The Official 2013 MLB Thread

[JetsIn06]

Thought it was interesting to check this out.

The combined payrolls of the Rays, A's, and Pirates is about $37M less than the Yankees payroll, and about $26M less than the Dodgers payroll, yet those three teams are outperforming both. Not a huge revelation, but still crazy to think about.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

Thought it was interesting to check this out.

The combined payrolls of the Rays, A's, and Pirates is about $37M less than the Yankees payroll, and about $26M less than the Dodgers payroll, yet those three teams are outperforming both. Not a huge revelation, but still crazy to think about.

In the case of the Yankees there's another figure that came to mind.

As of this morning, they've got around $83m on the DL.
If you add Jeter, it was just over $100m on the DL.

That's more than the active salary of 15 of the other 29 teams.

[ISiddiqui]

At least the Dodgers look like they'll be seeing the postseason (and potentially may end up with a better record than all three of those teams). The Yankees have all sorts of trouble.

[PilotMan]

Yes Joe, yes he did.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Seems like more people coming in because of lowered prices will encourage more spending on food and other items.

Like lungs mentioned, this way you don't "penalize" people who have already bought tickets. Plus, someone who is going to make a decision to buy a ticket because it's $10 cheaper is probably going to be less likely to shell out money for expensive concessions. With $10 in hand, nearly everyone in the stadium will get to the concession stand, and once there they're pretty likely to spend more than just the $10.

[Dutch]

I way overshot the Red Sox payroll, they are at $150M. 2013 Team Payrolls
No.	Team	Payroll	Average
1.	New York Yankees	$228,835,490	$7,151,109
2.	Los Angeles Dodgers	$216,597,577	$7,468,882
3.	Philadelphia Phillies	$165,385,714	$6,125,397
4.	Boston Red Sox	$150,655,500	$5,021,850
5.	Detroit Tigers	$148,414,500	$5,708,250
6.	San Francisco Giants	$140,264,334	$5,009,441
7.	Los Angeles Angels	$127,896,250	$4,736,898
8.	Chicago White Sox	$119,073,277	$4,410,121
9.	Toronto Blue Jays	$117,527,800	$3,791,219
10.	St. Louis Cardinals	$115,222,086	$3,973,175
11.	Texas Rangers	$114,090,100	$4,074,646
12.	Washington Nationals	$114,056,769	$4,386,799
13.	Cincinnati Reds	$107,491,305	$4,134,281
14.	Chicago Cubs	$104,304,676	$3,596,713
15.	Baltimore Orioles	$90,993,333	$3,137,701
16.	Atlanta Braves	$89,778,192	$3,095,800
17.	Arizona Diamondbacks	$89,100,500	$2,970,017
18.	Milwaukee Brewers	$82,976,944	$2,765,898
19.	Kansas City Royals	$81,491,725	$3,018,212
20.	Pittsburgh Pirates	$79,555,000	$2,651,833
21.	Cleveland Indians	$77,772,800	$2,592,427
22.	Minnesota Twins	$75,802,500	$2,707,232
23.	New York Mets	$73,396,649	$2,530,919
24.	Seattle Mariners	$72,031,143	$2,770,429
25.	Colorado Rockies	$71,924,071	$2,766,310
26.	San Diego Padres	$67,143,600	$2,165,923
27.	Oakland Athletics	$60,664,500	$2,091,879
28.	Tampa Bay Rays	$57,895,272	$2,144,269
29.	Miami Marlins	$36,341,900	$1,135,684
30.	Houston Astros	$22,062,600	$817,133

[Easy Mac]

I do enjoy how 4 of the 14 highest spending teams are in line to make the playoffs.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Like lungs mentioned, this way you don't "penalize" people who have already bought tickets. Plus, someone who is going to make a decision to buy a ticket because it's $10 cheaper is probably going to be less likely to shell out money for expensive concessions. With $10 in hand, nearly everyone in the stadium will get to the concession stand, and once there they're pretty likely to spend more than just the $10.

