2013-14 MLB Off Season Thread

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Gammons and Heyman hinting that Drew will not accept the QO. Napoli is shopping around the Sox multi-year deal, so he will not accept the QO. Ellsbury obviously will not accept the QO.

[Butter]

Reds basically just told everyone that catcher Ryan Hanigan is available by signing Brayan Pena. No way they are dumping Mesoraco. Hanigan's year was terrible, but he is still pretty cheap and is an awesome pitcher's and defensive catcher.

Maybe Hanigan and Phillips in a package to someone?

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Maybe Hanigan and Phillips in a package to someone?

They REALLY need an outfielder.

[Scarecrow]

Damn, #4 SPs wanting bank....

From FoxSports.com

"Free-agent right-hander Ervin Santana is seeking more than $100 million on a five-year deal, and righty Ricky Nolasco $80 million over the same term, according to major league sources."

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Guys are going to get PAID this offseason. Much more money coming into the game combined with significant restrictions as to how much you can spend (outside of free agency) means free agents are going to make out like gangbusters.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Guys are going to get PAID this offseason. Much more money coming into the game combined with significant restrictions as to how much you can spend (outside of free agency) means free agents are going to make out like gangbusters.

Good. Since the Angels will more or less sit out the offseason, free agents wise, I would rather teams blow up their payrolls right now.

Hopefully Dipoto is blowing up phones with trade offers to get more pitching.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Good. Since the Angels will more or less sit out the offseason, free agents wise, I would rather teams blow up their payrolls right now.

Hopefully Dipoto is blowing up phones with trade offers to get more pitching.

How does Ryan Dempster for only 1 year at $13 million sound? I still think that was an insane deal, but somebody's gonna jump on that in a trade instead of overpaying on a multi-year contract.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Reds basically just told everyone that catcher Ryan Hanigan is available by signing Brayan Pena. No way they are dumping Mesoraco. Hanigan's year was terrible, but he is still pretty cheap and is an awesome pitcher's and defensive catcher.

Maybe Hanigan and Phillips in a package to someone?

It's a mistake to get rid of Hanigan in my opinion. Pitchers love him and he was unbelievably unlucky last year with his BABIP. The only thing might be his wrist injury if its bad.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

How does Ryan Dempster for only 1 year at $13 million sound? I still think that was an insane deal, but somebody's gonna jump on that in a trade instead of overpaying on a multi-year contract.

Unless we're trading salary back, I don't see it. Dipoto is looking for price controlled pitching over at least a two year period and probably longer.

Plus, our best tradeable pieces-- Trumbo, Kendrick, Bourjos-- don't matchup with their needs too well.

[cartman]

The Braves are leaving Turner Field to move to a new stadium on the northwest side of town in Cobb County in 2017.

Atlanta Braves leaving Turner Field, relocating to Cobb County in 2017 - ESPN

[JonInMiddleGA]

Local coverage of the Braves new stadium story.

Braves plan to build new stadium in Cobb | www.ajc.com

[SirFozzie]

man, Turner Field is a fairly new stadium, ain't it?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

man, Turner Field is a fairly new stadium, ain't it?

Yep, built for the '96 Olympics.

[sterlingice]

That a little disappointing as I find Turner Field to be a bit underrated. Its tv presence is fairly bland as there's not much iconic around the outfield. But within the stadium, it struck me as more ballpark than mall, which is kindof rare in the newer stadiums- there's a lot of brick and it feels more "classical".

Any word on retractable roof?

SI

[miked]

I like going to Turner Field, I can cut behind I-20 and sneak in and out pretty quickly. It was a fun stadium with a nice little ambiance. Granted, you don't want to be walking along a few blocks from there, but whatever. I-75 and I-285 is one of the worst congested areas, especially around 6-7pm when somebody would be traveling to the game. It will make traffic in that area absolutely unbearable and probably make me never want to go.

On the upside, I would imagine a lot of fans go there from Cobb County so it should be fine for some. At least it's the taxpayers of Cobb County that are getting stuck with some of it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Any word on retractable roof?

Open-air (according to the now expanded comments from the team)

The Braves officials said the stadium will be open-air and will seat approximately 41,000 to 42,000 people, almost 10,000 fewer than Turner Field. Schiller said the team plans to sell naming rights to the new stadium.

“We expect that by having (fewer) seats it to be an intimate arrangement for our fans and provide a number of experiences that will be different than what fans are currently used to at Turner Field,” Schiller said.

