And Washington has to sign pick 1a next year or they lose it. And they can only redraft Strasburg if he grants permission(he won't)

Well that sounds like a big pile of suck for the Nats. Because with the way things are going, they're virtually guaranteed to be worst in the ML again.

I mean, I can't fault players for not wanting to play for them, but it seems like they'll be doomed to a loooooong time of being mediocre at best if they can't get a few key players.

/tk

What that means TK is that the 2nd pick or 1a is much less valuable cause Washington has to draft someone with limited signability issues and they prob won't get the 2nd best talent at pick 1a

Just got back from the Braves game with my brother, mom, and wife. Kawakami was ok and Hammels held us in check. I must say though, Brad Lidge is absolutely terrible. I wouldn't want him on the mound in the 6th inning, let alone the 9th. I know Utley let him down, but he singlehandedly blew that game by throwing a sac in to RF, then walking 2 guys, then giving up the game winning single. At this point, if I'm a Phillies fan, I'd rather see Moyer on the mound in the 9th. He is 0-5, his ERA is north of 7, he's blown 8 saves (which is like 25%). I can't understand why Manuel still sends him out there.

Yeah, I gotcha. Still seems to be a bit of a raw deal for the Nats. As long as my hometown teams aren't playing Boston, I cheer for them, and I always feel kinda bad for them.

I still need to go to a Nats game this year. Hmm.....

/tk

The Gnats could take Bryce Harper with their re-do, and then have him not sign either since he's a Boras client.

Even if a deal does get done, it won't be until 11 PM or later on Monday. Hell, Boras probably hasn't even returned Washington's calls since they ponied up the record-setting contract offer weeks ago. It looks as though the Nats have offered $12 million to sign (last year's #1 got $6), while Boras is thinking $50. Tom Boswell is figuring the final number comes in at $16, and it's unknown if Strasburg would turn that down given that KC, Pittsburgh, and San Diego probably couldn't pony up even that much.

How much money would Strasburg turn down to wait a year and stay in San Diego as a Padre?

The worst part for Washington will be if they keep playing at their post-Acta level, they might not even finish with the worst record and miss the chance to draft Harper.

If they won't/can't pay Strasburg what Boras wants, they wouldn't be able to sign Harper either. So that is pretty much a moot point.

This has got to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for MLB. The league isn't exactly designed around parity, but when you have these kind of insane demands that only two or three teams in the league could possibly match for a rookie, you have to look at some kind of slotting or something to "encourage" the agents to get the players signed on the first go round. Otherwise why even bother having a draft? The best guys will just go to the teams that are good enough and have enough support to sign them.

The other option is that teams boycott Boras clients. That would be awesome but not really feasible (and I'm sure Boras isn't the only one doing it, he's just the worst offender)

I still think Washington is absolutely idiotic for taking Strasburg if they can't sign him. Ok they get 1a next year but still, that's a year of development completely shot and now they haven't got their first rounder signed for two years running. Much better decision IMO to say "obviously we love Strasburg, but his agents demands are ridiculous and we don't feel he's worth the headache". Hopefully Boras blinks and the Nats win this one, but I just don't see it happening.

Well, and anti-trust laws against collusion would come up ;).

I think Strasburg gets signed but I think if he doesn't it's more or less the Nats fault for waiting so long to hire a GM. If Rizzo gets him signed he should get the job because he inherited a mess and I know hiring a GM during the season is hard but considering how abysmal the franchise is and the Strasburg card on the table, that should be enough to get things moving.

Manuel is loyal to a fault. See: Brunlett, Eric.

It might have been an easier decision if Madson didn't shit the bed when given the shot to close.

The Rangers take 2 out of 3 from Boston and also take the wild card lead by a half game.

I am hoping that Myers comes back good enough to maybe get a shot at it. If his head is on right I think he could do it.

The Reds lost 3 of 4 to the Nats. The record may not say it, but at this point I think the Reds may be the worst team in the league. The lineup Dusty runs out is simply atrocious. Some of it has to do with injuries, but it's five or six bad hitters every night.

