From the South Bay to the Valley, from the West Side to the East Side, everybody is very happy because Vin Scully will return in 2011. Let's check out some links from around the web..
- A member of the Mets watching Rod Barajas say goodbye to his teammates quipped "Can I go with him?", tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Ken Rosenthal pays tribute to Lou Piniella, and opines that Joe Girardi would be a perfect managerial replacement, though he has doubts that the Cubs could pry him away from New York.
- The Nationals have extended their affiliation with the Syracuse Chiefs for an additional two seasons, according to the team's official Twitter page.
- Josh Thole is excited about having the opportunity to start every day now that Rod Barajas has been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- The Rays might be willing to take a chance on Manny Ramirez, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- With the way Austin Jackson is playing, it looks like the Tigers got the better end of the Curtis Granderson deal, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Pittsburgh's signing of Mexican hurler Luis Heredia was years in the making, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes that the Indians weren't afraid to spend on the draft this year. Cleveland's top ten picks all signed for more than their recommended slot.
- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter) jokes that Buck Showalter has done too well with the Orioles as the club might now lose out on the first overall pick in the draft. Baltimore is now 44-80 while the Pirates are 40-83.
Drew Pomeranz, Tony Wolters, Kyle Blair, Levon Washington…How can you go wrong?
It always baffles me why so many teams refuse to spend 10-12m AT LEAST in the draft each and every year and especially teams like KC, Bucs, Houston that need badly to get out of the cellar. 1 34-36YO FA will cost that much and deliver just what? Save that money and sign 20-30 people that will actually help your team in the long term, yet 20 plus teams each and every year seem to think in the short term and this includes big market teams, like the NYM, NYY sometimes also.
Very few teams actually go in every year and both scout, draft and take full advantage of the wealth this draft provides. Maybe the Tribe will start being one now, just before the commish tries to shut down the few smart teams because of the dunces that make up the majority.
in fairness, Buc and KC have spent huge on the draft/international market. especially the Bucs who shelled out like 6million on Taillion, 2mil on Allie, and another 2.5mil on a 16year old international prospect whose name i can’t remember at this moment.
I think your talking about Herrida? the young mexican pitcher
In the last 2-3 years Pirates have spent very well in upper rounds, same with KC. Point was that lower teams need to draft/scout and then sign players throughout the draft to rebuild, rather than wasting money on people like Jose Guillen and Meche Types. How many drafts could just a Guillen type of contract provided?
How do sports writers continuously rate the Granderson/Jackson trade as a loser for the Yanks? Jackson is on pace to break every strike out record in existence. Granderson currently has 6 or 7 times the amount of homers. In the field, I see only a marginal improvement with Jackson over Granderson. I just don’t get it. Great, so Jackson wasn’t a flop of a prospect, but he’s far from Mike Stanton or Heyward.
I think a lot of people are wrong about Granderson. So what he hasn’t hit 30 homers. As if Ellsbury for example in Boston would have been a better option? Meanwhile, that guy pulls a finger nail and is out for two weeks. We could be paying Vernon Wells the equivalent of the Padres entire payroll for a mediocre CF’.
Ellsbury and Wells have nothing to do with Granderson-Jackson trade. I’m a Yankee fan, we can all admit Granderson has had a poor season. But Jackson also has a .424 BABIP this year- that’s why you DON’T judge a trade after one year, you have to let things even out.
your reasoning is completely flawed.
you make a fantastic argument.
ok then. A) you are completely biased in your support for the yankees that you can’t accept that god forbid the trade thus far looks to have the tigers winning. .. B) you list a reason as jackson striking out at a large rate, but fail to mention that he has a better average and obp percentage, making the point about him having more so’s then cg completely useless informationc)you state that curtis has 6 or 7 more home runs, but fail to acknowledge that not every players strength and worth is in their power game. .. Lyle overbay has more home runs then curtis granderson, but no one in their right mind would take lyle over curtis. d)You unfairly compare jackson to heyward and stanton, sure AJ isn’t a super prospect, but just because the yanks didn’t give up a heyward or stanton isn’t enough reasoning that they didn’t lose the trade.E) your whole last paragraph doesn’t make sense, you pick out ellsbury and wells as comparisons, and justify the yanks win because ellsbury has had injuries and wells gets paid too much? Again the comparison makes zero sense? Why compare those 2 players specifically? Why mention other players not involved in general? Happy?
And you fail to notice how Austin Jackson’s BABIP is over .400, and he does not have the plate discipline as evidence by his 28% K rate nor the speed to maintain that (not to mention it’s just flat out impossible to maintain that type of number), which is why the sabermetrically-inclined are not willing to jump on the A-Jax bandwagon.It’s one thing to be biased. It’s another to be completely realistic in saying that Austin Jackson is going to crash down to earth.
