MLB 2005-2006 Offseason Thread

[The Miz]

Johnson is terrible but he's just their #5, not much is expected of him this year. Their 1-4 are very good, and CC Sabathia might win the Cy Young this year. Comparing them to the Reds is not even close to fair.

[YOUR Hero]

Ryan Franklin... what to say... as a pretty big Mariner fan, this guy was scary to watch. Thing is he'd show some great talent from time to time. Enough to frustrate you. Piniero seems to have gone this way as well... as well as Meche.

OMG. :'(

[YOUR Hero]

CC for CY?

High praise for a guy that's not yet proven himself as a true #1 yet.

[CNM]

CC's pretty damn inconsistant. He got lit up pretty good for like a month and a half last year.

[The Miz]

I've always hated Franklin. Even in like 2001-2002 when everyone around here thought he was going to be the next big thing I was just never sold on him. He never showed me anything that said he wasn't going to give up alot of bombs and strikeout next to no one. One of the few highlights on the 2005 Mariners season was being able to say "I told you so" to fellow M's fans who gave up on him.

Gil Meche, I've always thought could be a decent enough middle relief guy. He just doesn't have the starter makeup. This year should've been an indication he's not going to get any better.

Pineiro I've always liked, he has great stuff, but I'm getting a little tired of him. Like Meche he would be better suited in the bullpen, unfortunately Bavasi wouldn't know where to begin converting a starter and finding a new one.

Oh well. Our team still sucks. I have to hand it to Bavasi though, it must be a challenge to try to equal your loss total to your million dollar spent.

I'm calling it, 2006 Seattle Mariners, 86 million dollars, 86 losses.

[YOUR Hero]

CC had a great finish, much like the whole Tribe last year, but yeah, inconsistant he has been. If CC wins the CY next year, then hats off to Miz right now.

[toxic rooster]

If I was the Reds, I'd be more worried about their lack of cover at first base.

[The Miz]

CC for CY?

High praise for a guy that's not yet proven himself as a true #1 yet.
I don't actually think he'll win, but he's definately a candidate and definatelt thye ace of his staff. People forget how young he is, when healthy he is one of the best 3 lefties in the AL.

2006 is probably too early, but when he shows me he can throw 200+ innings I'll pick him to win one.

My pre-season AL Cy Young picks would be
1. Buehrle
2. Halladay
3. Santana
4. Harden
5. Sabathia
6. Zito
7. Felix

[CNM]

If I was the Reds, I'd be more worried about their lack of cover at first base.

Adam Dunn

[The Miz]

Yeah what are you talking about. Dunn is at first, Kearns/Griffey/Pena outfield.

Until they all get injured :lol: :lol: :lol: [/DaveWadding]

[toxic rooster]

Adam Dunn is a left fielder

[The Miz]

...who will play first base in 2006.

.900+ OPS and 40+ homers is worth the crappy defense

[toxic rooster]

As well as 190 and 168 K's?

[The Miz]

No doubt he K's alot and has his flaws, but he is an extremely productive offensive player. 168 K's does not cancel out 40 HR, 101 RBI, 114 BB, .387 OBP, and .540 SLG

[YOUR Hero]

CC is only 26 right?

True, he's got a ton of experience behind him already. Felix :love:

As for Dunn, Gooner, he strikes out a ton, but he still nets the results that teams are looking for when all is said and.... DUNN.

- he also score 100+ runs

[VonErich Lives]

Saw an article today, I'll look for it later (after I get some sleep) that the Yankes spent like 80mil more then the Red Sox last year and the Sox were within 10-20mil of a few teams.

I was suprised, I really thought the Sox were way ahead of everyone except the yanks.

Just shows once again, it's not what you spend but where.

[The Miz]

Good news Hero

--------------

While Ricciardi insists the lineup is more or less set, there are some names out there that still interest the Jays. One is outfielder-first baseman Craig Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had 29 homers, 35 doubles and 82 runs batted in two seasons ago before suffering through an injury-plagued 2005 campaign.

Wilson has a career on-base percentage of .363, including a .387 mark posted last season in only 59 games. Those numbers and his previous homer total are the sort of statistics that draw Toronto's interest and Ricciardi believes Wilson would represent an upgrade over what the club has in left field.

Pittsburgh signed outfielder Jeromy Burnitz last week and the previous acquisition of first baseman Sean Casey has left Wilson without a position. He could also be awarded more than $4 million from salary arbitration and the Pirates aren't sure they want to pay that to a part-timer.

"We've always liked him, but I don't know what his availability is," Ricciardi said.

The Pirates have said they're going to hold on to Wilson, but that sounds like posturing by the budget-conscious team. Ricciardi said he'd only do a "one-for-one" trade for Wilson, meaning a current major leaguer or a better minor-league prospect, but no more packages like he did in the Lyle Overbay trade with Milwaukee.

The Koskie deal has left the Jays with some extra cash to absorb Wilson into the fold. Ricciardi is also still looking at free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, but "only if the price is right."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1136675412438&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064

[YOUR Hero]

He's (JP) been reading this thread :love:

[The Miz]

Thankfully he skims over the VEL posts

[YOUR Hero]

...I hope he doesn't go after Benji. I was once excited about the prospect of him going after Molina but I don't think he would be needed given the new look of the team. Sure it would be nice to have him, but it's a luxury that can be done without. Zaun is a great game caller and a character guy, he earned the right to remain the starter . Also, the money Molina would command would be best spent later in the season of the following year. No need blowing your load right away.

[The Miz]

Molina simply isn't that good. His only above average year was last year, his contract year. He was always known as a great defensive catcher with no bat, his bat has become average but his arm has tailed off quite a bit, Jose and Yadier are both much better. He's a nice guy to have, but not near worth what he's asking. If I were a Blue Jays fan I'd be satisfied with Wells/Overbay/Glaus/Wilson

[The Miz]

According to Boston Globe, with Tejada off the market, Boston is intensley going after Lugo

[Gertner]

i don't know who I'd rather have, wilson or Molina. The jays would probably have to deal another outfielder away cause that'll leave them with Wells, Catalanotto, Johnson, Rios, Wilson and supposedly Hinske.


btw Hero do you wanna see J.F Griffin get a shot on the team? He has nice power but strikes out a bit too much

[YOUR Hero]

I was just thinking about John-Ford Griffin. That's eerie. The only thing with him is that he's yet to prove himself. Maybe he'll surprise evryone and become a starter.

I read a news story last night about Alex Rios.... not good. He's struggling mightly in the winter leagues. Low avg. lack of power, something needs to be done it seems. Let me find the article.

###

The performances of Alex Rios and Guillermo Quiroz in winter ball haven't done much good for their job security with the Major League club.


Rios, who turns 25 in February, is hitting .229 (16-for-70) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 19 games for the Caguas Criollos (20-21) in Puerto Rico. Toronto's right fielder has a .291 on-base percentage to go along with a .443 slugging percentage.

The Blue Jays are hoping that the 6-foot-5 Rios -- a former league MVP in Puerto Rico -- can tap into the power potential that analysts have said he possesses. Rios hit .262 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs in 149 games for Toronto in 2005 and is slated to start in right on Opening Day.

There has been discussion about moving infielder Eric Hinske to left field and possibly sliding Frank Catalanotto -- a left-handed batter -- over to right, though. That could mean a platoon-type situation with Rios, who is a righty, if he struggles early.

Quiroz, 24, has a .191 (13-for-68) batting average with one homer and four RBIs in 21 games for the Zulia Aguilas (23-39) in the Venezuelan League. The catcher has struck out 20 times and has walked just once.

The Blue Jays promoted Quiroz to the Majors in late August, and he hit just .194 in 12 games. Quiroz suffered a collapsed lung and other injuries in 2005 and was limited to just 40 Minor League games before being called up. Toronto appeared ready to hand over the backup catching job to Quiroz for 2006. On Tuesday, though, the Blue Jays signed catcher Jason Phillips -- a five-year veteran -- to a Minor League contract and gave him an invitation to Spring Training in Dunedin, Fla., where he'll compete with Quiroz for the No. 2 catcher job. Gregg Zaun remains the starting catcher for Toronto.

Toronto farmhand Miguel Negron, who plays with Rios in Puerto Rico, is hitting .240 in 32 games for the Criollos. The 23-year-old outfielder has two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .302 on-base percentage.

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060106&content_id=1292118&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

[The Miz]

This trade has apparently been discussed

Red Sox get:
CF Jeremy Reed
RP Will Ohman

Cubs get:
OF Raul Ibanez
2B Tony Graffanino
cash

Mariners get:
SP Bronson Arroyo
OF Corey Patterson
PTBNL (from Boston)

You know, it would be really hard to root for the Mariners this year if this trade goes through

[OssMan]

It's harder to root the the Mets this year. It will be even harder if we trade for Manny Ramirez.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>^ I'm the complete opposite...I'm now counting down the days till Opening Day

Doesn't help matters that the NY Giants lost, now I have no major sports teams to root for until April</font> :(

[The Miz]

Ryan Freel arrested for disorderly intoxication, too bad, he's probably the best utility guy/10th man in the NL and one of the best base stealers

[The Outlaw]

Ryan Freel arrested for disorderly intoxication, too bad, he's probably the best utility guy/10th man in the NL and one of the best base stealers

Again? Didn't he get busted for DUI during the season?

[The Miz]

Yeah, DUI on Opening Day last year I think

[YOUR Hero]

This trade has apparently been discussed

Red Sox get:
CF Jeremy Reed
RP Will Ohman

Cubs get:
OF Raul Ibanez
2B Tony Graffanino
cash

Mariners get:
SP Bronson Arroyo
OF Corey Patterson
PTBNL (from Boston)

You know, it would be really hard to root for the Mariners this year if this trade goes through

Why so?

[The Miz]

Because Arroyo and Patterson are absolute shit, and Reed is our second most exciting young player. I've struggled to put up with the signings of Washburn, Lawton, and Everett, the Ponson rumors, and the Guardado mishandling; this might be the nail in the coffin. I really only like a couple guys on the team anymore, I hate our manager and am convinced Bill Bavasi is the worst general manager in the history of baseball (I realize Steve Phillips was at one time a real GM). It makes me sick watching this team, I'll still probably attend 30-40 home games but I might pay a little close attention to Oakland this year.

