Reports are out there that Zack Greinke has been signed to a 4 year contract, buying out his last 2 years of arbitration and 2 years of free agency.

This might make up for a lot of stupid crap this offseason, particularly since there was a sense that the Royals were somewhat "auditioning" for Zack by showing a continued commitment to winning, even if the money was misspent in quite a few instances (we've already gone around and around on this)

SI

Good move. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any instances where this sort of deal hasn't worked out well for the team. Anyone (maybe too soon to tell)?

BTW, deal is official, announced by the club, thru 2012- terms not released. Press conference at 2:30.


Depends on what you mean by "this sort of deal". I know the Royals bought out a couple of Berroa's arbitration years and regretted that as he fell off the face of the earth.

Did Michael Young's deal buy out arbitration? I'm sure the Rangers were happy about that a year ago but can't wait to ditch that albatross already.

I'm sure there are more- people just remember the good ones. But, yeah, on the whole- they do seem to work out better for the club.

SI

Good call on Berroa (shouldn't have expected you to forget that one :)).

As for Young, looks like it was just a normal extension according to this article.

Well, we're thrilled to see Zack for 4 more and Gil for 3 more at the top of our rotation. We may not be able to go out and get CC in free agency, but I'll take that pair as a good 1/2 and really like my chances if we can get a 3 on that same level in the next year or two.

SI

And there was much rejoicing, as Ronny "Neifi Perez Jr" Cedeno was traded to Seattle today.

Its about time a rebuilding team took a chance on him. Probably 2 years of the cubs destroying his development too late, though.

Cedeno still has a chance at being a useful player - he's average defensively with a reputation for being better than that, and there's a major gap between what he showed offensively in AAA and in the Majors, so there's potential for some improvement there.

Add in a guy in Garrett Olsen that is also young and cheap and is due for a pretty big regression to the mean and the minor league track record to suggest more room for improvement, and I like this deal from the M's perspective.

Heilman was likely to be relegated to the M's bullpen and that probably would've caused friction with him, and he just doesn't seem to have the repertoire to succeed as a starting pitcher.

I love that there's another team who didn't want to give Heilman a shot.

I hate that prick.

Well, it was a combination of Seattle already having too many starting pitcher candidates and the fact that Heilman just doesn't seem to have the stuff to be a decent starter.

Joe Mays for the Twins. Went 17-13 with a 3.16 ERA in his third year. Signed to a 4 year deal after that and subsequently blew out his elbow and never saw an ERA under 5 again.

I guess Manny's told Pujols that "no one wants to sign me".

I actually sorta feel bad for the guy, because he's really caught in a numbers situation--but the reason he is there is because the asshole agent he hired has pinholed the required price and not copping to the fact he isn't going to get it.

Manny deserves what he gets, of course, for the stunts he pulled in Boston, and for hiring Boras, but other than that, I don't really have anything against Manny as a player and personality. Well, more of let's say there are things I don't like about him (travel secretary, and so forth), but he is fun and exciting and generally smiling and having a good time out there.

I am hoping wherever he ends up, he goes there soon.

Any Braves fans out there?

They made an excellent hire in Jim Powell as their new radio guy. He will be dearly missed here in Milwaukee and I had hoped he'd someday take the reigns from Bob Uecker.

Powell is simply one of the best when it comes to being prepared and his knowledge is hard to surpass.

Like I said, I'm doubting Braves fans will be regretting this move. If they do, we'd gladly take him back in Milwaukee.

Boras has put him in a no-win situation.

He's not going to get 4 years/$120 million or whatever the goal was in this economic climate, with the amount of free agents there are out there. Even without baggage, that wasn't going to happen at Manny's age.

And if you sign him for 1-2 years, he's either going to be a huge disappointment, or he's going to perform but then hold out and fake injuries to get a new deal or force a trade.

If I was the Dodgers I still probably would have taken a chance on that 2 year deal they offered in the beginning of the offseason. But now, with no market for him, they shouldn't go anywhere near that.

And I'm kind of disappointing to see Varitek back, even for $5 million in 2009 and a dual option in 2010 ($5 million team option, if they decline, Varitek can exercise $3 million option). The deal includes incentives for playing time, which will just create another drama down the road. Francona was afraid to pinch-hit for Varitek, I'm sure he'll be afraid to sit him to avoid contract bonuses.

