The 2013 MLB thread - March/April edition

Post by **Sabo** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:57 pm

Let's start with some good news.

Fox has announced this will be Tim McCarver's last season calling MLB games.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:23 am

Ricky Romero sent down to Single-A! Dunedin.

Absolutely fallen off the map. Has there ever been an opening day pitcher optioned to Single-A the following year?

Post by **brian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:31 am

I'm still shaking my head over all of the hand-wringing about the Tigers closer situation. Latest reports are that the Tigers offered Rick Porcello to the Padres for Huston Street, who if the reports are believed turned them down.

I'm not sure what's crazier -- the Tigers offering that deal or the Padres turning it down.

I know it'll never happen, but if and when Rondon shows he can't handle the job (and he's been a lot better in the last two weeks of spring training), I'd rather the Tigers just went to closer by committee. On a given day, I'd feel comfortable with Benoit, Albuquerque, Dotel or Coke* doing the job.

* - assuming that the Tigers will be facing a slate of lefties in the 9th. If Coke pitches to more than a handful of right-handed hitters this year, Leyland is going to give me a stroke.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:54 am

I just read on Twitter that Rondon has been optioned to the minors.

Post by **brian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:01 am

Sabo wrote:I just read on Twitter that Rondon has been optioned to the minors.

Well, there you go. Maybe the Tigers traded Porcello for the some other third-tier closer.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:19 am

I'm sure I'm being Mr. Obvious here, but just make Porcello the closer. His stuff would play up something crazy in the pen.

Post by **brian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:32 am

mister d wrote:I'm sure I'm being Mr. Obvious here, but just make Porcello the closer. His stuff would play up something crazy in the pen.

Yeah, that was discussed during spring training and the fact that Porcello pitched pretty well out of the pen in the playoffs probably added to it. It's a great idea in theory, but I suspect Porcello would rather start (understandable) and it could arguably depress his trade value since they seem hell-bent on dealing him.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:58 am

I like what the Tigers are doing. Keeping six quality starting pitchers is smart, given that they have absolutely nothing but hopes and prayers in the minors. They've got good relief pitchers. If no closer emerges, they can deal for another arm in July. Too, the rotation may be so strong that the need for a closer is less than usual.

Post by **brian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:12 pm

DC47 wrote:I like what the Tigers are doing. Keeping six quality starting pitchers is smart, given that they have absolutely nothing but hopes and prayers in the minors. They've got good relief pitchers. If no closer emerges, they can deal for another arm in July. Too, the rotation may be so strong that the need for a closer is less than usual.

I totally agree. I'm fine with closer by committee. I'd rather see them using the right pitcher in the right situation (Coke against lefties, Al-Al when needing a strikeout/groundout), but it's Leyland that can't deal with it and unfortunately he's still the manager.

But knowing the Tigers I know exactly how this script is going to go. They'll lose a small handful of games they "shouldn't have" because of issues with pitching in the ninth, Dombrowski will panic and deal Porcello or Smyly or god forbid Castellanos for pennies on the dollar. I hope I'm wrong.

FredRomero · Post by **FredRomero** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:27 pm

The Red Sox have plenty of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rate closers if the Tigers want to give them Porcello. Why would the Tigers want to give him up without getting a lot in return?

As for the Red Sox, I guess it's good that there are a lot of prospects people are excited about (Bradley Jr, Owens, the pitchers from the Dodgers trade). But it's not good that fans get to watch Victorino and Lackey keeping the seats warm until those prospects are ready.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:13 pm

brian wrote:
DC47 wrote:I like what the Tigers are doing. Keeping six quality starting pitchers is smart, given that they have absolutely nothing but hopes and prayers in the minors. They've got good relief pitchers. If no closer emerges, they can deal for another arm in July. Too, the rotation may be so strong that the need for a closer is less than usual.
I totally agree. I'm fine with closer by committee. I'd rather see them using the right pitcher in the right situation (Coke against lefties, Al-Al when needing a strikeout/groundout), but it's Leyland that can't deal with it and unfortunately he's still the manager.