[CNM]

The M's get raped in that trade. If Bronson Arroyo was still in Pittsburgh no one would give a shit about him

[YOUR Hero]

I figured getting any pitcher would be an improvement for Seattle. That's the only reason I thought it was ok.

[CNM]

Miz would know more about this than me, but their rotation looks pretty set:

Felix
Washburn
Moyer
Pineiro
Meche

[The Miz]

Arroyo is not nearly a big enough upgrade over Meche to even think about trading Reed. Neither is Clement. Papelbon/Lester, maybe.

[YOUR Hero]

Miz would know more about this than me, but their rotation looks pretty set:

Felix
Washburn
Moyer
Pineiro
Meche

Will Moyer be able to bring it again?
Will Meche have any consistency?
Will Piniero have any consistency?
Will Felix continue to live up to the early hype (here I say yes btw...)
Will Washburn struggle at all on a new team and show some of his old form?

Lots of question marks, imo.

[CNM]

True, but why would you trade one of your best young players for an insurance policy? What if all those guys do well? Then you're stuck with Bronson Arroyo long relief pitcher and bad attitude Corey Patterson.

[The Miz]

Obviously our rotation sucks, how is Bronson Arroyo going to help that?

I agree we need a pitcher, but if we're going to give up Reed, it won't be for trash.

[YOUR Hero]

Getting back to VEL's payroll remarks.


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>AP NewsBreak: Yankees finish with record $207 million payroll</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER type="block" width="1" height="1"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
January 6, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/nyy/) finished last year with a record $207.2 million payroll, more than $90 million ahead of any other team, according to final figures compiled Friday by the commissioner's office. Boston was second at $116.7 million, with the New York Mets (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/nym/) third at $104 million, followed by the Los Angeles Angels (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/laa/) ($97 million), Philadelphia ($94.8 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/lad/) ($87.8 million), St. Louis ($87.4 million) and Atlanta ($85.9 million).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


The Chicago White Sox (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/chw/), who won the World Series for the first time since 1917, were 13th at $73.2 million. Houston, swept by the White Sox in the Astros' first Series appearance, was 12th at $76.2 million.


San Diego had the lowest payroll among the eight teams that made the postseason, 16th at $66.3 million. The Padres were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Cardinals.

At the other end, Tampa Bay had the lowest payroll at $26.6 million, with Pittsburgh at $30.1 million, Colorado at $32.5 million and Kansas City at $34.9 million.

Payrolls were based on Aug. 31 active rosters and disabled lists and included prorated shares of signing bonuses. In 2004, the Yankees led the majors with a then-record high of $187.9 million.

The average salary was $2,349,394, a 5.5 percent increase from the 2004 average of $2,227,347. The players' association, in figures released last month, calculated the average at $2,479,125, a rise of 7.2 percent. The union and management differ in their treatment of signing bonuses and option buyouts.

AL MVP Alex Rodriguez (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5275/) was the highest-paid player at $21.8 million, which doesn't include $4 million in money paid by Texas, which was converted to an "assignment bonus" under the 2004 restructuring of his $252 million, 10-year contract. The changes were made as part of his trade from the Rangers to the Yankees.
San Francisco's Barry Bonds (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/3918/), on the disabled list from the start of the season until Sept. 12 following knee surgery, was second at $21.3 million, followed by Boston's Manny Ramirez (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5132/) ($19.9 million), the Yankees' Derek Jeter (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5406/) ($19.6 million) and Mike Mussina (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4715/) ($19 million), Baltimore's Sammy Sosa (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4344/) ($18.9 million) and Houston's Roger Clemens (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/3340/) ($18 million), who at 43 led the major leagues with a career-best 1.87 ERA.

[Joey Slugs]

<table class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr class="stathead"><td colspan="3">Monday, January 9</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="oddrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/6400.jpg
Corey Patterson (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6400)
Cubs
</td><td>Orioles (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=bal)
</td><td>Patterson on the move?
Jan 9 - The Cubs may trade center fielder Corey Patterson as soon as today to either the Orioles or a National League East team that has entered into the negotiations, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Mariners and Red Sox appear to be long shots.

</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="evenrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/6200.jpg
Jeff Weaver (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6200)
Dodgers
</td><td> </td><td>Weaver, Dodgers part ways
Jan 9 - The Dodgers and pitcher Jeff Weaver could not agree on a contract by the Jan. 8 deadline, effectively ending the right-hander's two-year stint with the team, The Los Angeles Times reports. "It was a difference of opinion of value and philosophy," GM Ned Colletti told The Times. "I like Jeff Weaver a lot. I would have loved to have had Jeff be a Dodger. It just didn't work out."


</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="oddrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/5888.jpg
Miguel Tejada (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5888)
Orioles
</td><td>Astros (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=hou)?
White Sox (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=chw)?
Phillies (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=phi)?
Cubs (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=chc)
Mets (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nym)?
Angels (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=laa)?
Red Sox (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=bos)?
</td><td>Stay-jada
Jan 9 - After hearing from Miguel Tejada on Saturday that he no longer wanted to be traded, Orioles VP Jim Duquette called some of the shortstop's suitors, The Baltimore Sun reports. "I told them that he has rescinded his trade [request] and that we don't have any desire to trade him at this point," Duquette told The Sun. "It's difficult to say that he is completely untradable, like it is for any player. But, put it this way: He is less tradable than other guys. He is not a guy we wanted to trade to begin with, and we are not likely to trade him."

</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[RoXer]

Yeah, Patterson went to the Orioles already. Lemme get the link

[RoXer]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5234656

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

lol damn the Yankees are crazy, they have almost have double the amount of the 2nd highest team.

LOL@A-Rod almost making more than everyone on the D-Rays

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>LOL the Yanks are out of their fucking minds.

Also, yessssssss....mets.com had an article up about how Brian Bannister was the Mets top pitching prospect...and then hours later Pelfrey finally signed</font> :lol:

[YOUR Hero]

O's should still listen to offers for Tejada

Either Miguel Tejada had a genuine change of heart about the Orioles, or he flat-out blinked.


The National League champion Astros were the team closest to landing Tejada, FOXSports.com has learned, offering closer Brad Lidge, shortstop Adam Everett and either outfielder Jason Lane or Willy Taveras.
The Phillies also wanted Tejada, intending to move him from shortstop to third base. The Tigers, too, were in the mix, representing little of an improvement, if any, over the Orioles — the team Tejada was trying to flee.


Perhaps Tejada sensed that he wasn't going to land with the Red Sox, seemingly his first choice, or the Cubs, possibly his second.
Perhaps, lacking no-trade protection, he wanted to regain a measure of control, and the only way to do that was by saying he would remain with the Orioles.

Well, that's no longer a sure thing.

The Orioles aren't looking to trade Tejada, but they're also in no position to dismiss interest in a player who remains at least somewhat disgruntled. The Astros' proposal intrigued them, and who's to say the Orioles won't revisit those discussions and others?

Everett, a gifted defender, would have been another Mark Belanger at short. Lane could have helped replace Tejada's offense, or Taveras would have filled the Orioles' void in center field, a position the team addressed Monday by acquiring the Cubs' Corey Patterson.

Lidge, one of the game's top closers, was the central figure from the Orioles' perspective, either as the replacement for departed free agent B.J. Ryan — or as a trade chip who could have helped the club address its biggest need, starting pitching.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations say the Orioles and Astros could have agreed on the players in the deal with little difficulty. The Astros were concerned that Tejada would invoke his right to demand a trade at the end of next season as a player dealt in the middle of a multi-year contract. They likely would have asked Tejada to waive that right, a potential sticking point. The deal also would have required the approval of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a demanding negotiator.

Astros owner Drayton McLane, however, evidently was prepared to absorb most or all of the $48 million remaining over the final four years of Tejada's contract while parting with three low-cost players who played significant roles in the Astros' World Series run. Barring further moves, the Astros' payroll might have soared past $100 million, assuming that right-hander Roger Clemens returned to the club.

Given Tejada's desire to play for a winner, he likely would have been satisfied by a trade to Houston — Clemens, Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte are just slightly more accomplished than the Orioles' Rodrigo Lopez, Daniel Cabrera and Erik Bedard. But Tejada didn't necessarily know he was going to the Astros. Perhaps he grew anxious when the Orioles' talks with the Red Sox and Cubs stalled, creating openings for other suitors.

One possibility clearly disturbed him: Through his agents, Tejada signaled to the Phillies that he would have played third base for only one season, then exercised his right to demand a trade. For that, the Phillies would have parted with right fielder Bobby Abreu? Didn't make sense.

In the end, Tejada chose the familiar over the unfamiliar, even though the familiar is a franchise that has had eight straight losing seasons — including six straight before he signed his six-year, $72 million contract with the Orioles after the 2003 season.

Tejada should have known what he was getting into when he sold himself not to the most competitive team but to the highest bidder. He may simply be biding time with his latest reversal. Judging from his comments to Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe during an interview in the Dominican Republic, Tejada still doesn't sound content.

Tejada told Edes he changed his mind because of his daughter, Alexis, 6, who had told him that she liked living in Baltimore. He also indicated that he had been bothered by criticism of his trade request both in the U.S. and Dominican Republic. But he also made it clear that he was not happy with the Orioles' direction, saying he was "really angry" that the team had not made significant off-season improvements.

Well, he can't have it both ways. If Tejada wanted out, he could have gotten out. Perhaps, as he told Edes, he merely heeded the advice of his wife, who told him, "Wait for God to give you the opportunity to win. Don't look for it. Let God decide when you're going to win."
Or perhaps, with the trade talks moving toward unknown, potentially undesirable outcomes, Tejada simply lost his nerve.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5235582

[VonErich Lives]

I've never understood the facination with Arroyo. He's good and "young" but not that young, he's 28 and yes he does win games, but that was a product of the hitting he had. He is capable of winning big games, but not going deep in them, maybe he grows the next few years, but I don't see him as anyones Ace.

He's a #5 maybe #4 and on a weak staff a #3. He doesn't have a history of injuries and doesn't make a lot of money.

I also don't understand what's so great about Reed, is he an outburst waiting to happen? Dunno, I see all his minors stuff, just his pro stats don't look that great... I would trade for him, but not giveup "the farm" so to speak.

[The Miz]

He did not have an at-bat this season at 100% health. With a year of experience and his elbow fixed he will hit much better to add to his stellar defense.

[VonErich Lives]

He did not have an at-bat this season at 100% health. With a year of experience and his elbow fixed he will hit much better to add to his stellar defense.

