, for some reason I keep thinking Ichiro is going to fall off a cliff defense-wise) defensively next year. The last years probably aren't going to be pretty, but since Ellsbury's a speed guy it won't be as bad as others(we're not talking Arod/Howard deals here). For some reason I can't find the link right now, but I read something from CBSSports where someone from the Yankees front office said they're essentially going down a checklist for catcher, outfield, infield, pitching. Which, after seeing my Beloved Yankees miss the playoffs for only the second time in 18 years(yes I know I'm spoiled), I'm kind of glad they're doing.