D. DeJesus lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
W. Bloomquist ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .257
B. Butler 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298
M. Jacobs dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A. Callaspo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
A. Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207
J. Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .215
M. Maier cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
J. Anderson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234

And that was probably one of our better ones of late... :(

SI

Would love for this to stick. The Rangers have played great ball this year, and I want to see them in the postseason. But, as an Angels fan, I certainly don't want to see that achieved at the Angels' expense.

I gotta admit, the kid with the glove catching two foul balls in the same AB at the Rangers game was one of the cooler things I've seen in a while.

Not sure his head will be on right if he keeps ramming it into his truck. ;)

EDIT: For those who don't know what I'm referring to: Phils RHP Myers hurts eye, will miss rehab start - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Maybe that may do him some good. :)


(without the eye injury part)

40 minutes left and Strasburg hasn't signed. Oh to be a fly on the wall for those negotiations.

Considering the kid's talent and the injury risk for pitchers I wonder how much Strasburg and Boras value getting him signed tonight and into arb. years/free agency ASAP.

Rumor is Boras is using the Dice-K and Contreras deals as comparables to what Strasberg should get. I can't imagine the Nats going from the rumored $12.5 million offer to something in the mid-30s or higher.

Boras is going to have to come down a long way or Strasberg sits and I can't see any team giving him close to what Boras is asking for next year. Boras has some leverage now. If he has him sit a year he loses all of it because there's no way Strasberg sits 2 straight years.

With #9 Turner and #3 Tate getting ~$5 and $6.25m respectively, there are still reportedly 10 unsigned picks from the 1st round. The previous record is 4. Some, like Matzek and the Rays guy, are almost certainly not signing.

EDIT - Apparently Matzek did sign for $3.9

Would Strasberg be allowed to play anywhere this year? Like Japan or the Atlantic League?

I believe so. Other draft picks in the past that didn't sign have played in the independent league.

It's a huge risk, though. One that isn't worth risking the money on the table. As an inverted-W pitcher he's a ticking time bomb until someone cleans up his mechanics.

Love the Turner signing. Kid has the potential to be a stud. Very effortless mid 90's FB and a solid curve.

yea I'm pretty sure Strasburg can do whatever if he doesn't sign, including going back to San Diego State.

tick...tick...tick...

Yeah, but the MLB contract is a bit worrisome. Still, it clearly worked on with Porcello.

Overall, this year is continuing last year's trend of a lot more high $ HS signings. It will lead to "weak" drafts in 2-3 years and presumably teams will be forced to pay more for HS talent and potential as there isn't as much coming out of college anymore.

Agreed on both points. I suspect Turner will end up as an emergency/double header type if he is successful in year two in the minors. Illitch isn't afraid to spend though as he doled out a seven figure bonus to Daniel Fields, a 6th rounder, who is another high schooler, only he is a position player. A lot of athleticism and he can mash. His dad is Tigs former hitting coach Bruce Fields.

A shocker is Tyler Matzek signs for 3.9 mil with Colorado. Didn't see that coming.

Jon Heyman reported that right before the deadline Strasberg was close to a deal in the $15 million range.

Or he plays in Japan for a year to establish residency and becomes a free agent as far as MLB is concerned.

Reportedly Strasburg signs. $15.67m 4-year Major League deal. #2 pick Dustin Ackley got $9.5.

Also, great move by Detroit to get Aubrey Huff today. We needed a left handed bat and while he will probably play between 4 positions, he'll be a fixture in the lineup. We didn't give up much for him either, especially considering we signed Turner and Oliver to replace the kid we dealt.

That's not too bad of a deal for Washington on Strasburg. At the end of the day, they did well- got 4 years and $15M. The down side is the MLB deal but there was no way that wasn't going to happen.

SI

Good luck with that... He's declining quick.

Not sure you have seen what we throw out there but it's not worse in this instance.

So after all the bluster and drama, it looks like there only ended up being 1 player who turned down a ton of money. Matt Purke (#12 Rangers, ranked 1/2 HS pitcher with Turner) reportedly turned down $4m. Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers aren't affected by the deadline as they played independent league baseball last year - they can sign up until 48 hours before next year's draft.

