September 2, 2008 at 8:56 pm · Filed under 2008 MLB Draft, AL West, Andy LaRoche, Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Casey Blake, Howie Kendrick, Ian Kinsler, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Ellis, Oakland Athletics, Politics, Russel Martin, Scott Boras, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
Here are four quick takes that I’ve been thinking about:
The Dodgers Want To Make Martin A Catcher?
Seriously, you want to take one of the best hitting catchers in the National League, a catcher that isn’t defensively challenged and is only going to get better, and you want to switch him to third base?
Third Fucking Base!?
And on top of that, you want to replace his production from behind the plate with none other than…drum roll…Jason Varitek?!
Vartiek who is currently hitting .226/.316./.375 this season, all the while looking older at the plate? That Jason Varitek?
Gee, I guess it would make sense to trade for a young third baseman that could hit and be tolerable at the hot corner. Someone like…ANDY LAROCHE!? While LaRoche is hardly setting the world on fire with the Pirates, he is showing favorable stats right now, walking nearly as much as he is striking out, along with some power. Given time, he should be fairly good.
Why not re-sign your current third baseman, Casey Blake, instead of making the mistake of moving Martin to third, and only creating another hole that you need to fuck around with in order to fill. Adequate third baseman can be found. Excellent catchers can’t.
Boras Likely Hoping To Get Alvarez Free Agency
Here’s another thing that has me a bit worked up.
Scott Boras essentially agreed to a deal, got his client $6 million in signing money, and for all intents and purposes, did his job. Alvarez was happy. The Pirates were happy. Major League Baseball was happy.
So how in God’s name is Boras now fighting tooth and nail to get the deal revoked?
Part of the reason is that Boras wants to stick it to Frank Cooley, his nemesis for years at the Major League Front Offices.
The other part of the reason is this:
I think Boras is trying to get Alvarez ruled as a free agent.
It’s happened before, when Boras got several players declared as free agents ruled as free agents back in 1996.
Think about it.
Boras often pushes several of his better clients down in the draft to richer teams to cash in, often times giving an astronomical amount to scare off teams at the top. It’s happened. Still does.
I think that Boras was hoping to get Alvarez down to the Orioles, who have paid big money for Boras clients in the recent past, in hopes of getting Alvarez the richest sum in the draft (another reason for the desire for the contract to get renegotiated is to hope that he can one up Buster Posey, who shot down Boras and got the highest bonus available in the draft.).
It’s likely that Boras wants Alvarez to hit the open market, allowing him to engage the richer teams such as the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Angels and Dodgers, and possibly getting other known draft busters like Tampa, Texas, and the Diamondbacks. Thus, Alvarez would cash in bigger.
But here’s the thing? What if Boras is wrong? What if his decision to challenge the technicality of the draft deadline results in a ruling for next year, meaning Alvarez has to honor his commitment to the Pirates? What did he gain? Nothing but bad press, and the unintentional collateral damage of Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick, who is now being restricted by MLB to not play until the mess is sorted out.
Perhaps this is merely nothing but a power struggle, a power play to show that Boras is still a force to be reckoned with, especially since Boras has taken several hard hits. Alex Rodriguez’s relationship with him is reportedly colder than the North Pole, Kenny Rogers has fired him, and the Danks brothers fired him after it was revealed that Boras shot down an offer in the first round that would have gotten Jordan Danks, the younger brother of John, drafted on the first day.
Boras’ antics this year may have further reprecussions down the line. It has now brought attention to Major League Baseball that the draft must be fixed. Thus, it’s possible that negotiations could be engaged with the union that could result in hard slotting rules, similar to the NBA. And if you don’t think the players won’t agree with it, don’t be so sure. Many of the old guard dislike the current bonuses paid to amatuers and could push for a hard bonus cap.
It’s a pity that Boras has felt the need to go this far. The only real question is why doesn’t Alvarez simply tell Boras to stop, if he was happy with his original contract. Ultimately, he is the one that will take the brunt of the fire, as JD Drew has in Philadelphia.
Enough Of The Howie Kendrick Hype As The AL West’s Best Second Baseman
Enough of the hype already.
I’ll admit that Kendrick is an excellent hitting prodigy that will win a could of batting titles when his career is done.
He’s also an injury prone, no power, no on base, no speed second baseman that doesn’t stay on the field long enough to make a difference.
Seriously, this fucking argument continues to be made.
Kinsler, for his defensive faults, is the better second baseman. Has been since last year, if not before.
Jose Lopez, while streaky, is also more reliable than Kendrick.
Even the remains of Mark Ellis are better than Kendrick.
So how in fucks sake can ESPN pundits and other prospect hounds continue to sing the praises of Kendrick.