Here's an interesting assertion that I hadn't heard much about until now

Turner Field would need about $150 million in infrastructure work, including replacement of seats, upgrading lighting and plumbing, etc., to remain viable. “And that’s nothing that is going to enhance our fan experience, which is very important to us,” he said. He said enhancing the fan experience would cost “upward of an additional $200 million.”

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Damn, #4 SPs wanting bank....

From FoxSports.com

Anyone that pays Santana or Nolasco close to 100 million is insane. Santana has a good year every 5 years and Nolasco while effective most of the time isnt a dominate pitcher. Id offer them each 1 year 10 million. Take it or leave it.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Anyone that pays Santana or Nolasco close to 100 million is insane. Santana has a good year every 5 years and Nolasco while effective most of the time isnt a dominate pitcher. Id offer them each 1 year 10 million. Take it or leave it.

There will be someone that pays Nolasco 3 and Santana 4 years, starting at probably $10-$12M. If you offer each 1 year 10M, then they will leave it. Heck, Santana already got a qualifying offer of 1/$13M and is going to turn it down if he hasn't already.

EDIT: $80-$100M, probably not. But if you told me 5/$70M for Santana, I'd nod my head and say "yeah, sounds like what someone is going to pay".

SI

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

There will be someone that pays Nolasco 3 and Santana 4 years, starting at probably $10-$12M. If you offer each 1 year 10M, then they will leave it. Heck, Santana already got a qualifying offer of 1/$13M and is going to turn it down if he hasn't already.

EDIT: $80-$100M, probably not. But if you told me 5/$70M for Santana, I'd nod my head and say "yeah, sounds like what someone is going to pay".

SI

Yes, I know they will get close to what they want. Just kind of seems ridiculous to me to go that direction. These free agent pitchers rarely come anywhere close to the value paid for their contract.

Of course if I was Santana or Nolasco Id ask for the same because GMs are crazy and desperate enough to pay it.

[sterlingice]

A lot of these free agent deals are known loss leaders where you won't get value paid. But if you're a team in the 85-90 win range and a closing window where you think that extra pitcher will get you into the playoffs or win games in the playoffs, $4-5M/WAR is out the window. What's a marginal win worth?

SI

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

A lot of these free agent deals are known loss leaders where you won't get value paid. But if you're a team in the 85-90 win range and a closing window where you think that extra pitcher will get you into the playoffs or win games in the playoffs, $4-5M/WAR is out the window. What's a marginal win worth?

SI

Maybe that is where the "crazy" part comes in. Too many GMs overrate their teams and feel they are a 85 win team at the time

I think these 2 send up serious red flags and maybe that is more of my case in this particular situation.

Santana has been just awful recently until last year(contract year). His slider had more bite on it than it previously did but he is still basically a 2 pitch pitcher. Now Nolasco reminds me of someone like Kyle Lohse who you can get a much cheaper version for 10 million per year less.

I think the #1 pitcher in this free agent pool is Garza. At least he has been somewhat consistent and has above average stuff.

[sterlingice]

Sure, but only 1 team will get Garza and more than 1 team "needs" pitching

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Here's at least part of the story behind the Braves move or why (if taxpayers don't revolt over it at least) it's certainly not going to hurt them.

The heat map for ticket buyers is rather large, so I'll spoiler tag it to avoid a giant blob in the thread

Spoiler

[cartman]

I was only in the area where the new stadium is going for around a week, but while I was there the traffic was horrendous. I know ATL traffic is known as being horrible, but weren't there quite a few options for getting to Turner Field besides your own car?

[claphamsa]

Minnesota Twins moving Joe Mauer to first base - ESPN

playing Mauer at 1B basically kills any value he has.... at least on the field.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by cartman

I was only in the area where the new stadium is going for around a week, but while I was there the traffic was horrendous. I know ATL traffic is known as being horrible, but weren't there quite a few options for getting to Turner Field besides your own car?

Yeah, but most involved being in a hearse by the time you get there.

[cartman]

I've only been to Turner Field twice, and both times it was conference related, so they took us in buses from downtown to the park.

[larrymcg421]

I usually took Marta to Five Points and hopped a shuttle from there. I imagine either CCT or Marta will try something similar, but the shuttles will not be able to avoid the horrendous traffic. I wonder if this is a roundabout way to force rail expansion into Cobb.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I wonder if this is a roundabout way to force rail expansion into Cobb.

I pondered that but would think the pushback might be the last thing a lot of politicians would want. I'd be shocked if that were raised verymuch until at least after another election cycle.

[miked]

God forbid we try and remove cars from the highways. JUST ADD MOAR LANES!!1! LOVE THE NEW 400-85 SOON TO BE SPAGHETTI JUNCTION II!!!

