2012 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[Falcon]

Will the rangers even have a spot for him in the rotation? They have, Lewis, Darvish, Harrison, Feliz, Ogando and Holland, now Oswalt? Even if you put Ogando back into the pen that still leaves an odd man out.

It would provide them crazy flexibility that's for sure.

The old "You can never can have too much pitching" adage would indeed apply..

[tim_m]

And if Darvish and Feliz pan out the way they hope that is gonna be a scary good rotation they've got.

[tim_m]

It appears our guessing was wrong Falcon, it seems Oswalt is heading to the Cards.

[Falcon]

Cards GM John Mozieliak is denying there is a deal in place so who knows, it'd be a great pick up and would add depth and flexibility.

He's made no bones about wanting to pitch there for 2 years so it seems like a fit, I guess we'll know one way or the other soon.

[tim_m]

Yeah, espn says nothing is 100 percent official yet but a source says it will be done soon.

[Falcon]

Still nothing official yet, not holding my breath.

If it happens great, if not - well...I wasn't really counting on it.

[Falcon]

Looks like the Rangers are back in the Oswalt game, he's meeting with them tomorrow per multiple sources..

[Falcon]

What's going on with Cashman pilf/Tim?

[tim_m]

It appears he had an affair with a woman and she was apparently harassing and stalking him and trying to extort money from him after it ended. His wife filed for divorce today but they had already been separated a year according to a source. So this isn't a big surprise.

[pilferk]

What's going on with Cashman pilf/Tim?

Looks like a case of "crazy stalker chick".  Apparently she's a diagnosed psychotic (which makes you wonder about Cashmans evaluation of talent).

He's been separated from his wife for a year or so...I'm not sure if the "affair" predates that separation, but....it's not the first time he strayed (we had an affair with some woman from Westchester a few years ago).

His wife filed for divorce after it was apparent the accusations were going to come out...but I'm not sure that's anything more than making official what was already going on.

[Falcon]

Sounding like the Yanks are close on Ibanez.

A good, cost effective move.

[sandman]

Sounding like the Yanks are close on Ibanez.

A good, cost effective move.

i think there's better options for the yankees. ibanez is terrible. he's got power and could do well with the short RF, but i don't know. i think he's done. he's very streaky so i guess in a part time role you can ride him if he gets hot.

wouldn't damon or Vlad be better options?  if they need a lefty they could even bring Matsui back. and matsui and damon would be better defensively as well. if cost is an issue, even rick ankiel would have been a decent option.

[pilferk]

i think there's better options for the yankees. ibanez is terrible. he's got power and could do well with the short RF, but i don't know. i think he's done. he's very streaky so i guess in a part time role you can ride him if he gets hot.

wouldn't damon or Vlad be better options?  if they need a lefty they could even bring Matsui back. and matsui and damon would be better defensively as well. if cost is an issue, even rick ankiel would have been a decent option.

They're looking for a cheap guy they can platoon at DH with Andruw Jones, who could (if pressed) play one of the corner outfield positions (specifically giving Swish a day at DH, now and then).

Ibanez isn't an AWFUL choice, given they only want to spend 1 to 2 million on a deal.

Damon and Vlad are asking for almost twice that (or they were....not sure if they've lowered their prices, yet). Vlad can't play defense.  Damon probably could...but not as well as Ibanez could.

Matsui would be a decent choice for offense...but you can't put him in the field.  In addition, I don't know that he's at the point where he wants to accept a part time DH gig...I think he would expect to be in the lineup ever day.

[Falcon]

Yep pilf, I think you're onto their thought process.

AL clubs are looking for roster flexibility and cost effective solutions for DH now, the days of paying big money to the likes of David Ortiz, Vlad etc are going by the wayside.

[sandman]

i think there's better options for the yankees. ibanez is terrible. he's got power and could do well with the short RF, but i don't know. i think he's done. he's very streaky so i guess in a part time role you can ride him if he gets hot.

wouldn't damon or Vlad be better options?  if they need a lefty they could even bring Matsui back. and matsui and damon would be better defensively as well. if cost is an issue, even rick ankiel would have been a decent option.

They're looking for a cheap guy they can platoon at DH with Andruw Jones, who could (if pressed) play one of the corner outfield positions (specifically giving Swish a day at DH, now and then).