488AB with a bad elbow? at his age?

They should fire everyone who had something to do with letting him play and not shutting him down.

Yes, there are times to play through injuries, but if his injury had that big of an effect and he still got 488AB's... someone needs a new team doctor.

[VonErich Lives]

Was just looking over his stuff on mlb.com says he was shut down with a few games left for a wrist injury. What was wrong with his elbow?

[Joey Slugs]

<table class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr class="stathead"><td colspan="3">Tuesday, January 10</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="oddrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/6770.jpg
Josh Fogg (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6770)
Pirates
</td><td>Giants (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sfo)
</td><td>San Francisco Fogg
Jan 10 - The Giants have inquired about right-handed starter Josh Fogg, who was non-tendered by the Pirates last month, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. Fogg's agent, Dan Horwits, said he has had some "early discussions" with GM Brian Sabean. Fogg has interest from teams willing to give him a major-league contract, something the Giants aren't likely to do because their 40-man roster is full, the newspaper reports.

</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="evenrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/6503.jpg
Luis Matos (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6503)
Orioles
</td><td> </td><td>Matos available?
Jan 10 - With the acquisition of outfielder Corey Patterson, it's likely that the Orioles will trade center fielder Luis Matos, The Baltimore Sun reports. Several teams, including the Red Sox, Mets and Pirates, have inquired about Matos' availability this offseason.

</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[VonErich Lives]

ok, reading more about him, his minor league stats look great!

How did the Mariners get him from the White Sox? I didn't see listed what the trade was.

[Dragon]

I'm pretty sure he was involved in the Freddy Garcia deal.

[Joey Slugs]

Jeremy Reed went to Seattle in the Garcia deal.

And I'm STILL pissed that we gave him up.

[Gertner]

I was just thinking about John-Ford Griffin. That's eerie. The only thing with him is that he's yet to prove himself. Maybe he'll surprise evryone and become a starter.

I read a news story last night about Alex Rios.... not good. He's struggling mightly in the winter leagues. Low avg. lack of power, something needs to be done it seems. Let me find the article.

###

The performances of Alex Rios and Guillermo Quiroz in winter ball haven't done much good for their job security with the Major League club.


Rios, who turns 25 in February, is hitting .229 (16-for-70) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 19 games for the Caguas Criollos (20-21) in Puerto Rico. Toronto's right fielder has a .291 on-base percentage to go along with a .443 slugging percentage.

The Blue Jays are hoping that the 6-foot-5 Rios -- a former league MVP in Puerto Rico -- can tap into the power potential that analysts have said he possesses. Rios hit .262 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs in 149 games for Toronto in 2005 and is slated to start in right on Opening Day.

There has been discussion about moving infielder Eric Hinske to left field and possibly sliding Frank Catalanotto -- a left-handed batter -- over to right, though. That could mean a platoon-type situation with Rios, who is a righty, if he struggles early.

Quiroz, 24, has a .191 (13-for-68) batting average with one homer and four RBIs in 21 games for the Zulia Aguilas (23-39) in the Venezuelan League. The catcher has struck out 20 times and has walked just once.

The Blue Jays promoted Quiroz to the Majors in late August, and he hit just .194 in 12 games. Quiroz suffered a collapsed lung and other injuries in 2005 and was limited to just 40 Minor League games before being called up. Toronto appeared ready to hand over the backup catching job to Quiroz for 2006. On Tuesday, though, the Blue Jays signed catcher Jason Phillips -- a five-year veteran -- to a Minor League contract and gave him an invitation to Spring Training in Dunedin, Fla., where he'll compete with Quiroz for the No. 2 catcher job. Gregg Zaun remains the starting catcher for Toronto.

Toronto farmhand Miguel Negron, who plays with Rios in Puerto Rico, is hitting .240 in 32 games for the Criollos. The 23-year-old outfielder has two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .302 on-base percentage.

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060106&content_id=1292118&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor


i don't know if i can take another year of rios or "ground to short" as i call him, waving at balls down and away. plus , he got lazy in the outfield. Quiroz......I'm about ready to ive up on him

[The Miz]

Not elbow, I meant wrist. Reed sprained his wrist with USA Olympic team but was expected to be fine by Spring Training. He hit poorly all season and in September the Mariners crack tema of scientists fogure dout his wrist never healed. He sat out the few ramining games and had wrist surgery. I promise you he will be much better in 2006, he has a great line drive swing and should get on base at a great rate

[YOUR Hero]

Bruce Sutter makes into the BaseBall HAll of FAme.

He was the only one to get in this year... I think?

[The Miz]

I think Sutter & Blyleven deserved to get in this year. Jim Rice, maybe. Nobody else though, Andre Dawson was the next best and he's pretty much the definition of "hall of very good"

[CNM]

Goose Gossage got screwed. Again..

[YOUR Hero]

Injuries hurt The Hawk. It can be said about a lot of players, but you just wonder '"what if ?" As an Expos fan, I'd love to see him make it.

[VonErich Lives]

Rice got screwed. He'll get in...

gonna be interesting, I like McGwire is up next year.

[Joey Slugs]

<table class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr class="stathead"><td colspan="3">Wednesday, January 11</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="oddrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/5700.jpg
Todd Walker (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5700)
Cubs
</td><td> </td><td>A Walk(er) out?
Jan 11 - Todd Walker appears to be the odd man out in the Cubs' crowded infield. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs have penciled in rookie Ronny Cedeno to be their starting shortstop and will go with a Neifi Perez-Jerry Hairston platoon at second base. Walker, whose $2.5 million contract option was picked up by the Cubs in early December, could get a chance to compete for the second-base job in spring training, but that appears unlikely despite the encouraging words of Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
"Right now we have three second basemen," Hendry told the Tribune. "And if that's the way we go to camp, it's up to the three of them to compete for playing time."

</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="evenrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/4829.jpg
Jeff Nelson (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4829)
Mariners
</td><td>Cardinals (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=stl)?
Yankees (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nyy)?
</td><td>So long, Seattle
Jan 11 - Veteran reliever Jeff Nelson is considering one-year offers from the Cardinals and the Yankees, with a focus on how big a portion of the deal will be guaranteed, reports ESPN Insider Jerry Crasnick. "Things are starting to solidify," said agent Mike McCann, "but we're not there yet." Nelson, 39, held right-handed batters to a .196 average and stranded 25 of 31 inherited runners last season while pitching for the Mariners. He's looking at recent deals signed by fellow sidearmers Chad Bradford (one year, $1.4 million with the Mets) and Mike Myers (two years, $2.4 million with the Yankees) as a framework for his contract.

</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[The Miz]

Tavarez signed by Boston, I think they'll give him Mota's job and try to package Mota for a CF

[BCWWF]

Sorry I have been out of the country and am a few pages behind in this post, but apparently Koskie didn't do much defensively last season. On Minnesota, there was at least one year when he should have won the gold glove (I say this because Chavez only played half a season) and he was one of the club house guys that hurt the Twins last year. I don't even know how putting him in the outfield would be brought up.

[YOUR Hero]

Koskie made some awesome defensive plays last season. Not sure why you'd type that. If that rumour is going around Minnesota, it's a misnomer. Hell he broke his thumb because of his hustle. He always gives an honest effort.

[The Miz]

Nationals going after Sosa :|

[YOUR Hero]

rofl

[Joey Slugs]

<table class="tablehead" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr class="stathead"><td colspan="3">Thursday, January 12</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="oddrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/5981.jpg
Kevin Millar (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5981)
Red Sox
</td><td> </td><td>Cowboy Up: Millar may join O's
Jan 12 - The Orioles and first baseman/corner outfielder Kevin Millar could be nearing an agreement on a one-year deal, The Baltimore Sun reports. Millar reportedly had expressed interest in joining the Orioles for much of the winter.
"He'd be another veteran presence in the clubhouse who can play multiple positions and help out some of the young guys," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo told The Sun.

</td></tr><tr class="colhead"><td width="65">WHO</td><td>INTERESTED</td><td>THE SKINNY</td></tr><tr class="evenrow" valign="top"><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap">http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/6545.jpg
Aubrey Huff (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6545)
Devil Rays
</td><td> </td><td>Huff 'sick of hearing the rumors'
Jan 12 - Devil Rays first baseman/outfielder Aubrey Huff, appearing Wednesday on a Tampa-area radio show, says he's tired of being the subject of trade rumors, the Tampa Tribune reports. "As soon as I signed my three-year deal [in 2004], probably a week after I signed my deal, there [were] rumors of me getting traded already," Huff told WXTB Radio. "That's happened every year since then. If you want to trade me, trade me. Just get it over with. I'm sick of hearing the rumors. If you want to do it, do it. If not, let's stop talking about it."

</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[YOUR Hero]

Can someone explain something to me.

The Rays put Huff on waivers mid year (i think?) last season and The Jays picked him up. However soon as The Jays did, The Rays took him off waivers. How can that happen? What's the rule on waivers in baseball?

They said The Rays were checking to see what interest there was in Huff. I don't get it.

[The Miz]

Waivers are complicated. There are 3 types, the one you're referring to is major league waivers, you usually hear about them during the trade deadline.

If a player is on major league waivers, he has 3 days to be claimed. If not claimed, the team can trade (even past the deadline), release, or demote him. If claimed, the team has the choice of letting him go or canceling the waiver request.

I don't remember Huff being claimed, but I'm guessing Tampa put him there because they thought they might trade him but couldn't finish a deal before the deadline. When Toronto claimed him they canceld becase they didn't want to give him up for nothing.

[The Miz]

Orioles sign Kevin Millar ( :| ), and then DFA Walter Young who is 8 years younger and 8 times better. This guy will be a steal for someone in a few days.

[The Miz]

Dodgers get:
RP Danys Baez
RP Lance Carter

Devil Rays get:
SP Edwin Jackson
SP Chuck Tiffany (A)

Wow, after every Minaya trade, this might be the worst trade of the offseason (for LA). They give up 2 great prospects for a decent closer who will be unhappy in his new setup role, and a guy who will only be on a major-league roster if the 12th pitcher goes down.

[YOUR Hero]

Gagne trade perhaps?

[The Miz]

Not a chance

[YOUR Hero]

Well they've got Brazoban as well. Reports say he's been lights out in winter ball.

[The Miz]

Lights out in winter ball? How about lights out in 85 straight major-league 9th innings?

