Some links for your Sunday reading pleasure…
- Jason Donald's hand injury inspires Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to ask whether the Indians would consider starting Lonnie Chisenhall's service clock as soon as Opening Day.
- Lastings Milledge, who was the youngest free agent available this past winter, is off to a good start with the White Sox, says Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.
- Mark Buehrle won't keep pitching for money or milestones, writes Dan McNeil of the Chicago Tribune. If he keeps pitching beyond 2011, it'll be with a contender and in a place that's comfortable for his family.
- Jhonny Peralta isn't fretting his transition back to the shortstop position, writes MLive.com's Dick Scanlon.
- Hoynes answers plenty of reader questions in this Q&A for the Plain Dealer, and address issues such as the prospect hauls for departed All-Stars and maximizing trade value. He also opines that Orlando Cabrera could become a mid-season target for the Phillies if Chase Utley's injury is serious enough.
Ferrariman
not for money? Hey sounds great. Get him fitted for a Cardinal Jersey right away! He might not be a #1 anymore (or ever was) but still a decent #2 and an exceptional #3.
vonhayesdays
you will need a few more of those guys , if or when you resign pujols to his 400 million dollar 13 year deal
$7562574
before buehrle can pitch for a contender or for cardinals, he will shoot his toe off with his hunting rifle.
vonhayesdays
we can only hope
Nick Simanis
I believe Buerhle is pitching for a contender already and has been for several years.
Patricio
Why would the Phillies be interested in Orlando Cabrera when their bench and AAA depth at 2nd is better than what Cabrera offers right now at this time in his career?
vonhayesdays
agreed valdez, barfield or delwyn young could offer about as much as bad attitude orlando could they should offer mets something for reyes or wright preferably wright , and move polonco over to second where his arm is better suited
Anthony
Agreed, Wright would look great in a Phillies uniform. Brown and Mayberry should get it done.
I’m a little worried if the Phillies can afford him though. Because when they trade Howard for Pujols and sign him for 10/300, I’m not sure how much more money they can add on. Especially with C.C. opting out at the end of the year and joining the Phillies, that’s another $20+ million per.
Plus, with Rollins declining they’re really gonna need Hanley Ramirez next year and he’s not gonna come cheap. Maybe Jonathon Singleton and Ben Francisco, can’t see the Marlins saying no to that to be honest. But after they trade Brown and Francisco, they’re gonna need a new right fielder. It’ll probably be either Choo or Heyward, both are under team control for multiple years at a relatively low cost, so the Phillies may end up having to trade Blanton or Kendrick for one of them(maybe both), because with the addition of Sabathia to the rotation that leaves both of those guys out.
With this being Ibanez’s last year, that leaves an opening in LF since they’re trading Brown, Francisco, Mayberry, and Singleton. So if Blanton and Kendrick aren’t both traded for Choo or Heyward, and the Cardinals need starting pitching……I’m sure they’d like to unload Matt Holliday’s contract. If not, Braun would probably love to play for the Phillies.
chaifetz10
I stopped reading your post when you mentioned Ryan Howard for Pujols. My mistake was reading past your Brown and Mayberry for Wright trade idea. Mayberry has little trade value and Brown’s hand injury and horrible Spring Training numbers have lessened his value substantially.
I know it was all in sarcasm…but still, on this site you can never always be sure.
Chrisn313 2
Hahaha thanks I needed a laugh. Bet he thinks that you’re serious for at least half that article if not more
vonhayesdays
i started to laugh at brown and mayberry for wright , maybe you realized the second time you read it that it was a joke , although i still believe the mets will unload some of their talent considering forbes just valued their franchise at negative 225 million, so wright probably good as gone , phillies would need to substantialy over pay because of division rivalry more like brown, singleton and de fratus might get it done,
vonhayesdays
wow you thought most of that out(?) but be we could trade colvin and cossart instead of brown and singleton cuz like you said we dont need pitching we just got CC what do think. and you really one up ‘ed me over here topper , and who wouldnt want to play infront of sold out crowds every night and i think i would like braun instead of holiday , i dont like his defense i think hes better suited as a dh
Anthony
Are you being sarcastic about Brauns defense being better than Hollidays?
Also, I’m not sure if the division rivalry thing means much today. I mean, the Fish gave the Braves Dan Uggla for a utility guy and the Braves 3rd best left handed reliever, who has control issues. That could be because they’re just kind of dumb though.