Ibanez isn't an AWFUL choice, given they only want to spend 1 to 2 million on a deal.

Damon and Vlad are asking for almost twice that (or they were....not sure if they've lowered their prices, yet). Vlad can't play defense.  Damon probably could...but not as well as Ibanez could.

Matsui would be a decent choice for offense...but you can't put him in the field.  In addition, I don't know that he's at the point where he wants to accept a part time DH gig...I think he would expect to be in the lineup ever day.

i didn't realize those guys were THAT bad defensively. sounds like its a toss-up then. cause trust me, ibanez is bad. he's never been very good defensively, but he got progressively worse during his tenure with the phillies. he was a major liability last season. i like versatile players on the bench, which is why i don't like the phillies moves this offseason.

[pilferk]

i didn't realize those guys were THAT bad defensively. sounds like its a toss-up then. cause trust me, ibanez is bad. he's never been very good defensively, but he got progressively worse during his tenure with the phillies. he was a major liability last season. i like versatile players on the bench, which is why i don't like the phillies moves this offseason.

Vlad can't play the outfield, obviously. And he's (relatively) expensive. He's the worst, defensively.

Matsui can't run.  Sounds like he's in the right area in terms of budget. He's the next, defensively.

Damon can't throw.  And he's (relatively) expensive. He's the best of the 3, defensively...but still a huge liability.

Also, I think all 3 of them envision themselves as everyday players/DH's.  I'm not sure a single one of them would be willing to play the role the Yanks are looking for (a member of a platoon that will fill the DH spot...when it's not being used to get one of the "regulars" a "1/2 day off"...who can occasionally put on a glove in the outfield).

Ibanez is better (as much of a liability as he is) than all of them, defensively, I think.  But you're only talking about playing the guy in the field (you hope) maybe once or twice a month (given Andruw Jones would could also see time there, depending on who is pitching).  And it sounds like he's the least expensive of the 4.  It also sounds like he's willing to take on a smaller role with the team.

Within their budget, given what they want...he fits.  I'm not saying he's a difference maker...but he's an adequate role player.

Edit: Now, given yesterday's signing of Bill Hall to a minor league deal...maybe defense becomes less important.  They could use him as the alternate utility outfield guy.  He was only about 600k...not too bad.  If that's they're thinking, and they just want a lefty bat...suddenly Matsui and Damon (assuming the price is right) become a lot more attractive

[GeorgeSteele]

For those of you who remember Oil Can Boyd from the 80s, maybe the most surprising thing about this is that it was only two-thirds of the time:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/02/09/oil-can-boyd-admits-using-cocaine-while-pitching-with-red-sox/ndAb0cYV5J8nTc3JYrA0sJ/story.html

Boyd, who spent eight of his 10 major league seasons with the Red Sox, admitted he was under the influence of cocaine two-thirds of the time he was on the mound.

BTW, his was the last cool nickname in sports. 

[Falcon]

For those of you who remember Oil Can Boyd from the 80s, maybe the most surprising thing about this is that it was only two-thirds of the time

Hilarious!

Imagine how much blow was being done during the '86 World Series?

Boyd, Strawberry, Hernandez, Gooden....good times..

[GeorgeSteele]

For those of you who remember Oil Can Boyd from the 80s, maybe the most surprising thing about this is that it was only two-thirds of the time

Hilarious!

Imagine how much blow was being done during the '86 World Series?

Boyd, Strawberry, Hernandez, Gooden....good times..

Oh, don't get me started, the '86 Mets were not a baseball team, they were a rock band.  From what I understand, almost the entire team (and coaching staff) liked to party. 

[Goddamn_Electric]

Big White Sox fan here, and I dont have a whole lot of optimism for the season.  First off, we fired the most successful manager the franchise has had in 100 years instead of a GM who has made bad move after bad move over the past few seasons.   Secondly, we replace said manager with a White Sox legend - who has no coaching experience at any level in Robin Ventura.  Third, we let Mark Buerhle hightail it to Miami to play for Ozzie.  Now if your ace pitcher bolts town to play for the Manager who just left...that says something.  On top of that, we trade Carlos Quintin - and still have Adam Dunn on the roster. 

This might actually be a year the north side finishes with a better record.