2014 Official Major League Baseball Thread

[EagerBeaver]

I think he was OF, 3B and 2B but no SS when he came to the Yankees. He was at that stage of his career a utility type guy, who once played all 9 positions in a game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Campaneris

"On September 8, 1965, as part of a special promotion featuring the popular young player, Campaneris became the first player to play every position in a major league game. On the mound, he pitched ambidextrously, throwing lefty to left-handers, and switched against right-handers. Since then, César Tovar (Twins, 1968), Scott Sheldon (Rangers, 2000) and Shane Halter (Tigers, 2000) have joined this select list of nine-position players in a major league game."

 

[hungry101]

No he was a SS and a good one. from wikapedia that you posted:

"1972 he led AL shortstops with 795 total chances"

I should say that that is how I remembered Burt.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Do any of you guys realize that Brett Gardner now has 13 homers and a .454 slugging average that is higher than Mark Teixeira's?

 

[Joe.t]

Did you also know that Brett Gardner has more home runs and a higher slugging average than anybody on the Red Sox except Ortiz, bet you guys didn't know that.

 

[smuler]

It was a great duck by Lagrow.

When George Bush ducked when the guy threw the shoe, this was the first vision that popped into my head :lol:

Best Regards

Smuler

 

[EagerBeaver]

I will let you guys decide: who did the better duck, George Bush ducking the shoe or Lerrin Lagrow ducking the bat?

Bush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxx5NqXqlY

Lagrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2pRNQuKS40

By the way, how did the Secret Service let that guy get two shoe throws off?

 

[smuler]

Bush had 2 shoes thrown at him, so I give him the nod

Best Regards

Smuler

 

[EagerBeaver]

Red Sox Send Doubront Packing; Lester Next?

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11287062/scratched-jon-lester-fenway-park-amid-trade-rumors

 

[Doc Holliday]

I keep hearing on ESPN talk of Lester and Miller to LA Dodgers for Kemp and Seager.

Last i heard it was maybe the A's. I also heard the Pirates yesterday, who supposedly have tons of young talent they could sent Boston's way.

The trade with the Dodgers makes sense, but i'm not sure the Sox would want to risk trading him to a team that will give him whatever he wants to stay. I think the Red Sox might prefer sending him to a team unlikely to re-sign Lester, and this would increase the odds of him coming back to Boston.

I can't see him going to Toronto. The Jays will not part with either Sanchez or Stroman. I figure the Red Sox would have better offer elsewhere. But if the top two suitors are the Dodgers and the Jays, then i think it's possible they'd prefer dealing with Toronto for the reasons i mentionned. I doubt the Jays would want to re-sign Lester for the kind of money he'll be asking.

p.s. However, the good side of trading him to the Dodgers is that he'd be more likely to re-sign with them than accept a massive offer from the Yankees.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ!!!

p.s. However, the good side of trading him to the Dodgers is that he'd be more likely to re-sign with them than accept a massive offer from the Yankees.

Before I even finished reading the first line of your post, and as I wrote before, I bet the Yankees would absolutely humble themselves in every way to get Lester, including Cashman getting naked and sucking his toes for 162 games to get him. I know Iggy, EB, Chercher, and especially Joe.t are praying to their George Steinbrenner idols for Cashman to do just that. With the downward spiral of Sabathia and the real risk that Tanaka has turned into a very long term problem pitcher the team is truly D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E!!! They don't have the balls to start from scratch by building from a farm system and they are far too addicted to free agent habits.

The trade with the Dodgers makes sense, but i'm not sure the Sox would want to risk trading him to a team that will give him whatever he wants to stay.[/I]

The Red Sox probably figure get all you can now. If they didn't do enough to sign Lester already I think they've decided their future plans don't include the risk of a very long contract for a player who would be 36 to 37 at the end of it. If the Dodgers do trade for Lester you can also figure they've decided they are willing to take that same risk. All signs say the Red Sox are in full retooling mode and feel the 2013 Championship has bought them time to do that. After all, we ARE NOT the self-entitled ego-driven Yankees and their selfish fans...ironically, since they have won 1 in 14 years and Boston has 3 in 9 years. As for trading for Lester, no team is going to trade so much for Lester and not feel sure they will spend enough to keep him. The problem with the Yanks is what is there to trade to the Sox in exchange if the Red Sox would consider it at all.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

I'm hearing now that Lester to the A's is almost a done deal. I can't believe it, bur what i'm hearing is Lester & Gomes to Oakland for......YOENIS CESPEDES!!!

If this deal happens, then Billy Beane has lost his fucking mind & should be fired! :crazy:

 

[EagerBeaver]

To me it sounds like a good deal for Oakland. Cespedes is a solid player, but Lester is an ace and Oakland needs an ace pitcher.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It's now a done deal, Lester for Cespedes:

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...land-athletics-yoenis-cespedes-boston-red-sox

Keep in mind the A's are leading the AL in runs scored and Cespedes is a free agent after next season and would have been history, so he is expendable. Lester is now in a better pitcher's park. It's clearly a good deal for the A's.

