NorthOf49

My goodness it has been a slow two weeks. Can the starting pitcher gridlock really be all due to Tanaka?

1.1%. We (supposedly) have the money and the need. But so do five other teams, and many of those teams aren't as averse to long-term deals.

If you're looking to shop him now, you know who to contact... Thanks... replied!

That's very good. With you going for it, the Turkey Bacon Club Division should be real interesting in 2014.

The #4 pick will turn into a very nice prospect... it's the centrepiece, not Urias. Elite picks are a little underrated right now IMO. It's as if people would rather prospects since they're easier to justify to a fan base lol. This trade is within what the market has dictated this offseason.

I think the rule is that it's only with pay for infractions that occur on the field -- stuff like beaning batters and fights. Now the Yankees can safely go bananas on Tanaka.

It depends on body type and other factors. Some people (albeit a small percentage) would only appear slightly overweight at 5'9, 230.

Yep. It is said that $14M per is the new asking price... if so something like $12M per is a realistic price. 4/48 is a very reasonable deal IMO. We need to get Jimenez locked up before one of the five teams that lose out on Tanaka gets desperate and blows their load. If that process drags out until February, Jimenez will get restless and may sign. If Tanaka signs in the next week, we're likely locked out of Jimenez.

Why not? That would keep a lot of teams out of the Jimenez sweepstakes and he seems to be our best realistic target.

But Glavine has 300 wins! The ultimate milestone... you know it must be important because it has two zero digits! Yep, it's a travesty. Mussina, Schilling, Kevin Brown were all better than Glavine. Somehow Glavine built up a reputation that even the new-school voters can't resist. Glavine is really Jack Morris with three extra years of average production tacked on. Curt Schilling was the big-game monster people think Jack Morris was. He should get all the votes from the old-school thinkers. It would be cool if Schilling could go in with Randy Johnson next year. The duo posted 71.8 fWAR in their nine combined Diamondbacks years (including 35.1 from 2001-2 - Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels have only 18.7 in the past two years, and people think the Phillies have a great top-of-rotation). That's f***ed up. The best ace tandem... ever. They left Koufax and Drysdale in their dust. But it's not going to happen. Not even the people who are supposed to be objective and smart (the internet-y voters) are on the Schilling/Mussina bandwagon. Neither have ever been connected to steroids and both have no-doubt statistical cases and memorable individual performances.

Yep, any deal with any player the Jays (or any team) makes is in US Dollars. The problem is that all of their revenue comes in Canadian Dollars so if there's a big discrepancy they get screwed.

Not that close. I'd vote for him though

It's not exclusive television coverage btw, just an agreement to show 300 games. I bet they had something similar in effect last year and that this is more of an update than a big addition.

I don't believe we know what will happen with his vote. It shouldn't be taken away IMO. He didn't sell it, all he was really doing was asking some fans for help. Is that so bad? I don't think so.

I didn't even need to use anything, it was the weirdest thing. I had Mediahint but didn't end up using it lol. But if I was blocked it seems Mediahint would've worked and it's free. You should definitely get MLB.TV RickyWalks, one of the best purchases I've ever made. Who needs cable when you can watch all the baseball you want for $100 a year. And in HD with all-platform support.

Because it costs a crapload, nobody watches more than five or six channels and non-live shows are posted online anyway? Cable just doesn't make sense these days.

Cool, thanks. Anthony Rizzo @ 20th lol. Even I'm not that optimistic on him.

I'm confused at how Tom Glavine is going to waltz past Schilling and Mussina and get in on his first ballot. Yes, he has 300 wins, but as an overall candidate he's inferior to those two and also to Kevin Brown (who didn't even get 5%!). Had Jack Morris pitched a couple more prime years and an extra mediocre at end, reaching the magic 300, he'd be Tom Glavine. Very similar pitchers, Glavine just has more longevity. Yet Glavine isn't been written up as a longevity play; even all the statheads have him high on their ballots and call him a legit first-ballot guy. A player's reputation seems to have incredible influence on every voter, not just the old-school guys, and the reputation isn't based on big games or clubhouse authority. It's a weird thing that happens spontaneously... players are either always seen by everyone as historically significant players or they aren't. Not that Glavine isn't a Hall of Famer in his own right -- he certainly is.

I like that. Maybe only first-time free agents with less than eight years of ML service are relevant. The idea is to keep in-prime players with their teams, as it keeps small-markets interested. I.e. it's good for the game that McCutchen seems committed to staying in Pittsburgh. Older players who have already been through the free agent loop before don't really matter.

How about this: Rank the thirty teams by guaranteed dollars committed by other teams to free agent players that have been in the organization for two-plus seasons minus guaranteed dollars committed by the organization to other teams' free agents. A free agency plus/minus stat. Then you give the top team (i.e., the most free agency worsened team) a 15% spike in amateur cap, followed by 14%... and so on to a 15% decrease for the most free agency improved team. That way no specific players are hurt by compensation and teams don't have to make any strange decisions to get around the rules. It affects the industry as a whole uniformly.

Get rid of the draft. Give teams capped amateur signing budgets based on a lottery weighted by the past four years' record, with figures ranging from $18M to $12M, although with an advantage for signing players out of your own home region (split up fairly, taking into account the past thirty five years of WAR/county data. The Rangers don't get all of North Texas to themselves). Only 70% of the bonus for home region players counts against the cap. International players are included since there'd no longer be a need for separate systems.

lol this is exactly why the original AB thread was closed! Not that I care, this is much more entertaining than discussion about the Indians signing Jeff Francoeur.

88th with a 3.89/4.00/3.92 ERA/FIP/xFIP line. Maholm is a decent pitcher who would stabilize our #5 spot and keep some of the question marks in AAA to prove themselves/save service time. I like it. Also, I'm cutting him in DDL so this is not a propaganda play. I legitimately think Maholm can help the team.

My offensive situation made Choo somewhat expandable and I was in desperate need of a top starting pitcher. I don't think either of those statements are reaches. Am I not supposed to like transactions that I make? Why would I make them then lol.

I'm not really cutting much of substance. Maholm, Raburn, Grant Green, Tim Collins, etc. No legitimate veterans. Dinger, maybe you could trade some of your better players to open holes for some of those guys? I don't know. Seems like a lot of lost value.