You don't need me to tell you that Gagne > Brazoban and Baez combined, but the idea of trading Gagne is still ludicrous. Eric Gagne > Mariano Rivera, when healthy. There really isn't any reason to trade this guy, and there is nothing you could get in return to match him. Gagne has been a closer for 3 years, and has been the best closer in the world for all 3 of those years. Baez has had 3 above average seasons as a closer, and Brazoban has been awful in his only full major league year. LA will be playing 8-inning games for the next two years with Gagne, why trade that away and be stuck with two huge question marks?

With Colletti I guess you never know, but I can't see anything being worth Gagne unless the Cardinals decide to put Albert Pujols on the market.

[YOUR Hero]

Well I'm not disagreeing with you on your assessment of Gagne, but when you see the moves the Dodgers are making, you have to start wondering.

[The Miz]

I think what they are doing is trying to have a great offense and a great bullpen, and sacrificing their defense and starting pitching. Their bullpen is now among the best in the NL (certainly the best in their division) with Gagne/Baez/Brazoban/Broxton/Wunsch/Kuo/Osoria. Take Gagne out of that list of names, its not so impressive.

There is no way Gagne gets traded this offseason, and I think a year from now most teams will be reluctant to give up anything when Gagne only has one year on his contract. I think he stays in LA for his contract and, as much as I hate the the thought of it, succeeds Mariano Rivera in NY.

[YOUR Hero]

Well that's a big speculation on your part. One I'm going to disagree with. Here's why. There's a trend in baseball to draft closers. Closers aren't just failed starters anymore. Your A's are a prime example of that with the likes of Huston Street. Chad Cordero for the Expos and that Papelbon dude in Boston. The Yankees have a successor of that type of their own. They'll groom him slower than the A's have in Street, but I won't be surprised to see J.B. Cox make an appearance next year with the Yankees. He is the heir apparent to Mariano.

[The Miz]

Steinbrenner will always choose big name FA over an up and coming talent in the minors. If someone of Gagne's stature is a FA when Rivera retires you can bet George will overpay for him. He doesn't care about trading a Cox-type, he's done it before and will do it again.

I agree with your assessment of the closer-drafting trend, but I don't think it applies to the Yankees. The Yankees will always look externally to fill up their most important positions through FA or trade, and if no one is available they will give Cox a shot.

[BCWWF]

Hero, I think you misunderstood what I meant. Somebody was saying "Maybe move Koskie to the outfield" and I was saying how rediculous that would be, because I would say he is one of the top five defensive third basemen in all of the MLB.

[YOUR Hero]

Miz, this will make you super happy.

Chone Figgins, your most favouritist player, ever. Has signed a new 3 year deal with Seattle. No, I'm kidding. The Angels and he did a 3 year deal worth 10.5 mil.

[YOUR Hero]

Craig Wilson signed a 1 year 3.3 mil. deal with the Pirates. Not sure what that will mean in terms of his tenure there.

[The Miz]

I'm not looking forward to any Angel games this year. With Erstad/McPherson/Kotchman switching around alot, Figgins should play alot of positions and I'll have to hear the commentators talk about how versatile he is. I hope he plays 3rd alot though, that's where he is the most embarassing.

[The Miz]

Frank Thomas expected to sign with A's in the next day or two. High risk, high reward. If he can hit well for 90+ games, the Angels really dont have a chance IMO

[YOUR Hero]

I was browsing around and came upon T Bay's site. I decided to have a look around at their stories since they traded Baez. I see they signed a Japanese reliever to a 2 year contract. This guy won the award as Japan's top set up man last. Interesting I thought.

[The Miz]

Yeah Shinji Mori. I dunno, he has been injured and ineffective the last few years in Japan. He wanted to leave at his peak of success (2002/3) but Seibu didn't let him, if they did he likely would've been one of the top 5 relievers available. He'll probably set-up, and that's where he's best suited. His fastball doesn't hit 90 so the DRays should stick with Orvella for saves

[YOUR Hero]

Trying to find some info on Walter Young. All I'm finding is his 33 game MLB career from last year. Anyone got anything else on him?

[YOUR Hero]

... I see he's a huge fucker. 322 lbs. (typo???) 6'5"

[The Miz]

Not a typo, I believe he's the biggest in the MLB. Here's his past few minor league seasons if you're interested.

2005 Ottawa (AAA): .288/.334/.438 (.772); 13 HR 81 RBI
2004 Bowie (AA): .274/.343/.539 (.882); 33 HR 98 RBI
2003 Lynchburg (A): .278/.348/.462 (.810); 20 HR 87 RBI

His only AAA season was poor, and his OBP numbers have always been low. But he can flat out rake and an AL team should pick him up and put him in AAA in 2006 and try him at DH sometime down the road. I can't imagine a guy that huge would be a very good first baseman.

[The Miz]

From Wikipedia:

During one batting practice in the 2005 season, Young hit a homerun that reached the Camden Yards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Yards) warehouse. The distance to the warehouse from homeplate is 432 ft (132 m) along the right field line, and the only other known player to hit the warehouse is Ken Griffey, Jr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Griffey%2C_Jr.).

Since 2005 was the last year that he could be optioned to the minors without having to pass through waivers, the Orioles said upon promoting him that they would use him in September to see if he fits into their plans for 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_in_baseball). He played 15 games for the Orioles in 2005, finishing with a .303 (10-for-33) batting average, one home run, and 3 RBI. In the offseason, Young is playing for LaGuaria in the Venezuelan Winter League. Since the Orioles' regular first baseman during the 2005 season, Rafael Palmeiro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Palmeiro), left the Orioles as a free agent after the season, Young is expected to be among those competing for the Orioles' starting first-base job in 2006.

(Obviously the last paragraph was written before he was DFA'd)

[The Miz]

Aaand here's an article about him with a pic http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050306&content_id=958704&vkey=spt2005news&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal

[YOUR Hero]

DFA'd.. what exactly is the terminology to that?

[The Miz]

designated for assignment

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Mets sign some pitcher named Yusaku Iriki to a major league deal

His numbers don't look too bad, but like 95% of the Asian players the Mets bring in, I'm going to assume he'll end up sucking</font> :(

[The Miz]

Since the Mets will likely go with 11 pitchers I don't like his chances of making them. Don't see him challenging Perisho or Padilla for the last couple spots

[Adder]

designated for assignment

So they still hold his rights?

[The Miz]

For 10 days. They can either trade him, demote him, or release him. If they take no action, he is released and is a free agent

[The Miz]

Walter Young signs with San Diego, odd choice considering Padres are deep at 1B and Petco is about the worst possible place for a one-dimensional HR hitter to make a name for him self

[The Miz]

SI's offseason grades http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=cnnsi-americanleagueh&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

Awful.

[Adder]

SI's offseason grades http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=cnnsi-americanleagueh&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

Awful.

I read that yesterday. Seemed like it was an ok rating. It doesn't mean an A rating is going to be given to a team that is a contender, per say. It's all about moves that the team made that were positive or negative, and then graded upon that.

What I find was the ratings was generally too 'nice', like they were afraid to offend the fans of a particular team. Because some were too nice, it meant the whole system gets bumped up to compensate for that.

[The Miz]

I understand how the ratings were given. More than half of them are not even close.

Kansas City, adds alot of league-average players that cost a ton of money and will still lose 85+ games, B?

Minnesota, already had the best pitching in the AL, added two offensive players that makes them miles aheaf of the Indians and almost even with the White Sox, D?

Seattle, adds every useless expensive free agent and will still lose 85+ games, C?

Baltimore, came in 4th last year because of zero pitching, spent 60 million dollars on offense, C?

[The Miz]

It's not as much the grades as some of the things he said;

"With Johan Santana (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6441/), Brad Radke (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5337/) and Carlos Silva (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6880/) at the top of the rotation, the Twins won't get blown out of the division. But they need to be stronger in the infield. When the White Sox and Indians sport much deeper rotations, it will be tough. Real tough."

"if the O's keep Javy Lopez (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4965/) as a designated hitter, and if Chris Ray (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7577/) or newly acquired LaTroy Hawkins (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5336/) can close, the Orioles haven't lost any ground."

[The Miz]

The NL one might be worse http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=cnnsi-nationalleagueh&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

New York Mets: GRADE: Money and good trades pay off -- A. :|

[CNM]

John Donovan is pretty stupid, so no suprise there

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Why is a 6'5" 332 pound guy playing in the National league?

[The Miz]

Red Sox sign Willie Harris, likely as a backup CF (though if the season started today he's start over Adam Stern) and 2B

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Not sure if anyone posted it, Arroyo signed for 3 years 12 million today with the Red Sox. I heard his agent and the MLBPA was upset because they felt he could make more money in arbitration.

[Boondock Saint]

Theo is back with the Sox.

[RoXer]

Epstein rejoining Red Sox full-time
Posted: 2 minutes ago



BOSTON (AP) - The door was ajar, and Theo Epstein finally walked through it and back into the front office of the Boston Red Sox.

The most successful general manager in franchise history will rejoin the Red Sox baseball operations department in a full-time - but otherwise unspecified - position. His long-rumored return comes 2 1/2 months after he fled Fenway Park in a gorilla suit.
"As you know, we have spoken frequently during the last 10 weeks," the team and Epstein said in a joint statement on Thursday night. "We have engaged in healthy, spirited debates about what it will take over the long-term for the Red Sox to remain a great organization and, in fact, become a more effective organization in philosophy, approaches and ideals.

"Ironically, Theo's departure has brought us closer together in many respects, and, thanks to these conversations, we now enjoy the bonds of a shared vision for the organization's future that did not exist on Oct. 31. With this vision in place, Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week."


Epstein declined to elaborate on the statement, which also came from principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Larry Lucchino. The team would not comment on how Epstein will fit into the organization's hierarchy, but Henry denied that Lucchino's role was diminished to lure Epstein back.

"Larry's role does not change," Henry said. "Details next week."

Lucchino did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The Red Sox have been operating with co-GMs, former Epstein lieutenants Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington. But their Dec. 12 promotions were overshadowed by persistent rumors that they would soon be working for Epstein again.

"Certainly Theo is a good friend of all of us, and he's worked very closely with these guys in the past," Lucchino said then. "The door has been really ajar for some time, and until Theo goes to work for another baseball organization we'll keep the light on in the window with the possibility of him coming back and helping us."

