NorthOf49

Yep you've been in on Choo for a while. You just needed to come into contact with the right starter, and Price was that. Players with broad skillsets get underrated in real baseball, and for some reason that carries over to fantasy. Choo contributes in all seven categories, he allows you flexibility in your other offensive slots... and he's elite in OBP and runs. I just ran up against an OF and OBP logjam. What I'll say about Price is that he still has elite velocity and the 95.5 from 2012 is more of an outlier than the 93.5 from 2013. If he averaged 94.1 in 2012 (in line with his previous averages), it wouldn't look like such a sudden drop in 2013. Plus, even with the new data you have to be careful about assigning to much to one year. His peripherals were just fine from 2010-12.

If we're not getting more control back, there's no reason to trade Rasmus. You're just filling one hole by opening another. Because no team is giving up a decent starter AND a capable centrefielder.

It makes a lot of sense for the Pharm. Choo can be replaced with Crisp, and we had way too many OBP-oriented players. Choo's .400+ OBP ability is a real asset, but it was getting wasted with Mauer, McCutchen, Fielder, and no OBP sinks. Runs too to some extent. We also needed a starter badly, and wanted to get a bit younger (even if Price is a not-young 28). While I'm worried about Price's Ks and possible lack of a Molina, I think he can become an elite K/BB (i.e., Cliff Lee lite) guy, making up the loss in K and ERA. We're very happy to welcome David to the team.

Inb4 JFaS rips me a new one for acquiring Price. Also, I now have seven MiLB picks between 93 and 114

So I finally landed a top starter. To Dinger: Shin-Soo Choo (MLB) + Luis Heredia (MiLB) + Waiver #73 + MiLB #53 + MiLB #71 No No49: David Price (MLB) + Waiver #94 + MiLB #100 + MiLB #114

Here are the Free Agents (KLaw Top 50) that have yet to sign as of January 5th and the crowd's prediction on them. Tanaka - Yankees, 5/60 Jimenez - Blue Jays, 4/56 Santana - Blue Jays, 4/56 Drew - Cardinals, 3/33 Burnett - Pirates, 1/12 Garza - Nationals Cruz - Rangers Morales - Mariners Maholm - Orioles Yoon - Mariners Rodney - Tigers Hammel - Orioles Arroyo - Reds Balfour - Tigers A lot of hedging in the crowd -- all closers to Tigers, all shortstops to Cardinals, both top pitchers to Blue Jays, so a lot are certain to be wrong, especially with the former two situations already resolving themselves (Nathan, Peralta to Tigers, Cardinals respectively).

That's not even true either lol. This isn't a new rumour, it's just Rosenthal telling us to calm down since the Jays remain interested in these guys, being a "leading candidate." They've been that for months.

It's tricky because we have connections to both. Santana is a friend of Bautista and the rest of the Dominicans, while AA has liked Jimenez in the past. I would lean Santana, but would prefer Garza over both.

Meh, anyone can put together a good lineup with a cloning machine. Fun fact: With Cuddyer at first, Steamer projects 28.4 WAR for your starters. My starters... 33.8.

Blue Jays trade Adam Lind and Steve Delabar for Gregory Polanco

The Pharm's lineup: 1. RF Shin-Soo Choo 2. CF Andrew McCutchen 3. C Joe Mauer 4. 3B Adrian Beltre 5. DH Prince Fielder 6. LF Matt Kemp 7. 2B Jason Kipnis 8. 1B Anthony Rizzo 9. SS Jed Lowrie I've been debating how to arrange the first three in my head for months lol.

Was away for a week, sorry for the delay on Crain-Astros! There were no complaint posts probably because nobody picked it lol.

Nope, you are wrong Spank! Do your research before calling out others. Here are the details: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/mlb-npb-reach-agreement-on-posting-system?ymd=20131216&content_id=66013956 There is NO BIDDING. The Japanese team sets a release fee, and the signing team must pay that after agreeing to terms with the player. It is non-negotiatable. If you don't like the fee, you don't sign the player. The Japanese team can set the fee to be anything, with a $20M max.

There is no bidding process btw. You just sign Tanaka and then pay Rakuten $20M (the release fee, which is set by the Japanese club at $20M or less). It's a one-step deal. So we will never know if AA is serious about Tanaka or not unless he signs him. "Bidding" should be removed from the title.