Red Sox signed most of their interesting, overslot guys on Friday, but did add a very interesting one in Kendall Volz today for 550k. He was a dominant closer last summer for Team USA and projected high 1st-round pick who looked awful and lost velocity all season and in his limited summer ball. There's a good chance he was pitching through injury and will need surgery, but if he can come back he could be a great bullpen arm in 2 years.

Angels signed Jake Locker. Yes, that Jake Locker.

Piss, though, he apparently wants to see how this "football" thing works out before he goes to baseball.

A's signed Green and Stassi...they should be in the A's starting lineup by the time rosters expand...if not sooner.

This could get interesting. Locker has repeatedly stated that he's committed to seeing his football career through, and the intimation has been that he'll devote himself to football through the end of his UW career and then give the NFL a shot, with baseball his backup plan if that doesn't work out.

Tony Reagins on the other hand sounds like he's under the impression that Locker will at least play some baseball for the Angels next Spring/Summer.

The Lockers are a good family and Jake sure seems to be an honest kid, but I wonder if the stage isn't already being set for some acrimony down the road about the Angels expectations for if/when Locker will play some baseball for them.

I know there is a segment of Husky fans that won't be happy if Jake is off playing baseball in the minors next off-season instead of working out with the football team in preparation for his Senior season.

I haven't been on FOFC in more than two weeks, but I had to come in here to discuss the Strasburg signing. For all the huffing and puffing, the posturing by Boras, and the media and fans of other teams slamming the Nationals... they got it done. They got it done for far less than anyone thought it would happen for. So media, public, Nationals haters: Suck it.


You haven't been paying attention, then. The Nationals are playing over .500 ball since the all-star break and are likely to pass Pittsburgh and possibly Kansas City and/or San Diego as well.


See above.


Had the Nationals not offered up to $20m I would agree it was their fault -- but if the Nationals had offered $20-22m and Strasburg didn't sign, I put that on the kid. But the real reason I quoted this is your assertion about Rizzo. My understanding is that this was a Stan Kasten deal and Rizzo wasn't really even involved. Regardless, the deal got done, so the points are moot.

Very true. I don't think with the way the Nationals have been playing that they'll end up with the first pick again. The O's might though, because they're going through their annual August/September swoon.

The O's would be fascinating. The one place they don't need help at is catcher, so would they take Harper and convert him or hope that he's a stud that they can trade in a year or two? Would Harper be amenable to becoming a 1B or DH? Would the O's take someone else that fits a need better and is cheaper even though they'll likely get killed for it?

I could see them still taking him, he may not wind up staying at catcher anyway. Nick Markakis was viewed as more of a pitching prospect, but the O's liked his bat, and now he's locked up at RF for years to come.

I guess you can never have enough talent, even if it's not at a position of need. You can just trade that surplus for talent at spots you do need help (middle infield.)

I don't think the Orioles will be bad enough to wind up with the #1 pick next year.

Gotta race the Royals to the bottom ;)

SI

You don't pass up a catcher or draft for need in the MLB draft. Seriously, your worst case scenario is that you end up with 2 of the 5-6 good young catchers in the league? Talk about trading from a position of strength.

Sox put up 10 for Beckett tonight, he gives 7 back in 5 innings (1st time since April) and now Papelbon is getting in the act, giving up a 2-run single to Marco Scutaro.

The brewers lineup just isn't the same without Hart

Yeah. Plus Harper needs to spend at least 2 to 3 years in the minors

Figure he won't sign till August and 2010 will be a lost year. ETA on the Bigs is possibly 2013. By then Weiters would be expensive.

There are also worse things than having both of them alternating at C/DH in a 60/40 split and staying fresh. Plus you essentially gain a roster spot because you don't have to carry a limited backup catcher who goes once a week.

We'll see. I think they might end up with around 65 wins. 48-71 after tonight.

Papelbon, please throw an occasional breaking ball. You're much better when you do.