It is already mentioned above, so I didn’t want to repeat it. However its not as big of a deal as you are making it out to be. Yes his BABIP won’t be able to be maintained that high, but its pretty reasonable that he can have a career babip around .350-.360 based on other players career babip in worse hitting ball parks….
Now the reason why you cant simply say oh AJ will come crashing down to earth is because this is his first year in the bigs, its absolutely moronic to think that a) he won’t improve and b) he won’t get stronger.. So yes you are right to say that his babip will inevitably drop down 40 or 50 points, but its also inevitable that he strikes out less, puts more balls in play and goes yard more. Still making him as valuable as he has been this year.
What gives you an indication that he’ll go yard more? He never really had power nor was considered to really become a home run threat.Strike outs have always been his problem. Literally, since day one. This is why I say he’ll come crashing down to earth because he’s had plenty of time to improve, and has yet to do so. It is not inevitable that he will strike out less until he can prove that-he hasn’t. He has consistently struck out at least 20 times a month after striking out 32 times in April. He’s averaged more than a strikeout per game.I’m not saying Tigers fans shouldn’t be happy with the trade. I’m saying that a winner and loser cannot be declared until next year, at earliest, since we need to see what Austin does in his second full year. I’m aware the article does state this at one point, but there are many media articles in NY that are already coming to the conclusion that the Yankees made a mistake period end of story. Forgive me if I’m being pessimistic, but Austin has shown nothing for me to share your optimism.Also, the point I’m trying to make-his BABIP is .420, yet he is only hitting around .300 with little to no power. Also, I doubt that a 40-50 drop is all we’ll see, as .370-.380 is still unsustainable. Try more of a 60-70 drop.
Who cares? Austin Jackson will certainly improve and have a reasonable contract for the next 5 years, while the Yankees will potentially be overpaying Granderson for the next 2+.
Why anyone would declare the winner of this trade based on 1 year is beyond me, but if they do it is certainly the Tigers. Looking at what the players will contribute for the remainder of their contracts just sways it to the Tigers even more.
Meanwhile, that guy pulls a finger nail and is out for two weeks.
I hardly think a hairline fracture to 3 ribs is comparable to pulling a finger nail.
Here’s the thing. Home runs don’t matter. A Jax is hitting 60 points higher and about 10 points higher OPS. Jax has stolen more bases and also, is a rookie. As of RIGHT NOW, Yankees lost that deal. Jackson would probably have 3 more home runs if he was at Yankee Stadium.
Which strikeout records are you talking about. It says on ESPN he’s on pace for 173. That’d be good for about 75th all time, hardly a recprd. He won’t sniff the 230 k’s Reynolds racked up last year.
strikeouts dont matter but if you want to talk about strikeouts granderson would have more than ajax if he would of not got hurt. average is what counts and a jax is hitting .308 and granderson is hitting .246 the legue average is .263 granderson is under .17 of the league average ajax is .45 over legue average
the tigers also got coke and look how well he is pitching he has a 2.42 ERA. so i say right now the tigers have won the trade
i agree with the fact that austin jackson no huge prospect, but i’d just like to throw out the fact that heyward is way too overrated. he had and excellent 1/3 of the season, then he just flopped. the braves should have reassigned him like what most teams do with their struggling prospects, i.e. what the mariners did with justin smoak. i mean, come on. what has he done since may bat like .225 with 2 home runs? just some insight. austin jackson may strike out a ton, but he has been very consistent, batting .300 all year
Heyward is struggling. You can’t say he is overrated because he went through normal ML struggles. I’d still take him over any prospect in the game right now.
You can say he’s overrated, but overrated doesn’t mean bad, just not as good. When he came up, the only player more hyped up was Strasburg. After his HR, they were already comparing him to Hank Aaron or Willie Mays and began sculpting his Hall of Fame plaque. He’s still had a pretty good rookie season, he’s still a very talented player, and he’s probably going to have a good career. He’s just not as great as everyone has made him out to be this year.
I still say in 5 years Heyward will be one, if not the, best OFers in the majors. He has 35-40 HR power and the ability to hit for average. This season doesn’t change that.
I have no doubt he will but people are making him out to have Pujols-like numbers this year when that isn’t the case.
I remember on a pre-game show on ESPN Joe Morgan said Heyward was a future hall of famer.
If anybody is overated it’s Michael Stanton. He has Dave Winfield potential? I know of his HRs, where are the stolen bases, where is the average, where is his arm, where is his fielding? I know he’s only a rookie but if he’s going to set a standard like that, he needs to show more.
You’re acting like Stanton compared himself to winfield or asked to be compared to a legendary player. All the kid can do is show up and play, it doesn’t make him any less of a player because he can’t live up to a player he was unfairly compared to.