Just put him on the Mets, please. I think he'd take 2 for $40MM in a second, but I'd give him $30 mil for the year instead of a two year deal.

If he would take 2 for $40 mil, then he would have signed with the Dodgers already.

He wouldn't take 2/$40 in November (or with the Red Sox, where those were the option years through 2010), but it may be a different story now. The Dodgers pulled their offer the table. We don't know about ANY substantiated offers since then. 2/$40 would safe face, but someone might very well get him for less.

Boras cost Varitek a few million, but he could end up costing Manny a lot more. Of course, Boras wouldn't have gotten a cut of those options years, which is really why we're here with Manny.

I love the "Manny" chants outside the SNY studios.

Angels should really sign Manny - ESPN



It appears the original offer is still on the table if Manny wants it.

Damn, Bud Selig made $17.5m in 2007, more than all but three players.

si.com link

Oliver Perez back with the Mets for 3 years and $36 million it seems.

Now they need to get one of the corner OFers on the market because there's no excuse to head into next season with the worst set of corners in baseball considering whats out there and the price they'll likely sign at.

I'm fine with those numbers, seems like there's also a 4th year option based on innings pitched.

I'd still like to bring Sheets in too.

Seems a little high for what he's brought to the table the last 3 years. Average to below-average if you look at his defense-independent numbers. StatCorner has him at 5.2 WAR over the last 3 years. I'm not totally up on what the current going rate is, but $12M per for 3 years seems on the high side.

From a scouting standpoint, his K rate is obviously his best attribute, but it's countered by a high walk rate and he's a pretty extreme flyball pitcher, so he's going to be prone to the longball. If he can improve his control while retaining his ability to miss bats, he could become a pretty valuable pitcher, but that's iffy.

Yeah, he's remarkably inconsistent, any Met fan knows it. He busts out a 7 IP, 2 H, 10 K shutout effort and follows it up by a 6 IP, 4 ER extremely mediocre game, and then follows that up with a 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 BBs, 120 pitch start that kills the pen. One of the reasons most of us were hesitant about bringing him back was the simple question of how will he perform with an expensive, long term deal in his pocket? $12MM per is a lot for him, would I feel better if it was 8 or 9 mil, sure, but the difference is nothing and I'd much rather have him than Jon Garland or Randy Wolf.

BUT BUT .. why wouldn't he be the commish for the love of the game?

Every published report about that offer has stated that it "expired" back in November, though not that the Dodgers have cut off negotiations, so it's kind of a nothing point anyway.

But I don't see why the Dodgers have to shell out that kind of cash when there's been zero confirmed interest from anyone else, and quite a few GMs coming out and saying they're not interested.

I'm sure Boras is hoping the Yankees get involved, and is counting on that Dodgers offer as a fallback. But if the Yankees aren't involved, and nobody else is either, the Dodgers shouldn't pay him that much.

Edit:

Jason Stark says the current Dodgers offer is now 1 year, $25 million, and that there's a 48-hour deadline on that offer.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3880218

Manny Ramirez rejects Los Angeles Dodgers' one-year, $25 million offer - ESPN

The 1 year deal has been rejected. Manny and Boras seemingly wants a 2 year (at least) deal.

The Red Sox should sign him to a one-year $20M deal, with a team option for another year at $20M.

We are talking about reality here. :lol:

I will be laughing if Manny ends up with less money after his shennanigans than he would have had if he'd just played straight with Boston the whole time...

Ah yes, the "Varitek special" Boras is becoming known for.

haha - that'd be great

Dodgers want Manny back, but not for five years (obviously), and getting an embarrassed Manny back defeats the purpose. It's not that they 'have' to spend that much, it's that allowing Manny to save face is the most likely way to get the good-teammate-and-slugger Manny they had the last two months of the season.

Getting a "fuck it" Manny back defeats the purpose of retaining him.

Good signing by the Rangers. Andrew Jones goes for a minor league deal that only guarantees 500K with 1 million in incentives if he makes the team. That's a great deal on the risk he can approach his .900 ops of 2006.

Ryan Howard gets 3 years and $54 million. Ridiculous per-year money, but at least it's a short deal. He's already started his decline and because of his body its going to be an ugly one. This could be the only multi-year deal he gets.