Interesting BABIP chart - http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7654/babipyw4.png

After 50 years of BABIP between .270 and .290 it jumped up to .300 in 1995, so it not just home runs that were affected in this new offensive era of baseball. Do we blame this on steroids and tighter wound balls? Clearly park sizes can't be blamed (no Coors in the AL) like for home runs.

If the Reds stay at the pace they've been at since the All-Star break(.242) they'll only get 10 or 11 wins to add to their current 50. I don't think they can slide all the way to the bottom, but they might surprise.

FWIW, I don't get the sense the Angels are putting any expectations on Locker. They know football's his #1 thing. The impression I have gotten from reports on the Angels and Locker is that the Angels see enough in his baseball talent to want to lock his rights down for six seasons, just in case. If they can get him to play a little ball in the offseason, fantastic, but I don't think that was a requirement for them and their interest in signing him.

Washington should be happy, they just freed up another scholarship

The world may collapse when the pirates play the reds this weekend. Both teams are in a shitty funk.

Not sure I have ever seen this before, so thought I would point it out:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore...?gid=290818105

Check out the Angels' box score. The entire lineup is .300 hitters--in August!

Yeah, that's a good thing - gets Sark closer to being able to offer a full 25 scholarships for the 2010 class.

I don't personally have a problem with Jake if he decides to play some minor league ball next Summer, but there are a number of Husky fans that feel he needs to spend as much time working on football as possible to maximize his development as a passer, and since he's been the leader of off-season workouts, there's a worry about how organized and well-attended they'd be if Locker wasn't around.

Honestly being a Cardinal fan I pay attention to almost exclusively NL central and some NL East and NL West and I know it's going to sound cliché but I thought it was Boston and New York and nobody else in the AL. This isn't just an ESPN thing but every media outlet. That Angel statisitic is very impressive.

Hey, look. The Royals lineup! Not a .300 hitter to be found (not entirely true now but it was at gametime- Billy Butler edged above .300 and looks like he's going to be a damn fine hitter, what with 40 doubles and only being 23)

MLB - Kansas City Royals/Chicago White Sox Box Score Tuesday August 18, 2009 - Yahoo! Sports

Any wonder why they can't hit at all? ;)

That said- wow, that's a crazy stat, CR

SI

I guess that extra power which increased homeruns also meant more balls got through the infield. But it hasn't gone down in the few years after steroid testing. But then again I assumed homeruns had gone down and after checking it out there isn't much difference.

MLB year by year batting

Crappy hitting, all glove players are getting squeezed out?

SI

Don't forget the fact that more and more teams have been added. I realize the Rockies, Marlins and then Rays and Diamondbacks are only four teams, but that still dilutes pitching a fair amount. The quality of hitters being added with 4 teams is far superior than the quality of pitchers.

Yeah, but this is BABIP. Pitcher quality is fairly independent of this, as per Voros McCracken*

*I know- there are a few exceptions to DIPS, but it holds up for the most part

SI

Do you have any evidence to support this theory, or is it all wild speculation?

Wild speculation, I don't care enough to try and support it.

FWIW, it looks like I was wrong about Mike Rizzo. The reports coming out after the deadline are saying that he was instrumental in the Strasburg negotiations.

Well, he did lose the job to DiPoto.

Hey, stability!

That, to my knowledge, is far from confirmed. Yahoo! says yes, ESPN says no.

I'd have to think this is a major factor. It'd be interesting to see the league average OPS for positions like RF, SS/2b. As the need to increase hitting became the most important thing, I'm sure quality defenders got jettisoned for better bats. Guys like Dunn play LF now, whereas in the past no manager would have been likely to throw a guy like that out there.

Also, what is the strikeout rate for batters? As it became less of an insulting thing to strike out, if it dramatically increased the strikeout rate, I'd have to think in a roundabout way that helped BIABP increase. Cause if the batting average across the league stayed relatively static, and there were more strikeouts, that would account for the increase.

BABIP isn't affected by strikeouts - it's measuring how many hits occur on balls put in play.

The larger point may be valid though. As it's become less of a stigma to strike out, it stands to reason that there are fewer defensive swings happening where the batter is prioritizing making contact over hitting the ball hard.