When the dude stays upright for more than half a season, call me. Until then, all hail Kinsler!!!
I Hate Politics
The obsession with politics in the country is frightening.
When you see people yelling and screaming obscenities on TV, language normally reserved for one’s worst enemies, overanalyizing every part of someone’s fast, and attacking the moral and racial character of a person, something is seriously wrong in this country.
I do vote, but I don’t lean either to the left or the right. I am pro life, I support the right to bear arms, but I also prefer a strong federal government and programs to help the inner cities and urban environments. I support higher taxes on corporations, but also don’t wish the country devolves into a welfare state.
I abide by the philosophy of political parties, one of which was voiced by the greatest American in the history of his nation:
“It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration….agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one….against another….it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption…thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.”
- George Washington, Farewell Address
When November comes, I will be voting. But it’s won’t be along party lines. Rather, it’s which one of the candidates I find least detestible. Political parties, in my opinion, only serve to lose the message in a hurricane of emotion.
I’m out.
July 25, 2008 at 4:45 pm · Filed under AL East, Baseball, Brandon Morrow, Casey Blake, Dunn, Jarrod Washburn, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Xavier Nady
The Jarrod Washburn Story Nearing It’s Inevitable Conclusion
Sindey Ponson may not pitch tomorrow, as it looks like the Yankees will merely assume Washburn’s contract obligations and give Seattle virtually nothing in terms of a prospect of consequence. Overall, this is probably the best Seattle could have hoped for (though I still think that Washburn is worth four outfielder Brett Gardner, whom the Yankees seem to have an unhealthy fetish for.) Washburn does want a little something-something for waiving his no-trade clause, which is coming from Seattle. I wonder what it is?
The Cleveland Indians Trade FC Casey Blake To The Los Angeles Dodgers For RHP Jonathan Meloan and C Carlos Santana, Acquire Anthony Reyes In A Seperate Deal.
Not a bad haul for the Indians, who get a potential closer in Meloan. Santana is the other big name prospect that the Indians get. Santana was just moved to catcher not too long ago, but looks good behind the plate thus far and has a nice swing. He’s got some power potential in him and overall looks to be quite a solid player.
As for Blake, the Dodgers get a Four Corner Reserve, as Blake can fill in at first, third, left and right field. He’s got decent pop, but is probably not all that great of a bet to be a starter, in my opinion. He’s not that great of a third baseman and the other teams after him, the Rays and the Mets, were going to use him into the outfield. Honestly, the Dodgers probably could have gotten Hank Blalock for Andy LaRoche alone. This deal likely spells the end of LaRoche in LA, which is a puzzling affair as the front office never seemed to believe in him.
The day gets better for the Indians as they get Anthony Reyes, who likely needed to get the hell out of St. Louis. Reyes has looked good in Triple A, likely because he’s away from Dave Duncan, whom he conflicted with a lot. If Reyes’ recovery is for real, the Indians have a solid rotation option bought for virtually nothing. The Cardinals get Luis Perdoma, a minor league reliever, who is okay, but not a closer or even a setup man. Again, good deal for the Indians, who are now likely to give up on Jeremy Sowers, who’s been awful for nearly three years running.
The New York Yankees Trade For Xavier Nady And Damasto Marte
One of the group of Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson and Philip Hughes had to have been involved. There’s no way that the Pirates would have agreed to anything without one of them. My guess is that an Ian Kennedy Plus Melky Cabrera swap has been agreed to, which would result in Nady playing left field, Johnny Damon playing center, and Bobby Abreu at right.
Update: Okay, never mind, I assumed too much that the Yankees would be willing to break up one of their triad of pitchers. Instead, the deal is Marte and Nady to New York for Outfielder Jose Tabata and Right Handed Pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke and George Kontos.
My first reaction was “That’s Fucking IT?! WHAT THE FUCK?!:
After some thought and two Bud Lights, I’ve come to the conclusion that, while it’s disappointing, it’s an average haul.
Marte’s value has been depressed thanks to the Washington Nationals, who traded John Rauch for Emilio Bonifacio, a decent prospect, but not an elite one. That, of course, hindered the value that could be gained on Marte. We can probably assume that Marte brought the two young pitchers, Kontos and Coke. Well, young should be used in quotations for Coke, as he’s 26 and still in Double A. His long term ceiling isn’t great and he likely won’t ever make the majors. Hell, he’ll probably be playing for the St. Paul Saints next season. As for Kontos, he’s a middling prospect, possibliy a fifth starter or middle reliever. In other words, it’s a bag of nothing for a dominant middle reliever. The Pirates probably should have kept him.