Compared to the Ibanez deal, this is a major bargain.

That was a ridiculous deal by the Phils. Especially in this market.

Gotta love Joe Posnanski.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ner/index.html

I had no idea there was language in the contract specifically prohibiting opposing teams from using lefthanded pitchers. :)

Too bad he's a juicer.

Royals resigned Mark Teahan to a 1 year, 3.75M deal.

That's not fair at all.

Posnanski swears that he believed there was nothing in the syringes except printer ink & White Out and has no idea how any banned substances got in there.

I don't understand this deal at all. They just bought out his arbitration years- no free agency year. So, they ran to the very high end of arbitration awards and locked him up- there's no benefit to the team. They would have paid less or the same if they had just done 1 year settlements between swapping numbers and the hearing. Either he hits well and gets similar numbers each year or any number of things from injury to performance decline happens and they save money over the contract. Instead, they guarantee him a bunch of cash that they didn't have to and don't buy out a single free agent year. Why?

SI

To avoid cab fare to the arbitration hearings, I'd guess.

You have to realize- Poz has never written a bad word about anyone. He writes for the KC Star and it's always funny when he and Whitlock have an article side by side. On the one hand, you have this naive starry eyed optimism and on the other, Whitlock is bitching about whatever he's bitching about that day. I mean, geez, this is a guy who every year- think about that: every year- comes up with a column about why the Royals will win the World Series or make the playoffs. So, yeah, I could see that he actually believes that.

SI

Perhaps to buy the good will that comes from not threatening to go to arbitration each year or to avoid the negative feelings that come from arbitration hearings?

If they're not planning on signing him past arbitration, what do those good feelings matter? If they are planning on signing him past arbitration, why didn't they buy out a year or two now?

Braden Looper is signing with the Brewers.

How are the Reds going to win the 2009 World Series, you ask?

Jacque Jones is going to beat everyone's ass, single-handedly. THAT'S how.

Let's keep in mind that Poz was already in the 95th percentile of baseball writers - the juice is merely what put him over the top. He'd still be a Hall of Fame writer without the juice...

Dunn to the Nationals for 2 years $20 million.

I'm really disappointed Omar wasn't given the money to go after him because he made so much sense for the Mets. A corner OFer for this season and a replacement for Delgado next season.

I'm not going to say I have an inclination that this is an amazing signing or not, but I'm just happy to see the team spend some money on a "big name" free agent.

Bowden loves his OFs. His 40 man has ten outfielders on it currently.

I think they overpaid a bit for Dunn, as I think he'd settle closer to Burrell's numbers, but it's not too bad and he'll hit 40 hrs and OBP at .380 or so.

Though I think a team like Washington needs to overpay because no one really wants to play there.

Adam Kennedy was released by the Cards...yesterday, I believe. I'm disappointed in that, especially since they let Miles go to the Cubs.

nice bucc!

Generally I'd agree, but in this market it doesn't seem like anybody else is after Dunn. If Bowden can sign Griffey he can have the Red's starting outfield from a few years ago.

Report is that the Angels have signed Abreu to a one year, $5 M deal with incentives to possibly raise it another mill or so.

Nice deal for a player of that caliber, IMO.

Will Tejada lose his immigration status now that he's plead guilty to a crime? I know if it's anyone else they would, just not sure if baseball players count.

He's pleading guilty as part of a plea bargin. Being able to stay in the US is probably part of the deal.

ESPN's legal analyst was saying I believe that the immigration part of this is completely separate from what happened this week, so I don't know if a plea can affect his immigration status

I hope you aren't expecting him to do things like dive for balls or go into the wall after fly balls. If you keep those expectations in mind, you should like him as a player. :)

Fallout From Abreu And Dunn Deals: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

That's not true- Dunn had other suitors. Not a lot, but it only takes 2 to drive the price up.

SI

We have enough guys who play D in the outfield. Chances are, Scioscia ain't going to put him out there too much anyway.

Heard the Selig is considering removing Bonds HR record in favor of Aaron. If that is true, and he goes the extra step of removing all those aberrational seasonal HR counts, then I would never say another word about the Steroids Era.

Yay! (for Selig I mean)

That is the dumbest fucking idea I've ever heard.

