Okay, it's hot stove season, and pitchers and catchers report in about 55 days, and we are starting to see what the teams will look like come opening day. Time to get excited folks! Now before I get in to much deep discussion of issues like the irrelevance of Robinson Cano, here's a cool picture I came across of Jackie Robinson and Vin Scully, about to race on skates.
When is that not your prediction? At least Yankee fans seem to have finally come to the realization that they are at the beginning of a long time in the wilderness.
Last year the Reds payed Choo about 3 million, Then Texas signs him to a 7 year 130 MILLION, deal. The Reds are a small market team. Choo was a really good player, but he aint worth 19 million a year.
It will be interesting to see his impact in Texas. Between him and Fielder, they would appear to have significantly improved their chances to displace Oakland. But I maintain that baseball, despite reliance on individual statistics for analysis, is still a team sport. Will they be the right fit? Will the park be the right shape for their hitting styles? History is replete with examples of teams spending large amounts to put together teams of all stars that fizzle. Just look at the Yankees (pick any season they didn't win the pennant). Or the Angels, or the Redsox in 2011-2012. I do think Choo will have more of a meaningful impact in Arlington than Cano will have in Seattle, though.
Choo did really well for the Reds, And I wish they could have kept him. He hit 30 HR last year BUT that was at GABP, where it's always been a hitters park. I am not sure if the same is true of Arlington.
The Rays came so close this year. I'm hoping that this year they do it. They have resigned everyone but Price. He is the big mystery. Will on the other hand, great player when his head is in the game. He needs to mature and fast. Hopefully Longo's baby wont keep him in a funk this season.
The Rays benefited from a weak Yankee effort. The AL East is going to be super competitive this season.
Hall of Fame selections: Glavine, Madux, Thomas. http://www.mlb.com/news/article/mlb...md=20140108&content_id=66395522&vkey=news_mlb Thoughts? All three are obvious for membership, each having made significant statements in their career and major contributions to their respective teams. Thomas is particularly interesting, since he marks the first player to serve primarily as a DH to make the Hall. I'm disappointed that Rafael Palmeiro is going to be dropped from the eligibility list. I know the voters are intent on making a statement about PEDs, but he's one of 4 people ever to have both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. As with Pete Rose, it's time to recognize that nobody's perfect, and let these guys in.
This article captures pretty well my views on the PED question as it relates to the HOF: http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/...frank-thomas-are-elected-to-the-hall-of-fame/
All three are worthy, so at least there's that. Electing Thomas and not Edgar Martinez is kinda silly. It shows that despite the bemoaning of steroids the electors still care all about the home runs instead of overall production. Mussina is criminally underrated because of the lack of a Cy Young and a World Series. Electing Glavine but not Mussina and Shilling is completely ridiculous. Moose and Sock-guy were flat out better than Glavine however you look at it, whether by advanced metrics or traditional stats. When they start electing P.E.D. players they're going to need to put Palmeiro back on the ballot. Not electing Biggio, Piazza, Bagwell, Schilling, Mussina, and Raines is ridiculous even if you're a P.E.D. fanatic; the ten vote limit needs to go. Thomas and Edgar Martinez are marginal; all those guys are definite admits. Jack Morris not being elected is the best thing to happen to the Hall of Fame in recent memory. He was a slightly better than average pitcher who played on some great teams and had one memorable game. Everyone who voted for him and not for Schilling and Mussina (edit: and Alan Trammell!) should be stripped of their ballots. more edit: How Morris, who might if you're generous be the 200th best pitcher of all time if you weigh career value over peak and rate stats, became the Tiger people vote for rather than Trammell and Whitaker, both of whom are top-ten all time at their positions, is a mystery,
Three good choices. I agree that I would put Schilling in for sure, probably Piazza too. I'd give Biggio and Bagwell strong looks too, but as a Cardinals fan I may be too close to the question to assess it accurately. Awful Announcing has been banging the drum over dubious Hall of Fame ballots and Dan Le Batard's stunt. Meanwhile, the Cubs now have a mascot.
We have this loser: I will say a couple of things in his favor: he is inspired by the actual green monster; for some reason, my kids like him. But when he was first introduced (at the same time they were making a push to clean up behavior at Fenway), he was resoundingly booed by the fans, and people were throwing things at him from the stands. The only baseball mascot I like is the Phanatic: That guy is bad ass!
One of the good things about being a Yankees fan is not having to endure a mascot (or hideous alternative uniforms for that matter).
I know, I know. Although I am hoping to have the chance to see if Masahiro Tanaka is any good in a Yankees uniform. If he ends up with them and lives up to the hype then it might even be a year or two before the Yankees are truly awful. If A-Rod stays in shape and a court knocks down his suspension to 50 games like it should then they might even have a chance to compete for a season (that linked article, BTW, is written by a Yankees hating Red Sox fan). That arbitration decision was completely lawless, based clearly on neither facts nor law but on the inevitability that MLB would fire the arbitrator for any suspension less than a season in length.
Don't be so sure about that. There's an op/ed in the Wall Street Journal by a labor attorney who argues that the courts are very unsympathetic to arbitration appeals. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304049704579320433298822334 It's pay walled, but Here's an excerpt: At any rate, I'm not so sure the Yankees aren't better off without him. Taking his salary off the books for a year gives them far more latitude regarding any offers to Tanaka. And given A-Rod's rather unstellar numbers over the past few years, I'm not so sure they aren't better with somebody else at third anyway. I'd be far more worried about short at this point.
If I were running the Yankees, I'd be tempted to just release Rodriguez in 2015 and eat the contract.
Did you see the terrible assortment of sub-replacement players they had playing third base this past season when A-Rod was out? Given that, releasing him would, assuming he stays in shape, probably mean losing three to five more games than they need to and a day in court for collusion. The simple fact is that A-Rod didn't do anything to distinguish himself from other PED users under the Joint Drug Agreement. He should be getting a 50 game suspension and very clearly would be if the baseball arbitrator weren't fearful for his job. Blackballing him because he's a poopyhead would be an awful, awful decision. There are a whole lot of poopyheads in the league.
I was under the impression that his suspension was longer because he conspired to obstruct the investigation. If it's true, then he violated more rules than the 50 game cohort, and his longer suspension is justified.
Breaking: Yankees sign Tanaka http://www.mlb.com/news/article/mlb...md=20140122&content_id=66923096&vkey=news_mlb $155 over seven years, looks like that A-Rod suspension has come in handy.
So the season is under way, and my pick to win the World Series already has the best record. Go Dodgers! One more week for everybody else to get started, can't wait!
