LunchBox

I probably haven't posted there in a year and a half or more, but to escape the religious debate of the Tanaka thread I went exploring, hoping to find something of substance. After looking at two threads, the DJBluRay one mentioned above and this trade proposal , it was obvious I'd made a terrible mistake.

We just need to get six or seven guys together, print it on white t-shirts (hidden under jackets) and sit in the outfield stealing signs.

I really hate that rule. I can understand not wanting to negotiate the worth of Choo, Ellsbury with him, but Scott f***ing Baker? Apparently he represents Espinosa too, f*** my life.

CC, Hallladay, Verlander, Lee, Felix, Haren. I probably would have guessed the first five and totally overlooked Haren as their peer.

Jim Bowden offered Dan Haren as the best possible Tanaka comp. For what it's worth, between his age 25-31 seasons Dan Haren was the sixth best pitcher in baseball posting 32.6 WAR, which totally blew my mind. EDIT: another fun fact from that time period, Mark Buehrle has 22 WAR in 224 GS while Kershaw has 21.9 WAR in 149 GS.

DJBluRay has devised a master plan to overhaul the entire coaching staff.

Apparently the MLB is somehow going to prevent Tanaka from donating funds to Rakuten for "stadium improvements". By what means they believe themselves capable of interceding is entirely questionable. Once Tanaka signs, he's free to do what he pleases with those earnings, no? None of this makes any sense, unless Rakuten leveraged Tanaka saying they wouldn't post him this year unless he kicks back a portion of his salary and the MLB is stepping in to prevent the player being coerced. The only way I can see the MLB having any power in this scenario is if Tanaka is seeking their aid.

Cubs sign Veras. Never really thought CHC were realistic trade partner for Jansen, even as part of a package, but that's off the table for sure now.

It's BTS' fault for saying David Robertson is a top-five reliever, to which someone responded "Jesus is a top-five deity", which I assumed was simply a reference to Ang's brother or something. Next thing you know, this thread needs to be renamed "Masahiro Tanaka and the Origins of the Universe".

During the first series vs BOS this year, I sat in the box next to him and can understand why he might rub some people the wrong way. Still, I can't imagine the people at Rogers are too impressed with the technician that leaves their HOFer's installation partially completed only to have him tweet about it.

Meh. He's 36 and hasn't really pitched since 2006, I don't know if there's any kind of precedent for a player that old making a comeback after such a long absence. Jason Knapp please!

He's definitely top-10. In the context of responding to a poster who claims the Yankees still need a closer, top-5 is probably an acceptable statement lol

Maybe, but I've never had an atheist come to my door with spiel and "literature" that's meant to alter my world view. Also there aren't many places designed for atheists to gather and preach to reinforce their beliefs, besides maybe the science faculties of educational institutions lol

Triumvirates are BAD ass, see Beuhrle-Arroyo-Dickey or Caesar, Pompey, Crassus. Trinities suck a lot of dick, see father, son, holy ghost or the broad from the Matrix.

Totally agree. Last week I jokingly brought up Bronson Arroyo, but the idea is growing on me. Rumour has it that he's holding out for a third year, preferably overpay for two or include a vesting option for the third year. Yes the Dickey, Buehrle, Arroyo Old-Man-Triumvirate would allow an obscene number of HRs while providing nothing spectacular. They would also carry a huge workload while providing the very definition of consistent league-average pitching. Last year they posted 103, 102, 100 ERA- respectively over a combined 630 innings. Compliment these three with the electric but uncertain right arms of Morrow and Stroman. Hutch, Drabek and Nolin provide the first line of defence followed by the legitimate depth guys Rogers, Redmond. Suddenly this is a rotation with tremendous depth, improved consistency, as well as some upside and balance. Follow up by attempting to trade from the back of the BP and bottom of the rotation depth, preferably Jansen and Happ if at all possible, to solidify 2B (Danny Espinosa being the logical target). Find someone to partner with Lind as well. It's not a sexy strategy, but for this team I believe it's the best option. Morrow and Stroman can only be reasonably expected to throw 150 innings each, Arroyo allows them to do just that. It's a roster that will win based on run production but doesn't need to be carried by it, 90 wins probably isn't unreasonable.

Danny Hultzen?

I was thinking the same thing, but it's more like if they keep Price and Moore takes a step forward.

Yeah no doubt. Teheran also has a little extra upside relative to the other three.

That's cool. I'd prefer to watch semi-respectable baseball, but to each their own. Twice I had to watch Ortiz pitch live last year, never again.

Nothing would make me happier, he's totally redundant and disproportionately expensive. Any idea who would take him though?

McGowan has no business in the rotation. Stroman, Hutch, Drabek, Nolin, Happ all see starts before McGowan.

Trading Stroman is absolutely not Plan B. In fact he's integral as I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to preform comparably to Tanaka at a FRACTION of the cost.

Not a fan of the Matsuzaka comparison, he's clearly better than Dice-K but probably lesser than Yu. Hopefully the Darvish/Chapman experiences don't result in the organization doing whatever it takes this time around in order to land Tanaka. Post the twenty-million, appraise his worth and extend a contract offer of commensurate value, try and sell him on the city and team. Should he chose to sign elsewhere, the remaining "Plan B" options available are still a better alternative than overpaying Tanaka as some kind of "Darvish redemption" IMO.

Not sure about Andrus hitting second, but I totally understand the impulse. Having elite on-base skills hitting leadoff, followed by tremendous bat control and foot speed is going to frustrate opposing pitchers and defences beyond belief.

Wouldn't you be if you were expect to field a winning team, in a competitive decision with a greedy Greek breathing down your neck? My family is Greek on one side and on occasion I've met their Greek friends, associates and such. About 10% of them are extremely enjoyable company, very upfront, discerning and totally rational...basically Vulcans lol. The other 90% are fat, greedy, loud, goat-f***ing ignoramuses that would stab their own mother in the back for the biggest piece of feta.