KingKat

What a cop out. Some things can more easily be qualified than others. It is certainly NOT futile to distinguish between the two.

He's probably right. Teams have made the playoffs with Valentine before. You can be the most hated manager in the game and still win. It just doesn't matter that much. I'd hazard a guess that 90% of managers are either drunks, idiots, a-holes or some combination of the three.

I would think if there would be an effect from Butterfield leaving it would be the shift strategies that he took with him. Would those be reflected in UZR? I would think those would more acurately be reflected in opponent's BABIP but my understanding of UZR is pretty hazy.

Matt Klaasen has a piece on AA's interest in the Angels's catchers. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/iannetta-conger-and-the-end-of-the-arencibia-era/ Iannetta just seems like a bad idea to me. Conger is clearly the better fit because the Jays could really use a better pitch framer to help the pitching staff but he's probably the one the Angels would prefer to keep (assuming they're not planning to keep both). Overall, it all seems like a recipe for overpayment. Iannetta is basically a less sucky JPA and the difference probably isn't worth the cost to get him and Conger will probably cost a ton.

That would be ballsy and awesome especially if Gose is on the team and you could get him and Rasmus to cover the whole outfield. I would love to see s*** like that but without Butterfield around, it would be a small miracle to see the shift again much less something this radical. I would go to a Porcello start just to see this if it were real.

I wonder if there's ever been a good study of astro turf and why certain fielders struggle with it while others strive? I remember back in Tony Fernandez's day, he was known as a great astroturf fielder, someone who in theory wouldn't be as good on grass. Whether there was any substance to it or if it was just media ******** to dismiss his abilities is not something I know although the later seems likely.

If Izturis is really as bad as he was this year, you'd gain nothing by doing that.

More likely Stroman given than Sanchez isn't that close to the majors.

A good year would surprise me a lot more coming from the former than the later.

Getting drafted makes the sons of coaches and former players qualify for athletic scholarships that they wouldn't get otherwise. Just a way of gaming the NCAA although it's strictly for the profit of individuals associated with the team rather than for the team itself.

We're probably keeping all three. There's a big difference between what the team should consider and what it will consider.

I wonder what both Santos and Janssen would net? Trading one of the closers seems obvious but if it gets you a better return, I can't see why you wouldn't trade both. I'd rather have a good team with a bad bullpen (i.e. Detroit) then a bad team with a great bullpen. I'd rather take my chances promoting guys to the bullpen then having scrubs in the starting lineup.

That's a good point. I was going to say that Scioscia proably wants Bobby Wilson to start but I forgot about the whole sage of the Jays claiming Bobby Wilson away from them and him ending up in the Yankees system. Maybe they make a run at Jose Molina or another catch and throw guy. I definitely don't see them taking up J.P.A. or another mostly "offensive" catcher.

Yeah I don't really get why the number 6 pick in a much deeper draft is worth less than Gray in everyone's opinion but that's fine. I mean sure he pitched well but he was 21 pitching in the low minors so it would have been more noteworthy if he hadn't pitched well. He does have a nice fastball, that's for sure. I think people are simply preferring the known quantity here. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to not blow the pick and I can see why many would prefer not to put themselves in that position but I'm fine with the deal for now. I'll trade the pick if I'm not fully committed to my choice at the time but it's way too early to think like that and right now that seems pretty unlikely with the class being as good as it is.

They want pitching prospects. They would want guys like Stroman, Sanchez or Osuna. We'd want to move guys like Drabek, Jenkins or Nolin. Both teams are desperate to shake things up. Who blinks first?

It's pretty bad. Why is it that JPR could get players to accept his money and AA can't? They had to make generous offers to sign A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan but neither was outrageous. The only signing that seemed really out of wack for the market was Thomas and if j.P. doesn't compound that with the poorly handled option clause, it wouldn't have been that bad. I remember J.P. stating point blank that the free agent market was prefferable to trades because it's only money. AA is the complete opposite of that. Don't get me wrong, AA's pulled some great trades (Morrow, Rasmus, Y. Escobar) but trading for what are essentially free agent contracts or just to plug easily filled holes is stupidly inneficient. I'm tired of this loser talk. Get over f***in' Carlos Beltran already. JPR got spurned by Gil Meche. What did he do? He pursued Burnett even more aggresively the next year. He gave him a lot of money, a player's opt out. Whatever it took and he still got good value on the deal (which wasn't the point anyways, the point was to make a run which he did which is why even the Ryan deal was arguably worth it). AA is basically operating with one arm behind his back by eliminating the free agent market. Sign free agents or build from within or ideally do a bit of both. Don't give up assets potentially usable assets for every single roster move. Destroying your depth in not a viable alternative to the free agent market if the market is really that bad then you should be hoarding prospects not giving them up. The worst move aren't even the overpays for guys like Dickey and Johnson (who was a leat potentially were aces), the worst moves are giving up assets for guys like Happ, Bonifacio and Rogers who are a dime a dozen and should never cost you more than money.

The Angels and Jays have seemed like obvious trade partners for awhile. The Angels have extra catchers. The Angels have a 2B they might trade and they really want to upgrade thier bullpen which is practically the only area of depth the Jays have to trade from. The other reason why this works is that both teams are in the same posiiton, two teams who have spent to win now and aren't winning. They are both looking to re-arrange the deck chairs. Neither team is looking for prospects and that's just as well because neither has a lot to offer. I could see a big trade brewing with a lot of name and salaries being moved around. Romero, for one, would probably love to pitch in California and the Angels might be one of the rare teams desperate enough to give a return for him, provided there are financial commitments going both ways of course.

I had Rizzo in 2 leagues as well and he disapeared for brutally long stretches but that seems normal for a young player. I still think he showed enough to be optimistic going forward.

I thought I would get killed.

At first Nof49 approached me for one of my 1B but I was looking for prospects but didn't like what he had beyond Franco. I thought about trading down a 1B with another owner and then trading with Nof49 for Franco straight up but that didn't really go anywhere on either end. I also thought about only offering AGon but I actually have a much better feeling about him and since he prefers Fielder that would have pointlessly extended negotiations. I really like Franco and I'm hoping I picked the right time to cash in Fielder even if the return is not amazing on paper.

How fitting that Iglesias makes the last out.

So of course, Alburquerque comes in and straight up deals.

He geta on-base as the same clip against lefties and righties. He has more powers against righties so he doesn't work as a platoon guy. You could maybe use him at 2B and use Goins to cover him in the late innings but he's basically more of everything wrong with the team, terrible D, overpaid, past his prime.

Romero for Uggla? Uggla can't field on turf, is nearly JPA level bad at getting on base and is 33 but he still might deliver more value than Romero.

Wow even Keith Law is turning on Sanchez. He was basically the only one who considered him a top prospect in the first place.