digiblader

You're an idiot. This season is far from over--we still have to play those contenders, starting tomorrow with the O's. And they have to play each other as well. Remember, Tampa's sked is currently in the easy part--the difficulty surges after the break when they play Boston.

Well, at least we get Lawrie back by Friday or so..

Free agency for 2014 is bleak: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/06/2014-mlb-free-agent-power-rankings.html Regarding Ellsbury: 3. Jacoby Ellsbury. We're finally seeing signs of life from Ellsbury, who has a .400 OBP in 75 plate appearances since our last set of rankings was published. His 8.6% walk rate would be a career best, and if Ellsbury can continue to stay healthy and get his batting average up toward .300, he'll restore value and maybe even ignite the $100MM talk again. It's possible Ellsbury reclaims the #2 spot from Choo before the season ends. He's not resigning with Boston--no way Boston will hand another $100M contract after the A-Gone/Crawford disasters. And yes, it's a grim class.. it's going to be difficult for Boston to resign Ellsbury and/or Napoli due to the likely inflated prices caused by a lack of supply of decent free agents. And Choo's not needed in Boston with Nava, JBJ and Victorino there.

O's aren't #1. Remember, Bundy's out until 2015, and the ownership won't be able to afford long-term deals to guys like Chris Davis, as they can barely afford the current payroll of $92M. Until the team starts drawing 40K again, it'll be difficult to keep that team together. Money is not a guarantee of success--free agency has been devalued due to the new TV deals allowing smaller teams to lock up young stars. And aren't we forgetting the Rays pitching?

There aren't any big free agents on the market. . You also don't realize how important Ellsbury is to the Red Sox offense(55 runs, tied with Pedroia.) Jackie Bradley Jr. can't replace that(yet). Salty won't be coming back--more likely they aim for McCann, who is also a free agent. Also keep in mind Salty is not even that great of a C..who is likely going to be moved to 1B down the road. Most of the free agents on the market are well past their prime(Granderson) or are mediocre, because all the big names have resigned with their own clubs. And once 2015 hits, it could be difficult for Boston--Ortiz will be 39 by then. Regarding Jacoby Ellsbury--as a Boras client, he'll likely use his strong numbers in 2011-2013 to try to get a contract Boston won't be willing to pay. Remember, they got badly burned on Carl Crawford's contract. And that payroll is likely to decline--Boston's attendance is down this year, and the team wants to be more like St. Louis--developing heavily from within, wanting to avoid a repeat of 2010-12, where they tried to imitate the Yankees.

Delusional NY media as usual: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/baseballinsider/2013/07/the-latest-on-yankees-and-red-sox-trade-deadline-plans-marcum-done-but-did-h Yankees are NOT close to positioned to contend--Granderson and Jeter won't help this team, especially with no timetable on Granderson. And Jeter won't help much, especially with nobody to drive him in with the injuries to Youkilis, Tex, regression by Cano and the coming suspension of A-Rod. And they didn't mention that the Rays have a huge lead on NY as is.

Regarding Boston--they will face a lot of questions this offseason, prospects or no prospects. They face losing their CF(Ellsbury), 1B(Napoli), C(Salty), Stephen Drew, and still need a closer, as Bailey may/may not be tendered a contract. The 2014 offseason is even messier--Pedroia's on an option year, Lester's a free agent, as are Dempster, David Ortiz among others. It is unlikely Ellsbury resigns--as a Boras client, he will likely demand more than Boston's willing to pay--especially with Jackie Bradley Jr. on the way--Ellsbury will likely demand Carl Crawford money(about $15-20M). And Napoli hasn't been that great--his K's are way up and his OPS is down, and due to the lack of depth in free agency, will get significantly overpaid. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is looking at a huge raise because of his bat--he lacks behind the plane, as he is as bad or worse than JP Arencibia defensively. The closer issue is a big problem--Koji Uehara won't last as a closer(injury history), and many of the free agent options this winter are lacking

What the heck? Why is Farrell going to Breslow now? He's going to blow out the bullpen tonight at this rate.. Actually, Aceves just got hurt.. Boston's bullpen is falling apart FAST...they could find themselves in serious trouble soon, especially with a tough stretch coming with Oakland(weekend) and the AL East(after the break)

With Aceves pitching? I don't know..

Webster's out. Aceves in. At this rate, the offense is going to need to carry Boston--or they'll be leaving the West Coast trailing the Rays in the AL East.

As I said, Seattle is a much improved team with the top prospects Nick Franklin, Brad Miller, Mike Zunino, etc. now in the majors. They'll be a dangerous team in 2014.. and it's very bad news for the Angels, who spent all that money thinking they'd have a World Series by now, and it's a threat to the Rangers and A's.

Look out for those stingrays(and one blue furry seadog).. Tampa Bay is really building a lead in the AL wild card.. and are closing in on Boston. All this comes at the expense of everyone at the AL East, however, not just the Jays. Baltimore(due to pitching issues) and the Yankees(no offense) are sinking in the race. We could see more sellers joining in the coming weeks.

Actually, he dominated--until Jim Leyland left Verlander in too long in the 8th because of his lack of trust in their bullpen, which gave up 6 runs BTW. With KC and Cleveland winning, it's not good news for Detroit.

Actually, outside of 2-3 very bad outings, Ubaldo has been semi-decent this season.

When does Tampa actually face MLB teams next? They're up 4-0 on Minnesota. You can imagine Boston is sweating..

Royals just tied the Yankees at 1 on a jack by David Lough, Francouer's replacement.

Well, Baltimore is sinking--they're down 5-2 vs. the Rangers now. As I said--they need a better pitcher than what they have. Why aren't they going after Garza/Lee/whatever?

Forgot to mention that Boston brought JBJ up because of Ellsbury's injury and Jose De La Torre's crappiness. They also called up Brandon Workman as well, BTW.

The world must be ending---JPA just walked!

Whoa.. Brantley completely misplayed that badly. But we'll take it.. c'mon Rajai! How about a HR?

That's Matt Devlin. He's the Raptors broadcaster who's filling in for Buck while he takes a vacation.

Former Jay Shaun Marcum needs surgery (thoractic outlet syndrome).. so anyone who wanted the Jays to sign him last offseason should be happy we didn't.

Ubaldo is so frustrating..all the talent, and yet he walks the park most of the time. So far, so good for him though..but we'll see what happens.

It's got to be Cano. Can has been accused previously of PEDs..

ESPN's stupid: Tom ‏@Haudricourt MLB spokesman tells me ESPN report on Braun is premature and no decisions have been made. Updated blog at http://bit.ly/cGDWps