Where do you draw the line on taking numbers out of the record books?

I have a hard time believing this will ever happen. Sorry.

If his intentions were pure, I'd have respect for it. But Selig knew about steroids for a decade and didn't do squat.

And how do you just pick out Bonds? Doesn't this mean A-Rods MVPs should be taken away? Clemens Cy Youngs? Seems like it wouldn't be fair to just punish one person.

:+1:

Dola

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training TODAY!

Finally, some good news :)

SI

I think I'd literally picket Selig's house if he did that.

Of course you do. :rolleyes:

Here's the line I drew



And yes, I too have a hard believing it will actually happen. I will always believe that there is a great and noticeable disparity between these records (including all-time HR), including those came before (and since), but the union, the apologetists and the "everyone is equally bad" crowd will put too much pressure on.

It's cause he's right.

A few days ago I looked at AB per HR numbers for Bonds and Aaron. I was expecting to find a much different curve, assuming the argument of "people don't improve in their thirties" was correct. Instead, I found that Aaron and Bonds did improve on similar paths, although Bonds' improvement is more profound. I still think Bonds' use of steroids inflated his numbers, but perhaps not as much as I had previously thought.

Aaron
at bats per home run in different age ranges

21-29 17.37 abs per hr
30-39 14.41
35-39 11.82

Bonds

21-29 17.43
30-39 10.32
35-39 8.22

edit: I guess what I found most interesting is that Bonds was on pace with Aaron, but had significantly fewer at bats during his twenties.

Both Bonds and A-Rod are once-in-a-generation players, which makes their steroid use even more sad. Not in a "personal responsibility" way, but more in the fact that they could have been considered among the greatest ever and now will not, fairly or unfairly.

Change the record all you want, but nobody can dispute the fact that Barry Bonds hit the most home runs in major league history.

Someday when we are all dead, our predecessors will look at hitting stats from the 90's much like we look at pitching stats from the deadball era today.

Personally, I find much more enjoyment in baseball following my team on a daily basis and rooting for them instead of worrying about crap that happened several years ago or stuff that is going on today that has absolutely no meaningful effect (HGH).

FWIW.....I don't like the records as they are, but revising them retroactively is a can of worms that just doesn't need to be opened up. Better off just leaving them to speak for themselves.

So HR totals go, what about Clemens and Pettite's wins? What about all the games they started that they might not of if they weren't on steroids? How about Bonds other records that he might not have reached if he wasn't roided up? What happens when A-Rod passes them? How about Pujols if he ever gets up there - do we think he's clean? Can we be sure?

It's a nice idea, but it's completely unfeasible. Especially if Bonds is not guilty on the perjury charge - he's never technically been convicted of anything illegal. MLB would absolutley eat it on the legal front then.

Furthermore, what if the 103 players on that positive test list are released? Do you strike all of them from the records?

For once, we are in agreement :)

SI

now this is news we can all agree on. Baseball is starting again - all is right in the world. :D

PS - anyone else psyched about the World Baseball Classic? The competitiveness (ask South Korea how much the matchup vs. Japan means to them) is a big factor IMO - it isn't a glorified exhibition.

Damn straight. Last time South Korea and Japan played in the WBC I had a friendly wager with my buddy. I took South Korea and he took Japan. Once my buddy saw Byun Hyun Kim was on South Korea's team he said he wanted to double the bet if Kim came into the game.

South Korea was leading, Kim came into the came and proceeded to get rocked out of the ballpark and turned a prospective victory into a double loss for me.

Fucker.

Yeah I love World Cup soccer, watching Olympic basketball, etc. It would be great to see the WBC become a big-time competition. It was fun last time around (despite the USA's early exit) and should only get better with time.

The Nationals had, I believe, 117 HRs last year. We needed a bat -- and as a young franchise that had very disappointing attendance numbers last year, Dunn is a big name. Just the fact that they ponied up the money is a good thing.

Also, Dunn and Willingham can both, theoretically play first base. I don't expect all of those guys to be on the final roster, of course. I expect them to attempt to trade either one or two of the outfielders or Nick Johnson (or some combination thereof).


+1. The Nationals tried like hell to sign Teixera, and it didn't matter how much money he was offered. The team is just in a Catch-22 here until the farm system starts to produce some stars or they can lure in some free agents with larger-than-market contracts.


