Official MLB Offseason Thread

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:31 pm

I think Samardjiza is probably the sanest of the recent big pitcher signings. It could backfire if last year was no fluke, but he's probably somewhere in the middle of the 2013 and the 2014 version. This a contract that even a team like the Pirates could have given out and I wouldn't have thought it was crazy.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:33 pm

BSF21 wrote:
Brontoburglar wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:
Gunpowder wrote:Could some of these lazy dudes not just be old and breaking?
Had the same thought.
It's much, much more that than laziness (kind of like the welfare argument. let's highlight the lazy ones!) given the way baseball contracts work out.
I'm aware that age is also an issue, but I'd expect to see more gradual decline.

The Crawford example from earlier:

2010 TB --154 games -- .307/19 HR/90RBI/104K/ Slugged .495/ OPS .851
2011 BOS -- 130 games -- .255/11 HR/56RBI/104K/ Slugged .405/ OPS .694

2010 All Star, GG, SS, MVP candidate.

I don't buy that that was him aging down. Obviously it's an isolated example, but it's the one that sticks with me the most.

2012-present: settled into what appears to be a natural decline.

Wasn't his shoulder screwed up in Boston?

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:34 pm

Explain this one BSF:

Jayson Werth 2010, PHI - .921 OPS
Jayson Werth 2011 WSH - A ton of money, .718 OPS

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:37 pm

Francisco Liriano 2014: 3.38 ERA
Liriano 2015 - New contract, 3.38 ERA

I know ERA isn't the best metric but I had to use it here.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:39 pm

Teixiera is clearly trying but around 30, things just change. You should know that, you are late 20s, right? My physical prime was middle 27, hurt my ankle in the 28s, shoulder's screwed up, I can probably barely touch the damn rim now.

THE RIM, BSF....THE FUCKING RIM....I USED TO LIVE ON THE RIM. LIKE I USED TO HAVE A P.O. BOX ON THE MOTHERFUCKING RIM BECAUSE I LIVED THERE

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 11:11 pm

Gunpowder wrote:Teixiera is clearly trying but around 30, things just change. You should know that, you are late 20s, right? My physical prime was middle 27, hurt my ankle in the 28s, shoulder's screwed up, I can probably barely touch the damn rim now.

THE RIM, BSF....THE FUCKING RIM....I USED TO LIVE ON THE RIM. LIKE I USED TO HAVE A P.O. BOX ON THE MOTHERFUCKING RIM BECAUSE I LIVED THERE

Howard, HDO, DC and I all feel very sorry for the discomfort that aging has caused you.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:14 am

Gunpowder wrote:THE RIM, BSF....THE FUCKING RIM....I USED TO LIVE ON THE RIM. LIKE I USED TO HAVE A P.O. BOX ON THE MOTHERFUCKING RIM BECAUSE I LIVED THERE

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:57 am

sancarlos wrote:
Gunpowder wrote:Teixiera is clearly trying but around 30, things just change. You should know that, you are late 20s, right? My physical prime was middle 27, hurt my ankle in the 28s, shoulder's screwed up, I can probably barely touch the damn rim now.

THE RIM, BSF....THE FUCKING RIM....I USED TO LIVE ON THE RIM. LIKE I USED TO HAVE A P.O. BOX ON THE MOTHERFUCKING RIM BECAUSE I LIVED THERE
Howard, HDO, DC and I all feel very sorry for the discomfort that aging has caused you.

I appreciate the solidarity! Thanks frogs!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:28 am

I shockingly still can get the rim with an extra 60 pounds on the old frame.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:43 am

Hmmm ... not quite what I expected when I saw you just posted here.

Aroldis to the Dodgers, Seager/Urias not in the deal, per MLBTR.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:07 am

Watch one of the pieces be Peraza. If so, fuck. Like Jocketty/new GM guy looked at the Reds line-up, saw Billy Hamilton, and were like, "hey, let's get more of that!" if they end up acquiring Peraza as a part of this deal.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:13 am

If it makes you feel better, Peraza isn't nearly as good of a base-stealer.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:19 am

Gunpowder wrote:Teixiera is clearly trying but around 30, things just change. You should know that, you are late 20s, right? My physical prime was middle 27, hurt my ankle in the 28s, shoulder's screwed up, I can probably barely touch the damn rim now.

THE RIM, BSF....THE FUCKING RIM....I USED TO LIVE ON THE RIM. LIKE I USED TO HAVE A P.O. BOX ON THE MOTHERFUCKING RIM BECAUSE I LIVED THERE

Even at my fittest (6'0", 145lbs) I could never get to the rim. I couldn't even send a Jizzmas card to your PO Box.

I've never really thought about it, but I guess late 20s is getting up there for a lot of athletes. I still hate Crawford. I still don't like huge contracts for players. Fact of life.

(If your PO Box was on the rim, wouldn't that mean you didn't live there, since your physical address was somewhere else? Like you lived out in the 15' jumpers, but you occasionally went to THE RIM to check on things? And you'd see that everything was fine at THE RIM, so you'd swing by the PO Box on the way out and then not give a second thought to THE RIM for another few months?)

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:44 am

Son of a

Well I checked my mail a lot, ok?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 12:01 pm

I have a timeshare in the RCF gap.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 3:28 pm

Chapman to dodgers apparenty not done deal. Stros and Marlins trying to work their way in.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 3:30 pm

First thought is the price leaked and it seemed too low on the receiving side.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 3:31 pm

Here's hoping the bidding war has begun. Because...Peraza? Still shuddering.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 3:52 pm

I don't think Peraza is a worst case scenario by any means, especially if he can get back on SS. Not inspiring, probably a guy you'd rather see as a return for Bruce, but its not a total disaster. Chin up.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:12 pm

mister d wrote:I don't think Peraza is a worst case scenario by any means, especially if he can get back on SS. Not inspiring, probably a guy you'd rather see as a return for Bruce, but its not a total disaster. Chin up.