Yeah I had about 30 thank yous in there. GD doesn't think deletion removes them though... I have no idea if I actually lost any. I like the thread not being stickied, come to think of it. I think it will attract more attention this way. But I would like to know what happened to the original.

This contest is over! It was meant to be an offseason prediction contest and the offseason is over. Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales went unsigned. jays4life19, our pole-to-pole leader, ended up hanging on at the very end to take the first Blue Jays Message Board Free Agent Prediction Contest (at least, first of the new board). Congratulations!! Rounding out the top three overall are havok24 and all-around prediction king Angrioter. These three also constitute the Part One top three: Angrioter won and was followed by jays4life19 and havok24, who tied for second. Part Three saw a different champion. Jays_fever posting a dominant 50 points as he perfectly predicted four free agents and collected points on others. Frenchsoup and jays4life19 tied for second at 46. Thanks to everyone who participated! You all did a good job, illustrated by the crowd (an aggregate of all your predictions) scoring 75 points, which would have won the whole competition. However, the crowd only scored 44 points in Part Two, which shows you how dominant jays_fever was in that part of the competition. You can see all the predictions here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuRs7ESmE2v5dFRmaXkyWE81YzNDLVdzRE00WG1jLUE&usp=drive_web#gid=1 FINAL RESULTS [table] [tr][td]Rank[/td][td]Poster[/td][td]Total Score[/td][td]--[/td][td]Rank[/td][td]Poster[/td][td]Part One[/td][td]--[/td][td]Rank[/td][td]Poster[/td][td]Part Two[/td][/tr] [tr][td]1[/td][td]jays4life19[/td][td]74[/td][td]--[/td][td]1[/td][td]Angrioter[/td][td]30[/td][td]--[/td][td]1[/td][td]Jays_Fever[/td][td]50[/td][/tr] [tr][td]2[/td][td]havok24[/td][td]70[/td][td]--[/td][td]2[/td][td]jays4life19[/td][td]28[/td][td]--[/td][td]2[/td][td]jays4life19[/td][td]46[/td][/tr] [tr][td]3[/td][td]Angrioter[/td][td]66[/td][td]--[/td][td]2[/td][td]havok24[/td][td]28[/td][td]--[/td][td]2[/td][td]frenchsoup[/td][td]46[/td][/tr] [tr][td]4[/td][td]Jays_Fever[/td][td]65[/td][td]--[/td][td]4[/td][td]Ziggyy108[/td][td]27[/td][td]--[/td][td]4[/td][td]bts[/td][td]44[/td][/tr] [tr][td]5[/td][td]Ziggyy108[/td][td]63[/td][td]--[/td][td]4[/td][td]Barrys Syringe[/td][td]27[/td][td]--[/td][td]4[/td][td]njh[/td][td]44[/td][/tr] [tr][td]6[/td][td]Barrys Syringe[/td][td]61[/td][td]--[/td][td]4[/td][td]boxcar[/td][td]27[/td][td]--[/td][td]6[/td][td]havok24[/td][td]42[/td][/tr] [tr][td]7[/td][td]bts[/td][td]60[/td][td]--[/td][td]7[/td][td]GordieDougie[/td][td]25[/td][td]--[/td][td]6[/td][td]connorp[/td][td]42[/td][/tr] [tr][td]8[/td][td]GordieDougie[/td][td]59[/td][td]--[/td][td]7[/td][td]ECJF[/td][td]25[/td][td]--[/td][td]8[/td][td]John_Havok[/td][td]40[/td][/tr] [tr][td]9[/td][td]frenchsoup[/td][td]58[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]therealmin[/td][td]24[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]Angrioter[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]9[/td][td]therealmin[/td][td]58[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]King[/td][td]24[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]Ziggyy108[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]11[/td][td]NorthOf49[/td][td]57[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]TBJ12[/td][td]24[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]NorthOf49[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]12[/td][td]Theblujay[/td][td]54[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]JaysRap[/td][td]24[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]Theblujay[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]13[/td][td]mohyou[/td][td]53[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]NorthOf49[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]The Cat's Ass[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]14[/td][td]John_Havok[/td][td]52[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]mohyou[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]9[/td][td]Abomination[/td][td]36[/td][/tr] [tr][td]14[/td][td]Jonn[/td][td]52[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]JFaS[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]15[/td][td]Barrys Syringe[/td][td]34[/td][/tr] [tr][td]14[/td][td]bzapple[/td][td]52[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]fapaholic[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]15[/td][td]GordieDougie[/td][td]34[/td][/tr] [tr][td]17[/td][td]The Cat's Ass[/td][td]51[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]Jaysblue[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]15[/td][td]therealmin[/td][td]34[/td][/tr] [tr][td]17[/td][td]Abomination[/td][td]51[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]Sammy[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]15[/td][td]Jonn[/td][td]34[/td][/tr] [tr][td]19[/td][td]King[/td][td]50[/td][td]--[/td][td]13[/td][td]ace3113[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]15[/td][td]bzapple[/td][td]34[/td][/tr] [tr][td]20[/td][td]JFaS[/td][td]49[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]Theblujay[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]mohyou[/td][td]32[/td][/tr] [tr][td]21[/td][td]njh[/td][td]48[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]Jonn[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]21[/td][td]over500[/td][td]30[/td][/tr] [tr][td]22[/td][td]TBJ12[/td][td]46[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]bzapple[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]22[/td][td]JFaS[/td][td]28[/td][/tr] [tr][td]23[/td][td]ECJF[/td][td]45[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]TheHurl[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]23[/td][td]King[/td][td]26[/td][/tr] [tr][td]24[/td][td]connorp[/td][td]42[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]Gsnarls[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]24[/td][td]TBJ12[/td][td]22[/td][/tr] [tr][td]25[/td][td]over500[/td][td]39[/td][td]--[/td][td]20[/td][td]SAAviour[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]25[/td][td]ECJF[/td][td]20[/td][/tr] [tr][td]25[/td][td]fapaholic[/td][td]39[/td][td]--[/td][td]26[/td][td]bts[/td][td]16[/td][td]--[/td][td]26[/td][td]fapaholic[/td][td]18[/td][/tr] [tr][td]27[/td][td]boxcar[/td][td]27[/td][td]--[/td][td]27[/td][td]Jays_Fever[/td][td]15[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]28[/td][td]JaysRap[/td][td]24[/td][td]--[/td][td]27[/td][td]The Cat's Ass[/td][td]15[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]29[/td][td]Jaysblue[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]27[/td][td]Abomination[/td][td]15[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]29[/td][td]Sammy[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]30[/td][td]frenchsoup[/td][td]12[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]29[/td][td]ace3113[/td][td]21[/td][td]--[/td][td]30[/td][td]John_Havok[/td][td]12[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]32[/td][td]TheHurl[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]32[/td][td]over500[/td][td]9[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]32[/td][td]Gsnarls[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td]33[/td][td]njh[/td][td]4[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [tr][td]32[/td][td]SAAviour[/td][td]18[/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]--[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr] [/table]

