2013-14 MLB Off Season Thread

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

First data point is in, Marlon Byrd gets 2/16 from the Phillies.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

First data point is in, Marlon Byrd gets 2/16 from the Phillies.

Didnt he get released a couple of years ago? You know I just find if funny that teams will pay this much for guys like Byrd. Is someone in triple A with any sign of potential making the $500k really a much worse scenario?

I think the actually stars are worth the $20 million/year they get but these guys league average or barely above getting $8-12 million I dont really grasp. Im actually have a hard time calling Myrd league average because for the most part of his career he has been below league average.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Folks from Kennesaw could drive to Perimeter station (if they wanted - though Kennesaw folks are a bit screwed due to Cobb not wanting crime *ahem* black people *ahem* by building a MARTA line to Marietta).

You say that as though Kennesaw folks aren't on board with the decision to keep the comically inept MARTA out of Cobb County. If anything, I'd say the presence of Town Center Mall makes them even less likely to want it.

[Alan T]

It is sad though that one of the best parts of attending Braves games when I was younger was the frantic drive through Techwood in pitch dark night after the games were done. You always had that feeling if you stopped at all for any traffic light or stop sign, your game would be over.

[Butter]

The one game I went to at Turner Field, we took a wrong turn off the interstate and ended up giving a dollar to a guy wandering around and having to talk my way out of someone else who was wanting me to give him money also.

It was a great area of town.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Alan T

It is sad though that one of the best parts of attending Braves games when I was younger was the frantic drive through Techwood in pitch dark night after the games were done. You always had that feeling if you stopped at all for any traffic light or stop sign, your game would be over.

LOL, 'cause I know what you mean.

As I've mentioned, my Dad & I were there "the night Sid slid". Driving home afterwards we headed up Northside Dr, and the celebratory gunfire opened up just as we got to a traffic light. Decided to just run that one

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You say that as though Kennesaw folks aren't on board with the decision to keep the comically inept MARTA out of Cobb County. If anything, I'd say the presence of Town Center Mall makes them even less likely to want it.

You are missing the point, again. I'm talking about Kennesaw residents being able to use MARTA for a downtown stadium, the same as people from Decatur, or Gwinnett.

However, with it being in Cobb, people from Kennesaw may have it easier, but people from Gwinnett won't (saying nothing of people from Decatur).

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

First data point is in, Marlon Byrd gets 2/16 from the Phillies.

I have no words.

Actually, I have many words, none of them good.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by Alan T

It is sad though that one of the best parts of attending Braves games when I was younger was the frantic drive through Techwood in pitch dark night after the games were done. You always had that feeling if you stopped at all for any traffic light or stop sign, your game would be over.

Oh yeah...in the days before GPS (or cell phones) going to a Braves game was like playing Russian Roulette. If you weren't a frequent spectator, it always felt like the police turned half the streets turned into one way routes around the stadium and it was never the same configuration twice. One wrong turn and suddenly you were going down a dark, deserted street with bars on every window.

...and am I missing something in regards to the discussion about public transportation? There is no MARTA line that goes to the Ted, right? Aren't the options either walking or the Braves shuttle from Five Points? I don't see how that is going to be any different with the new location since there's a MARTA to CCT Transfer station at the Galleria. Wouldn't people just go there instead of Five Points? I'm sure the Braves will have their Shuttles going from there and/or from the nearest train stop.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Didnt he get released a couple of years ago? You know I just find if funny that teams will pay this much for guys like Byrd. Is someone in triple A with any sign of potential making the $500k really a much worse scenario?

Got released by the Red Sox and suspended for PED's last June.

You don't think it's worth $8 million a year to see if he finally turned that corner at age 35 and can maintain the stats from his career year?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

However, with it being in Cobb, people from Kennesaw may have it easier, but people from Gwinnett won't (saying nothing of people from Decatur).