He's a BA driven low OBP bat with no power but does have speed. They already have Suarez here and Blandino close at middle infield. They already employ Billy Hamilton, the king of noodle bat but boy-is-he-fast speed. The last thing the Reds need is more of that. The last thing. Chapman has to be maximized in terms of return, and Peraza, well, fuck that.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:16 pm

Maybe hire a good hitting coach.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:18 pm

mister d wrote:Maybe hire a good hitting coach.

Does the hitting coach have access to the Cardinals' PED pill stash? No power is no power is no power.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:30 pm

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:20 am

Apparently, Arnoldis's recent behavior scotched the trade

Police were called to Aroldis Chapman's Miami-area home in October after he allegedly fired eight gunshots inside his garage following an argument with his girlfriend, who alleged that the pitcher had choked her and pushed her against a wall.

The police report, obtained and posted online by Yahoo Sports on Monday night, is reportedly the reason Chapman was not traded earlier in the day from the rebuilding Reds to the Dodgers, and with Chapman now facing investigation by Major League Baseball — which can punish players for domestic incidents outside the legal system — it is an open question whether he will be dealt at all. That obviously only matters in a baseball framework, as the human story is much more important.

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:07 am

Trouble with his control…

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:54 am

That explains why Dodgers were low-balling.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:49 am

I don't want the Yankees to trade for Jose Fernandez.

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:51 am

tennbengal wrote:That explains why Dodgers were low-balling.

Or why the Reds are trying to desperately get rid of him...

Post by **brian** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:53 am

Cards trade Jay for Gyorko. Because any time you can pick up a sub .700 OPS guy with a ridiculous contract you have to pull the trigger.

(Though I guess this is the very definition of "buying low". Maybe a change of scenery or that stash of Cardinals PEDs will do the trick?)

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:54 am

Keg wrote:
tennbengal wrote:That explains why Dodgers were low-balling.
Or why the Reds are trying to desperately get rid of him...

The Reds SHOULD have been trying to move him since last off-season. That they waited until something came up just shows how fuckawful that front office is right now.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:21 pm

Atleast what came up wasn't rotator cuff surgery, right?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:28 pm

mister d wrote:Atleast what came up wasn't rotator cuff surgery, right?

Well, sure. But by waiting - they invited a whole host of potential problems, up to and including off-field stuff, of course. Needless risk from Reds, given how much they were going to suck in 2015. And, if you were going to wait until the trade deadline, then, at least, he should have been moved then. Again, to minimize risk of something coming up.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:33 pm

Certainly does seem risky, although the offseason always gives you a larger pool of buyers and who knows what was being offered at the deadline. Rumor has it the Yankees were high bid on Kimbrel at the deadline, offering Jorge Mateo (who didn't make Klaw's top 50 midseason) and I assume a bit more, and the Sox blew that the F out of the water this offseason. So maybe it really wasn't worth it and they were right to hold on, not knowing he was going to fire 8 shots into his own garage?

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 1:40 pm

Has MLB ever formally punished a player for woman beating? I don't recall it happening, and a quick-and-dirty search reveals nothing.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 1:59 pm

mister d wrote:Certainly does seem risky, although the offseason always gives you a larger pool of buyers and who knows what was being offered at the deadline. Rumor has it the Yankees were high bid on Kimbrel at the deadline, offering Jorge Mateo (who didn't make Klaw's top 50 midseason) and I assume a bit more, and the Sox blew that the F out of the water this offseason. So maybe it really wasn't worth it and they were right to hold on, not knowing he was going to fire 8 shots into his own garage?

I am not arguing that this particular off-field incident was foreseeable. I am stating that OTHER possible complications (such as injury) were. And that holding onto an asset involves risk (injury, accident, shooting your gun and beating the mother of your child, say). I am stating that LAST off-season is when they should have moved him, with two full years of control left. Failing that, then at least by last deadline. By waiting, they took a chance. That the issue that has arisen isn't injury but something else doesn't absolve them - holding onto him increased risk of something hurting his value. I would not have taken that risk, given how shitty they appeared to be for 2015 (and were, as it turned out) - but management who are a bunch of fuckwits right now were playing with illusions to try and build up excitement in-town for the All-star game. Stupid then, stupid now. In any event, this is the hand they have now dealt themselves.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 2:35 pm

Some day we'll look back and have a fun discussion on which way the Reds most fucked up with Chapman, by not trading him sooner or by moving him into the pen.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:11 pm

Moving him to the pen was the bigger fuckup.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:19 pm

Gunpowder wrote:I think Samardjiza is probably the sanest of the recent big pitcher signings. It could backfire if last year was no fluke, but he's probably somewhere in the middle of the 2013 and the 2014 version. This a contract that even a team like the Pirates could have given out and I wouldn't have thought it was crazy.

I think the Cubs' signing of Lackey is a sane one. Even if he ends up sucking, it's only for two years, so it won't hamstring the team going forward.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:31 pm

Yeah, nothing pairs better with an incredibly young infield than a mouth-breathing piece of shit starter who berates any teammate who makes an error behind him.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:49 pm

mister d wrote:Yeah, nothing pairs better with an incredibly young infield than a mouth-breathing piece of shit starter who berates any teammate who makes an error behind him.

I was going to add that I really don't know anything about all the personal issues with Lackey. I've generally tried to avoid Yankees-Red Sox gossip. I guess I'll just have to put my faith in Joe Maddon to handle any problems Lackey causes.