Epstein's return concludes an almost Shakespearean saga that led him to walk away from the team, reportedly because of a falling out with Lucchino, his longtime mentor. The Red Sox president and chief executive officer first hired Epstein, then a Yale student, to work as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles; Epstein followed Lucchino to the San Diego Padres and rose to assistant GM there.

The Red Sox made Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history in 2003, and his first team came within a Pedro Martinez pitch count of reaching the World Series. The next year, Boston won it all for the first time since 1918.

The Red Sox also reached the postseason in '05 - a three-year run that was a first in franchise history. But what should have been easy negotiations over a contract extension turned fierce and Freudian.

On Oct. 31, the day his old deal was set to expire, Epstein belied a newspaper report that he had agreed to stay and walked away from the team's three-year, $4.5 million offer. To avoid the encamped media, he borrowed a gorilla costume left over from the teams' Halloween party.

Explaining his move two days later, Epstein said, "You have to be all-in. You have to believe in every aspect of the job and the organization and your ability to stay and do the job the right way, with your whole heart and your whole soul. And in the end, it just wasn't the right fit. It wasn't right."

Both sides denied — or at least downplayed — a rift between Epstein and Lucchino.

"We've had a very successful working relationship," Epstein said in November. "I think Larry and I like each other. As with any long relationship, there are complexities. ... But in the end, I want what's best for Larry. He's done a lot for me. I owe him quite a bit, and I take that to heart."

[RoXer]

Epstein rejoining Red Sox full-time
Posted: 2 minutes ago



BOSTON (AP) - The door was ajar, and Theo Epstein finally walked through it and back into the front office of the Boston Red Sox.

The most successful general manager in franchise history will rejoin the Red Sox baseball operations department in a full-time - but otherwise unspecified - position. His long-rumored return comes 2 1/2 months after he fled Fenway Park in a gorilla suit.
"As you know, we have spoken frequently during the last 10 weeks," the team and Epstein said in a joint statement on Thursday night. "We have engaged in healthy, spirited debates about what it will take over the long-term for the Red Sox to remain a great organization and, in fact, become a more effective organization in philosophy, approaches and ideals.

"Ironically, Theo's departure has brought us closer together in many respects, and, thanks to these conversations, we now enjoy the bonds of a shared vision for the organization's future that did not exist on Oct. 31. With this vision in place, Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week."


Epstein declined to elaborate on the statement, which also came from principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Larry Lucchino. The team would not comment on how Epstein will fit into the organization's hierarchy, but Henry denied that Lucchino's role was diminished to lure Epstein back.

"Larry's role does not change," Henry said. "Details next week."

Lucchino did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The Red Sox have been operating with co-GMs, former Epstein lieutenants Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington. But their Dec. 12 promotions were overshadowed by persistent rumors that they would soon be working for Epstein again.

"Certainly Theo is a good friend of all of us, and he's worked very closely with these guys in the past," Lucchino said then. "The door has been really ajar for some time, and until Theo goes to work for another baseball organization we'll keep the light on in the window with the possibility of him coming back and helping us."

Epstein's return concludes an almost Shakespearean saga that led him to walk away from the team, reportedly because of a falling out with Lucchino, his longtime mentor. The Red Sox president and chief executive officer first hired Epstein, then a Yale student, to work as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles; Epstein followed Lucchino to the San Diego Padres and rose to assistant GM there.

The Red Sox made Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history in 2003, and his first team came within a Pedro Martinez pitch count of reaching the World Series. The next year, Boston won it all for the first time since 1918.

The Red Sox also reached the postseason in '05 - a three-year run that was a first in franchise history. But what should have been easy negotiations over a contract extension turned fierce and Freudian.

On Oct. 31, the day his old deal was set to expire, Epstein belied a newspaper report that he had agreed to stay and walked away from the team's three-year, $4.5 million offer. To avoid the encamped media, he borrowed a gorilla costume left over from the teams' Halloween party.

Explaining his move two days later, Epstein said, "You have to be all-in. You have to believe in every aspect of the job and the organization and your ability to stay and do the job the right way, with your whole heart and your whole soul. And in the end, it just wasn't the right fit. It wasn't right."

Both sides denied — or at least downplayed — a rift between Epstein and Lucchino.

"We've had a very successful working relationship," Epstein said in November. "I think Larry and I like each other. As with any long relationship, there are complexities. ... But in the end, I want what's best for Larry. He's done a lot for me. I owe him quite a bit, and I take that to heart."

[BCWWF]

Lol at the idea of LaTroy Hawkins closing. Hasn't that been proven on every team he has been on that he is completely not capable of closing?

[VonErich Lives]

The rumor is Lucchino will be out in the next year and Theo takes his role.

Theo played this great, he got what he wanted all along. He walked away, and then kept in touch with the owner rather then Lucchino who he had been negotiating with.

Rumor has been for awhile that Lucchino wants to run the Washington franchinse, Lucchino denies this, but time will tell.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Felipe Alou is considering batting Bonds second</font> :lol:

[The Miz]

Why is that funny?

[The Miz]

Mets get:
RP Jorge Julio
SP John Maine

Orioles get:
SP Kris Benson

Crap for crap, except now the Mets are minus a crappy starter and plus a crappy reliever. What was the point of this?

[OssMan]

Mets get:
RP Jorge Julio
SP John Maine

Orioles get:
SP Kris Benson

Crap for crap, except now the Mets are minus a crappy starter and plus a crappy reliever. What was the point of this?It opens up a spot in the rotation for Aaron Heilman who said he wanted to be traded if he didn't start

[The Miz]

So why didn't they trade Heilman? He may or may not be any better than Benson and he has much higher trade value. Jorge Julio sucks.

[OssMan]

Moving to the NL and Shea Stadium might help him out. He had arm problems at the end of last year also. I don't know, in Heilman's first start last year it was a one-hit shutout... he was pretty equal to Benson when they started though last year so we'll see how it turns out

[Loose Cannon]

you ever see Benson's wife? god dam.

[VonErich Lives]

you ever see Benson's wife? god dam.

Is this the one who said if he ever cheated she would fuck every guy in the clubhouse?

[Loose Cannon]

yea, she's wild

[Loose Cannon]

http://www.annabenson.net/imgs/gallery_h.jpg

kind of small but you get the point.

[YOUR Hero]

If Jorge Julio can rebound, I think it's a good move by the Mets. 'IF'

[The Miz]

Alot of defenders of this trade are saying Peterson will be able to help Julio rebound, I don't buy this, Julio had one good year his first season and then the league figured out how to hit him. He throws a fastball 90% of the time and his other pitches are shit. It's possible that Peterson could help him improve, but this guy will never come close to a 1.99 ERA again. Not even in the National League.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

http://images.sportsline.com/u/ap/photos/NYJS105012123_lower.jpg

[The Miz]

Red Sox get:
OF Coco Crisp

Indians get:
RP Guillermo Mota
3B Andy Marte

[The Miz]

According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox are going to sign Alex Gonzalez to play short and the Indians will trade for Jason Michaels to fill their outfield gap, sending Arthur Rhodes or Rafael Betancourt to Philadelphia.

I like the move for Cleveland, I really don't like either move for Boston.

[VonErich Lives]

According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox are going to sign Alex Gonzalez to play short and the Indians will trade for Jason Michaels to fill their outfield gap, sending Arthur Rhodes or Rafael Betancourt to Philadelphia.

I like the move for Cleveland, I really don't like either move for Boston.

I'm ok with Alex Gonzalez, not too many other choices right now.

I hate the Crisp trade, I have giving up Marte unless we're doing a package deal for a big name CF (Hunter).

Oh well, in "Theo" we trust.... :shifty:

[The Miz]

I love the idea of bringing Crisp to replace Damon, but I don't like giving up Marte for him. Maybe if Cleveland included a couple good prospects. Marte is worth more than Crisp IMO.

Alex Gonzalez sucks. There is a better choice, his name is Alex Cora, and he's already on your team.

[VonErich Lives]

I love the idea of bringing Crisp to replace Damon, but I don't like giving up Marte for him. Maybe if Cleveland included a couple good prospects. Marte is worth more than Crisp IMO.

Alex Gonzalez sucks. There is a better choice, his name is Alex Cora, and he's already on your team.

Neither one is overly impressive.

I'd expect whichever one gets hot, they'll try and ride the streaks.

[The Miz]

Won't be that easy. Gonzalez is going to ask for a multi-year deal. He's not going to want to platoon with anyone. He just seems like a waste of time, money and effort when you have Cora and Graffanino capable of doing the job just as well.

I still think that whether Gonzalez is signed or not, Dustin Pedroia will be the SS at the end of the season

[YOUR Hero]

Coco is still rather young. The trade isn't that bad. Crisp is versatile too and has speed. I see it as a good move.

[BCWWF]

I like that trade a lot more for the Indians

[The Miz]

I love Crisp, he just isn't worth Marte. And he isn't a CF

[YOUR Hero]

Marte is all about potential. One doesn't really know if he'll pan out in the long term. Coco you know what you're getting.

[BCWWF]

Well Guillermo Mota isn't one of the top relief pitchers or anything either...

[MVP]

I hate the idea of trading both Marte and Mota for Crisp. I think it's gotta be one or the other, preferrably Mota.

[The Miz]

Do you know how he'll hit in Fenway Park? Do you know how he'll handle the Boston media? Do you know if he can hit consistently in the leadoff spot? Do you know if he can be a full-time CF? He's hit .300/.345/.450 his first 2 years, do you know that he will he be able to hit that consistently?

Crisp is far from a sure thing. He has a Damon arm and in general is a lousy CF. He strikeouts out too much and walks too few for a leadoff man. His OBP is not great. Alot of prospects turn out to be nothing, but few have dominated every level like Marte has.

[The Miz]

Well Guillermo Mota isn't one of the top relief pitchers or anything either...

Is this sarcasm? Because Mota isn't even close to a top reliever.

[YOUR Hero]

Marte can handle the Boston press better than Crisp? I would think having a couple of seasons under his belt would give Crisp the edge in that category.

[The Miz]

Do you know either guy's personality? For all we know Marte loves the media attention and Crisp wants to be left alone all the time.

Crisp does have an edge, but you're acting like Crisp is a 100% surefire thing who has proven himself, and I'm telling you he's not.

[YOUR Hero]

I'm stating he has proven himself a lot more than Marte has.

[YOUR Hero]

This just in. Bonds say NO to batting 2nd.

What a shock.

