LorfTVP

Brewers are now the favorites for Hoffman. It's a step up from Gagne.

They just came out saying that Manny was too pricey...all words. It's them vs. the Dodgers now and either way, one team is going to get better. I actually think I may have more confidence in the Giants' rotation over the Dodgers' now...and that's big. If Barry Zito wants to see a real left handed pitcher, all he has to do is look up at his new teammate.

You forgot about Kevin Cash.

Gabe Kapler, what a gentleman. At this point he's gotta platoon. He's had plenty of chances but never really cut it as a starter, despite being one of the fittest players in all of major league baseball. Maybe his chin gets in the way of him seeing the baseball, I don't know, but what I do know is that any team that gets him is going to be better for it.

I wouldn't say that I'd love to have Mark Teixeira but I definitely see the need. If you're going to pay anyone top dollar, it'd be Mark Teixeira. As blunatic said, he's a superstar in the prime of his career and is gold glove winner at first, a solid hitter who has an extraordinarily high ceiling, an OBP machine, and a power threat. What more could you ask for? He'd be nice to have on the team. Then again, I'd fucking hate to be disloyal to Mike Lowell. Bronson Arroyo got betrayed, but he was a bit of a dick. But Mike Lowell is a gentleman and deserves our respect. No way he fits in a Youk-Lowell-Papi-Teixeira rotation either. Those are all starting players. Oh well, we'll see what happens. The problem for the Sox so far seems to be the years rather than the money. John Henry says that they won't go to 10 years. This entire thing is frustrating, between Boras' calculated moves and the Red Sox front office's precision in everything they do. Teixeira said that he wanted to sign before Christmas. We shall see.

I like the idea of having two side armed pitchers in the bullpen...along with Javier Lopez. Along with Ramon Ramirez, this gives us a lot of leverage with Justin Masterson. Either way, I have really high hopes for the Sox bullpen next year and I hope your man can help.

I know you like our bullpen too though. A good bullpen is crucial. Papelbon Okajima Delcarmen Masterson Ramirez Lopez (One of many finalists for the long man/spot starter) That top 5 is brilliant. I really do hope Masterson stays in the bullpen.

That's what they say but now that makes our bench so much more important. Crisp gave us some good production and was an amazing defender. More so last year, when he saved us over 20 runs, than this year, but he was crucial. I honestly hope that this move doesn't push Masterson into the rotation. If he stayed in the bullpen, we'd have a downright tremendous one. But either way, this move gives us flexibility.

Dustin Pedroia! 317 points to Morneau's 257 and Youkilis' 201.

Well, I don't know yet. As far as all the major awards go, this one is the most up for grabs. Everyone else who won deserved to win. Who knows how close this will be? Go Pedroia or Youkilis! Hope the votes don't get split between you to allow a third party to get through. Because Morneau's never done it for me. Hamilton and Quentin...one faltered the other was injured down the stretch. K-rod, fuck whoever has him in the MVP discussion. We shall see. 2 PM tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen.

Well, C.C. pitches innings. Dice-K doesn't know what the seventh inning is.

Lebron.

Bring Back Richie Sexson!

Much deserved. I honestly thought that it'd be a lot closer, but hey, who can complain about the results.

Remind me not to go after Holliday until the third round in fantasy baseball next year.

Ah, but the odds are pretty good, or at least they're there, that Holliday is going to be flipped. It doesn't really make too much sense for Beane to trade for him, especially considering the differences in ballparks and the fact that Holliday, the Boras client, is getting his payday next year. There are three options. A. A's keep Holliday and attempt to win the division. The Mariners won't pose a threat, the Rangers are...how do I put this nicely...looking for pitching...and the Angels, though solid, aren't invincible, especially if they lose Teixeira. A's get two draft picks when Holliday leaves at the end of the season. B. A's trade Holliday mid-season after he proves that he can hit as well as before outside of Coors. Beane is hailed as a genius for driving up Holliday's value. C. A's flip Holliday and get a package of players that they wouldn't have been able to get in a complicated three way deal. In a three way deal, you have to appease both teams. As the middle man, Beane could have traded away Street, Gonzalez, and other prospects, wait a while until the offseason storylines play out, and then focus on a team with a set of prospects that he'd desire much more than those he let go. It's his type of thing to do. This is the most intriguing option...which oddly enough...makes the most sense. I think that the Rockies just wanted to get it done while Beane is more patient and knows what he wants and how to play the trade market as the offseason continues.

