MLB - 2008 All Star Break and Beyond!

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by snoopy369
DD, you overlook a critical point.

Brian Cashman both filled a hole he has with a solid player; and offloaded Kyle Farnsworth. He wins both ways...

And so do the Tigers.

My only point is Pudge isn't going to win or lose the race for the Tigers and he's gone at the end of the year. The Tiger's need help in the bullpen and a guy with a 3.62 ERA 42/17 K/BB and throws in the high 90's can make a difference this year and maybe in the future if they decide to keep him. Especially when you consider the old closer (Jones) has a 5.05 ERA 14/15 K/BB and the current closer (Rodney) has a 5.62 ERA 18/13 K/BB.

Don't be surprised if he doesn't end up the closer.

So we got rid of a $13mm/yr guy who bats .295 32 RBI and 5 HR and already have a ready replacement for him. So to paraphrase you Dombrowski filled a hole he has (bullpen) with a solid player; and offloaded Pudge. He wins both ways...

Like I said I think it helps both teams.

[snoopy369]

DD, I think you are underestimating the abilities of the Farns ... abilities to tank a team, anyhow

Farnsworth has the amazing talent to have an incredibly low ERA, incredibly high Ks, and STILL lose every important game he pitches in...

[snoopy369]

In other news ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3512365

Ken Griffey Jr. approved a trade from the Cincinnati Reds to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, paving the way for the future Hall of Famer to pursue a spot in the World Series for the first time in his career.

The deal is subject to the approval of commissioner Bud Selig's office, said a baseball source, who added that MLB approval is expected to be a "rubber stamp.''

The Reds will receive pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar in return.

Sources said the Reds and White Sox will essentially "split" what remains on Griffey's contract this season, along with the cost of his $4 million buyout for 2009. The Reds had a $16.5 million club option for 2009 on Griffey, but Chicago did not have to exercise the option as part of the deal.

Richar, 25, came to the White Sox from Arizona in a trade for outfielder Aaron Cunningham in June 2007. He's hitting .262 in 62 games with Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Masset, formerly of the Texas organization, came to Chicago as part of the John Danks-Brandon McCarthy trade in December 2006. He's 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in 32 relief appearances for the White Sox this year.

The Reds approached Griffey on Wednesday night in Houston and asked if he would waive his contractual rights to accept a deal to the White Sox, according to a baseball source. Griffey had the right to veto any trade because he has 10 years of major league service time and five years with the Reds.

The trade was first reported by FoxSports.com.

Griffey, 38, is hitting .245 with 15 home runs for Cincinnati this season. On June 9, he joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the sixth player in history to hit 600 homers.

While the Reds (51-58) languish in their division, the White Sox (60-46) lead the AL Central by 1½ games over the Minnesota Twins and 5½ over the Detroit Tigers.

Griffey hit his 15th home run of the season in Wednesday night's 9-5 win over Houston. It was the 608th of his career, moving him within one of Sosa for fifth on the all-time list. Griffey extended his hitting streak to 12 games and has 1,139 extra-base hits, one behind Ty Cobb for 10th all time.

This isn't the first time White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has made a run at Griffey. In 2005, the White Sox tried to trade three prospects to Cincinnati for Griffey. But Carl Lindner, then the CEO of the Reds, reportedly stepped in and vetoed the trade because Chicago wanted Cincinnati to pay 60 percent of the $40 million-plus that was owed to Griffey at the time.

Some media outlets have categorized Griffey as untradable because of the widespread perception he would insist on having his $16.5 million option exercised in conjunction with a deal. But sources said Griffey was willing to consider returning to Cincinnati for a lower annual price if the Reds might consider tacking an extra year onto his deal.

It's believed Griffey is just as concerned with where he fits in Chicago as the financial ramifications. The White Sox have Jermaine Dye in right field, Nick Swisher in center and Carlos Quentin in left, with Paul Konerko at first base and Jim Thome at DH.

When Konerko was on the disabled list recently with an oblique injury, the White Sox moved Swisher to first base and played Brian Anderson and Dewayne Wise in center field. Konerko, Chicago's team captain, returned on July 8. He's hitting .214, and there have been calls for manager Ozzie Guillen to bench him. The White Sox went 13-7 when Konerko was on the disabled list.

But as Guillen told Chicago reporters this week, Swisher is hitting just slightly better than Konerko at .230.

