The Official MERB Baseball Offseason Thread (trades, signings, NO fucktard comments!)

[rumpleforeskiin]

Two players: name them

Who are these guys, 2009 numbers?

24 hr., .250 ba., .342 obp, .795 ops, (park rating 95) UZR 10.3 (defense ultimate zone rating), Value $19.4 M

30 hr., .249 ba., .327 obp, .780 ops (park rating 103) UZR 1.6 - Value - $15.2 M

They're essentially the same hitter, though number 2 played in a hitter friendly park, while number 1 played in a pitcher friendly park. (Park rating - 100 is neutral, higher favors hitters.)

Where the difference lies in the defense. Player one has a huge advantage over player two and, thus, by the computations over at fangraphs.com, he's worth $4.2 M more than player 2, based on last year's number.

I'll be back later with the answer.

 

[Jman47]

Who are these guys, 2009 numbers?

24 hr., .250 ba., .342 obp, .795 ops, (park rating 95) UZR 10.3 (defense ultimate zone rating), Value $19.4 M

30 hr., .249 ba., .327 obp, .780 ops (park rating 103) UZR 1.6 - Value - $15.2 M

They're essentially the same hitter, though number 2 played in a hitter friendly park, while number 1 played in a pitcher friendly park. (Park rating - 100 is neutral, higher favors hitters.)

Where the difference lies in the defense. Player one has a huge advantage over player two and, thus, by the computations over at fangraphs.com, he's worth $4.2 M more than player 2, based on last year's number.

I'll be back later with the answer.

Well since the experts have not stepped up yet, I'll take a swing at it...
1 = Mike Cameron
2 = Curtis Granderson

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Well since the experts have not stepped up yet, I'll take a swing at it...
1 = Mike Cameron
2 = Curtis Granderson

Bingo. You are no fucking moron®, jman.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Halladay & Phillies reach a deal

Roy Halladay and the Phillies have come to an agreement on a contract that would put in motion a three-team trade that would send the Toronto Blue Jays ace to Philadelphia, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Halladay was taking his physical Tuesday morning, sources said.

The status of the other portions of a companion deal that would include the Seattle Mariners, however, is still uncertain at this point.

As of early Tuesday morning, the Phillies were to send their Cy YoPhillippe Aumont and outfielder prospect Tyson Gillies, sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Starkung Award winner, Cliff Lee, to Seattle, in exchange for pitching prospect .

In addition, ProspectInsider.com reported that the Phillies would get a third Mariners prospect, right-hander Juan Ramirez.

The Phillies were to send outfielder Michael Taylor, catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and pitcher Kyle Drabek to Toronto, sources told ESPN.com.

If all of the names being bandied about wind up in this deal, the Phillies would get back what Baseball America rates as the Mariners' top two pitching prospects, plus Gillies, an outfield prospect they view as being similar to Taylor. So although the Phillies would be giving up two of their most highly regarded prospects in Drabek and Taylor, they would look at this deal as not significantly depleting their system for the long haul.

In effect, the Phillies would be trading one Cy Young (Lee) for another (Halladay). And while that may seem difficult to understand from afar, the Phillies clearly view it as a swap that enables them to keep one of those Cy Youngs well into the future -- a less likely scenario if they held on to Lee.

Although the Phillies have done next to no actual negotiating with Lee, they heard enough rumblings that Lee wanted a CC Sabathia-type contract that they believed it would take a five-year or six-year deal to keep the 31-year-old left-hander. And the Phillies have an organizational philosophy that precludes deals longer than three years for starting pitchers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4744730

 

[Doc Holliday]

Other names might be involved in Halladay trade

TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays are poised to make a bold and painful move toward rebuilding the franchise by dealing franchise icon Roy Halladay for a slew of young players that will help kick-start the process.

Multiple reports say a tentative and complicated three-way deal has been reached that would send the right-handed ace to Philadelphia, with the Phillies flipping left-hander Cliff Lee, another Cy Young Award winner, to the Seattle Mariners.