I am confused. Will have to start another. Do deletions wipe out Thanks?

A belated Merry Christmas everyone. Anyone know where the FAP Contest Thread went? I don't see it in the stickies

I think he has a playoff team in 2014, but a lot of his players do worry me. How much can you count on Donaldson, Hanley, Salty and Cuddyer? Each had huge, seemingly-fluky seasons... and the guys (other than Stanton, although he is an injury risk) he has behind them have incomplete skillsets. It's a fairly old group too.

Nah I have plenty of productive young players too! Therealmin is the one who should be worried about an aging core, not me.

Yep, they're definitely on the A's level now. The AL West should be a lot of fun to watch in 2014. I don't know how my statement was so controversial... in the last four years, Fielder, Beltre and Choo are 7th, 13th and 15th in MLB in wRC+ (min. 1500 PA), respectively. It's a pretty special offensive core! This makes Texas a real World Series contender.

Choo, Beltre, Fielder... what an offensive nucleus. Good grief. Rangers are going to get back to winning pennants.

No. HR is untouchable... he's destroyed four or five threads with penis talk and has sunk mohyou, Spanky and others. But he just keeps chugging along unharmed lol. I wonder who he'll get banned tonight.

Can mohyou be re-instated if he wins the FAP Contest? He's in the top 10!

My first baseman team: C Jordan Pacheco 1B Joey Votto 2B Kevin Youkilis 3B Mark Teixeira SS Albert Pujols LF Chris Carter CF Allen Craig RF Brandon Belt P Chris Davis