But knowing the Tigers I know exactly how this script is going to go. They'll lose a small handful of games they "shouldn't have" because of issues with pitching in the ninth, Dombrowski will panic and deal Porcello or Smyly or god forbid Castellanos for pennies on the dollar. I hope I'm wrong.

Keeping Smyly around in the pen will be good for the days when Scherzer and Porcello start. Since Scherzer has high pitch counts in relatively shorter outings (5-6), it would be good to have Smyly be available to throw 2-3 innings and keep Leyland from blowing through four or five relievers in the same game. Porcello is the same for when he gets knocked around occasionally. Hopefully, they just keep the two split apart in the rotation. This deployment would also keep Smyly reasonably stretched out in case one of the starters goes down with an injury.

Your point on Leyland having the issue with wanting set roles for his pen (going back to the paint-by-numbers bullpen management style of Zumaya-Rodney-Jones in 2006) is completely true. Just open another pack and duck down the runway, Jimmy. Dotel has closed. Benoit has closed. Coke has closed. Suck it up and use them wisely.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:42 pm

I hope (and trust) the Yankees have already offered Joba for Castellanos.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:21 pm

brian wrote:I totally agree. I'm fine with closer by committee. I'd rather see them using the right pitcher in the right situation (Coke against lefties, Al-Al when needing a strikeout/groundout), but it's Leyland that can't deal with it and unfortunately he's still the manager.

But knowing the Tigers I know exactly how this script is going to go. They'll lose a small handful of games they "shouldn't have" because of issues with pitching in the ninth, Dombrowski will panic and deal Porcello or Smyly or god forbid Castellanos for pennies on the dollar. I hope I'm wrong.

Which of their previous deals do you think are in this category?

Post by **brian** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:36 pm

Last year's Sanchez/Infante deal most notably. I'll grant that Dombrowski has generally gotten good return when dealing prospects, with the exception of the Jair Jurrjens deal (though that was offseason), but it's frustrating to continually see the long-term mortgaged for the short term when the Tigers are -- short of a catastrophic run of injuries or legendarily bad luck -- a dead nuts lock to make the postseason anyway.

So if the pen blows, say, five saves before the All-Star Break, maybe they win the Central by 7 games instead of 12. All that matters is making the postseason and being healthy in the postseason since it such a crapshoot.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:49 am

degenerasian wrote:Ricky Romero sent down to Single-A! Dunedin.

Absolutely fallen off the map. Has there ever been an opening day pitcher optioned to Single-A the following year?

I was just going to ask he exact same thing. Really just assumed at first that the Jays sent Romero to Triple-A Buffalo of the International League. But Dunedin? Single-A? The Florida State League? Wow. That's a serious demotion. Alex Anthropododopopolous said it was because of the climate; Dunedin being warmer, Romero won't miss any starts. Sure. Maybe Alex got tired of Rickey wearing his hat sideways.

He'll be the richest guy in A-Ball, probably.

Post by **brian** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 1:01 am

Scottie wrote:
degenerasian wrote:Ricky Romero sent down to Single-A! Dunedin.

Absolutely fallen off the map. Has there ever been an opening day pitcher optioned to Single-A the following year?
I was just going to ask he exact same thing. Really just assumed at first that the Jays sent Romero to Triple-A Buffalo of the International League. But Dunedin? Single-A? The Florida State League? Wow. That's a serious demotion. Alex Anthropododopopolous said it was because of the climate; Dunedin being warmer, Romero won't miss any starts. Sure. Maybe Alex got tired of Rickey wearing his hat sideways.

He'll be the richest guy in A-Ball, probably.

I could be wrong about this, but there's usually what's called "extended spring training" where a lot of prospects end up in April because a lot of the organization's best coaches stay down in Florida (or Arizona as the case may be) so maybe the idea is to have him benefit from that and then bring him up to AAA in May-ish.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:50 am

degenerasian wrote:Ricky Romero sent down to Single-A! Dunedin.

