2010-11 Hot Stove League Thread - Grienke is a Baller
 

'Grats to the Giants.

Too bad my hope for the season goes out the window when the Tigs blow a ton of money on VMart.

Dodgers earlier resigned Ted Lilly for three years

I wonder how many years the Giants win will set back hitting sabremetrics.

A couple things baseball did this year, IIRC, that means we all need to start paying attention quick.

1. No more filing for free agency--you're either under contract or you're not, I guess (rights issues, aside).
2. Instead of 13-14 days whatever it was between the end of the World Series and when free agents can sign with other teams, it's now just five. So major free agents could be signing with new teams as soon as next Monday, if I have my math right (and excluding work days).

You are correct. Sunday night is the end of the exclusive rights for clubs so Monday I can be on here bitching about the Tigers giving Victor Martinez a long term deal.

As long as the Tigers don't pay Martinez as a catcher, I like the signing. They can use him at 1B and DH to rotate with Cabrera.

As soon as the Brewers hire a manager, I can go back to not paying attention because nothing will happen with them during free agency.

That's my concern. If we pay him like a Catcher we're going to end up paying him to play 100 game at catcher for two years then DH anyway. Plus they still have hope for Avilia so it'd just fuck up his development.

Within organizations, none. Within the press and among fans, a bunch, I'm assuming.

Most rational people understand that the playoffs are a crapshoot (pun intended for the Giants win!).

2010-2011 MLB Offseason Thread
 

Figured I'd get this going....

Angels Bench Coach Ron Roenicke hired as Brewers manager.

I don't think the Pirates have a manager yet. I don't think it really matters, however.

Just a reminder, the Giants are the reigning World Series Champions.

I don't know if I'll ever get to say that again in my life...so I may as well take advantage of it now :)

I hear Lloyd McLendon is available.

One already started here

2010-11 Hot Stove League Thread - Front Office Football Central

That'd be the day.

That would send shock waves throughout the baseball world.

Adding a post to outduel Detox's thread...



My prediction is that the Mets will make a bad move this offseason.

Haven't they already?

Ooops, the title of that thread threw me off.

I'm sticking with this thread. Lungs doesn't edit thread titles.

I went ahead and merged the 2 threads.

abuse of moderational authoritah

You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Would anyone even notice if the Pirates didn't have a manager next season?

The 50th time he changes the thread title....i hope it annoys you.

:D :D :D :D :D

Sweet! Dodgers picked up Podsendik's option!

QFT

I hope the defending world champs :D go after Crawford. He would make a very nice addition to the outfield and add much needed speed.

Assuming they don't get Crawford (I think someone else throws too much money at him, to be perfectly honest), what do you think should be done with the outfield? It seems you're starting Cody Ross, Andres Torres and Pat Burrell (assuming you keep those guys) - is that good enough for you? If you sign Crawford, who do you bump? Burrell?

I'm sure somebody will throw a big chunk of money at him, but he is the #1 target if I'm Sabean. I don't really see it as bumping somebody as Bochy was mixing parts all year and likely will do the same next year. Don't forget Derosa will likely be back in the mix in LF and 3B. Plus they are not going to pick up Renteria's option (he probably retires anyway) for over $10M so that frees up some cash.

The Giants need to stay aggressive, much like the Niners. Signing Carl Crawford would be awesome, but I just don't see that happening.

I don't get it. I actually don't mind when people update season/off-season thread titles to mention something recent that's happened, if that's what you mean. So I highly doubt it will annoy me. I didn't realize I was supposed to ban certain people from starting threads. I thought you people were against teh bannings.

Just a little annoying no big deal for me.

Seriously. You'd think I held steve up at gunpoint or something.

It's all my fault!

I actually find it useful when the title is changed.

I like it too

I am a man of the people, what can I say?

•Here's a haymaker coming your way: TigerBlog reports ESPN Baseball Today podcast host Seth Everett said the Tigers are "pretty interested" in Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder. Fielder, 26, hit a career worst .261 with 32 home runs with 83 RBIs, and the Chicago Tribune reports the interest in Fielder -- thus far -- has been relatively quiet.

Would love this if we somehow got Prince without giving up Turner. That said it is unrealistic to think about.

The idea of Miggy/Prince though is simply incredible though.

Someone is going to be left holding a terrible contract with Fielder. List height and weight of 5'11" and 270 lbs. doesn't seem like it will age well. It will b a tough short term move, but given the money Boras will want and the high quick bust risk, I think Milwaukee should unload him while they can possibly be over paid for doing so.

Fielder has about 4 quality years left in him. He'd be DHing here which may accelerate his fat assness but I think he'd be worth a gamble if we somehow kept Turner.

I expect he'll be a 900 OPS guy and then all the sudden drop to 700 one year. The game is trying to guess what year that will be.

