John_Havok

Pretty much. I'm morbidly curious as to if it realy matters to the OP or if it's just a discussion point to kill time...

I don't think he's an extension candidate, so put me in the no column. Questionable health combined with bad D and he becomes rather blah. QO him and hope he declines. If he does accept, you have a DH for 2017 and figure out somethng else for the outfield

Yeah, but I think he's onto something with this punch-running idea. Steal a bag, punch the SS .... could be the new market efficiency

What's the point of this discussion? Whether you draft and develop players that end up on your major league team and you end up competing for a world series, or whether you use your drafted and developed players to trade for major league talent that fills your roster and you compete for a world series, what's the difference? No team in baseball succeeds with 100% homegrown players, so why does the % of homegrown talent matter if the end result is a world series? Maybe the warm and fuzzy feelings of drafting and developing make the world series win more meaningful?

ERIC GAGNE'S 2003 says hi

I'll post my lineup later when the games start. Took some risks for sure

Optically it was awful for both sides. The Yankees looked like morons for trying to get out of a contractual bonus and everyone still thought Arod deserved to be crucified in Times Square so the thought of him fighting for his cash was somehow also seen as stupid

As I recall they came to an agreement that his bonus money would be donated to charity or something after a fight. The sticking point was that the contract language said his bonus would be paid when he reached "marketable HR milestones." The Yankees argued that since his suspension for doping was so public and horrible his Willie Mays passing HR could not be considered marketable since everyone thought he was Satan. Arod said f*** you, gimme my money. Then they settled and split the money between charities

Martin's jimmies just got russelled

Whomever paid the ump for those calls.... thanks!

That's what he knows and is best at. Chances are he vastly prefers that posting

Really wish the pen was going here... I guess with how much they've been used lately Marco needs to go as far as possible

Too bad it's too late to save their season. Finishing .500 would be a miracle at this point

Just doesn't make sense, Travis is killing it and is 10 times the hitter Pillar is. Let him leadoff, then murderers row, and after Saunders in 5th you put upton 6th, Barney 7th, Thole 8th and Pillar 9th. And when Martin is in, you put him in 6th, and everyone slides down a spot, with Pillar still hitting 9th Why Gibbons feels the need to juggle the lineup every day is beyond me

He's not done as a catcher yet, they just wanted him DHing for a while to help his shoulder recover a bit more. The plan is to get him some catching reps before the end of the minor league season at some point.

Yup. Whether or not that should happen is the real question

Very true. I wasn't trying to suggest a winner of the trade, more so that the deal realy just amounts to a purchase of prospects for a bad contract and a depth SP. If Hutch works out for the Pirates, then its likely a win/win

Some differences on where the team was at the time. One was rebuilding and grabbing all kinds of youth was a definite positive. This team is in the thick of contention, and still the GM manages to acquire prospects and arguably improve the current roster (not by alot mind you). It's a pretty ninja move that I would liken to when AA picked up Olivo and all those Type B pen arms, just to offer an arbitration deal and take extra picks. Simplistically, Atkins just bought two prospects for 17 million dollars less any actual value that Liriano provides between now and the end of next year.

That ball still hasn't landed. Wow

He's not commenting on the talent level of the players and prospects. He's saying the league should step in because the Pirates are dumping salary, while they continue to receive max revenue sharing and extra picks in the draft every year because of their market

He's commenting on the pirates dumping salary while they receive max revenue sharing and potentially extra picks in the draft every year. It's a valid point of view

US Cellular and Wrigley crossed of my list. Atlanta's new park is on next year's list

No argument there

Ramirez was ranked their #5 prospect by fangraphs prior to 2016, and McGuire was #3. Both are hit tool oriented guys with minimal power, but with McGuire being also a decent rated defensive catcher, he becomes Martin's replacement down the line.

Scouting reports on the two picked up prospects from Dan Farnsworth of Fangraphs prior to 2016 season Ramirez is a very unique hitter to watch at this stage of his career. His hit tool may already be above-average at the major-league level, but the way it works is awkward to see. To me, it looks like someone took one of the most athletic upper halves in baseball and plopped it on some sort of swiveling rocking chair. Not to downplay his overall athletic ability, since he does have plus raw speed and a (very?) outside chance at sticking in center field. Most likely he ends up a corner outfielder light on arm strength and power but with enough on-base ability to be a well above-average regular, hitting his way into a starting role. As alluded to above, Ramirez’ legs and hands work on completely different wavelengths, making his raw power pretty untouchable and leaving him looking fooled on a lot of swings. The fun part is his hands and barrel awareness are so good that he can consistently dump balls in the outfield even when he has completely lost his balance over his legs. In the video above, this manifests itself in a swing on which Ramirez appears to have been punched in the stomach by an invisible fist, hanging on for dear life to make contact, only to square it up and hit a sure single into left field. Major-league pitchers will be able to get him off balance more than he is now, but there’s a special place in the game for hitters with his ability to barrel the ball. Even if he is limited to left field defensively, his hit tool will carry him into a valued job in the big leagues. Hit: 50/60+/70 Power: 30/35/40 Run: 55/50/55 Field: 50/50/50+ Throw: 45/45/45 Overall: 40/55/65 I was pleasantly surprised with the Reese McGuire that showed up in the Arizona Fall League; he finally showed some potential to use his plus bat speed to drive the ball with some authority instead of just making contact. It wasn’t just the numbers where he showed improvement either; his swing looked like it was meant to be doing some damage. He still has work to do on both his offense and defense, but the changes this fall were encouraging enough to project him closer to his offensive ceiling than I would have admitted at this time last year. Prior to the fall, McGuire had the same bat speed and loose, athletic swing, but his swing plane was geared for low line drives and ground balls. To that end, he had delivered through the regular season last year, with few swings and misses but not much to show for it. His path in the fall looked good enough to tap into his above-average raw power given enough time to develop, making him a much more interesting prospect than the good-glove, questionable-hitting catcher he looked like before. He has plus arm strength out of the crouch, but below-average footwork and transfers pull his current arm grade down to average. He gets great reviews for calling a game behind the plate, and present above-average receiving and average blocking ability give him plenty of skills to be a valuable backstop. Team sources swear by his receiving work as a whole, so I’m trusting their judgment by bumping his future grades up. With the emphasis the Pirates have placed on his defense, it’s reasonable to see future gains made in all his defensive tools, giving him upside as a true plus defender. His improved hitting forecast makes the total package look like an above-average regular at minimum. Hit: 35/50/55 Power: 35/45/50+ Run: 45/40/45 Field: 55/60/60+ Throw: 50/55/60 Overall: 35/55-60/65