The Offseason Baseball Thread

[DanS]

I think Washington could sell public funding of a stadium better if the MLB and the team agreed to a team reorganization that creates a board of directors with one or more seats given to publicly elected officials who influence team decisions with the public interest in mind...

Fvck that! These jokers (minus the mayor) are the same people who nearly bankrupted the city ten years ago. These people run for office for the fat paychecks and good bennies.

Anyway, the mayor has won the debate. The stadium will be built under the agreement signed with MLB. The majority of the public is against the plan, but it's already the mayor's fait accompli.

[Arrian]

Tony Womack?!?! Useless. Cairo was fine last year.

Letting Lieber go may have been a mistake. He was quite good.

In general, the Yanks are in serious trouble. They'll still compete, sure, but their decision-making has been more & more desperate each year, and that does hurt them, no matter how much money they have. Other teams have gotten smarter (Boston sure has), too.

-Arrian, preparing for a mini-dark age

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think Washington could sell public funding of a stadium better if the MLB and the team agreed to a team reorganization that creates a board of directors with one or more seats given to publicly elected officials who influence team decisions with the public interest in mind... Something like that is needed to prevent arrogant sports owners from holding cities hostage by threatening to move a team out of town if they dont get state and/or municipal money for a stadium..

Fvck that indeed! The owners buy the team. If the city will not provide them with adequate facilities, it should be their right to move the team to somwhere that will provide that. Public interest be damned, it's a business, son.

[DanS]

That goes both ways. If it doesn't make good business sense for the city, then the city should send the team packing.

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by DanS
That goes both ways. If it doesn't make good business sense for the city, then the city should send the team packing.

What politicians would be brave enough to send a team packing and risk having angry sports fans vote them out of office...

[DanS]

There's a track record of doing just that in Washington. Don't act so incredulous.

(Btw, it might have been smart not to have baseball in Washington for such a long time. The city of today might benefit on a net basis, but the city of yesterday may not have.)

[Lawrence of Arabia]

RED SOX SIGN PEDRO, RED SOX SIGN PEDRO, 3 YEARS, $40 Million.

YES YES YES YES YES

[Arrian]

PHEW!

That's a relief!

-Arrian

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
RED SOX SIGN PEDRO, RED SOX SIGN PEDRO, 3 YEARS, $40 Million.

YES YES YES YES YES

I dont believe it. Link?

[Arrian]

Oh, and one more thing:

Jaret Wright? Jared ****ing Wright??

We do not employ Leo Mazzone. Therefore, Jaret Wright will go back to being Jaret Wright. ****ing hell.

-Arrian

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Good move by BoSox :

BOSTON -- For all of the attention being paid to the future of stars Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez, the Red Sox continue to show they are not losing sight of the big picture.
Getting a head start on the upcoming Winter Meetings in Anaheim, General Manager Theo Epstein Wednesday night announced the signing of hard-throwing right-handed reliever Matt Mantei. In addition to filling needs at catcher, shortstop and the front end of the starting rotation, Epstein had identified a need to strengthen the back end of the bullpen.

Wednesday's agreement with the 31-year-old veteran would appear to fit that bill.

The right-hander, who has added a curve and slider to a mid-90s fastball, assumed the role of Arizona's closer immediately after the May 2003 trade of Byung-Hyun Kim to Boston for Shea Hillenbrand. The reliever responded to the challenge with a 5-4 record, along with a 2.62 ERA to go along with 29 saves in 50 appearances for the Diamondbacks.

Tendinitis in his right shoulder limited Mantei to just 12 games in 2004. He posted an 0-3 record with an 11.81 ERA. Mantei is still regarded as one of the premiere strikeout relievers in the game, maintaining an impressive 10.97 strikeout per nine innings ratio.



Complete coverage >
Mantei made the trip to Boston Wednesday night for a physical and was officially welcomed aboard after passing the exam. Mantei becomes the first new member of a team that won its sixth world championship in October.

The Red Sox were in the market for a reliever after declining to offer free agents Scott Williamson, Curtis Leskanic and Ramiro Mendoza arbitration. Lefty reliever Mike Myers also filed for free agency but was offered arbitration Tuesday.

Overall, Mantei is 13-18 with 93 saves and a 3.86 ERA in 10 Major League seasons between Florida and Arizona.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

link for pedro

https://www.bostondirtdogs.com

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
link for pedro

www.bostondirtdogs.com

Wow. Look at that picture of him. He's got the ugliest kid in the world!

The deal is not done yet

[Imran Siddiqui]

Apparenly ESPN is reporting that David Wells is signing with the Red Sox. Hahah... another stick in the Yanks' eye. You don't think Yankee fans want Boomer back?

[Moral Hazard]

Looks like Pavano is going to the Yankees at only 39M for 4 years. It's not final yet, heres to hoping he doesn't meet his potential as a yank.

Gammons is saying Renteria will be a Red Sock, which will probably send Cabrera to the Cards Renteria > Cabrera Good news if it ends up being the case.