[The Miz]

I'm stating he has proven himself a lot more than Marte has.

I agree. But that doesn't mean you should keep him. Dontrelle Willis had never played a major league game when the Marlins got him for Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca, two guys with big league experience.

I understand your point though.

[YOUR Hero]

If it was a rebuilding team, I can understand Cleveland trading for him, but they are considered a contender. A team in that position should go for the proven commodity. Same thing for the Red Sox, only reversed, they get a proven player and not just a potential future guy while they continue to try to win or at least get a wildcard position.

[The Miz]

The Indians are getting Jason Michaels tomorrow, who could be very possibly be an upgrade over Crisp. At the least he'll be just as good. They upgrade at a corner OF spot and get possibly the best prospect in baseball. It's a great series of events for Cleveland, for 2006 and beyond.

[BCWWF]

Is this sarcasm? Because Mota isn't even close to a top reliever.

In 2003, he was arguably the top setup man in the league. He had an 1.97 ERA with 99 K's in 105 innings. He lost a big in 2004, but 3.07 ERA and 85 K's in 96.2 innings. Then last year he was transformed into a closer and injured for a big part of the year, so he wasn't that good.

Put him on the Indians I'm sure he'll take the setup role again, and although Wickman obviously isn't a great pitcher, he lead the AL in saves last year so that offers some security. You can't argue that the Indians bullpen just got a lot better, and he was the second guy in the trade.

Calling him an elite closer in the MLB is probably an overstatement because of his injury plagued season last year, but he is definately an above average setup man. I mean he's no Jesse Crain, but as the extra guy in a dea like that, the Indians just got a bargain.

[The Miz]

Ok I don't get it, everything you said in that post was true, so why did you call him one of the top relievers in MLB in the first one?

[BCWWF]

I still think he is one of the top setup men in the game, but not an elite one. The reason I worded it like I did is because the way people were talking was like he wasn't even part of the deal. The reason I replied to your post is because you made it seem like he was awful, and he's not.

[The Miz]

"I love Crisp, he just isn't worth Marte. And he isn't a CF"

This means that I think Marte is worth more than Crisp, so obviously Marte + Mota is worth more than Crisp. There wasn't much point of mentioning him.

Calling him a top setup man is still an overstatement. He had 2 great years, what about the other 5? Don't forget that he has never thrown a pitch in the American League. Relievers, more than any other position, "come and go" so to speak. Tis why (other than closers) there are few guys who remain great relievers for long periods of time, and why only a select few get multiyear deals.

[BCWWF]

I apologize, the comment you made that I was referring to is the one where you asked if I was being sarcastic. There were just a bunch of posts about the trade and he wasn't mentioned at all.

[MVP]

Looks like the trade went through.

I'm glad we got a starting CF, but I dunno if the cost was worth it. We'll see what happens come spring training.

[YOUR Hero]

Shigetoshi Hasegawa, retired today.

[MVP]

LOL, Bonds is bitching again

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2302414

[BCWWF]

It was kind of inevitable. I thought it was pretty cool when he said he would do it, but whatever.

There was an article somewhere that quoted some guy saying a lot of the American players didn't want to do it, but didn't want to back out early in fear of looking bad. I wonder if there will be a big group of these guys now.

What I don't really understand is why international competition is so frowned upon in baseball and basketball. It seems like representing the USA in hockey or soccer is an incredible honor, but for baseball and basketball it's just a hassle. It really just proves that it really is all about the money, although I believe they should have held the baseball tournament midseason rather then preseason.

[YOUR Hero]

MVP, I already posted that story. - 3 day ban.

[The Miz]

Guillermo Mota failed his physical so the trade is halted for now. There is talk of replacing Mota in the deal with Manny Delcarmen.

[VonErich Lives]

Guillermo Mota failed his physical so the trade is halted for now. There is talk of replacing Mota in the deal with Manny Delcarmen.

This is just getting stupid...

Marte, Delcarmen & Shoppach...

this is just stupid.

I'll give that Crisp has good stats and take out damon's FA year, has as good if not better stats then Damon, he can play CF is a decent fielder with no arm, but should be a good leadoff and is young and cheap...

but he's not worth all that...

There was talk SD wants David Wells and Wells wants SD, can't we make some deal of Wells for Dave Roberts to play CF for a year and keep all these guys...

I mean, if the Twins are out of it at the all-star break, wouldn't Hunter be on the block? Might Atlanta now want to spend the money on Jones?

I dunno, maybe Crisp will turn into a multi-year all-star... I just think they're giving up too much.

[VonErich Lives]

So, there's word going around that a deal fell apart last week that had:
Clement to Cinc
Austin Kerns to Clev
Coco and 2 others to the Red Sox.

There's word that this had something to do with the firing of Dan O'brien.

[RoXer]

A's sign Thomas finallly

[The Miz]

This is such a good move. He is only guaranteed $500 K, with a couple million in incentives. So if Thomas breaks his leg on the 1st week it won't cost them any money and they'll still have a solid lineup without him.

I really hope they keep Jay Payton around as a 4th outfielder, but he complained in Boston because of not starting so they might have to trade him. I think he'll realize that he's going to get alot more playing time with Bradley/Kotsay/Swisher/Thomas than he did with Ramirez/Damon/Nixon/Ortiz. He'd be great to have around if one of the 4 go down, and he has a great glove and some pop which is about all you can ask for from a 4th OF.

Ideal situation would be to package Kennedy and Kielty in a deal for prospects and/or a reliever.

[YOUR Hero]

500K for Thomas is a steal. There's no 'bad' in this deal anywhere.

[The Miz]

He can earn $1.4 million if he makes no DL stops, and up to $1.2 million in performance bonuses (starting with 300 AB he can make $200 K for every 50 AB). If Thomas collects all of his 2.9 million, it will be money well spent because the A's will win 95 games.

I really think this puts the A's over the top

[Joey Slugs]

It's going to be a sad day when I see my all-time favorite player in a uniform other than the White Sox pinstripes.

I was hoping you were just going to hang 'em up Frank. :'(

Here's to hoping you get your 500 and set your path to the Hall.

[The Outlaw]

Yeah, gonna be crazy seeing him in a different uniform. Kinda like seeing MJ in the Wizards uniform.

[VonErich Lives]

He can earn $1.4 million if he makes no DL stops, and up to $1.2 million in performance bonuses (starting with 300 AB he can make $200 K for every 50 AB). If Thomas collects all of his 2.9 million, it will be money well spent because the A's will win 95 games.

I really think this puts the A's over the top

an incentive for not being on the DL?

I wonder what happens if the team wants to put him there, but he gets a doctor to say he's not injured?

[VonErich Lives]

Ok, it seems every time I hear a new "trade for Crisp" the sox are giving more.

I swear, by the time the deal is done it will be:

Rameriz, Ortiz, Lester, Pappelbon, Timlin & 100mil cash for Coco Crisp.

Also, I want the idiot who decide to make the deal with the Martlins without giving either player a physical head on a flag pole outside fenway park.

[The Miz]

an incentive for not being on the DL?

I wonder what happens if the team wants to put him there, but he gets a doctor to say he's not injured?

You have to be certified as disabled by a doctor to go on the DL. They can't just put him there because they don't want to pay him.

[RoXer]

I cannot wait to get this season started.

[VonErich Lives]

You have to be certified as disabled by a doctor to go on the DL. They can't just put him there because they don't want to pay him.

you act like a "team doctor" has never stretched a "injury" at a teams request.

Team doctors are paid for and work for the team.

I always remember the Celtics would sometimes put someone on the IR the press would ask the player "how bad is it" and the player would say "well, my back is really sore, going to have some pictures done" and then the press would tell the player is was a different injury he's going on the IR for.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Well, if Thomas is able to play, they are probably going to want him to play and will be willing to pay him? It's not like its a difference of millions of dollars or something.

[BCWWF]

The IL in basketball is/was completely different. Teams would just use it so they didn't have to drop a young player, so oftentimes it was just used for injuries like "sore back"

[YOUR Hero]

LOL yeah. Mota was aquired by the Red Sox this off season, did he not take a physical?

[VonErich Lives]

The IL in basketball is/was completely different. Teams would just use it so they didn't have to drop a young player, so oftentimes it was just used for injuries like "sore back"

Team Doctors still work for "the team".

[VonErich Lives]

LOL yeah. Mota was aquired by the Red Sox this off season, did he not take a physical?

:roll:

I'm not rolling my eyes at you, but "my team".

Yep, neither him or Beckett took physicals...

I did hear they "studied" Beckets MRI...

and now I'm hearing Mota, Marte, Delcarman & Shoppack in a deal that gets back Crisp & Riske.

This deal better get much better then this.

Screw it, move Trot to CF or deal for Dave Roberts or that type of player for a stop gap. They have a "top CF prospect" in A, possible will move up this year (I don't expect him in the majors for another 2yrs).

Clevland, wants Marte more then the Sox need Crisp. They wanted Marte from Atlanta originally.

[The Miz]

According to MLB.COM, the following trades are about to happen:

Indians get:
OF Jason Michaels

Phillies get:
RP Arthur Rhodes

-----------------------------

Red Sox get:
OF Coco Crisp
RP David Riske
C Josh Bard

Indians get:
3B Andy Marte
RP Guillermo Mota
C Kelly Shoppach
PTBNL/cash

[The Miz]

Clevland, wants Marte more then the Sox need Crisp.

That's ridiculous. Cleveland's roster is currently filled, Boston NEEDS a center fielder for 2006, and it won't be Adam Stern or Willie Harris. If Cleveland doesn't get Marte, no big deal, he isn't playing for them in 2006 anyway. Boston is the team that absolutely needs a position filled and that's why Cleveland is in the position of power.

[The Miz]

lol I don't know if anyone here other than Roxer knows who Jairo Garcia is, but it turns out his name is Santiago Casilla and he's 26, not 23 :(

[YOUR Hero]

Washington still negotiating with Sammy Sosa. With all due respect to Sosa, it's time he hangs them up.

[The Miz]

I can't wait to laugh at him next year, if he even plays. With Guillen's injury he'll probably be on the 25 man roster to start the season, after Guillen is healthy there's really no use for him. 2006 is definately his last year

[BCWWF]

Bringing him and Soriano together just sounds like a disaster in the making

[CNM]

lol I don't know if anyone here other than Roxer knows who Jairo Garcia is, but it turns out his name is Santiago Casilla and he's 26, not 23 :(

The Rockies tried to trade Joe Kennedy for Garcia... errrr Casilla, but got turned down. Good thing

[The Miz]

Garcia/Casilla is still better than Joke Ennedy

[YOUR Hero]

Boston finally/officially landed Crisp. The players involved were those rumoured to be swapped, and posted earlier by Miz.

