MLB - 2007 Season

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Arrian
Nice win for the Yanks last night, though not w/o its flaws (Farnsworth's scoreless inning involved 2 baserunners, Mo being used in a 4-run game). The Yanks have, it appears, a rather weak schedule for the 2nd half (this presumes, of course, that the Yankees are good - debateable at this point). They need to take advantage of it in a big way.

-Arrian

Nice scheduling for the next month or so - all those games against the Deviled Rays, O's etc. It's about as bad as the Brewers schedule at the start.

Not a bad outing by Gabbard at all, even if it was lowly KC.

[Arrian]

Yes, a three-hit shutout is pretty impressive, even if it was against the Royals. Where in the hell did Kason Gabbard come from? Bleh.

The trouble for the Yanks vis-a-vis the schedule is that the Red Sox's schedule is as easy or even easier. So there is no advantage there.

I was happy to escape with a win last night. Igawa is terrible. He threw about a million pitches to scratch through 5 innings and giving up a mere 3 runs (coulda been 8 just as easily). Hurry, Phil!

-Arrian

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Arrian
Yes, a three-hit shutout is pretty impressive, even if it was against the Royals. Where in the hell did Kason Gabbard come from? Bleh.

-Arrian

The same place where Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz, Ellsbury, et al, come from.

It's an interesting mirror image. As attrocious as Epstein has been in the free agent market (Drew, Lugo, Crisp, Rentawreck and our Pavano for the biggies, as I think Matsuzaka was still a good move), Epstein has been useful for his part in building up the Sox farm and scouting system.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Nice little blurb on NY Times blog:

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/why-the-yankees-cant-and-wont-lose-a-rod/

July 18, 2007, 12:29 am
Why the Yankees Can’t — and Won’t — Lose A-Rod
By Tyler Kepner

It gets more and more obvious every day that the Yankees will not lose Alex Rodriguez unless he opts out of his contract and signals that he wants to leave town. They will find a way to sway him with an extension, because they cannot afford to lose him. He showed why — again – with a dazzling all-around performance in Tuesday’s 3-2 victory.

In the first inning, he faced Toronto’s Roy Halladay, the pitcher against whom he has the most career at-bats without a homer (43). He drove a single to right for the Yankees’ only run before the ninth.

In between, he robbed the speedy Alex Rios twice in the field. In the fifth, Rodriguez ranged to his right, dived for a hard grounder, popped up, set his feet and fired to first for an out. In the seventh, he speared a ground ball to his left, spinning 360 degrees before nailing Rios again.

Then, after leading off with a hit-by-pitch in the 10th, he said he anticipated that the pitcher, Casey Janssen, might throw a wild pitch because he has a good curveball. Janssen threw one in the dirt and Rodriguez was ready, hustling to second on the wild pitch and eventually scoring the winning run –- his 85th run scored this season, the most in the majors.

Rodriguez is a complex guy and a magnet for stories, many that have nothing to do with baseball. He brings some of it on himself, and maybe there is a part of him that craves all the attention.

In the end, it’s beside the point. The best thing about Rodriguez — the only thing that really matters, and the reason the Yankees will not let him go -– is the way he plays, and the number of ways he can beat a team. He showed that on Tuesday, without a single ball scaling a fence.

Though I think that A-Rod may have had enough of NY and decide to opt out on his own accord. Ironic because now it seems they need him.

[Arrian]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


The same place where Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz, Ellsbury, et al, come from.

It's an interesting mirror image. As attrocious as Epstein has been in the free agent market (Drew, Lugo, Crisp, Rentawreck and our Pavano for the biggies, as I think Matsuzaka was still a good move), Epstein has been useful for his part in building up the Sox farm and scouting system.

The difference, Michael, is that I had heard of Pedroia, Lester, Bucholz and Ellsbury BEFORE they played for the big club.

Heck, Joe Posnaski over at "The Soul of Baseball" asked precisely the same question I did.

I’m not kidding about that parenthetical “Who?” after Kason Gabbard’s name. Before the game began, I sent an email to Bill James with six words, “Who the heck is Kason Gabbard?” I have not heard back from Bill yet, but I’m sure his response will be a doosy.

...

Postscript: I just heard back from Bill, and he was also impressed with Gabbard's performance. Apparently during the game John Henry told Bill he thinks that they should play the Army song whenever Gabbard pitches because "That Kason goes rolling along."

I looked up his career stats. Based solely on that, it would appear he's a good pitcher, but is likely slightly over his head right now (too many baserunners/inning for him to sustain a 3.5ish ERA, most likely, and his minor league ERA was over 4). Still, I'd like to have him on the Yankee roster. 25 year-old lefty, pretty good control, suppresses home runs. Yeah, nice to have.

-Arrian

[Arrian]

Imran,

I'm hoping the Yanks work out an extension. The have some financial leverage because if they do an extension, they still get the ~$9 million/yr. (!!) Texas is paying him to work with.

He's a great all-around player. He's had his troubles in big spots for the Yanks, but as I (and many other Yankees fans) have said time and again, that doesn't distinguish him from many other Yankees in the past few years (Sheffield, Matsui, Cano, etc). And that is bound to turn around.

He's having another MVP year, and if the Yankees do rally to make the playoffs, he's the #1 reason.

-Arrian

[OzzyKP]

Grrrr, not only does ESPN talk about the Yankees and Red Sox all the time on shows like Sportscenter. But now they are showing a Twins-Tigers game and they are STILL talking about the fricken Yankees instead of the damn gamn they are supposed to be calling. Grrr.