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by miked

I like going to Turner Field, I can cut behind I-20 and sneak in and out pretty quickly. It was a fun stadium with a nice little ambiance. Granted, you don't want to be walking along a few blocks from there, but whatever. I-75 and I-285 is one of the worst congested areas, especially around 6-7pm when somebody would be traveling to the game. It will make traffic in that area absolutely unbearable and probably make me never want to go.

On the upside, I would imagine a lot of fans go there from Cobb County so it should be fine for some. At least it's the taxpayers of Cobb County that are getting stuck with some of it.

I went to one game at Turner Field. As with most stadiums, I got there early and walked around the entire thing. Figured there would be lots of sports bars and shops and etc. . .

Ummm, good lord, nothing,. OK, found one bar/grill place that was ok to hang out at for a few minutes. I was unimpressed. I liked the stadium more when I was in it and it did have a good feel. That said, it is in the bottom grouping of stadiums I have visited. (I've been to 16 so far)

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The heat map for ticket buyers is rather large, so I'll spoiler tag it to avoid a giant blob in the thread

Spoiler

As someone who lives in the 30152 section of that map (slightly north of the E in NEW STADIUM), I'm pretty happy about the whole thing. Yes, traffic is bad around Cumberland, but it's still better than where Turner Field is located downtown. It'll mean more attendance from the Cobb County crowd for sure, but they're going to lose those people who may just go to the games straight after work downtown...I don't know how it'll affect those coming from Gwinnett or Alpharetta. I'm going to guess that they went through the process of figuring all those things out prior to selecting this location, but then again, probably not.

[KWhit]

They're going to spend $450 million dollars in public funds to build the new Braves stadium.

That really pisses me off.

[JPhillips]

I saw 450 out of 650. No way in hell it comes in under 1 billion and the government will make up the difference.

[chadritt]

I went to school for 14 years very close to the new stadium location and I just dont get it. Traffic there is already a nightmare, theres no mass transit options anywhere near it, and Im not sure theres even a ton of land to work with. i Havent lived there in 10+ years, though I happen to be in Atlanta right now, so maybe ive missed something huge that makes this make sense.

[miked]

It makes sense in that they will likely own a chunk of the land around the stadium, the whole mixed use thing could be a big money maker for somebody. Right now, the stadium is in the middle of the hood and most people can't get out of there fast enough. As was mentioned earlier, other than Harold's BBQ (if it's even still there) there is poo for food in the area. But the traffic thing is just awful. I play in a baseball league around here, and there is a midweek night league as well. The games are in Cobb County up 75 by Windy Hill. It takes me over an hour to drive about 10 miles up 75 from the connector. I can only imagine what having a big stadium will do, though the good news is that most of the ticketholders look like they come from North of there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by chadritt

I went to school for 14 years very close to the new stadium location and I just dont get it. Traffic there is already a nightmare, theres no mass transit options anywhere near it, and Im not sure theres even a ton of land to work with. i Havent lived there in 10+ years, though I happen to be in Atlanta right now, so maybe ive missed something huge that makes this make sense.

Getting out of the cesspool area they're currently in -- or even an area perceived as a cesspool by an enormous chunk of their ticket buyers -- makes as much sense as anything. I can't imagine watching the socio-political hoops the Falcons had to jump through hurt the decision to move either.

As for land, the amount the team mentioned is 60 acres.

[Draft Dodger]

what's with the 30269 zip code? it's like a baseball island down there

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

what's with the 30269 zip code? it's like a baseball island down there

Peachtree City. $90,240 avg income per household.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

what's with the 30269 zip code? it's like a baseball island down there

I had to look it up, and then I laughed: that's Peachtree City.

Median home value around $250k (roughly double the state average), median HHI around double the state average as well. Typical resident is mid-40's, white, with 1-2 teenagers still at home. Pretty much a perfect storm for Braves fans. Home of about a dozen major industries (some even HQ'ed there) including Cooper Lighting, Panasonic Automotive, TDK, Avery Dennison, and NCR.

Drop Dead Diva films there, as did some early scenes of The Walking Dead

It's also the golf cart capital of the world

Peachtree City has a system of golf cart paths which spider across the town and provide a secondary means of access to almost any destination within city limits. These multi-use paths stretch for more than ninety miles throughout the city. Many places of business have specially designated golf cart parking spaces and the Peachtree City Police Department has several golf carts that patrol[4] along the paths. Over 9,000 households own a golf cart, more than any other city in the world, and use them as an extra vehicle for local transportation. Children aged twelve or over may operate a cart on Peachtree City cart paths with a parent, grandparent or guardian in the front seat. Unaccompanied fifteen-year-olds with valid Georgia Learner's Permits are allowed to operate golf carts alone. Students at McIntosh High School are even encouraged to drive their golf carts to school because of limited car parking

[miked]

I gots a few friends in the PTC, it's another world.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by claphamsa

Minnesota Twins moving Joe Mauer to first base - ESPN

playing Mauer at 1B basically kills any value he has.... at least on the field.