A four year deal would be a no-brainer IMO, but I doubt he;ll sign for anything less than six. He might make it through six, but he may give you a couple years as a number 8 or 9 part-time hitter with a 18 mil salary.

I hate the idea of Fielder and Cabrera for more than 1 year. I don't see Cabrera as the long-term 1B (at least not without sacrificing D as he ages), so you'd end up with 2 DHs.

And I'd REALLY hate the idea of my two favorite teams tying themselves down to long-term deals for Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder. UGH. Perhaps one of them could convince Andre Smith to play baseball during the off-season and give him a 10-year contract, too.

Sparky Anderson died today.

Red Sox pick up Ortiz's option for next year. It's a slight overpay, but I think it's worth it to avoid having to sign a long term deal.

Beltre I wouldn't mind re-signing, but I assume he'll be gone for 1.5-2m or 1 year longer than we offer him. V-Mart I don't really want - I think someone will pay him like an elite catcher when really he'll spend half (or more) of the deal as a slightly above-average 1B/DH.

Not sure if it was reported on the board, so apologies for the repeat. Omar Vizquel got a one year, $1.75 million re-signing with the White Sox. He'll probably fill utility role next year.

So let's say dream becomes reality, and the Giants land Crawford. They re-sign Ross and Huff, but don't re-sign Burrell or Renteria. Your lineup?

CF Crawford
RF Torres
C Posey
1B Huff
LF Ross
3B Derosa
2B Sanchez
SS Uribe

Schierholtz, Ishikawa, Whiteside and Sandoval off the bench. Think that's good enough? Definite upgrade over last year, I believe.

FA has officially begun fyi.

I'll say the first major FA to sign is Crawford with Anaheim Sunday afternoon.

I thought it started tomorrow night?

In any case, I wouldn't mind your prediction being true. ;)

My prediction is that Crawford gets a slightly disgusting amount of money. I know he's a WAR champion, I'd just be leary that his speed goes. I guess I could do 4 years, but years 5,6 or 7 would be such a crapshoot. He also doesn't walk as much as I'd like.

Hallelujah !

Jon Miller, Joe Morgan not returning to 'Sunday Night Baseball' TV broadcast - ESPN
Jon Miller and Joe Morgan's 21-year run on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" is over.

Morgan's contract is expiring and he will not be renewed. Miller's contract is also expiring though he may remain at ESPN working the "Sunday Night Baseball" series and postseason baseball for ESPN Radio.

"Jon and Joe have contributed greatly to the success of 'Sunday Night Baseball' for the past 21 seasons," ESPN executive vice president Norby Williams said in a statement Monday. "Over the last two decades, Joe went from Hall of Fame player to one of his sport's top analysts and Jon's Hall of Fame voice and tremendous knowledge of the game have connected with baseball fans everywhere. We owe them our deepest thanks for an outstanding body of work."

Miller, the play-by-play voice, received the Baseball Hall of Fame's 2010 Ford C. Frick Award. Morgan, the color commentator, was a two-time National League MVP with the Cincinnati Reds. The second baseman was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990.

I'm a huge Jon Miller fan (he sounds like baseball should sound), and if this means he's around for more Giants games, that's great. In Miller, Flemming, Krup and Kuip, we have the best broadcasting team in baseball.

Agreed re: Jon Miller and the SF Broadcasting team. I'm biased, but I really do think they do a great job.

As for Crawford...with all the seriously horrendous contracts out and about these days (Zito, Schmidt, Dreifort, Hampton, Soriano, Byrnes, Chavez, etc) is it realistic to think that guys will continue to get 5+ year contracts? I guess since a bunch of those contracts are quite old now, and they keep happening, that they'll continue.

I'd love to see Miller with a new partner for Sunday Night Baseball, personally.

SI

I think Miller's never been a big fan of the travel, so I would be surprised if he is back. Still, if there is a diety, he would replace McCarver and Buck for Fox, so the World Series would have people who actually enjoy baseball.

That would be terrific.

Rumors are the Yanks will throw 45-60M over 3 yrs for Jeter. I hate the Yanks simply because I'm a Mets fan, grew up in Queens, and am very bitter watching them win every yr... not because they spend all sorts of money, they play within the rules. However, a deal like this, assuming it goes down, kinda makes me wish they did have some sort of cap in baseball. IMO, they are making a mockery of the system, paying a guy with Marco Scutaro stats, close to 20M a yr.

That's what I expect will happen, although possibly with a part-time schedule.

People come to the ballpark to watch Marco Scutaro. He's the face of whatever team he plays for.

It'd be more fun if he went someplace else, just to see how it'd be, but I imagine after this deal that'll happen anyway as he won't want to retire and they'll have to let him go a la Ruth.