Heyward did have a good July, OPS was over .900
But they’re in different situations: Mariners suck, Braves are trying to make the playoffs. Heyward is their best option, so they’re sticking with him
Because Heyward’s struggles were expected. He just turned 21. He’s not superman, he’s going to struggle. Just like every other player in the big leagues.
Well in all fairness there is no proof yet that he isn’t superman.
Has anyone tried holding a glowing green space rock near him yet?
Yes and he went on an 0-10 slump. Said rocks have since been banned by the MLB as a performance enhancer for teams opposing Heyward
Overrated? 21 year old joining a playoff run in his first season and hitting better than most rookies. Ike is hitting similar numbers, but Heyward has him numbered. Rookies don’t hit .320 with 35 home runs in there first season. Give them time, both of them. Ike won’t be hitting .320 though.
I wouldn’t say Heyward is overrated, but the hype machine is working overtime. The kid is going to win Rookie of the Year even if he finishes the season with a .185 average
Yeah while Jamie Garcia should win it -_-
No, Buster Posey should
Why would you pick Posey over Garcia? And Id slot Jon Neise over Posey, Ike, or Heyward as well. But Garcia has to be the favorite at this point.
Buster Posey?
Manny Ramirez would be an interesting fit for the Rays. People talk about his shabby defense all the time, but this guy can still hit. In 60 games, he has a slash line of .312 / .404 / .508.
I’m sure he could be had for nothing in terms of prospects, especially if the Rays are willing to absorb the salary that Manny’s owed. A couple low-level prospects or the full assumption of the salary by the Rays should get a deal done. As long as he doesn’t completely deteriorate the club house, Manny would be a really nice pick-up for the Rays.
I dont think the Dodgers just give Manny away, as you said, he can still hit. But I think the Rays will have a hard time getting him because of their wavier spot
Yeah, that’s a good point. I was kind of assuming that most teams pass on Manny because of his reputation and his health concerns. I don’t think that many teams would have interest in him, so I was assuming he would clear. That being said, there has been so much blocking going on this year (particularly by the Giants) that I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t clear either.
I really can’t see a National League contender that’d want to play him in the outfield though, so there shouldn’t be much interest there. Now that I think about it though, he’d have a hell of a time getting through the American League. I’m sure the Tigers, White Sox, Red Sox, and maybe even the Twins would love to take a chance on him.
The one team that won’t claim him is Boston. If they claim him, its like them saying we were wrong and need you
Thole needs to bulk up if he wants last in the majors. Not many hitters get away with slap hitting. I’m eating my words in a way, Castillo did so for years.
People have to view this trade AJ for CG for what it was. A short term move for the Yanks and a long term move for the Tigers. CG has had a disappointing year thus far but I think the injury had a lot to do with it. Yes, the poor hitting vs leftys was always an issue but I think it kept him from getting into a groove across the board. I still don’t have a problem with the deal. AJ I think will be a fine player, especially now that he’s in the majors and getting some experience. Hopefully the Tigers have the right coaches to correct his swing. I think as he puts on some weight and improves his pitch recognition then I think we’ll see some more power. I think he can become a 30 dbl, 10 triple, 15 hr kind of hitter.
Overall, we have 2 to 3 more years w/ Granderson and in the last few games he’s shown why he was so desired. Hopefully, he and Long can work the kinks out and he can be a solid .280/.350 30 dbls, 10 triple, 20 hr w/ 20 SB kind of hitter.
Agreed, the Yankees had to fill a hole in the outfield..failing to do so would have been a horrible choice given how competitive the AL east was obviously going to be this year. it was a case of trading for a known commodity, while risking giving up a player controllable for longer, cheaper, and perhaps has a higher ceiling. but the yanks got exactly what they wanted, so wouldn’t they make the same risk every time?
Also keep in mind. If CG goes back to being vintage CG then the Yanks would be happy. AJ fufills his talent potential and becomes the next CG then I think the Tigers would be very, very happy.
Heyward and Davis have had good seasons but I can’t see how anyone could leave Gaby Sanchez out of the discussion. I mean the kid is hitting .288/.352 w/ 31 dbls and 13 hrs. Posey is having a great year too but he’s only played 73 games thus far. Even more deserving than any of them might be Jamie Garcia. Look at things like this. Forget about age and future potential because that has nothing to do with the 2010 ROY. How hard is it to find an OF to hit .257/.369 w/ 12 hrs? Not very hard as
Huff .295/.388 w/ 21 hrs
LaRoche .271/.339 w/ 21 hrs
Glaus .239/.343 w/ 16 hrs
Thome .272/.396 w/ 17 hrs
Matsui .255/.338 w/ 16 hrs
were all FA signings this past winter who signed 1 year deals ranging from $1.5 to $6 mil and provided similar offensive numbers. Now I know there’s also the defensive aspects as well but just compare how many can do what Heyward has done vs the case of Garcia.