As for Nady, we could probably assume that Tabata and Ohlendorf are the return for him. Ohlendorf is what he is, a 7th inning reliever that can eat some innings as a two or three inning long reliever. Tabata is the big prize, so lets go in depth on him.
Tabata ranked Number 4 on the Yankees’ Top Prospect List on Baseball Prospectus. There is a lot to like on him. He’s fast, plays a solid right field, and has a good eye for hitting, excellent bat speed, and could become an above average right fielder and leadoff man. He’s not a bad thing to have.
The problem with Tabata is that he has a history of hand injuries, which have kept him off the field. He’s also recently begun to struggle in the higher minors and debated about leaving baseball after a particularly tough day. In other words, there’s questions as to just how stable a prospect he is.
Tabata is a highly regarded prospect, and indeed is worthy of being called one of the top 100 prospects in baseball. But of the four top Yankee prospects (Hughes, Kennedy, Tabata and Jackson), he was the one they were going to miss the least and may have felt that they sold high on him.
So, in the end, while the Pirates did succeed in getting a top prospect for Nady, he is an unstable one at that. I think the Pirates may have been better off on calling up the Dodgers and trying to structure a package around Andy LaRoche, who the Dodgers are intent on trading. Overall, they did okay on the trade, but could have done more, especially on Marte, who could have gotten a better piece had he been sold seperately.
Update - Saturday Morning: According to the New York Post, the Nady Deal has been changed with the Pirates getting Daniel McCutchen and Jeff Karstens instead. Tabata and Ohlendorf are still in the deal.
This is a much better deal for the Pirates. McCutchen is a better prsopect than Kontos or Coke, and should be at the most a dependable Number Four starter or so. Think of a Kyle Lohse type of player, though then again, Lohse has better stuff than McCutchen does, he just doesn’t play up to it. Karstens is a middle reliever, same as Coke. All in all, this is probably the best the Pirates could do and for the most part, I like it.
Takes On The ESPN Live Blog
ESPN’s got the rumor mill blog going, so here are my takes on a few tidbits that are there.
Even with the trading deadline less than a week away, the Reds have had very little action on Adam Dunn. But one club that spoke with the Reds says the Yankees have explored what it would take to plug Dunn into their revolving outfield/DH vacancies. The Reds, however, are continuing to ask teams for one top-of-the-line prospect and one second-tier prospect. And that’s probably more than the Yankees are inclined to give up for Dunn.
Hmmm, interesting offer, but I would wonder what exactly the definition of “elite prospect” the Reds are using. I’d be tempted to make a play for Dunn if I were Texas, if it were to revolve around a package of, say, Jose Vallejo and Omar Poveda (who is maintaining a decent K to BB ratio, but is struggling because of the California League’s hitter’s paradise), plus a third prospect, I’d be tempted to inquire on Dunn. Then again, if Dunn’s price is, say, Eric Hurley or Chris Davis, I’d tell Walt Jocketty to fuck off too. I’m inclinded to believe the Yankees were asked for Phil Hughes, to which they probably scrambled away from as fast as possible.
Another Yankees update: Despite all sorts of reports about the likes of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner being included in a deal for Jarrod Washburn, indications are that the Yankees view acquiring Washburn strictly as a good-will mission to take Washburn’s money (over $14 million) off the Mariners’ books. So the Yankees aren’t even willing to offer low-level prospects unless Seattle A) agrees to eat some of the money and/or B) is willing to take Kei Igawa. So far, there’s no sign that the Mariners are interested in either option. The Yankees also have deflected all Scott Boras efforts to extract an extension or relocation bonus if Washburn waves his no-trade clause to the Bronx.
Well, to be honest, Kei Igawa isn’t a bad contract. His contract is pretty much what you would get out of a fifth starter, and would be an easier contract to shed than Washburn’s. Hell, the Padres might even be willing to give up something of some value for Igawa, which they were interested in doing last season.
As for the Yankees, this is typical of them, trying to get something for nothing. Though Washburn isn’t an elite player, he’s got some value as an innings eater, which should at least count for the Yankees maybe sending off Brett Gardner, a fourth outfielder, in the deal. The fuckers.
One final bit of comedy: i just love that the Yankees are telling Boras that he gets dick for waiving the no trade clause. It’s not often someone tells Boras that.
With J.J. Putz back throwing well, the Mariners are contemplating sending down Brandon Morrow and turning him into a starter.
Good to see the Mariners brain trust finally using some. Morrow had no business in the majors and should be in Double A right now, preparing to be a starter. Not serving as a setup man on an irrelevant team thanks to a stupid decision by an incompetant general manager to sacrfice everything in a misguided attempt to contend. Congradulations Seattle!