[Arrian]

ESPN sucks. These people employ Steve Phillips, FFS! And when they do talk about the Yanks/Sox, they are most likely talking nonsense. But yeah, few things are more annoying than announcers who refuse to discuss the game that they are supposedly calling.

Good win last night for the Yanks (with the big hit coming from... ARod of course), coupled with a Sox loss. 7 back, 6 in the loss column.

Free Edwar! Free Britton! DL Damon!
Dispose of: Farnsworthless, Myers or Villone. Igawa once Phil is back.

-Arrian

[OzzyKP]

Tigers have the best record in baseball.

[OzzyKP]

DREW SHARP: Tigers should aim for A-Rod

July 15, 2007

Why couldn't Alex Rodriguez sport the Olde English D?

What's wrong with aiming high -- even if you inevitably miss?

It's agreed that the Tigers now reside within the kingdom of the "haves," possessing enough revenues to seriously compete among the big dogs for top-ticket free agents.

And there won't be a bigger free agent should A-Rod opt out of his contract following this season.

The issue isn't whether A-Rod is worth $30 million-plus annually. The issue is how seriously the Tigers wish to take advantage of what should be a consistently successful immediate stretch.

Go after him with a different tact. Put the onus on A-Rod. If indeed winning a championship and finding a more serene peace of mind are his preeminent objectives, then you would assume that A-Rod would accept a little less salary for a more productive environment.

The Tigers' odds of remaining a strong championship contender the next three to four years are better than the Yankees' because there's better young talent here than in the Bronx.

If A-Rod is really only about the money, then it only confirms the perception that he's nothing more than a shallow egotist.

The Tigers aren't afraid when it comes to investing huge signing bonuses in unproven young prospects. It's time to take the next step in this amazing organizational renaissance.

It's crazy for them not to seriously court A-Rod.

It doesn't have to be a bidding war. It's not about making an outrageous offer simply for attention's sake.

According to filings from the players' union, the Tigers' 2007 payroll was in the neighborhood of $95.2 million -- the ninth-highest payroll in the majors. There's no reason the Tigers shouldn't have a top-five payroll when you consider they're looking at a three million-plus attendance number this season.

The Tigers could possibly cut as much as $20 million off this year's $95.2-million number when you consider the disposability of Todd Jones ($4.8 million), Sean Casey ($4 million) and Craig Monroe ($4.78 million) along with the departures of Mike Maroth ($2.95 million) and Jose Mesa ($2.5 million).

Carlos Guillen's long-range future is at first base, perhaps as early as next season -- leaving a sizable void at shortstop.

Under that scenario, the Tigers could quite comfortably pay A-Rod $27 million to $30 million a year while still allowing the necessary salary flexibility to provide Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson the arbitration-avoiding multiyear deals after the 2008 season that they'll deserve.

Having A-Rod in the cleanup spot would create one of the more explosive offenses baseball has ever seen.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070715/COL08/707150618/1050/SPORTS02

[Arrian]

Any team with some financial resources should be pondering ARod. He's one of the best players in the game.

The bit about getting him to play for less in order to win a championship (he's got a good chance in NY, and a good chance in DET - neither team is the Rangers) and have "better peace of mind" is laughable, though.

If A-Rod is really only about the money, then it only confirms the perception that he's nothing more than a shallow egotist.

This amuses me. The man is a professional ballplayer. He gets paid to play baseball. THEY ALL DO. None of these guys plays for free. No matter what any of them say, none of them WOULD play for free. Occasionally you see a player sign for less than market value (the best example is Tim Wakefield's contract), and that's nice. ARod is one of the best players in the game, and will get paid like one - hence the $27-$30 million/yr. number in the article.

-Arrian

[OzzyKP]

Is he worth two of any of the following players?

Torii Hunter
Ichiro Suzuki
Albert Pujols
Johan Santana
Magglio Ordonez
Carlos Beltran
Vladimir Guerrero

[Arrian]

[This is off the top of my head, w/o checking stats]

It depends. This year? Next year? The next 5 years? What is the time frame?

Pretty clearly, to me, the weakest player on that list is Hunter. Then probably Ichiro, though he's having an excellent year this year and is (finally!) playing CF, which increases his value.

You could probably argue ARod is worth Hunter + Ichiro.

Ordonez is having a huge career year. If we're talking about future value, you might consider Ordonez + Hunter as < ARod. Maybe.

The rest, no.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

And in addition, some of those players are highly underpaid. Pujols, for one, deserves, AT LEAST, $20 mil a year. Hell, if Soriano can get what he got...

[snoopy369]

It's also a faulty argument. If I could sign two of those players with the $30 million, I certainly would. However they're not available...

Assume you have 9 starting batters, 5 starting pitchers, 1 closer, and 1 middle relief spots among your "key salaries". Those 16 players, out of 25, should take up the far majority of your payroll. The other 9 should cost an average of <$1m each for a total of <$9m for that part of the roster. That leaves $90m for your 16 players, or a bit over $5.5m each, to stay under $90m.

Assuming the Tigers want to keep under $100m, which honestly they don't need to, still they have $90m to play with for those top 16. Signing A-Rod means they have $60m for the other 15, or $4m a player - still reasonable, especially since they don't have any other high priced folks from what I recall. A few over $4m yes, but as the above article notes you could easily dump casey, jones, and monroe, and be quite happy on the salary front without losing much of importance. (Go Zumaya as closer! )