When the ball is hit harder, it generally correlates with more hits, as I believe there is some correlation between line drive pct. and BABIP according to those that study this stuff.

That's good to hear. The reporting from Seattle seemed to indicate a possible disconnect between what Locker has been saying and what the Angels expect, so that's where my suggestion of difference in expectations was coming from.

Hopefully they're both on the same page.

That's what I meant. Obviously mark Reynolds is extreme for an example. But he is around .400 when he puts it in play.

I guess since Lugo worked out for the Cardinals, they feel confident about Red Sox cast-offs and have signed John Smoltz. He's going to start this weekend, apparently.

Smoltz is a reasonable signing. He's better than the guys he'll likely replace.

Smoltz isn't better than anybody right now. Maybe in the NL he'll be able to put up respectable numbers, but he was embarrassingly bad for the Sox. Shit, I felt bad for the guy.

Thanks again Cleveland for Cliff Lee...another complete game...2 hitter.

Wrong role is at least the competing wisdom, based on his better first and even up to second innings versus going any deeper. I figured the Cards were looking at him as a righty setup guy but now I'm reading that they may be thinking about trying him as a fifth starter which I think will probably be a disaster.

From what I read, Smoltz did not want to be in a relief role with the Red Sox either which is one of the reasons they were limited in what they could do with him.

+1

dola: oh, and he's hitting .385 so far too.... :)

I thought that was that he didn't want to go back down to AAA to work himself into a bullpen role arm/routine wise more than not wanting to go to the bullpen itself.

This was earlier before that, back when the Red Sox thought they had too many pitchers and trying to figure out where to fit him in, the common stories that I read was that Smoltz starting out in the bullpen was not an option, he did not want to pitch there and supposedly Smoltz coming there was under some kind of agreement that it would be starting or nothing.

Then suddenly Matsusaka got 'injured', Smoltz slid into the rotation and the rest was history.

You're welcome.

Not true. Smoltz was done in by unsustainably high BABIP (.383) and HR/FB rates (16.5%). He's still striking out a respectable number of guys and limiting his walks, and his groundball rate is only down a bit over his career averages.

Simply put, Smoltz had a run of bad luck with the Red Sox, and the factors that are most under his control as a pitcher would point towards his ERA regressing towards the mean in a positive way.

He's not a great pitcher any more, but he should be better than Todd Wellemeyer and Mitchell Boggs.

This and coming to NL will be a welcome change for him too. This is coming from a Cubs fan that knows he will beat our ass.

Hahaha - the entire Nippon Ham Fighters team is quarantined in the hospital with Swine flu. No joke.

If only that could happen to the Phillies.

I'd rather it happen to that stupid chop Braves fans do.

ping: stevew

Looks like the Pirates are going on their own run against the Brewers. My goodness.

At least he's not Paul Bako, $1.80
Chris Coste not much better since going to Houston, $2.11

Where is Hart? Once we got through the Braun/Fielder toughness, the lineup was pretty weak sauce. Cameron is still good, but not great. The rest of these guys, save Lopez, kinda meh.

Just happy to sweep a series for once. :)

Out for at least a month following an August 2nd appendectomy (he's on one of my fantasy teams so I knew that one)

Like Jon said, Hart is out after an appendectomy. But, you're right. The rest of the lineup save Lopez, Braun and Fielder is very meh at this point. Jason Kendall is like having another pitcher in the lineup and is probably a worse hitter than Gallardo even.

But the biggest problem is still the pitching staff outside of Gallardo.

Either way, I've got nothing good to say about the Brewers right now.

Mike Cameron's glove is still amazing from time to time, almost worth the price of admission. Even if he's not as good as he was before.

Definitely. He's been the least of the Brewers problems. Maybe not worth the $10 million he's getting this year but he's not the problem. Also a standout person and teammate.

Have to say, after the way Washburn had thrown Kenji Johjima under the bus a couple years ago over his pitch calling, it was sweet justice to see Johjima take him deep today.

Howard hit a home run tonight that I'm not sure has landed yet.

It's a good time to be a Phillies fan right now (which means, of course, we'll get swept by the Mets).

Shuddupayouface!