I wouldn't put it past him -- another OF and a Red, what more could you ask for?

What's the actual, practical effect of taking things out of the record book? Has anyone actually looked at an MLB "record book"? Does such a thing exist? Presumably, baseballreference.com would still tell us that Barry Bonds existed, and it would have a record of his stats.

Rewriting history in sports is completely ridiculous and unnecessary.

The NCAA has done this on the team level, they've stripped UMass, Ohio State, Michigan of final four appearances. But I remember all of those teams making it. Maybe in college terms it makes a little more sense, since presumably you can't brag to recruits about those appearances.

I also think that it'll only get better with age. They'll fix any mistakes and refine the product.. with so much talent coming from overseas, how could it not hit it out of the park?

Now, if only the American ballplayers would start to care. :(

The Braves are in discussions with Glavine and Griffey. If we can't sign good players let's at least get guys who were once good!

ALL BETTER!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9228008/'Oil-Can'-Boyd-looking-for-comeback-at-age-49?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

'Oil Can' Boyd looking for comeback at age 49
by FOXSports.com


Updated: February 16, 2009, 3:41 PM EST

It's been 18 years since Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd last pitched in the Major Leagues, but he figures he's still got some gas left in that tank.

The 49-year-old wants an MLB team to give him a look this spring, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

Says Boyd, "I have nothing to lose, and all a major league team has to lose is 15 minutes. Give me 15 minutes and I'll show I can still pitch. That's all I want."

And he says he's still got some pretty good stuff, claiming his fastball is in the low-90s and his changeup and curveball are as good as ever.

Boyd finished with a 78-77 career record and a 4.04 lifetime ERA over a 10-year stretch with the Red Sox, Expos and Rangers.

The report says he got serious about the comeback two weeks ago when he pitched at a Red Sox fantasy camp.

He says Satchel Paige, who pitched into his 60s, is another big reason he wants to come back.

"Satchel being my idol and knowing he didn't come into the game until he was in his early 40s, that's always been in the back of my mind."

So why now, after all these years?

"After surgery in '87, it took me 10 years to feel good," he told the Globe.

"I wasn't on the field, started gaining weight. All of a sudden, my arm has healed. The arm strength is there and it's there consistently. The more I throw, the better it feels."

After catching for him at camp, ex-Red Sox catcher Mike Stanley vouches for him, saying "He looks no different to me now than when I caught him in Texas. He still has the same passion. I don't know if he was getting to 90 because we didn't have a gun, but he still had the same stuff. The same tight slider, curve, fastball."

Interesting story. It sounds like Oil Can ran out of cash and needs something to do. I hope someone gives him a shot, it would be interesting to see a guy pitch into his 50's. If he doesn't do it, I believe Jamie Moyer has a real good shot of doing it.

I think Boyd should just pass on the "Oil Can" persona to a new pitcher. Like in Japanese wrestling.

May I suggest: "Oil Can" Erik Bedard.

What the hell is going on with the Nationals?

Esmailyn Gonzalez lied about age, name to Nationals - MLB - Spring Training - 2009 - SI.com



Under Bowden, Nationals scouts have already been busted for stealing bonus money from prospects. Now this "prospect" has been outed as really being 23. We all know that birth certificates mean nothing for Dominican player. However, the odd thing here is apparently it was so obvious to everyone else that he wasn't really 17 (at the time) that the next highest offer he got was half what the Nats offered. On top of this the deal wasn't even done with his agent but was instead done with his trainer in the Dominican; a guy who happens to be childhood friends with Jose Rijo.

This one thing really isn't that big of deal in the grand scheme of things, but combined with the other scouting issues that have come from this organization it leads me to believe that the Bowden/Rijo front office is either incompetent (not a shock to anyone), corrupt, or a combination of the 2.

I really feel bad for Nationals fans. You deserve better than this.

The Nationals front office is not well run and this is just further proof of that. I feel for the Nationals fans, as it will take changes at the top before the organization really improves.

When your upside is the 2000 Reds things don't look good.

Jose Rijo is in the Nats front office? Shit, I love the guy to death for the Reds' 90 WS win, but there's no fucking way that was ever a good idea.