We do the same thing at the winery. We don't give away wine to charities/groups. We give away gift certificates that get them to our winery where the cost is cheaper and they end up buying more than what the certificate provides.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Yup. With a $10 certificate at a ballgame you have the added benefit of leftover money. A beer's probably $8, and no one likes to leave money on the table. Since there isn't going to be anything on the menu for $2, you're practically guaranteed that each fan is going to spend $4 or more.

[ISiddiqui]

I am happy the Mets are 23rd. The team is finally embracing the concept of rebuilding, rather than overpaying for mediocrity.

[Swaggs]

I was thinking that the Pirates looked a little too high, but it appears that the Yankees are paying about $10-million of AJ Burnett's salary and the Astros are paying $8.5M for Wandy Rodriguez this year.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I'm hearing that Brian Wilson to the Dodgers is official. Not sure how I feel about it. Loved him (and I can't lie, I enjoyed the antics), but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have much (if anything) left.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I'm hearing that Brian Wilson to the Dodgers is official. Not sure how I feel about it. Loved him (and I can't lie, I enjoyed the antics), but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have much (if anything) left.

You and me both, but for very different reasons. I hope to God that LA doesn't try and do a fear the beard thing. ooops. sorry, I just puked a little.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

I was thinking that the Pirates looked a little too high, but it appears that the Yankees are paying about $10-million of AJ Burnett's salary and the Astros are paying $8.5M for Wandy Rodriguez this year.

Cots (which I would trust over this list) has the Pirates at 66.8M

[rowech]

Reds inquired about Hunter Pence. Just the fact they called makes me happy. He's the exact kind of player the Reds need right now.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Mike D

I way overshot the Red Sox payroll, they are at $150M.

Ehh... as long as we're building mostly from within and not trying to buy championships like the Yankees and Dodgers I'm fine with it. The 3 high-priced players signed via free agency this winter were Dempster, Drew and Victorino, and none of those were considered stars (plus while I understand why the Red Sox wanted some veterans they knew could produce league-average performance, I'd be fine with JBJ and Bogaerts playing every day.) The other two on the roster are David Ortiz (signed as a platoon player who then broke out) and John Lackey (who as recently as 4 months ago was widely regarded as one of the worst FA signings ever and someone we couldn't even unload on the Dodgers.) The majority of our "stars" are homegrown (Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz, Ellsbury, I consider Ortiz homegrown) and we'll actually lose Ellsbury this winter because we don't want to pay what he wants.

I do think it is impressive what the Rays and Andrew Friedman do with that limited payroll (it helps to trade with Dayton Moore), but I'm not going to feel any pity for the owners or fans of a team that can't build a new stadium to maximize revenue streams or chooses to expand into and then stay in a subpar market. I also think that with things like the draft/int'l signing pool caps and the competitive balance lottery baseball is more even than people think. The Rays two stars are David Price and Evan Longoria, both top 3 picks, and for all the talk of how much longer baseball players take to make the major leagues, you're still much more likely to get a superstar (and those 6 cheap years of team control) with the #1 pick, or a top 5 pick, or a top 10 pick, etc. If anything, they underperformed for most of the 2000's after blowing top 3 picks on Josh Hamilton, Dewon Brazelton, Delmon Young (admittedly that draft sucked), and even Tim Beckham

[Danny]

Just want to add that Arod has taken over my least favorite player (of those not doing truly awful things like murder, rape, etc...) of all time in recent years.

[SirFozzie]

So, was at last night's game for the Sox, glad I wasn't at home, rather than commiserating with my fellow fans, I would have probably thrown something at the TV, he was safe all the way. Still was a fun game.

[Logan]

This just happened...

[SirFozzie]

Looks like the Sox won the race for Peavy, but it may have cost us Iglesias plus others.

[DaddyTorgo]

I vote "bad deal" but then again I have only watched 1 game (the game I went to) this year.

[SirFozzie]

Sounds like three team deal:

Chicago gets: ???
Boston Gets Peavy + ???
Tigers gets Iglesias + ???

[Izulde]

Edit: N/M. Read earlier report.