As a Mets fan...1) They're only hurting themselves. They still do operate within a budget, which may not be perfectly clear when they offer Lee a ton of money, they have money coming off the books (like Jeter's already bloated salary) and it will be less they can deploy elsewhere. Plus they'll be hurt by Jeter's subpar defense at SS.

2) I think it's good when players finish their careers with one team. Does anyone really want to see Jeter playing for $5MM a year in Houston?

Sandy Alderson is assembling the old Oakland front office. He's hired both Depodesta and Ricciardi as assistants. Ricciardi was a terrible GM in Toronto, but I like both moves. Loving the move away from the go with your gut approach Minaya had to a more Saber-oriented front office.

Derek Jeter, Gold Glove.

Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Baseball Statistics and History

Baseball Reference adds a nice touch to their awards listing.

Reading the back of 1987 Topps cards would be more sabr-oriented than Minaya.

Reportedly the Mets "new front office" told the Wilpons that their job was to set the budget and be consulted if they need to extend that budget, but other than that they have to stay out of the baseball operations and let them do their jobs. If that doesn't happen, they'll leave. No link to an article I've seen.

Joe Poz, brilliant as always:

Well good thing changes are coming. The Mets soon to be former clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels is facing charges of illegal gambling and has already admitted to betting on baseball. He was also taking jerseys, bats, balls etc and selling them to memorabilia companies.

Hope to god no player was stupid enough to make bets through Samuels -- he'll sing like a bird if it happened.

Pablo Sandoval gets to work on his off-season traning regimen:

When I heard this on the radio I spit out my coffee.....:eek:

At this point I agree with Rob Neyer's assessment:

Tough news for Mariners fans today as Hall of Fame announcer Dave Niehaus has died of a heart attack at age 75.

Niehaus had been with the M's from the very beginning, and aside from a few days off for his kids graduating and him recovering from bypass surgery a few years back, he'd called nearly every inning of every Mariners game played.

Niehaus was one of the greats (as his Hall of Fame induction indicates). He had a great voice, an easy manner, was a fantastic storyteller who could liven up any dull game with his good humor and great stories, and was reasonably objective about his team (as objective as most team announcers are allowed to be).

While his age was beginning to catch up to him a little over the last decade - misjudging contact off the bat and mistaking easy fly ball outs for homeruns and vice versa, he retained his best qualities.

There's going to be an empty feeling for M's fans now during broadcasts, knowing that we'll never again have Niehaus calling our games.

What a tough couple of years for iconic announcers. We're about at that point where the old guard is almost all gone.

As and Royals make a decent swap - Royals get a starting pitcher (Vin Mazzaro) and young pitcher and As get some offense with David DeJesus. I assume Mazzaro will attempt to replace the innings eaten by Bruce Chen, who will likely price himself out of the Royals market. And the As need some offense, DeJesus only has 1 year left on his deal, and he's cheap ($6M). Not an earth-shattering trade, but one that makes some sense for both teams.

Time for the rumors:

Gammons is an idiot. Braun has arguably the best contract for a star in baseball and it's a long term deal. Why would Milwaukee trade the face of their franchise? It'd take no less then three young stud pitchers in my estimation.

yeah, Braun isn't a FA until, what, 2014? That shit is just ridiculous.

After 2015, I think.

While I agree that Gammons is an idiot, don't put anything past the Brewers. There is a reason they have achieved nothing more than mediocrity.

Only thing I can think is he has no defensive position - his defense is brutal to be in the NL. But yeah, even with that factored in, his contract is reasonable for the next several years.

The fact that Gammons reports that and links him with the Red Sox tells me someone with the Red Sox "leaked" that in hopes of trying to start a fire where they could poach Braun in case they can't get Gonzalez or need to move Youk to 3rd.

Peter Gammons has been on the Red Sox bandwagon for years. While I think he is well connected throughout the game, I generally roll my eyes at anything that includes the words "Peter Gammons" and "Red Sox" because I assume it to be straight from the Red Sox front office.

Nothing better than a KLAW chat:

No one in Royalsville is really happy about that since we thought we could get a little more, even for just a (quite cheap) year of DDJ than that rare "innings eater" beast, the guy barely good enough to crack a rotation but not have any future. It's not like there aren't dozens of them out there and they don't exactly have a lot of value for a team not competing next year.

With not much going on next year at the big league level, I wish we could have been in on Maybin (supposedly we were) and Miller- at least they're some high ceiling guys who have lost some luster. Instead, it appears we're headed towards guys with a limited ceiling, the exact opposite of what GMDM did his first couple of years that netted KC the top ranked minor league system.

Also, it seems GMDM thinks that he has to make the first move every offseason. Last year it was Mark Teahen on Nov 6 and two years ago it was Mike Jacobs for Leo Nunez on October 30th.