Red Sox get:
OF Coco Crisp
RP David Riske
C Josh Bard

Indians get:
3B Andy Marte
RP Guillermo Mota
C Kelly Shoppach
PTBNL/cash<!-- / message --><!-- edit note -->

[RoXer]

lol I don't know if anyone here other than Roxer knows who Jairo Garcia is, but it turns out his name is Santiago Casilla and he's 26, not 23 :(

He's a beast in MVP 05. Dunno about real life though.

[The Miz]

2 years ago today Garcia was the best relief prsopect in baseball, he tore up the minors in 2004 and then they stupidly jumped him to the bigs at 21 (actually 23/24) where his pitches and confidence got killed. He has a high 90's fastball and a good slider but he still has very poor control. If he can fix the control problem he could still have a future as a middle reliever in MLB, but he is no longer even close to a top prospect

[VonErich Lives]

That's ridiculous. Cleveland's roster is currently filled, Boston NEEDS a center fielder for 2006, and it won't be Adam Stern or Willie Harris. If Cleveland doesn't get Marte, no big deal, he isn't playing for them in 2006 anyway. Boston is the team that absolutely needs a position filled and that's why Cleveland is in the position of power.

Of course, everything you don't agree with is ridiculous.

Cleveland wanted Marte for a while, tried getting him from Atlanta multiple times, the sox could have gone other routes to fill SS.

Marte & Shoppach... at least they kept Delcarmen.

I'm still not thrilled with the trade, unless Crisp somehow explodes and turns into a player he isn't expected to be. Down the road, Crisp probably goes to RF in a year or two (I think 2, some people think 1) when Ellsbury is ready to come up, he's the Red Sox CF of the future.

They're saying the sox look at is as they didn't deal Marte, they delt Renteria... I understand that point of view, just doesn't work for me.

Also, the "player to be named later"... if that turns out to be any of the top prospects then it's a horrible deal.

[VonErich Lives]

Washington still negotiating with Sammy Sosa. With all due respect to Sosa, it's time he hangs them up.

I don't think MLB policy tests for HGH... maybe he got back on something... ya never know.

[The Miz]

Of course, everything you don't agree with is ridiculous.

Cleveland wanted Marte for a while, tried getting him from Atlanta multiple times, the sox could have gone other routes to fill SS.

Need > want

Boston needed a centerfielder.
Cleveland wanted a top prospect.

Cleveland had the position of power and that's why they won this deal. Unless you think the third baseman of the Buffalo Bisons is more important to Cleveland than the centerfielder of the Boston Red Sox is to Boston, there's really no argument otherwise.

[YOUR Hero]

the player to be named later was a 2nd tier, single A player.

Crisp will hit more HR's than Damon. He'll get close to, if not 200 hits in that line up. He'll score as many runs or close to as Damon did. As far as I'm concerned, he'll put up similar, if not better numbers than Damon. I doubt he'll be the clubhouse leader that Damon was, but his production will make people quickly forget about Damon.

[YOUR Hero]

Oh and Renteria will bounce back in Atlanta, IMO

[The Miz]

the player to be named later was a 2nd tier, single A player.

Where did you hear that? PTBNL's are usually announced weeks later

[The Miz]

Expect Piazza in a Padres uniform in a few days. Could be the only team to start the season carrying 3 catchers (Paizza, Mirabelli, Ross)

[YOUR Hero]

Read it somethere this morning. I'll look around for it... I thought it was known, so I didn't post a story/link

[YOUR Hero]

The Indians, troubled by the results of Mota's physical, asked that the deal be reworked. The Red Sox balked, but wound up adding cash and a second-tier minor leaguer, according to a source close to the negotiations

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5282852



###


Padres might start with 3 catchers, but they never expected to loose Hernandez. Mirabelli was supposed to just be a backup. I think it's a wise move for San Diego in an offensive bat kind of way.

[VonErich Lives]

Need > want

Boston needed a centerfielder.
Cleveland wanted a top prospect.

Cleveland had the position of power and that's why they won this deal. Unless you think the third baseman of the Buffalo Bisons is more important to Cleveland than the centerfielder of the Boston Red Sox is to Boston, there's really no argument otherwise.

There were other CF's and other possiblities.

in the terms of reteria & shoppach for Crisp I'm ok with it.

In the terms of Matre & Shoppach they over paid, but time will tell what Crisp does, I still think he's short term for CF and will eventually go to RF.

[YOUR Hero]

Had a look at the Padres 1B position for this up coming year. They have unproven players there, so Piazza also could become the everyday 1B should their prospects fail this season.

[The Miz]

Ryan Klesko?

Piazza will play some 1B, but he will never be the starting 1B for any major league team. He's just too terrible at it.

[YOUR Hero]

<TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Avg</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>HR</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>RBI</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Runs</TD><TD class="yspdetailttl padded3px" style="BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2" align=middle width=60>SB</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>.276
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>8
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>70
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>100
</TD><TD align=middle>9
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Avg</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>HR</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>RBI</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Runs</TD><TD class="yspdetailttl padded3px" style="BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2" align=middle width=60>SB</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>.316
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>10
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>75
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>117
</TD><TD align=middle>18
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


Those are Renteria's numbers, followed by Damon's, last season for the Red Sox.

A look at Renteria's numbers from years past shows that he was basically on pace from what he's done in the seasons prior to last. Yet he's pushed out by Boston as being a bust. I say Boston expected him to be more than he ever was. He's not great, never really was, so why the surprise.

Also

Isn't it odd how the #'s aren't all that far off of Damon's?

Here are Crisp's #'s for last season.

<TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Avg</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>HR</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>RBI</TD><TD class=yspdetailttl style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2; PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px" align=middle width=60>Runs</TD><TD class="yspdetailttl padded3px" style="BACKGROUND: #e2e2e2" align=middle width=60>SB</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>.300
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>16
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>69
</TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f4f5f1 1px solid" align=middle>86
</TD><TD align=middle>15
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Thanks, but I'll take those, with the potential of # inflation in the Boston lineup over Damon's any day.

[The Miz]

.366 (Damon) and .335 (Renteria) is a big difference in OBP. The first two guys in the order need to get on, Damon did a good job of that and Renteria did a below-average job of that. I do agree though that they overrated Renteria to begin with and should've prepared for the NL-AL dropoff.

[YOUR Hero]

Ryan Klesko?

Piazza will play some 1B, but he will never be the starting 1B for any major league team. He's just too terrible at it.

The site I read (FOX Sports) had him listed as an outfielder first.

I'm not saying he'd become a star at the position, but he offers the ability to provide an offensive bat and play a versatile role as well as an insurance policy. Depending what he recievs in terms of $$$$ it could be a vert wise move for the Padres.

[The Miz]

He is an outfielder but with the Cameron trade he'll at 1B.

I think you overlook how truly terrible Piazza is at 1B. He's embarassingly bad. Walter Young is equally bad at first but twice the power hitter than Piazza at this point in their careers.

Adrain Gonzalez is the 1B of the future, but he's not ready. May be in line for a July call-up though.

[YOUR Hero]

Thomas blasted the White Sox. Feels he was treated poorly this off season. Even said he'd put up better #'s than Thome.

Geesh..




"I just think I deserved better, some closure, in Chicago," Thomas said. "If they'd just said they were going in a different direction, it would be fine, but no one gave me any heads up about what was going on." Thomas also said Jim Thome (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4762/), acquired by Chicago in a trade to give the team some punch at designated hitter, had more injuries than he did last season and is not a better hitter.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AhcNUfpHYbUpZjEedCOaNrIRvLYF?slug=ap-whitesox-thomas&prov=ap&type=lgns

[YOUR Hero]

Piazza's all about offense I'm saying. Something that San Diego may find themselves in desperate need of.

[The Miz]

When healthy, Thomas > Thome

[BCWWF]

I agree with Thomas. He has basically been the face of the White Sox forever, and when healthy last year he had so many big hits for them. Adding Jim Thome isn't really an upgrade, IMO, especially since they had to part with Rowand.

I don't know, but Roxor and the Miz could finally be right, the A's could be a really solid team this year.

[The Miz]

The A's have been a really solid team since 2000, I think this is the year they make the playoff push however. If Thomas goes down it will be alot harder IMO

[VonErich Lives]

Yes, the sox did overpay for Renteria in the first place, everyone (even them) knew that.

However the sox getting rid of him had very little to do with his hitting, it was his feilding. He could have had the same hitting he had done all his career and put up all thoese errors and they still would have shippped him out.

It's funny, they could have kept Cabrera for less money the hitting still wouldn't have been there, but the fielding would have been much better. The word was he was somehow a "clubhouse problem" in the short time he was in Boston.

I still remember he flew home because if I remember correctly his wife needed surgery and a lot of people didn't think he'd be back or not for awhile, the report is after his wife was stable he told her "my team needs me" and flew back, had to convince Francona to put him in the lineup that night and bingo, hit a walk off HR in the 12th. I dunno, what his "clubhouse issues" were but I wouldn't have minded seeing him back.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Exactly, Renteria was better at grounding into double plays then turning them. You can't really blame 30+ errors on the switching of the leagues, the field is the same in both leagues.

[Joey Slugs]

When healthy, Thomas > Thome

Amen to that.

[YOUR Hero]

True as it may be that Thomas > Thome when healthy,Thome, IMO has a better chance to get and stay healthy than does Thomas.

[The Miz]

Piazza officially a Padre. Maybe he can play on Team Mexico now too. $2 million in 2006, 2007 team option worth $8 million.

[YOUR Hero]

8 million option. Like they'll pick that up. He'd have to put together one hell of a season for that to be picked up.

[CNM]

Damn, Piazza is a Rockies killer (who isnt? :( ) so I'm not pleased with this. It'll be interesting to see what kind of numbers he puts up because his opposite field power will be completely sapped at Petco.

[YOUR Hero]

...he'll make it up with his blazing speed.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I'm pretty high on Crisp personally. I think he'll be more than productive this season.