Well, Cliff Lee is a no-brainer. Lincecum is going to, and should, win the NL Cy Young but he's going to have a lot of first place votes taken away from him by Webb and Santana. There should be a nice clusterfuck at the top though, with Lincecum, Webb, Santana, C.C., and Lidge. In the AL, Cliff Lee by a landslide for first, Roy Halladay second, and Francisco Rodriguez third. But yah, speaking of no brainers, these two won by a combined 63/64 first place votes. Come on! Now NL and AL MVP will be the ones to wait for. There's a reason they're at the end of the Awards Week.

True, true. I dunno though, 74 innings of a 3.27 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and a .205 BAA is pretty damn solid. Thing is, it's knowing when to trust him in big situations. He's not really a frying pan sort of guy. He really picked it up when Masterson joined the bullpen at the end of the year though. I think he just needs a defined role and he's fine for the 6th and 7th. This was only his third full season and it's damn impressive, all things considered. An old drug dealer I know played high school baseball with Manny Delcarmen.

Haha, well, maybe '03-'07. There's a reason we buried him in middle relief this year. What do you think about Masterson, rotation or bullpen? Honestly, I like him in the bullpen for now, and I feel like his presence defines everyone else's roles a lot more clearly. Delcarmen, though he can still be better, has settled nicely into a good pitcher. So, Papelbon, Okajima, Masterson, Delcarmen...that's a great way to end a game. We'll need a fifth starter/bullpen Tavarez type though.

Mike Timlin's years with Boston were a mixed bag but he had a solid 3.76 ERA in 409 innings with the Red Sox and a 3.57 playoff ERA. Good man. It's a shame to see ghim go but he was sort of a torturous pitcher to have in the bullpen this year. Time for a move back to the NL. If there was a Middle Relief Hall of Fame, you'd be in the pantheon, Mike Timlin.

Two topics of discussion: Good move by the Rangers to snag Mike Maddux, one of the best pitching coaches in the game, from the Brewers. And Greg Maddux is strongly considering retiring. Talk about an amazing pitching coach (possibly).

Those aren't true Red Sox fans though. We're not supposed to forget all the misery of the past just because we've had a good recent run and are primed for more. This Red Sox team is going to stick to the farm system and free agency when necessary but the important thing is the emphasis on farm. Seriously, if you can't draft and produce good players on your own, what hope do you have?

I was using that argument solely to point out the "contributions" of home grown players between the three teams. If you want to start judging the use of that word as positive or negative contributions, that's fine, but contributions in this case is whether or not they played a significant amount of time with the team,

The worst part about thoroughly shooting down arguments through statistics is that they're never acknowledged. :brooding:

Seriously, you can't use this as an argument. The author compiled these lists before the baseball season started and is only considering 15/25 players on the 25 man roster. Meaning, that he left out numerous contributors who were there all season. He admits his extreme Yankee bias as well. In addition, he purposely took out the best out of the 1b/DH combination to fit the Mets in and take away Kevin Youkilis from the calculations. Not trying to bash the Yankees here, but trying to bash this biased interpretation of Home Grown Talent off of a small sample size. Do you want to do this HGT test for real now that the season is over for all intents and purposes? Alright. What do you think sounds good, 50 IP for a pitcher and 250 ABs for a player, okay? And to be considered "home grown", they're either drafted by the team or have been in their organization for...three years. Red Sox Home Grown Talent - 10 Players (All except for Varitek drafted by the Sox) Dustin Pedroia - 653 AB Kevin Youkilis - 538 AB Jason Varitek* - 423 AB Jed Lowrie - 260 AB Jacoby Ellsbury - 554 AB Jon Lester - 210.1 IP Jonathon Papelbon - 69.1 IP Manny Delcarmen - 74.1 IP Justin Masterson - 88.1 IP Clay Buchholz - 76 IP ------------------------------------------------------ New York Yankees Home Grown Talent - 9 Players (Not counting Posada, Hughes, Kennedy who didn't "contribute") Robinson Cano - 597 AB Melky Cabrera - 414 AB Derek Jeter - 596 AB Andy Pettite - 204 IP Darrel Rasner - 113.1 IP Joba Chamberlain - 100.1 IP Chien-Ming Wang - 95 IP Mariano Rivera - 70.2 IP Jose Veras - 57.2 IP (Signed as a Minor League FA in 2006) Edwar Ramirez was received in a trade in 2007. ----------------------------------------------- New York Mets Home Grown Talent - 6 Players David Wright - 626 AB Jose Reyes - 688 AB Aaron Heilman - 76 IP Mike Pelfrey - 200.2 IP Joe Smith - 63.1 IP John Maine - 140 IP (Came over in 2006 trade with the Orioles) And for whoever laughed at Craig Hansen's "contributions", he contributed 30.1 innings to Philip Hughes' 34 and Kennedy's 39.2.