Absolutely fallen off the map. Has there ever been an opening day pitcher optioned to Single-A the following year?

Halladay?

Post by **brian** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:55 am

Whoa.

Tigers extend Verlander for 7 years, $180M (with a vesting option for 8 years, $202M).

I did not see that coming. Verlander had been saying for quite some time he might look forward to being a free agent (not saying he necessarily wanted to leave Detroit, but that he might want to experience free agency at least once in his career). Guess getting the largest contract in history for a pitcher and locking up $24M a year through your age 37 season can change things.

ETA: OK, looks like it is actually a 5 year extension of his current deal which had 2 years, $40M left. So, it's an additional 5 years, $140M with the vesting option. Total AAV of $26M.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:00 pm

Holy Crap. He is good but I just don't understand these long term deals. Is it just a risk/reward thing?

Congrats on the sign Brian/Tigers fans. He is great. Hope that doesn't bite you in the ass.

Post by **brian** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:07 pm

BSF21 wrote:Holy Crap. He is good but I just don't understand these long term deals. Is it just a risk/reward thing?

Congrats on the sign Brian/Tigers fans. He is great. Hope that doesn't bite you in the ass.

He's been remarkably injury-free (which scares me in a way), but this deal doesn't worry me as much as the Fielder contract does/did. It takes him through age 37, which is kinda scary, but I think he has the brains and the stuff to adjust when age starts to inevitably take a bite out of his velocity. He gets a lot of attention for his heater, but it's not the reason he's successful. There's also a non-zero chance he ends up as a Nolan Ryan-like freak of nature.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:16 pm

brian wrote:
BSF21 wrote:Holy Crap. He is good but I just don't understand these long term deals. Is it just a risk/reward thing?

Congrats on the sign Brian/Tigers fans. He is great. Hope that doesn't bite you in the ass.
He's been remarkably injury-free (which scares me in a way), but this deal doesn't worry me as much as the Fielder contract does/did. It takes him through age 37, which is kinda scary, but I think he has the brains and the stuff to adjust when age starts to inevitably take a bite out of his velocity. He gets a lot of attention for his heater, but it's not the reason he's successful. There's also a non-zero chance he ends up as a Nolan Ryan-like freak of nature.

Very true. Don't get me wrong, it is a hell of a sign. It is just the long term deal in general that scares me. It seems to have become a big-dick contest between both teams and players. Get your name on SC for a 30 second spot. Just seems to be bad business sense. There is no loyalty in professional athletics anyway I suppose. Doesn't work the same way our worlds do.

I hope he doesn't break down. He actively makes me watch baseball when he pitches. That is saying something about a guy when he can make me watch a team I have no rooting interest in because he is just that good.

Post by **brian** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:19 pm

BSF21 wrote:
brian wrote:
BSF21 wrote:Holy Crap. He is good but I just don't understand these long term deals. Is it just a risk/reward thing?

Congrats on the sign Brian/Tigers fans. He is great. Hope that doesn't bite you in the ass.
He's been remarkably injury-free (which scares me in a way), but this deal doesn't worry me as much as the Fielder contract does/did. It takes him through age 37, which is kinda scary, but I think he has the brains and the stuff to adjust when age starts to inevitably take a bite out of his velocity. He gets a lot of attention for his heater, but it's not the reason he's successful. There's also a non-zero chance he ends up as a Nolan Ryan-like freak of nature.
Very true. Don't get me wrong, it is a hell of a sign. It is just the long term deal in general that scares me. It seems to have become a big-dick contest between both teams and players. Get your name on SC for a 30 second spot. Just seems to be bad business sense. There is no loyalty in professional athletics anyway I suppose. Doesn't work the same way our worlds do.

I hope he doesn't break down. He actively makes me watch baseball when he pitches. That is saying something about a guy when he can make me watch a team I have no rooting interest in because he is just that good.