The A's also do not like Cespedes' lack of plate discipline. He is a very undisciplined hitter, and when you lack discipline, you cannot play for the inventor of Moneyball.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I'd see it if it was David Price, who has a year left, but not Lester who will be gone after this season. You just don't trade an all-star like Cespedes for a pitcher you'll be renting for only 2-3 months. Red Sox Nation is in extasy this morning! Instead of losing Lester for nothing, they wind up with an all-star power hitter who is custom made for the Green Monster & may even have Lester back next season. Heck, they may even chose to put Cespedes on the market & get even more value from the trade! By the way, i'm predicting 35+ homeruns for Cespedes next season if he remains with the Red Sox.

p.s. I wouldn't all be surprised if Lester returns to Boston. Both parties might have agreed not to have him re-sign now and wait until the season is over, in order to help the team for the future. Great move! :thumb:

 

[EagerBeaver]

Cespedes is not really an All Star calibre player, even though he has won 2 HR Derbies, and made the All Star team. He is tremendously undisciplined at the plate, and good pitchers get him out easily. On the positive side, he has prodigious power, punishes mistakes and will hit lots of HRs in Fenway. He is also pretty good defensively. He is nowhere near as good a player as Yasiel Puig. He is sort of a second tier all star, after the likes of Trout, Jones, Cruz, Hamilton. etc. He is a poor man's all star. I would rather have Brett Gardner/Jacoby Ellsbury type speed outfielders and Jones as a power OF.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Cespedes is not really an All Star calibre player, even though he has won 2 HR Derbies, and made the All Star team. He is tremendously undisciplined at the plate, and good pitchers get him out easily. On the positive side, he has prodigious power, punishes mistakes and will hit lots of HRs in Fenway. He is also pretty good defensively. He is nowhere near as good a player as Yasiel Puig. He is sort of a second tier all star, after the likes of Trout, Jones, Cruz, Hamilton. etc. He is a poor man's all star. I would rather have Brett Gardner/Jacoby Ellsbury type speed outfielders and Jones as a power OF.

He also has one of the strongest arms in baseball. But that's besides the fact. Boston is going nowhere this season & Lester was either staying or going. If he was staying today, the Red Sox either would have lost him during the off-season for nothing or would have re-signed him. So now, they wind up with an all-star outfielder custom-made to hit at Fenway and there's still a good chance Jon Lester may re-sign with them. Who knows, maybe that was the plan all along between both parties. Use Lester's trade value to bolster up the team. As i've mentionned previously, they may even trade Cespedes in order to get even more helpful players for next season. But they're likely to hold onto him and a similar scenario may happen at this time next season if the Sox are going nowhwere. Trade Cespedes to a contender.

It's a great trade for Boston, and a bit of a gamble on the A's part. If they don't make it to the World Series, they're out of a Cespedes for next season, and i'm 99% certain also out of Jon Lester.

 

[Joe.t]

He also has one of the strongest arms in baseball. But that's besides the fact. Boston is going nowhere this season & Lester was either staying or going. If he was staying today, the Red Sox either would have lost him during the off-season for nothing or would have re-signed him. So now, they wind up with an all-star outfielder custom-made to hit at Fenway and there's still a good chance Jon Lester may re-sign with them. Who knows, maybe that was the plan all along between both parties. Use Lester's trade value to bolster up the team. As i've mentionned previously, they may even trade Cespedes in order to get even more helpful players for next season. But they're likely to hold onto him and a similar scenario may happen at this time next season if the Sox are going nowhwere. Trade Cespedes to a contender.

It's a great trade for Boston, and a bit of a gamble on the A's part. If they don't make it to the World Series, they're out of a Cespedes for next season, and i'm 99% certain also out of Jon Lester.

Oakland is an up and coming team with year round fantastic weather, while Boston is a down in the dumps team with only seasonal good weather, where do you think Lester will sign?, also Boston is a team that will rely on the farm system to develop which is a hit or miss tactic, it also means a few more years of finishing in dead last place.:nod:

 

[Doc Holliday]

Oakland is an up and coming team with year round fantastic weather, while Boston is a down in the dumps team with only seasonal good weather, where do you think Lester will sign?, also Boston is a team that will rely on the farm system to develop which is a hit or miss tactic, it also means a few more years of finishing in dead last place.:nod:

The Oakland A's don't have the kind of money required to re-sign Jon Lester and even if they would they wouldn't. If he stays on the west coast, it would likely be with the Dodgers or Angels, and who knows, maybe even Seattle. He's from the state of Washington, so he'd be very close to home. I don't know how he feels about the east coast, but if his heart is in Boston, he may very well return. And if he's in it strictly for the money, he may even agree to join the Yankees, who will likely be without their top pitcher (Tanaka) next season. Sabathia will be back, but he's getting up there in age. Nova will be back, but i've found him to be a disappointment. Sure, Pineda will also be back, but he's been mostly injured over the past 3 years and it now looks like he's career injury-prone & totally unreliable.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Just heard this on Baseball Central:

Jeff Blair: "In other words, Jon Lester just went to a bigger sewer than Fenway."

One of the other guys on the panel replied: "Literally."

Priceless. :thumb:

 

[Doc Holliday]

Yangervis Solarte

Solarte had a huge game for the Padres last night in going 4-for-5 with 2 RBI. He's hitting .364 with the Padres and his slugging percentage is .606. San Diego has won its last 2 games and is 6-4 in its last 10. They've played very well with Solarte in the lineup and i have a feeling that the Yankees will regret trading this young man for a third baseman with a bad back on an expiring contract who has had a miserable past two seasons.