Now Garcia in 23 starts has a 2.58 ERA in 132 IP. He also sports a whip of 1.31, opponents are only hitting .240 against him. He’s not racking up K’s like Strasburg (only 105 in 132 IP) but he’s getting the job done! How many SP in baseball have an ERA under 3.00 much less better than 2.58? Only 13 SP in all of baseball have an ERA under 3.00 and all of them are either cost controlled pitchers with less than 3 years of service (Latos, Buccholz, Cahill and Price) or are extended youngsters or veteran signed to expensive multi year deals. So if you honestly and w/o bias towards age, media capital or love for your homie, compare what Heyward is doing vs what Garcia is doing then how can you not vote for Garcia for ROY in the NL?
I find it annoying that people keep bringing up Girardi as being a good fit for the Cubs. He is managing the reigning world champions and currently has the best record in the game. There is no way he just walks away from that at the end of the season to try and give the Cubs a go. It is a waste of breath to discuss it. I’m sure Coach K would fit a lot of other college basketball programs perfectly but it doesn’t mean there is any chance at all he’s walking away from Duke.
And I’m a Cubs fan.
Just one decent prospect, please? Come on TB, you have about 50 of them.
That’d be great wouldn’t it? And why are we adding players??? Ugh…
I saw a comment from Eric Stephen at TBLA(the guy who runs the blog) and he feels getting Rod is because they wanted to carry 3 catchers in Sept, and there was no one else. He felt it had nothing to do with selling people..
Yeah that and our current catchers suck something fierce. We added all that crap because this is Torre’s last year with the club.. i dont know if hes retiring but hes not coming back i hope. He had Ned unload valuable pieces of the farm system.. all of these guys had no service time. Those are the players we need in the upcoming years, not because they might become stars, because we need to have a boat load of players making less than 1 millions dollars for future rosters.
The Lilly deal would of been sick if we were in contention, I love Dewitt and hes already better than theRIOT with the bat. See what happens when you dont have to hit in the NL west for over 120 games?
I disagree with the last part. Kemp is still here… But I really think its because they didn’t plan for anything to happen to Martin and it bit them in the ass
•A member of the Mets watching Rod Barajas say goodbye to his teammates quipped “Can I go with him?”, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
——
That is……classic. Only would a current Mets player request to be a PTBNL in a trade.
Or PTBNN…
player to be named now
Congrats on the Indians for spending big on the draft. I agree with poster JohnSilver that ALL small market teams should be spending big on the draft, especially those who do not spend on the mlb payroll. The Marlins for ex should be ashamed of themselves. There was a link on here that broke down what teams have spent in the last 3 years on the draft and the Marlins were in the bottom 5. When your in the bottom 5 in spending on the draft AND the mlb roster then you really are putting most of your revenue sharing/luxury tax money in your pocket.
Also, of the 27 players the Indians signed 18 were either pitchers, C, CF or SS. Now some of those position players may change but it’s good to see them stocking up on typically premium position players.
I like the approach. Anthopolous has moved that way as well. It does make sense.. depth at premium positions will net you whatever you need when the time comes to compete.
No way Girardi goes to the Cubs. People say the reason managers go there is the money involved, and if you win a WS title with the Cubs, you would be a national hero. Apparently people did not pay attention to the fact that they are negotiating with a Yankees, I repeat, the Yankees manager. Which means, the Yankees money makes the Cubs look like the Marlins, and World Championships, which is a recurrent theme in New York, and is something Cubs fans have not have the pleasure of having for 103 years. No Yankees manager would ever want to manage another team, especially a team like the Cubs, so the dumbass media should drop it.
A member of the Mets watching Rod Barajas say goodbye to his teammates quipped “Can I go with him?”, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.Well hm anyone of the mets players could have said something like this since they thoguht they was on a winning team but actually a cellar team, but i bet its frankie or f-rod 😉
Ollie P perhaps. You know he doesnt want to be there. Also Francouer and Castillo have both requested trades. I think those three would be the most likely candidates to make such a statement.
Exactly and the mets dont want there contract either well expect Francouer cause they love that guy, but Ollie and Castillo prolly was one to say that
well u can say one thing the nl especially the east has a nice encouraging group of rookies that i think we can all agree will be around for a long timefla-stanton /sancheznym-ike/nieseatl-heyward and this minor kid looks legit toophi-brownwash strausburg/soon harper i dont remem the last time one division came out with htis much young talent in one year!
Dominic Brown was called up too early to get any consideration.
Gaby Sanchez
Mike Stanton
Jason Heyward
Jaime Garcia
and Buster Posey
are candidates.