Oh, and everyone's hoping it's not a prelude to the inevitable Frenchy signing. *sigh*

SI

Yeah, the Royals were apparently talking about Alex Gordon for Maybin (which would be an interesting trade of can't miss prospects that did just that), but it feels like they got 90 cents on the dollar for Dejesus. Maybin was worth a gamble - I like his potential, and think San Diego made a pretty reasonable deal. PETCO makes every arm look like a bullpen gem, and I have more faith in them finding a couple of raw guys with sub 2.0 ERAS (It happens ever year :D) than a CF with plus range and plus power.

Dola,
I would take any bet I could that Frenchy ends up in KC. Dayton's love is too strong.

We all know it's coming, we just hate it:

Guess Francoeur's Contract - Royals Review

SI

Posey takes home NL ROY! Not a bad start to his career.

Yeah. I'm obviously a Giants fan, but gun to my head I would probably have gone for Heyward as my vote - that being said, two reasonable candidates for the top spot. This isn't Juan Gonzalez winning the MVP over A-Rod or Jimmy Rollins winning in 2007 like situation.

Phillies resign Contreras, or close ot it anyway, to 2 years $5 million. It's risky to sign middle relief for a few years, however, Contreras was quite solid last year.

Also, Ryne Sandberg is now the coach of the AAA affiliate Iron Pigs.

Contreras for 2 years is ... interesting. But in the end, I guess it doesn't make much of a difference for Philly's budget. Surprised they didn't give him 1 / 4 instead.

My recollection is that studies show "speed" guys hold their value pretty well. Can someone verify or correct me on this?

I believe that is the case - old player skills fall off relatively quickly, even thought you would expect the opposite. Carl Crawford is easily the catch of the FA market here - I'd be more comfortable giving him 5/100 than Cliff Lee, given the natural risk with pitchers.

hold the fucking presses......

The Pirates named CLINT HURDLE their manager today!!!!!!!

He brings with him 1 winning season in 8 seasons with the Rockies. And IIRC, the Rockies won about 20 games to end that year, which culminated in a blown save by Trevor Hoffman and a questionable safe call on Matt Holliday. The 2009 rockies were 30 games over .500 after he got fired.

I'm a complete homer and am aware of the fact. That being said, is OBP that important to you? In counting stats, Posey was nearly Heyward's equal in far less time in the league. I don't understand why it seemed that a large quantity of people leaned towards Heyward in this race.

Posey - 443 PA, 23 2B, 18 HR, 67 RBI, 0.55 K/BB ratio, .305/.367/.505, .862 OPS, 129 OPS+
Heyward - 623 PA, 29 2B, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 0.71 K/BB ratio, .277/.393/.456, .849 OPS, 131 OPS+

Heyward also stole 11 bases, but at a 61% clip he was pretty inefficient at it.

EDIT - I don't want to say that I didn't think Heyward was not worthy of it, or that it shouldn't be close - but the results today (20 1st place votes for Posey vs. 7 for Heyward) are what I expected/felt the numbers warranted, while it seems like many people expected a much, much closer vote.

Yeah. Posey was Heyward's productive equal in 2/3 the plate appearances, at a significantly more demanding position.

Much as I hate saying it, the right guy won the award.

I see no reason for anyone to gripe about Posey over Heyward. Hell, I'm surprised it was as close as it was.

This is a weird argument, with the Braves and Dodgers fans arguing for Posey, and me leaning Heyward (albeit not my much). :D That being said, the basic problem with OPS (and by nature, OPS+) is that OBP and SLG work on 2 different scales - ie, a .400 OBP is significantly more valuable than a .400 slg, ceterus paribus. So Heyward's OBP advantage is significant to me, and he played about 40 more games (ie, Posey got called up late).

In the end, I think good arguments exist for both (and I think catching that staff through that September was amazing, and we are not very good at capturing C defensive value) - just throwing my 2 cents out there. Its pretty clear that whichever way it ended up, Heyward/Posey were 1 and 2 for rookies this year. This year's NL Rookie Class could be one for the ages. - just throwing out there:

- Heyward
- Posey
- Jaime Garcia
- Gaby Sanchez
- Aroldis Chapman (cheating a bit, I know)
- Stratsburg (injured, but still)
- Mike Leake (solid before running out of gas)
- Starlin Castro (playing an above average major league SS at 20)
- Neil Walker / Pedro Alvarez / Jose Tabata (decent young Pirates players)

Dola, predictions for Cy Young? NL I expect to be Roy Halladay in a unanimous (or close to it) ballot, with perhaps a vote for Adam Wainwright and/or Josh Johnson from the local guy. AL, it should be Felix, but I wouldn't be surprised if CC or David Price ended up taking it.

You guys just can't lay off the marginal ex-Reds from the 80's, can you? :D