Both teams would then send prospects to the Blue Jays and several sources indicated to The Canadian Press that right-hander Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau, Que., would be among the return from Seattle. There was lots of speculation that outfielder Mike Saunders of Victoria would join him. The Phillies are believed to be including lefty J.A. Happ, righty Joe Blanton and outfielder Dominic Brown in the trade, although the names all around varied from source to source and report to report.

If the names are right, Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos will have garnered a strong return of young players who can join the new emerging core and he will have done it by dealing Halladay to the National League instead of to one of the American League East beasts. Both the World Series champion New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who reached preliminary agreement on a five-year contract with free agent right-hander John Lackey on Monday, had shown some interest in acquiring Halladay.

Aumont, a 20-year-old taken 11th overall in the 2007 draft, is an imposing six-foot-seven, 220-pound right-hander who throws in the high 90s with a breaking ball that can be dominant. He recorded 16 saves in 44 relief appearances between single-A and double-A, and some in the Mariners organization feel he could be ready to pitch in the majors next year.

Saunders, an athletic 23-year-old, batted .221 in 46 games for Seattle last season but has great power and speed at the plate with a solid glove in the field.

Happ, a 27-year-old lefty, went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 35 games, 23 starts, for the Phillies in a stellar rookie year.

Brown, 21, batted a combined .299 with 14 homers and 64 RBIs in 106 games at three minor-league levels.

Blanton, 29, was 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 31 starts for the Phillies and it wasn't clear if the Blue Jays would keep him, or flip him elsewhere. He made $5,475,000 last year and is arbitration eligible.

It's also possible he'd be sent to Seattle for additional prospects.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/Toronto/2009/12/14/12154241-ap.html

 

[Joe.t]

I feel like I might be getting some threatening PM's real soon

Does anybody now what ever happened to that 6 foot 200 pound guy that works for purolator ?, I might have a job for him(I need him to protect me from Merlot).

 

[lgna69xxx]

oh, so your not the only one getting childish pm's from grape boy? Merlot, are you not 45? or are you just 45 going on 13? ....... enuff of the stupid pm's already.... geez

Does anybody now what ever happened to that 6 foot 200 pound guy that works for purolator ?, I might have a job for him(I need him to protect me from Merlot).

 

[lgna69xxx]

ahhhh another episode of the squashed grape in the glass house

Oh really? hmmmmmm, lets see Boy, the Yankees have won i believe 4, yes count em, F-O-U-R World Series Titles under Mr. Brian Cashman, compared to "former" boy wonder Theo Eppystein..... you sox fans care more about the Yankees than actual Yankees fans, do you notice we Yanks fans rarely mention the sox in the same breath as us? LOL

Hello all,

A question for Yankee fans. You've all said Cashman is a genius.
Face it boys, he failed...badly.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Oh really? hmmmmmm, lets see Boy, the Yankees have won i believe 4, yes count em, F-O-U-R World Series Titles under Mr. Brian Cashman, compared to "former" boy wonder Theo Eppystein..... you sox fans care more about the Yankees than actual Yankees fans, do you notice we Yanks fans rarely mention the sox in the same breath as us? LOL

Technically, you're correct. However, as he became GM in 1998, the teams that won way back in the last century were inherited by him. Under his management, the Yankees have developed two quality players: Cano and Wang. That's not a very good record for 12 years and $2 billion. He should have had his ass canned ages ago.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Roy Halladay deal completed

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4748216

Here are the pieces in the trades involving Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Oakland:

PHILLIES GET …
RHP Roy Halladay (from Toronto)
*RHP Phillippe Aumont (from Seattle)
*OF Tyson Gillies (from Seattle)
*RHP Juan Ramirez (from Seattle)
$6 million cash (from Toronto)

MARINERS GET …
LHP Cliff Lee (from Philadelphia)

BLUE JAYS GET …
*C Travis d'Arnaud (from Philadelphia)
*RHP Kyle Drabek (from Philadelphia)
*1B/3B Brett Wallace (from Oakland)

A'S GET …
*OF Michael Taylor (from Philadelphia via Toronto)

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4748216

Here are the pieces in the trades involving Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Oakland:

PHILLIES GET …
RHP Roy Halladay (from Toronto)
*RHP Phillippe Aumont (from Seattle)
*OF Tyson Gillies (from Seattle)
*RHP Juan Ramirez (from Seattle)
$6 million cash (from Toronto)

MARINERS GET …
LHP Cliff Lee (from Philadelphia)

BLUE JAYS GET …
*C Travis d'Arnaud (from Philadelphia)
*RHP Kyle Drabek (from Philadelphia)
*1B/3B Brett Wallace (from Oakland)

A'S GET …
*OF Michael Taylor (from Philadelphia via Toronto)

From what I'm reading, Doc, the prospects that the Jays got from the Phillies are better than those that the Phillies got from Toronto.

That said, I'd have thought the Jays would want Phillippe Aumont, just to have some local flavor in the system.

 

[JLB]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4748216

Here are the pieces in the trades involving Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Oakland:

PHILLIES GET …
RHP Roy Halladay (from Toronto)
*RHP Phillippe Aumont (from Seattle)
*OF Tyson Gillies (from Seattle)
*RHP Juan Ramirez (from Seattle)
$6 million cash (from Toronto)

MARINERS GET …
LHP Cliff Lee (from Philadelphia)

BLUE JAYS GET …
*C Travis d'Arnaud (from Philadelphia)
*RHP Kyle Drabek (from Philadelphia)
*1B/3B Brett Wallace (from Oakland)

Aumont az bin traded pour d'Arnaud !! Mon Dieu

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Boy, I'll tell you...Matsui and Damon to Granderson and Nick Johnson is one helluva downgrade. Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Pettitte all moving into their late 30s. No proven 4th and 5th starters.

Guess Cashman is serious about saving dough. Too bad he's not serious about competing.

 

[lgna69xxx]

then you dont really know baseball as well as you think...,, Granderson and Johnson a downgrade? not at all, Damon could still sign as well, but matsui and his knees are getting worse and should spend more time on the DL as his career goes into the last few years of his career... johnson i believe has been on the dl some in his career but he's a younger man and a good hitter, and granderson well, much much better than what we had, and rumor has it Ben Sheets is in the picture as a fourth starter


dont worry your lil head there rumples, the EMPIRE will be competing with everyone in the east, you can be sure of that, and until october, the Yanks are World Champs!

Boy, I'll tell you...Matsui and Damon to Granderson and Nick Johnson is one helluva downgrade. Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Pettitte all moving into their late 30s. No proven 4th and 5th starters.

Guess Cashman is serious about saving dough. Too bad he's not serious about competing.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Granderson and Johnson a downgrade? not at all, Damon could still sign as well, but matsui and his knees are getting worse and should spend more time on the DL as his career goes into the last few years of his career... johnson i believe has been on the dl some in his career but he's a younger man and a good hitter, and granderson well, much much better than what we had, and rumor has it Ben Sheets is in the picture as a fourth

This is a fair summary. I heard an extended analysis on WFAN by Mike Francesa and he says the Yankees believe they have enough pitching if they add someone like Sheets and they are saving themselves for 2010 when the free agent class of pitchers includes 6-8 high quality pitchers.

Granderson was compared to Cameron but the biggest difference between the 2 is that Curtis is 29 and Mike is 36 and Mike probably does not have a whole lot of good years left. Curtis did not hit lefties last year but the reports on him are that he hit lefties when he came up, then started pulling the ball and was pitched to differently because of that disposition. Kevin Long will fix these issues and get Granderson to go the other way with lefties that cannot be pulled. Not only that, but Granderson is a really fine young man who represents everything that is good in baseball. I suspect that even Rumples would adopt him, if he needed a son and it could accomplished at a reasonable cost.

I am not as crazy about Johnson, because of his injury history and he is not a #2 hitter like Damon. The talks with Johnson could possibly be a ruse to test whether Boras and Damon will cave in to a 2 year deal for about $18 million, which still might be the best offer Demon will get. If not, Johnson is only 31 and has been productive when healthy and a very good OBP guy, but he is not a top of the lineup hitter and they would still need a left fielder.