Yeah, if you're the Tigers you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. If they waited until after this season or even after his walk year you might end up paying more to keep him. The Yankees, most notably, are going to have a lot of money to throw around after the 2014 season. Of course, you're absorbing a lot of risk as well, but I'd rather teams reward their own players with megadeals than throw money at free agents (like the Tigers did with Fielder*).

* - and that having been said, Fielder's durability is pretty impressive for a guy who is, well, not in great shape if we're being generous.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:23 pm

brian wrote:I could be wrong about this, but there's usually what's called "extended spring training" where a lot of prospects end up in April because a lot of the organization's best coaches stay down in Florida (or Arizona as the case may be) so maybe the idea is to have him benefit from that and then bring him up to AAA in May-ish.

That's probably exactly what's happening. And Alex A hinted just so. Mind you, he also described Romero has having "severe mechanical problems" and a complete lack of confidence.

Post by **Sabo** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:48 pm

brian wrote:Yeah, if you're the Tigers you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. If they waited until after this season or even after his walk year you might end up paying more to keep him. The Yankees, most notably, are going to have a lot of money to throw around after the 2014 season. Of course, you're absorbing a lot of risk as well, but I'd rather teams reward their own players with megadeals than throw money at free agents (like the Tigers did with Fielder*).

* - and that having been said, Fielder's durability is pretty impressive for a guy who is, well, not in great shape if we're being generous.

Rather interesting that guys who look out of shape are incredibly durable (most notably, Fielder and C.C. Sabathia). I'd think there are other examples, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 2:16 pm

I think these examples point to the vagueness of the concept of "being in shape." Fielder and Sabathia are undeniably fat. But they are not running marathons or playing midfield for Man U. I suspect that they have a high degree of leg and core strength. Their joints are probably pretty healthy. Given their athletic specialties, they may actually be in very good shape. They are genetically gifted, without a doubt.

Would they perform better and be even more durable if they lost 20 to 40 pounds of fat? Probably. But I doubt that either factor would get a lot better. And trying to lose a lot of fat without losing muscle mass is no easy thing.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 9:55 pm

I remember a story that John Kruk told on Letterman. He was outside a hotel smoking a cigarette and a lady was giving him crap for being an athlete and smoking. Kruk replied to her barbs by saying, " I ain't an athlete ma'am, I'm a baseball player."

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:29 am

Quite strong Cole. Quite strong.

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Bryce Harper is good at baseball. Two HRs today. Strasburg is pretty good too.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:30 pm

up for the 3rd time now....

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:31 pm

flew to left. he sucks.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:37 pm

Nolasco is pitching a gem to players not named Bryce Harper.

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:54 pm

There are many empty seats at the Cubs-Pirates game, but I guess the threat of snow might discourage some people from attending.

Wait, Luis Valbuena has a MLB job? Damn, the Cubs must be horrendously awful.

ETA: And Brent Lillibridge? Hahahahahahahahaha ... Cubs.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:51 pm

Sabo wrote:Wait, Luis Valbuena has a MLB job? Damn, the Cubs must be horrendously awful.

They are.

But they are 1-0!

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:08 pm

Through the top of the 3rd inning, it's Travis Hafner 4, the Cleveland Indians 3.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:42 pm

Justin Upton, again.

cerrano · Post by **cerrano** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:41 pm

roy halladay: still not healed.

in 4 innings he allowed 7 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, 1 hit batter, and 1 wild pitch but had three k's.

his era is north of 14.

and it's not a cold night in philly. unless you count the phillies bat rack so far.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:15 pm

You wonder how many more starts he'd have if not for some of those wasted bullets late in 5 run games.

Post by **Sabo** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:25 am

Wow. This makes Angel Hernandez look slightly better after his WBC strike call.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:28 am

Yeah, it's bad. I can't get too worked up about this, though, since the ump owned up to it afterwards. Hernandez would have insisted that he got it right and thrown 3 people out of today's game just to prove it.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:56 am

That makes two losses that are at least partially because the Rays got fucked by the umps this year. But who's counting?