The Atlanta metro area is not, and likely will never be, a mass transit market. We drive, that's what we do. The number of people discouraged from attending by the lack of MARTA (or any other system) pales in comparison to the numbers who will be encouraged to go because they no longer have to deal with downtown.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by VPI97

...and am I missing something in regards to the discussion about public transportation? There is no MARTA line that goes to the Ted, right? Aren't the options either walking or the Braves shuttle from Five Points? I don't see how that is going to be any different with the new location since there's a MARTA to CCT Transfer station at the Galleria. Wouldn't people just go there instead of Five Points? I'm sure the Braves will have their Shuttles going from there and/or from the nearest train stop.

Braves Shuttle is MARTA run, and its a 1.5 mile ride (you can walk from 5pts to Turner on a nice day). MARTA to CCT Transfer at Galleria? Where does that bus run from to get to the Galleria? The closest MARTA train stop to the 75 & 285 crossing is 8 miles away (Buckhead Station). That's quite a different in running a shuttle - less than 2 miles compared to 8 miles.

I mean Gwinnett would be infinitely smarter since MARTA trains actually go right up to the Gwinnett border.

Here:


The new Braves stadium is up in the NorthWest corner (where 75 and 285 meet)

[ISiddiqui]

I think the most interesting thing, though, is Cobb County is notoriously anti-tax. Asking the residents for $450 million may not go over that smoothly.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Didnt he get released a couple of years ago? You know I just find if funny that teams will pay this much for guys like Byrd. Is someone in triple A with any sign of potential making the $500k really a much worse scenario?

I think the actually stars are worth the $20 million/year they get but these guys league average or barely above getting $8-12 million I dont really grasp. Im actually have a hard time calling Myrd league average because for the most part of his career he has been below league average.

It seems the 50 games he was suspended for steroids was worth it to his bank account. Is there any legitimate reason someone wouldn't just take a shot at it in their mid-30's if it meant hanging on for 1-2 more years?

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Carlos Ruiz reportedly has a 2/20 offer on the table.

Sox should have offered Salty the QO.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Carlos Ruiz reportedly has a 2/20 offer on the table.

Sox should have offered Salty the QO.

Seriously.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Got released by the Red Sox and suspended for PED's last June.

You don't think it's worth $8 million a year to see if he finally turned that corner at age 35 and can maintain the stats from his career year?

Ladies and gentlemen, Ruben Amaro, Jr.

[sterlingice]

He's Dayton Moore with a bigger wallet (see also: the late Omar Minaya)

SI

[Suicane75]

I find myself slipping a little further away from the Phillies every year. Since Harry died the games aren't fun to watch or listen to, the team has been a stagnant mess and the front office appears to have almost no direction. Unless this is designed to make Brown a major chip in a deal for Price (which even then I'm not sold on, because how the hell would that team score), it's just more of the same treadmill.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I think the most interesting thing, though, is Cobb County is notoriously anti-tax. Asking the residents for $450 million may not go over that smoothly.

One of two things almost certainly have to be true:

a) this IS a done deal (as the Braves as basically indicated) and it's never going before the taxpayers for a vote

or

b) the Braves are insanely full of shit

[JPhillips]

Cobb County GOP chiar:

“It is absolutely necessary the (transportation) solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta."

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Carlos Ruiz reportedly has a 2/20 offer on the table.

Sox should have offered Salty the QO.

Yup - it's year 2 of the new system with all the crazy TV money coming into the game. You can't be surprised at the contract numbers being thrown around. Fwiw, I actually wouldn't mind Ruiz at that number (although rumor has it that the Phils, not Boston offered him that) - every catcher will end up looking like/being an overpay, so I'm much more concerned with length than dollars. Ruiz for 2 looks much better than Salty for 3-4, McCann for 5-6, or, god forbid, AJ Pierzynski for any amount of time.