The Yankees could then be freed up to sign DeRosa or someone like that who could be used at multiple positions. That would leave the Mets, whose fans are now in open revolt for not getting Lackey or Halliday, and the Cards to fight between Bay and Holliday.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

This is a fair summary. I heard an extended analysis on WFAN by Mike Francesa and he says the Yankees believe they have enough pitching if they add someone like Sheets and they are saving themselves for 2010 when the free agent class of pitchers includes 6-8 high quality pitchers.

A fair summary? You've said some stupid shit in the past, Beav, but this takes the cake. "Johnson has been on the DL some..." He sure has. In fact, he's been on the DL more than he's been off. His wrists are so shot that even in a full season last year with no DL time, he managed to hit only 8 dingers. Not only is he injury prone, but he heals slowly. He's shown that it takes him 2-3 times as long to heal as it does most players. "Granderson better than what we had." Granderson had an OPS of 780. That's better than Damon's 854? That's better than Matsui's 876? In what universe?

Granderson was compared to Cameron but the biggest difference between the 2 is that Curtis is 29 and Mike is 36 and Mike probably does not have a whole lot of good years left.

You know, Beav, you've said some stupid shit over the years, but this wins the prize. The two do have a fair amount in common. They're both fast, they both have considerable power, they both strike out way too much. And they have two things that really set them apart. Granderson is, as you say, 7 years younger. The other difference is that Cameron has a closet full of Gold Gloves and Granderson has none. And yes, Mike probably does not have a whole lot of good years left. DUH. That's why Theo signed him for two.

Curtis did not hit lefties last year but the reports on him are that he hit lefties when he came up, then started pulling the ball and was pitched to differently because of that disposition.

You know, Beav, you've said some stupid shit, as recently as the last paragraph, but this tops all. Reports on him??? Reports on him??? Why don't you look at the fucking numbers??? In Granderson's first full season, 2006, hit hit lefties to the tune of .216. Maybe that's your idea of "hitting lefties" and maybe it's Granderson's too, as he's followed it up with .160, .259, and .183. Granderson doesn't need a hitting coach; he needs a magician.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Reports on him???

That's right, and from none other than the New York Times and featured analyst CC Sabathia. The Times carries considerably more respect in journalistic circles than an unpaid analyst named Rumpleforeskin who said the Yankees talent was only good enough for 4th place in the AL East last season.

Read it and weep, sucker!

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/sabathias-scouting-report-on-granderson/

The home and away splits suggest that this guy is gonna hit in Yankee Stadium. All pitching.

 

[EagerBeaver]

In fact, he's been on the DL more than he's been off. His wrists are so shot that even in a full season last year with no DL time, he managed to hit only 8 dingers. Not only is he injury prone, but he heals slowly.

You don't get injured playing DH, knucklehead!

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/yankees_johnson_agree_to_deal_krNyE5NGv1klqolEe7j3iM

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

That's right, and from none other than the New York Times and featured analyst CC Sabathia. The Times carries considerably more respect in journalistic circles than an unpaid analyst named Rumpleforeskin who said the Yankees talent was only good enough for 4th place in the AL East last season.

Read it and weep, sucker!

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/sabathias-scouting-report-on-granderson/

The home and away splits suggest that this guy is gonna hit in Yankee Stadium. All pitching.

Well, then, I guess I'm wrong. I guess .216 is a respectable batting average. I guess CC Sabathia is a trained performance analyst.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You don't get injured playing DH, knucklehead!

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/yankees_johnson_agree_to_deal_krNyE5NGv1klqolEe7j3iM

True enough, Beav. I guess you don't get hurt DHing. If you don't swing the bat and don't run the bases, you are less than likely to get hurt.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davisto02.shtml
You probably never heard of this guy. He was on his way to the Hall of Fame until he broke his leg sliding into second base in May of 1965.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wangch01.shtml
Your grandchildren (lol) will never hear of this guy because his career was ruined by a base running accident.

In fact, there are probably more guys hurt running the bases than any other way. Turned ankles, pulled hammies, etc.

Oh and guys get hurt swinging bats as well. You know, Beav, you've said some stupid shit over the years, but this one wins you two hours at the Chablis with a duo of Joe and the Igna-ranter.