KingKat

I'd dangle Osuna just because of some of the crazy returns that relievers sometimes bring. It might be worth pulling the trigger if it brings some talent that can contribute shortly. I also have this fanciful notion that Conner Greene (a prospect I've s*** on quite a bit) might be a wicked closer.

I don't care for your idea of sensual.

Isn't that all the more argument for them to try to take advantage of this fluke opportunity?

Well the people arguing against the move were armchair GM'ing too. It's just that they were (i.e. I was) right.

Key word there is "seems". As much as he plays off his lazy slob image, he's probably the hardest working man in comedy. Have you ever watched his stuff from the 80s? He's come a LONG way.

Marcum, McGowan, Romero, Janssen would be more accurate I think. Janssen and Marcum came up at the same IIRC.

And yet people were arguing that he should replace Tepara.

I have to assume that there weren't a lot of team with the payroll flexibility of the Diamondbacks for the Tigers to accept such a light return on Martinez. Feels like a pure salary dump despite the quality of the player. I don't have a problem with that White Sox return. The White Sox got salary relief too and in Rutheford, they got the kind of prospect that should have been the centerpiece of the both returns and nothing they moved is as good as Martinez.

I'm a little surprised the Yankees didn't target Abreu as part of that deal. That would have been an ideal spot for him even if they just ride him out for one season and decline his arb (or move him themselves). I guess cock-blocking the Red Sox was a big motivator.

Ash in 1997 was fairly similar to AA's 2013. They signed Benny Santiago and Roger Clemens and made a big trade with Pittsburgh. All this was supposed to throw them back into contention after going 74-88 in 1996. They only won two more games in 1997.

Barnette

Confirmed.

On the Michael Jordan was cut from his hs team story... http://Https://www.woot.com/blog/post/the-debunker-was-michael-jordan-cut-from-his-high-school-basketball-team

I don't understand why Bubbles is sad.

Now watch the Astros make Bregman the centerpiece of a deal...

It's a really tricky situation because if the fan base perceives that the team is waiving the white flag, that's going to drive down ticket sales. As Hurl pointed out that perception is at least as important as the actual W-L record when it comes to impacting revenue. So while a retooling that still has the franchise fielding competitive teams seems like an ideal compromise between the team's need to get younger and what Rogers wants, it's not necessarily going to work out that way. Shapiro could make a perfect Donaldson trade, one that includes a huge return with great future assetts and some controllable pieces that the team can use right away to field a decent team now and the average fan wouldn't care. They would see it as a personnal affront and the Rogers bottom line will feel that. That being said, the team doesn't have much choice but to make some unpopular decisions at some point. Despite some signs of life lately, the overall picture shows a team that is in a downturn. What Rogers will want if for the team to get back on the upswing as quickly as possible.

It's kind of a moot point anyways. Rogers won't allow a full tank.

I missed out on Tatis in LOD because I wanted Isaac Paredes really bad. That's not looking good.

The idea that teams would invest in salaries, bonus money, coaching personnel and other costs and then just throw up their arms if the prospect isn't taking care of himself and say: "well it's a matter of personal responsibility" is ludicrous. It's all about getting the best return on investment. If that means wiping their ass, then you wipe their damn ass.

Well AA talked about this and said he was increasing the per diem so that players would better feed themselves. Maybe he just went at it wrong?

I wonder how many people here would trade him straight up for the #1 prospect (Moncada)? I certainly wouldn't.

Green and Gonzalez were like the Bo and Vlad of their day. People thought they would be franchise cornerstones. Green pretty much was.

Tulo is not overrated, he's just past his prime. Donaldson will be too some day (and probably fairly soon if not already).

Still hoping to move Chatwood. He's rosterable on the road so basically he's half a starting pitcher (or 3/4 counting the times you might punt your ratios). Just looking for a minor pick upgrade.

I can't even remember a time when a ball that hit the dirt was left in play. I didn't even realize that was the case in Buck's time.