Also, they got the overall vote correct imo (Francona winning), but in this year's installment of what the hell is going on with some people at the BBWAA, Asuka Iinuma Brown of something called the Jiji Press voted for Bob Melvin, Joe Maddon and Buck Showalter on his AL Manager of the Year ballot.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Cobb County GOP chiar:

"Noooooooo, keep those black people outta here!"

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

"Noooooooo, keep those black people outta here!"

Thugs is thugs. Nobody wants to import 'em, regardless of color.

[Comey]

Phillies are in talks to acquire Jose Bautista. Dom Brown is the centerpiece of that deal.

I really think the franchise is attempting to piss me off into just cheering for the Red Sox, or find another NL team. I just don't get it.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

One of two things almost certainly have to be true:

a) this IS a done deal (as the Braves as basically indicated) and it's never going before the taxpayers for a vote

or

b) the Braves are insanely full of shit

I was wondering if this was actually "B", just some really aggressive posturing to get the investment they want done at Turner Field. But it sounds to me like the city itself is more than willing to move on from having the Braves there, so now they're going to have to figure this Cobb shit out.

[ISiddiqui]

I do think Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has played it well. If it is just a shit filled negotiating posture, Reed has said, y'all can go for $450mil. That is just a ridiculous amount of money. I think if the Braves even asked for $200mil, that perhaps some sort of deal could have been reached with the City of Atlanta, but not this much.

It means the Braves have got to get a deal done with Cobb, and one does wonder how they are going to make it happen while sidestepping a taxpayer vote.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Comey

Phillies are in talks to acquire Jose Bautista. Dom Brown is the centerpiece of that deal.

I really think the franchise is attempting to piss me off into just cheering for the Red Sox, or find another NL team. I just don't get it.

So they are wanting to trade a young, team controlled outfielder in his prime years for an aging, expensive player on the downside of his career with a large contract? Considering the numbers they put up last year were very similar other than Brown not being able to play defense this would seem like an awful 1 for 1 trade.

Maybe the Phils felt after last year they had some room to get even older and wanted to take full advantage?

[jbergey22]

Oh and in other news. The Twins still havent learned their lesson. They are reportedly offering Bronson Arroyo 24 million/2 years.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I've obviously been out of the loop. The fact that the Braves want a new stadium is hysterical. Someone needs to tell Ted to go fuck himself.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I've obviously been out of the loop. The fact that the Braves want a new stadium is hysterical. Someone needs to tell Ted to go fuck himself.

Someone hasn't heard the news that, um, TED DOESN'T OWN THE TEAM.


Ted Turner's comment on Braves move | The Buzz | www.accessatlanta.com

So, what's he saying about his former team's decision to quit Turner Field for Cobb? Not much. Here's a statement:

“It is my understanding that the Atlanta Braves announced their plan to move from Turner Field to a new stadium in Cobb County. When Time Warner merged with AOL in 2001, the Atlanta Braves were part of the merger package, and later acquired by Liberty Media Corporation. I am no longer part of the company and have not been involved in the decision making since 2001. I just hope the Braves will be happy in their new location and continue their winning ways.”

[cuervo72]

I mean, you can still tell Ted to go fuck himself, but should probably pick a different reason.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Someone hasn't heard the news that, um, TED DOESN'T OWN THE TEAM.


Ted Turner's comment on Braves move | The Buzz | www.accessatlanta.com

He's just stuck in the timeframe when Sony was winning console wars.

[ISiddiqui]

LOL!

Though if Ted was running the team, there is likely no way they would move from downtown.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Someone hasn't heard the news that, um, TED DOESN'T OWN THE TEAM.

Ted Turner's comment on Braves move | The Buzz | www.accessatlanta.com

LOL. Not so much. So tell whoever's in charge to go fuck themselves. I don't care if it was a retrofit, 20 years ain't going to cut it.

[ISiddiqui]

I mean we could, but Liberty Media really isn't going to care .

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I mean we could, but Liberty Media really isn't going to care .

So wait...are you saying the F*uck comcast thread was probably in vain?