And to clear up my above post, I’m not singling you out. Just been noticing an INSANE amount of absurd “insert elite player to the Phillies” ideas since the Lee signing.
vonhayesdays
both of them are a mystery in the outfield and the marlins have no pride or brains apparently , funny little rant you had their though , i laughed several times , whose your team anyway did you make any imaginary trades with the phillies
chaifetz10
Holliday is actually one of the better defensive LF’s in the NL. He may not be sexy like Carl Crawford with Web Gems…but he’s strikingly solid in left.
vonhayesdays
i just keep remembering him making crucial errors , maybe i should judge whole seasons on bad timing but still cant quite get that out of my mind
vtadave
With the exception of balls hitting him in the sack in the NLCS, he’s actually quite good in LF.
vonhayesdays
that cost you the series didnt it
vtadave
Well I’m a Dodgers fan, so I appreciated that play quite a bit.
Anthony
Braves fan, and I once dressed up my little sister as Amaro Jr. and got her to agree to a Matt Diaz/Nate McLouth for Chase Utley and Shane Victorino deal a couple a year or two ago.
Free_AEC is the main culprit for idiotic Phillies trade proposals on this particular site. But I’ve been hearing Longoria or Wright to the Phils for the past 2 years.
vonhayesdays
Free AEC definitely a strange cat , longoria would look good on the phillies team too, but then again that could be said for any team , did you also get your little sister to imitate Amaro’s smug smiles
User 4245925809
Just why would Tampa trade Longoria to the Phillies or even anyone else? Longoria is signed for the next 4/20m and thought Tampa is cheap, they ain’t that cheap, plus the Phillies don’t have 3++ Blue chippers it would take to even get a smell of him if the Rays were to make one of the best 3B in the game available.
This guy is the cornerstone of that team, signed to a very team friendly deal for the considerable future.
vonhayesdays
winning is addictive man , the only players to philly i heard were pujols and i thought i made up the wright thing, who else have you heard of
vtadave
Charlie Sheen is a winner too!
vonhayesdays
yeah but without his job and all that child support, how much longer will he be a winner , I mean im not gonna go sharing my blow with the guy , he is a dyson
Guest 7033
Braun is so bad in the OF its not funny. Bad routes, lazy sometimes, and its a lot worse because the guy is a physical freak. I really thought if he could handle LF well, he was a candidate to move to CF and become a TOP 5 player in the MLB. Guess not.
Ferrariman
what an excellent Free AEC imitation.
Giorgi Almonte
dude your not playing videogames..lol
buchachan
I like all of trades you had mentioned. Only one you left out is that Mauer is going to punch Smith in the mouth. This will void his contract. Because of these actions, NOBODY will want to sign him and the only team to take a risk with him will be the Phillies and only pay the league minimum.
Sorry, just had to do it. I read about Free AEC’s fantasy and thought I could help with it a bit.
vtadave
That’s pretty funny, especially seeing 10 people (as of this post) “like” this. Heyward for Kendrick is epic. May as well deal Polanco for Felix Hernandez while you’re at it.
chaifetz10
Translation: Hey Cardinals…umm, wanna #3 starter next year???
He did grow up in St. Charles and dreamed about playing for the Cardinals his entire life…it’s a perfect fit for both!
Stl_Great
With his comments of a place most comfortable with his family makes it seem like a for-sure thing he’ll be a redbird next season.
Ferrariman
he really can’t be a redbird next season unless something drastic happens (i.e- Carpenter leaving, Wainwright having huge set back, Garcia blowing out his elbow again, Lohse never regaining form, Westbrook being completely ineffective). Now after 2012 when Lohse and Westbrook’s contracts are gone, than definitely.
Stl_Great
He can IF money doesn’t matter.
Ferrariman
i can’t see the MLB player’s association letting him play for near free though. We would have to move Lohse or Westbrook to make it work and in the process, eat salary. Thus, we would be better off staying put.
Jaime Pearson
Or he’d stay with the White Sox as his family likes Chicago. I have a feeling he is going to take a team friendly deal and stay in Chicago.
Verlander_Will_Save_Us_All
That piece on Peralta would have been a lot more useful in August, you know, when Peralta was making the transition. The timing is just random.
Coming Soon: Alex Rodriguez says transition to 3rd is going well so far.
vtadave
No Paul, the Indians are likely too smart to do something as moronic as starting Chisenhall’s service clock in April. There’s simply no reason to do so.
jill
I agree they won’t do that either. I do wish they would have tried to get a real 3rd baseman for the interim though. Donald is supposed to be the place holder, but he’s not really a third baseman.