Mauer is gonna get ripped int he offseason and hit 35+ homers next year.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Unless we're trading salary back, I don't see it. Dipoto is looking for price controlled pitching over at least a two year period and probably longer.

Plus, our best tradeable pieces-- Trumbo, Kendrick, Bourjos-- don't matchup with their needs too well.

Yeah, that was mostly a throwaway comment since we have 6 starters under contract right now and are rumored to be interested in Tim Hudson too. Trumbo might actually be a fit if Napoli leaves - we'll be looking for some more power at 1B, which is why I hated not going after Abreu harder, even if the timing would have been awkward as hell. Wouldn't be surprised to see a trade for a Trumbo, Ike Davis, Pablo Sandoval, Joe Mauer if any of those teams are undervaluing them on the trade market.

Originally Posted by claphamsa

Minnesota Twins moving Joe Mauer to first base - ESPN

playing Mauer at 1B basically kills any value he has.... at least on the field.

Huh? It drops him down from MVP candidate to all-star level, and it does mean that he probably won't provide surplus value vs. his contract, but ignoring the money a .404 OBP is fantastic, even if he doesn't have quite the power people like to associate with 1B sluggers. Even assuming no increase in offensive output his OPS would've been 6th among all 1B, and he'll probably be above-average in the field.

[BishopMVP]

Not too surprisingly, all 13 qualifying offers were declined. I still think we should have offered Salty one - even Kendrys Morales turned $14.1 million down.

[korme]

[JonInMiddleGA]

I get all of those references except the trash can one. (well, and the racist statue ... I never really thought Aaron was THAT racist)

edit to add: What might have been better was to add kiosks with "UGA Recruiting Updates" or something along those lines.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by miked

I play in a baseball league around here, and there is a midweek night league as well. The games are in Cobb County up 75 by Windy Hill. It takes me over an hour to drive about 10 miles up 75 from the connector. I can only imagine what having a big stadium will do, though the good news is that most of the ticketholders look like they come from North of there.

That's basically what I see and wonder what in the Hell were they thinking? Traffic was already God awful around that area and now it'll be even worse. I mean the connector may be bad, but 285 is the Devil's Highway and it's going to have to be the way of choice for people from Gwinnett and even some areas of Fulton.

Frankly I thought the Braves Shuttle to MARTA was fantastic way to get to games and leave them quickly (I just used MARTA this Sunday to see the Falcons get pummeled and it was a breeze [no pun intended - Atlanta people will get that]). I think this move makes it unlikely that I'll ever see a Braves game after 2017 (I live in the Decatur area - there is no way that even on a weekend I'll drive all that way for a baseball game; I can count on one hand the number of times I've been at Cobb Galleria or Cumberland Mall area and I don't think I've ever been to Marietta).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I can count on one hand the number of times I've been at Cobb Galleria or Cumberland Mall area and I don't think I've ever been to Marietta).

But there's a lot of people in Kennesaw (or Woodstock or Canton) who could say the same thing about Decatur.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

But there's a lot of people in Kennesaw (or Woodstock or Canton) who could say the same thing about Decatur.

Well besides the fact that I was born in Decatur, we moved to East Cobb County when I was 7. From that point on what Jon says is pretty accurate. Getting to our part of town from Atlanta is just as painful as getting to Atlanta from Cobb County was. I still remember all of the debates over years and years and years on why they didn't want to extend Marta to Cobb County, and ended up starting up the CCT instead primarily because they didn't want to make it easier for "Atlanta type of people" to get in to Cobb (you can infer whatever that means, plenty of people did back then at the time.. from talking about homeless to racist type thoughts to whatever).

Honestly though, getting to Windy Hill from East Cobb or Woodstock even was not the easiest thing ever at least back when I lived there growing up.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

But there's a lot of people in Kennesaw (or Woodstock or Canton) who could say the same thing about Decatur.

Which misses the point . They aren't putting the Braves in Decatur. Downtown was a good central point - esp since it was on MARTA. Folks from Kennesaw could drive to Perimeter station (if they wanted - though Kennesaw folks are a bit screwed due to Cobb not wanting crime *ahem* black people *ahem* by building a MARTA line to Marietta).