''People say, 'Put Konerko on the bench, do this with Konerko, do that with Konerko,'" Guillen said in the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday. "Who's going to play first? Swisher? Oh. Do me a favor, check the book first and check Swisher and Konerko's averages, and it's not that much different.''

I definitely consider this a boost for the White Sox ... it gives a lot of questions of what to do with our various underperforming hitters, but I think adding Griffey will help us significantly in the postseason.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I think adding Griffey will help us significantly in the postseason.

Nah - he'll be injured by then.

[Stuie]

And in other news....

Report: Red Sox trade Ramirez

29 minutes ago

NEW YORK (TICKER) —The Boston Red Sox apparently have grown tired of Manny being Manny.

The Boston Red Sox dealt disgruntled slugger Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers minutes prior to Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline, according to a report posted by si.com.

The trade initially was reported by NESN, the Red Sox television station, which stated that Boston received Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jason Bay in what evidently is a three-team deal.

The reported deal came one day after Ramirez criticized the Red Sox in an interview with ESPNDeportes, claiming that he has been mistreated by the defending World Series champs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AqrKHxPsNgDe.NvUANEPy1Q5nYcB?slug=txmannyramireztrade&prov=st&type=lgns

I'm just glad he didn't end up in the NL East (and that includes the Phillies )

[snoopy369]

The full details are:

Bay -> BOS
Ramirez + $7M (salary for Ramirez) -> LAD
Four random guys -> PIT

[q="espn"]Outfielder Manny Ramirez's stormy relationship with the Boston Red Sox appears to be over.

A baseball source has confirmed Ramirez has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, ESPN.com has learned. The Red Sox will pay remaining $7 million of Ramirez's contract, ESPN.com's Peter Gammons reported.

Jason Bay is going to Boston as part of the deal, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported. And the Pittsburgh Pirates get four minor leaguers as part of the three-way deal.

Third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris will go to the Pirates from the Dodgers. Outfielder Brandon Moss and right-handed pitcher Craig Hansen will leave the Red Sox organization for Pittsburgh, ESPN.com has learned.[/q]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3513383

[-Jrabbit]

Wow. I never thought Boston would pull the trigger.

[snoopy369]

I'm not entirely convinced this is a good deal for them, except that Bay is a more long-term deal... Manny might be a bit of a pain sometimes, but he's a hitter pitchers fear. Bay is having a down year, and just isn't quite as scary...

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I'm not entirely convinced this is a good deal for them, except that Bay is a more long-term deal... Manny might be a bit of a pain sometimes, but he's a hitter pitchers fear. Bay is having a down year, and just isn't quite as scary...

But Manny's attitude is cancerous to a team

Im glad they dumped him, and hope it wont bite them

Hope it pays off

[snoopy369]

I hope it pays off with Bay striking out to Bobby Jenks in game 4 of the ALCS, completing the sweep ...

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I hope it pays off with Bay striking out to Bobby Jenks in game 4 of the ALCS, completing the sweep ...

yup. payoff comes in many forms

[Imran Siddiqui]

Wow... Pittsburgh ended up with a MUCH better deal than they would have gotten with the Florida proposed deal!

And Bay is < Ramirez. Attitude or not, that bat helped them win 2 World Series. I don't think Bay will have the same impact.

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by snoopy369
DD, I think you are underestimating the abilities of the Farns ... abilities to tank a team, anyhow

Farnsworth has the amazing talent to have an incredibly low ERA, incredibly high Ks, and STILL lose every important game he pitches in...

Even if you are correct- what is the downside to the Tigers? Inge will score more runs and get more RBI's per game and have an OBPabout 30-50 points lower.

When Farns was on Detroit he was awesome- so maybe all he needs is some new/familiar scenery.

Either if Farns bombs- the Tigers really lose nothing. So as far as the Tigers are concerned there really is no downside.

I think everyone looks at this trade from a Yankees POV (which is positive) and very fewlook at it from a Detroit POV which is positive also.

BTW it would have been nice to have someone in the bullpen for today's game. (And yesterdays, and 2 days before and the series against Baltimore etc etc etc)

[-Jrabbit]

I agree that the trade has the potential to help both sides.

Now get your butt over to Koy's League and make a pick.

[snoopy369]

Yeah, go make your pick.

You're still managing to completely miss my (mostly joking) point, which is that Farnsworth is cursed...