[SirFozzie]

I tend to like the deal. They sold high on Iglesias (with Bogaerts behind him, he was available), and Peavy's been solid if not spectacular this year.. he's managed to go 100 Pitches a start on average, batters are only hitting .244 against him and only 17 walks. I have some concerns about how he'll do in a small park like Fenway, but I'm on the positive side.

[Izulde]

Avisail Garcia plus other pieces to White Sox I imagine.

[molson]

I feel like the Red Sox have been trying to get Peavy for 10 years. They have good infield depth in the farm system, it makes sense to move someone if you can get value, especially if Buckholtz isn't coming back this year, which is becoming more and more likely. Four big-payroll AL teams are down right now, seems like a good year to go for it. And Peavy's under contract for next year.

[Swaggs]

Buccos take the double header and move 1.5 ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central and for the best record in the majors. Hard to believe how right things have been going (although there is 20-years of bad karma to make up for, I suppose).

Now, just have to hope they don't make any knee-jerk trades, as it doesn't seem like there are many pieces that match up well that are available right now.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Buccos take the double header and move 1.5 ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central and for the best record in the majors. Hard to believe how right things have been going (although there is 20-years of bad karma to make up for, I suppose).

Now, just have to hope they don't make any knee-jerk trades, as it doesn't seem like there are many pieces that match up well that are available right now.

Kicking our asses. I just hope the Cardinals don't make some knee jerk trades either, getting rid of all the great pitching talent they have in the minors.

Unless Tulo is available...

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Buccos take the double header and move 1.5 ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central and for the best record in the majors. Hard to believe how right things have been going (although there is 20-years of bad karma to make up for, I suppose).

Now, just have to hope they don't make any knee-jerk trades, as it doesn't seem like there are many pieces that match up well that are available right now.

Schierholtz to the Pirates for a top 100 spec would be nice... do it! Do it!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Amazing run for the top three teams in the AL Central of late. The top three teams have won a combined 17 straight games. Royals are the hottest team in baseball, having won seven in a row. Cleveland has six in a row and Detroit has four in a row.

[Swaggs]

Schierholtz, Kendry Morales, Alex Rios, Hunter Pence, and Bud Norris seem to be the names being bandied about.

Of those, Schierholtz and Morales are the only ones that make any sense. Rios is a good fit from a needs perspective, but makes too much money and the White Sox asking price seems too high. Pence has been pretty average for the past two seasons and is still pretty expensive (plus, a pending free agent and has some name value). Norris, I don't see how he fits on this staff unless we have a lot injuries -- he is a nice workhorse type, but is relatively inexpensive and has several years of control left.

Schierholtz fills a need (RF that can hit righties, is cheap, and under team control for another year). Hopefully, I'd hate to see us trade any of our top 5 prospects (Polanco, Taillon, Glasnow, Hanson, Bell, or Heredia -- obviously won't trade either of the first rounders from this year), but I think Barrett Barnes and a top 20-type pitching prospect would be pretty fair.

[Izulde]

The Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers have completed a three-team trade today, with the White Sox acquiring outfielder Avisail Garcia (from Detroit via Boston), as well as Red Sox minor league infielder Cleulius Rondon and pitchers Francelis Montas and Jeffery Wendelken.

The White Sox sent pitcher Jake Peavy to Boston as part of the trade, while Detroit acquired infielder Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox. The Red Sox also received pitcher Brayan Villarreal from Detroit.

[cartman]

That was a crazy game. Rangers just got another walkoff home run, this time in the bottom of the 10th, to beat the Angels 14-11. 15 of the game's runs were scored in the 7th-10th innings. This is the first time in 32 days that the Rangers have picked up a game on the A's.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Amazing run for the top three teams in the AL Central of late. The top three teams have won a combined 17 straight games. Royals are the hottest team in baseball, having won seven in a row. Cleveland has six in a row and Detroit has four in a row.

I'm assuming you meant the Royals are the hottest team in the AL?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I'm assuming you meant the Royals are the hottest team in the AL?

They have the longest winning streak in baseball. Term it however you want.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

They have the longest winning streak in baseball. Term it however you want.