[ISiddiqui]

Shocking

[larrymcg421]

That ticket density map for the Braves actually makes this decision look worse, not better. It's not like the new stadium is centered among ticket buyers. It's more centered than previously, but with far worse public transportation options. There are many more centered areas that had rail access.

I live in one of the high density areas (30341) and used MARTA about 99% of the time I went to the games. It is doubtful I will be making that nightmarish trip towards 285/75 (which is already about an hour during rush hour) and dealing with about 40,000 extra people in the area.

[korme]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

He's Dayton Moore with a bigger wallet (see also: the late Omar Minaya)

SI

The late Omar Minaya?

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

That ticket density map for the Braves actually makes this decision look worse, not better. It's not like the new stadium is centered among ticket buyers. It's more centered than previously, but with far worse public transportation options. There are many more centered areas that had rail access.

I've never been to the area, but I think the move seems odd.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by korme

The late Omar Minaya?

He won (lost?) The Contest so he's dead to me

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

That ticket density map for the Braves actually makes this decision look worse, not better. It's not like the new stadium is centered among ticket buyers. It's more centered than previously, but with far worse public transportation options. There are many more centered areas that had rail access.

What seems to be getting overlooked repeatedly is "rail access ... which is not a priority for many of their core customers"

The other thing that hasn't gotten enough play in this story perhaps is the likely price jump for tickets which seems to accompany a lot of new stadiums. That's going to make hitting the high income customers (such as those in Cobb, Gwinnett, etc) even more critical for the Braves going forward. It'll be even more of a "Lexus Lot" crowd, not a take-Marta crowd.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Oh and in other news. The Twins still havent learned their lesson. They are reportedly offering Bronson Arroyo 24 million/2 years.

Dammit. If only the Reds knew they could have put the QO on him to get a pick.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What seems to be getting overlooked repeatedly is "rail access ... which is not a priority for many of their core customers"

The other thing that hasn't gotten enough play in this story perhaps is the likely price jump for tickets which seems to accompany a lot of new stadiums. That's going to make hitting the high income customers (such as those in Cobb, Gwinnett, etc) even more critical for the Braves going forward. It'll be even more of a "Lexus Lot" crowd, not a take-Marta crowd.

I think the issue is that the high income folks from Gwinnett or North Fulton (like John's Creek) may balk on 285 traffic. But yes, the prices are going to jump, which is a shame because the Braves had very affordable tickets.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Incidentally, MARTA becomes a less & less popular option each year Bucking National Trend, Atlanta's Public Transit Ridership Declines

Since 2001 MARTA showed ridership losses on trains for eight years and on buses for 10 -- far worse than comparable cities or transit systems

[Vince, Pt. II]

Tim Hudson to the Giants, 2 years $23M with a full no-trade clause.

As mediocre as this move is, rather excited about it. One of the better options for this team in this FA class. Still need one more SP, an OF and a middle reliever. Hopefully the Giants don't try to play min-sal roulette on LF again.

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Tim Lincecum to the Giants, 2 years $23M with a full no-trade clause.

As mediocre as this move is, rather excited about it. One of the better options for this team in this FA class. Still need one more SP, an OF and a middle reliever. Hopefully the Giants don't try to play min-sal roulette on LF again.

I think you mean Tim Hudson.

[JetsIn06]

Also, didn't see this posted, but the Phillies just gave Carlos Ruiz buckets of cash. Three years, $26 million. Skip Schumaker signed with the Reds for two years.

[tarcone]

Shumaker is a Jockety guy.

Article in our local sports page about the Cards and Orioles. It is just a "what if" type thing I think.
But, JJ Hardy for Sgelby Miller.

The Os young kid coming back from knee surgery and Hardy in his walk year. Miller is a stud. But the Cards go 7 deep in SPs. And there is no SS on the roster to speak of. Could be a developing story. But the Os have stated they arent actively trading Hardy.