[The Miz]

I'm surprised how little interest in Erubiel Durazo there's been. He's hit 20+ homers his last two healthy seasons and had a OPS over .900 in 2004. A team like the Yankees who need a lefty power bat off the bench should look into him.

[Dragon]

Yeah, I was hoping the Yankees would look into him. The Yanks don't have any power bats off the bench, which Ruben Sierra was basically doing the past couple seasons. Anyways, I'm assuming Bernie Williams is going to be the full time DH, with Sheffield/Giambi getting a couple DH spots here and there.

I've also heard that Andy Phillips will be getting a considerable time at DH which I'm not going to be looking forward to. Cashman seems to be pretty high on him for whatever reason. Durazo would be a much better DH option than Phillips and would come pretty cheap.

[The Miz]

I think that if Phillips is in the lineup it will be at 1B and slide Giambi to DH

[Dragon]

Then and as a late inning defensive replacement for Giambi I've heard. Giambi is awful hitting as a DH though so I could deal with his defense if he keeps hitting.

BTW, is Durazo fully healed from his injury or does he still have some time to go before he is 100 percent?

[The Miz]

He had Tommy John surgery in August and isn't expected to be back ready for the start of the season. He shouldn't miss too much time though, maybe just April.

[PsychoSport]

Piazza officially a Padre. Maybe he can play on Team Mexico now too. $2 million in 2006, 2007 team option worth $8 million.

I really don't understand this deal for either side. I mean, what the fuck are the Padres doing trading away one of their best players for Mirabelli and then turning around and signing Piazza to be the starting catcher?

And why would Piazza want to play in PetCo?

[YOUR Hero]

I really don't understand this deal for either side. I mean, what the fuck are the Padres doing trading away one of their best players for Mirabelli and then turning around and signing Piazza to be the starting catcher?

And why would Piazza want to play in PetCo?

Like I posted earlier, the Padres didn't expect to loose Hernandez in the first place. Mirabelli was to be his back up. That still doesn't explain why they'd move Loretta, however.

[The Miz]

Why Loretta was traded

1. http://thebaseballcube.com/players/B/josh-barfield.shtml
2. He's 34
3. His SLG was below .400 this year
4. He can't stay healthy

I like Loretta but I agreed with the decision to trade him. I don't like Mirabelli that much and I think they could have gotten something much better.

[BCWWF]

Twins got Reuben Sierra. Good pick-up IMO.

I have faith that the Twins will put up a fight again in the Central. Still one of the top pitching staffs in the league with a solid bullpen and one of the top closers in the league. In terms of offense, Luis Castillo fills a huge gap where just about anybody played last year. Tony Batista is a huge risk, but the worst that can happen is Cuddyer replaces him, so that's no worse than last year.

I would assume the opening day lineup looks something like this.

1. Castillo (2B)
2. Stewart (LF)
3. Mauer (C)
4. Morneau (1B)
5. White (DH)
6. Hunter (CF)
7. Ford (RF)
8. Batista (3B)
9. Bartlett (SS)

Then you have Jason Kubel, who was a top prospect, Sierra, power off the bench, Cuddyer, the utility man, and Nick Punto, another solid utility player. What happened last year is that there was no hitting late in the order and there was no relief off the bench.

In the best case scenario, Mauer could be an All Star, Morneau could be a top 5 first baseman in the AL, and Kubel could be all that he is cracked up to be.

So I don't think things are as bad as they sound. The AL central could suddenly be the most contested in the AL this year.

[The Miz]

I don't think Sierra makes the team unless Kubel has a really shitty spring. I also think Cuddyer will win the RF job over Ford.

I like the Twins, last year they had great pitching and no offense; this year they have great pitching and an ok offense. Really all you need to succeed in the regular season. They'll have a better record than Cleveland.

[FakeLaser]

Sierra sucks, but for some reason he always gets a big hit. I don't get it.

[MVP]

I still say White Sox are gonna be the best team in the AL again next year. The Twins could easily be 2nd in AL Central and maybe get the wild card spot, unless the Red Sox and Yankees fight for the spot like every year.

[The Miz]

Hot internet rumor today, probably BS though

Red Sox get:
OF/1B Xavier Nady
OF Lastings Milledge (AA)

Nationals get:
SP Matt Clement
SS Alex Cora

Mets get:
2B Jose Vidro
RP Jay Bergmann

[VonErich Lives]

Hot internet rumor today, probably BS though

Red Sox get:
OF/1B Xavier Nady
OF Lastings Milledge (AA)

Nationals get:
SP Matt Clement
SS Alex Cora

Mets get:
2B Jose Vidro
RP Jay Bergmann

Isn't Milledge one of if not their "top" prospect?

I can see the Red Sox OF of the future...

Milledge, Crisp & Ellsbury...

they get rid of Clements contract, although I do feel you can never have enough SP's and he was a 1st half all star.

[VonErich Lives]

hey miz, have a link or source?

Haven't heard anything around here, although we probably wont, the Sox are on this big "lock down" since Theo came back, because part of the reason Theo walked was his "closed door negotiaitons" were word for word in the boston globe (who owns part of the sox).

The deal to bring theo back was Lucchino, Epstien, Warner & Henry, they figured this was if there was a leak, it would be easy to find out who it was.

They've gone as far as they now "refuse to comment on hypotheticals" so unless something has already happened "no comment".

[VonErich Lives]

heh, Red Sox signed Enrique Wilson, that's what the radio is reporting via rotoworld or rotonews...

What's funny is a few years ago Manny got a ton of crap because he missed a sox v. yankees game with a "sore throat" and rather then be at the game, he met Wilson at a boston bar during the game.

Guess this is a "make manny happy" move.

[OssMan]

Hot internet rumor today, probably BS though

Red Sox get:
OF/1B Xavier Nady
OF Lastings Milledge (AA)

Nationals get:
SP Matt Clement
SS Alex Cora

Mets get:
2B Jose Vidro
RP Jay Bergmann
This is a total bull shit trade (well, a bad trade for the Mets) because the Mets are not going to give up the same guy they wouldn't give up for Manny Ramirez to get a 32 year old 2B with a broken leg and another relief pitcher. The rumor I heard was Livan Hernandez instead of Jay Bergmann though which is still a terrible trade and adds more confusion to the Mets rotation but it is better than another bullpen arm I guess.

And yes VEL Milledge is top prospect for Mets and ranked in top 10 of prospects this year. No idea how he is still with the Mets a few years after they drafted him :eek:

[YOUR Hero]

Sounds like the Nats are going to give Soriano what he wants.

[The Miz]

Cubs have asked about Graffanino, Red Sox would be wise to move him based on how full their bench is and how little he would probably contribute anyway. They'll carry 12 pitchers so with Bard/Flaherty, Youkilis/Snow, Cora, and Mohr there really isn't room for him, especially when Kapler gets back and if Pedroia gets called up.

[VonErich Lives]

Cubs have asked about Graffanino, Red Sox would be wise to move him based on how full their bench is and how little he would probably contribute anyway. They'll carry 12 pitchers so with Bard/Flaherty, Youkilis/Snow, Cora, and Mohr there really isn't room for him, especially when Kapler gets back and if Pedroia gets called up.


Don't forget Wilson, he'll be the new "Manny Friend" with Millar gone.

I don't see Pedroia getting called up, not yet, not with the log jamb and Dunno about trading Graffanino, wouldn't be shocked to see him stick around.

Also, there was a new Manny trade rumor today, was a deal that the Angels suposivly turned down, I forget what it was, but it was stacked in the sox favor, 2 players, 2 prospects and the Angels take Mannys full contract, no cash.

[Dragon]

Yeah, I think it was Chone Figgins, Ervin Santana, and then two prospects for Manny.

[The Miz]

Yeah Manny isn't going anywhere. They offered the Angels a deal they would never even think of accepting so then they can say to Manny, "See, we're trying to trade you!"

[The Miz]

lol holy shit this might be the worst baseball article I've ever read http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/02/01/sports/sports01.txt

[VonErich Lives]

lol holy shit this might be the worst baseball article I've ever read http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/02/01/sports/sports01.txt

not a fan of the ledger myself, but just wondering what you found so bad about the article?

[VonErich Lives]

I should add it's a local/town paper, primary focus is on a few towns on the south shore so I woud doubt they have much "top talent" working there.

[The Miz]

He used W-L by month to judge a reliever's effectiveness.

"He was up and down all season: 1-0 in April, 0-2 in May, 1-0 in June, 0-1 in July, 1-0 in August, and 0-1 in September and October"

As useless as the W-L stat is for starters, it's twice as useless for relievers.

"Hard to imagine what Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein was thinking when he agreed to take on Riske, who had an 8.10 ERA against Boston, 18.00 against its left-handers."

So because about 3 out of the 72 innings he pitched this year were bad, the Red Sox shouldn't have gotten him. Awesome. If Crisp hit .000 (0-3) at Fenway Park I guess he sucks and the Red Sox shouldn't have gotten him.

[YOUR Hero]

yeah, pretty much a waste of time reading that article.

I see Nomar has now withdrawn from the WBC as well too. Wants to concentrate on being healthy, etc.



<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Garciaparra withdraws from World Baseball Classic</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>February 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Nomar Garciaparra decided not to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next month, pulling out of the international tournament to concentrate on switching positions with his new team. The 32-year-old Garciaparra, who signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/lad/) in December, issued a statement through the team on Friday
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"While I am honored to have been asked to participate, at this point, I believe it is really important for me to concentrate on the year ahead," he said. "Given all that I have been through with my health the past couple of years, and now with changing both teams and positions, I feel this is the time for me to focus on doing my best for the Dodgers, my new teammates and the wonderful fans in Los Angeles.

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=Ao1TNO1d_oASGhqT4CIYNugyNbgF?slug=ap-classic-garciaparra&prov=ap&type=lgns

[Loose Cannon]

Sierra sucks, but for some reason he always gets a big hit. I don't get it.

no he doesn't. It just seems that way with him. He comes through just as much as he doesn't come through.

[The Miz]

Sierra has been shit for 10 years now tbh

[The Miz]

A very reliable Angels site is reporting Weaver has signed with them

[YOUR Hero]

Odd, I was looking over the list of remaining free agents and I stopped and thought of Weaver (again). Wondering what's holding back his signing.

[The Miz]

The fact that he isn't good?

[YOUR Hero]

We could go over this again.
But he's hardly removed from being the best young arm/prospect in baseball.
He makes too much money IMO, but he's still an asset to any team.