Yes. I would term it as them having the longest winning streak in baseball as another way of saying it. Dodgers are 27-6 since June 22nd. But hey, the Royals won 7 straight!

[SackAttack]

Let him have "hottest team in baseball," Bug. I'll settle for "first place."

No sense getting the baseball gods riled up over hubris by arguing over whose team is hotter.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Yes. I would term it as them having the longest winning streak in baseball as another way of saying it. Dodgers are 27-6 since June 22nd. But hey, the Royals won 7 straight!

Thank God we wasted three posts clearing that up.

[MrBug708]

Glad you see it my way

[panerd]

I remember a time when the Dodgers and Royals were both perennial powerhouses and playoff staples. Now their fans are debating over who's hot streak is more impressive and bragging about a short win streak and leading the NL West division. (Which puts them in 4th place in the NL central) Perspective boys, perspective.

[Ramzavail]

Dodgers are 27-6 in their last 33

[Sublime 2]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I tend to like the deal. They sold high on Iglesias (with Bogaerts behind him, he was available), and Peavy's been solid if not spectacular this year.. he's managed to go 100 Pitches a start on average, batters are only hitting .244 against him and only 17 walks. I have some concerns about how he'll do in a small park like Fenway, but I'm on the positive side.

I agree, love Iggy's glove, but this was a sell high kind of move. Hopefully this speeds up the 'Xander to the bigs' train.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Ramzavail

Dodgers are 27-6 in their last 33

Yes I believe that has been mentioned here. They are also 33-18 since the beginning of June or 57-48 overall if you don't want to go with the 33 game cut off that ignores the entire season before that. (which does count towards playoff eligibility)

Listen I am not hating on KC or LA but just pointing out that the bar has really lowered on both of these teams if this is the bragging back and forth being had in this thread.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Izulde

The Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers have completed a three-team trade today, with the White Sox acquiring outfielder Avisail Garcia (from Detroit via Boston), as well as Red Sox minor league infielder Cleulius Rondon and pitchers Francelis Montas and Jeffery Wendelken.

The White Sox sent pitcher Jake Peavy to Boston as part of the trade, while Detroit acquired infielder Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox. The Red Sox also received pitcher Brayan Villarreal from Detroit.

See you next year, Jhonny!

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

See you next year, Jhonny!

He'll be back for the playoffs.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Originally Posted by rowech

He'll be back for the playoffs.

I would have to think the "plea bargains" preclude returning for the playoffs... have you seen this otherwise?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

I would have to think the "plea bargains" preclude returning for the playoffs... have you seen this otherwise?

If they're a first time offender, it's only going to be 50 games.

[molson]

Originally Posted by rowech

If they're a first time offender, it's only going to be 50 games.

Braun was a first time offender. A-Rod will be too. It just depends on how much dirt they have on the guy and whether they think they can get away with nailing someone for multiple violations at once, or whether the risk of that is great enough that a player is willing to settle for something between 50 and 100.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by molson

Braun was a first time offender. A-Rod will be too. It just depends on how much dirt they have on the guy and whether they think they can get away with nailing someone for multiple violations at once, or whether the risk of that is great enough that a player is willing to settle for something between 50 and 100.

Under the letter of the law perhaps. However ARod trying to buy up evidence so he can destroy it is what's going to put him over the top. Plus, he's already an admitted user, and told Selig and his office he would never use again. Not good when you lie to the guy who has the power. Braun might be a first time offender by the letter of the law but he's clearly not. In addition, he also lied about why he was on the report.

My guess is every player but those two will get 50 games -- eligible for post-season -- announced Thursday after the trade deadline.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by panerd

Yes I believe that has been mentioned here. They are also 33-18 since the beginning of June or 57-48 overall if you don't want to go with the 33 game cut off that ignores the entire season before that. (which does count towards playoff eligibility)

Listen I am not hating on KC or LA but just pointing out that the bar has really lowered on both of these teams if this is the bragging back and forth being had in this thread.

KC hasn't been above .500 this late in the season in 10+ years and is only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot. I don't think a bit of excitement is out of line.