MLB Offseason Thread

[Imran Siddiqui]

The first of the major awards is in (and no, I don't count Gold Gloves among them):

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2661785

NEW YORK -- Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks won a wide-open race for the NL Cy Young Award, beating out San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman on Tuesday.

One of six pitchers who tied for the league lead with a pedestrian total of 16 wins, Webb received 15 of 32 first-place votes and 103 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Hoffman, who broke the career saves record last season, got 12 first-place votes and 77 points.

St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, the 2005 Cy Young Award winner, finished third with two first-place votes and 63 points.

Houston's Roy Oswalt, who led the NL with a 2.98 ERA, got the other three first-place selections and came in fourth.

Webb, who went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA, was listed second on seven ballots and third on seven others. No pitcher was included on every entry.

Well deserved win for Webb

[Arrian]

I would've voted for Oswalt, but it was so close it hardly matters (except perhaps to Oswalt, Webb and Carpenter ). Hoffman shouldn't have been 2nd, though, should he? Yikes.

...

In other news, it looks more and more like the Red Sox put in the top bid for that Japanese pitcher. In a way, I hope that's true.

I like the Sheffield and Wright trades, btw.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

The rumor on the Red Sox bid for Daisuke is that a lot of it is to keep the Yanks from getting him. They only have to pay the fee to the club if they actually end up signing Daisuke. If they don't, then his Japanese club said they'll keep him for the last year of his contract.

And the O's are the ones who are really liking the Wright deal, especially since the Yanks are paying for half of Wright's salary .

[Arrian]

Of course. Any bid by either club would take denial to the other into account.

I would be fine with him staying in Japan. Works for me.

The Yanks dumped a guy I wanted dumped and got a decent young reliever in return. I think they're paying 4/7 of his salary, but I could be wrong. They were on the hook for that no matter what, though ($4million buyout, $7million to keep him).

I'm fine with that. The O's get to gamble that reuniting Mazzone the magician with Wright will turn him into a good pitcher again. I think that the fact that he's still in the AL means that won't happen.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

But the fact that he's being paid $3mil by the O's ($4 mil being picked up by the Yanks) and being reunited with Mazzone, makes this quite a deal for the O's. Putting it in these terms, the O's are only paying for Wright a similar number as the Mets are paying for Steve Trachsel. Even if he's the average veteran pitcher he was last year, $3 mil is the going rate for that.

[Arrian]

Imran,

I disagree it's "quite a deal for the Os." Jaret Wright sucks, and frankly I'd be surprised if he managed to match last year's mediocrity. There is a chance Baltimore will get $3million in value out of him. There is a chance he'll get hurt again and hardly pitch. There is a chance he'll pitch and be absolutely awful.

In any event, the Yanks were on the hook for $4 million even had they simply cut him loose (stupid goddamned contract - one of the worst in the post-dynasty era), so paying him $4 million to pitch (likely badly) for Baltimore and getting a decent reliever (maybe) in return is fine by me.

...

Matsusaka bid = $51.1 million. Holy ****.

-Arrian

[OzzyKP]

Verlander
Leyland
Sheffield

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
Verlander
Leyland
Sheffield

Not so sure about Sheffield. We already have a bunch of Power Hitting Right Handed Outfielders. So now we get a 39 year old one coming off an injury. To do that we give up Humberto Sanchez and 2 other good prospects. Time will tell, but I am not so hot on that move.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Arrian
Imran,

I disagree it's "quite a deal for the Os." Jaret Wright sucks, and frankly I'd be surprised if he managed to match last year's mediocrity. There is a chance Baltimore will get $3million in value out of him. There is a chance he'll get hurt again and hardly pitch. There is a chance he'll pitch and be absolutely awful.

And there is a chance that Mazzone knows what is wrong with him and can have him pitching well, as Wright's best year (by far) was in Atlanta. $3 mil is nothing. Hell, John Thompson of the Braves makes around $5 mil. Esteban Loiaza made $6 mil. Paul Byrd makes $7 mil. If you are even close to average veteran pitcher, $3 mil is a value you'll get.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Deity Dude


Not so sure about Sheffield. We already have a bunch of Power Hitting Right Handed Outfielders. So now we get a 39 year old one coming off an injury. To do that we give up Humberto Sanchez and 2 other good prospects. Time will tell, but I am not so hot on that move.

Well Sheffield is going to be our DH. And we absolutely need some more power. It is a "win now" move, and if it pays off then great. We have lots of pitching talent, and it is never easy to give up prospects, but we can't use all of them, and we do need some more hitters.

[Deity Dude]

Lets Thames DH all season and he will probably hit more homers than Sheffield. The one big thiing that he brings that the Tigers really need is someone who can work the count.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Arrian

...

Matsusaka bid = $51.1 million. Holy ****.

-Arrian

Epstein's on crack. In fact, Epstein sucks. By the time Boras is done with his end, the Sox will be spending insane money on a total gamble. I like Matsuzaka as a pitcher, but whether his game will translate to the AL for a whole season, let alone three or more, is up for grabs, as is whether or not he'll get hit by a meteor, blow out his arm, or any of a number of other things that could go wrong. If anything does go wrong, the Sox will have so much money down the hole they won't be able to fix it.

What's worse is the way Esptein's rumored to be going after Drew, who is basically Trot for twice the price and way less than half the work ethic. Epstein's so busy trying to make up for bad deals with worse deals that I swear Steiny must have a little Theo voodoo doll he sticks his dick into.

[Arrian]

In fact, Epstein sucks.

Wow, the shine came off the golden boy pretty quick.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Epstein is not on crack. Daisuke has far more value than simply being a top notch starting pitcher. It is the Red Sox's entry into the Japanese market, which is a highly lucrative market to be in and so far is really only penetrated by the Mariners, Dodgers, and Yankees. The $51 million will pale to the money the Sox make on merchandise sales and television rights over the long run in Japan. It is basically an investment in the Japanese market.

[Arrian]

I'll concur with that. The bid was pretty astronomical even considering that, though. It might be worth it. He's gotta pitch well for it to really be worth it, and while there is a good chance he will, it's certainly a gamble.

The Sox are betting on D-Mats ( ) being their Ichiro; their Matsui (Hideki, not Kaz ). Both of those guys are worth more to their teams than their playing ability alone would suggest.

-Arrian