MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

The final paragraph contains really one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard

 

And that thinking has screwed us for two years running. The nerds took Hill out of game 2 early and they lost. The nerds said getting Granderson and Darvish was better than getting Martinez and Verlander. The nerds said to start Darvish in game 7, after game 3 meltdown. Im just sayin maybe a 180° turn is what this team needs.

All the more reason to get Stanton now.......there are not many big bats on the market this winter so the price is going to continue to got up....which will affect the 2019 FA period.

 

I think there are rules against that, or if there are not, no MLB team wants to be the one to start that circus with MLB front office.

 

Did the nerds make Kershaw and Kenley choke in pivotal WS games? What about everybody's favorite Dodger Justin Turner and his performance at the plate in the WS..nerds' fault? This Stanton stuff isn't about him being the missing piece or the nerds needing to make better moves to get LAD over the top. This Stanton stuff is purely logic..MVP caliber player in his prime makes any team better and that's just it.

I've seen a ton of people on Twitter claiming that Stanton's situation is like Paul George's because of the whole LA native/Lakers/Dodgers thing and the comp is just inaccurate where it really matters. Paul George didn't have a full no trade clause, couldn't veto Indy's attempts to trade him to undesirable destinations. Stanton has this. No, Stanton's situation is closer to Carmelo Anthony's. Carmelo has a full no trade clause and actively shut down the Knicks' attempts to send him places that he had no desire on being. The full no trade clause is king..unless the player doesn't want to flex the power it gives them. So Stanton could have a say in the price.

 

Monday Morning QB's are the best. On July 31st these were the numbers of Yu Darvish and Justin Verlander. One was a FA at the end of the season, the other was due 10 Mil the rest of his age 34 season and is set to earn 56 Million over the next 2 years. One was playing half his games in one of the friendliest pitcher parks in baseball, the other was playing half his games in one of the most hitter friendly parks. Please look at the numbers below and tell me, which one would you rather jettison a likely DH prospect that has no place in your team's future and which one would you have been ok with giving up your top pitching prospect, one of your top OF prospects and a top 10 catching prospect for? And blow it out your ass if you say "I'll take the proven ace" or some bullshit like that as BOTH are considered Aces or have been considered such within the last couple of years. Also, both had some success in the playoffs, but also both had HUGE blowups in them as well.

130 IP, 4.29 ERA, 126 K/60 BB, .727 OPS Against
137 IP, 4.01 ERA, 148 K/45 BB, .689 OPS Against

Next, we have the numbers of the Dodgers OFer's at the time of the J.D. Martinez trade
Before
.861 OPS, .826 OPS, .787 OPS

Two of those guys absolutely did not warrant getting taken out of the lineup at the time of the Martinez trade, one definitely could have been argued that his bat could have been replaced at that time. Also when Martinez was traded, he had already accumulated almost an entire -1 WAR in the field in just 57 games, so defense was something that could not be ignored.

After the trade
.900 OPS, .838 OPS, .546 OPS

Well that sells it, the team should have certainly traded for Martinez to replace the guy with that .787 OPS, but who was that person? Oh, it was Yasiel Puig, the same guy who was runner up for the Gold Glove, he was also the guy who sported the .900 OPS after the Martinez trade. He also had an OPS .266 higher than Martinez in the NLDS, so yeah... that argument doesn't hold up. "Well I had no intention of swapping out Puig, I meant to replace Pederson cause I saw that coming from a mile away!" Well first off, congrats on your amazing ability of foresight, secondly he was our only known option for CF at the time and yes he was playing well. Taylor had played some emergency CF, but it was much too soon to throw him out there AND placing him next to a poor poor defender could have been catastrophic. The only thing that would have happened was the team either takes Martinez and places him in LF and Taylor goes back to a short term Utl role, or the more likely is the team takes Martinez, puts him in RF and we very likely see Puig shipped out somewhere else. I will say it again until I am blue in the face I guess, at the time of the Martinez deal, he was a luxury, not a necessity. He guarantees nothing you have no clue what that does overall to the team. He replaces Puig do we get out of the DS in 3, the CS in 5? If he replaces Pederson do we win the WS? If you say yes, then you realize that had we won the WS, the MVP was going to be Joc and his .333/.400/.944 line with 3 HR's, correct?

Blaming this on the FO for not doing the right thing at the deadline is easy, but short sighted with no logic for that moment. They got what looked like the best available starting pitcher at the deadline (reminder, Gray and Quintana were far from spectacular), they plucked 2 poorly performing LH relievers at the last minute when a deal for the best reliever available crumbled(and they were great) and when a couple weeks later, the team needed another bat, they nabbed one of the hottest hitters in baseball to fill that vacancy. All while keeping our highly rated farm system well intact. To say they were dumb, fucked up or cheap is beyond a joke. The FO didn't fuck, the players fucked this up. Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Kershaw, Jansen, Darvish and Puig collectively shit the bed in the World Series after all of them were FANTASTIC and the means of getting us there in the first place. If anything, the FO went for it this year and once again, the players fell short. Stop using the FO as some scapegoat cause some guy that played great all season, suddenly turned into a turd when he put on a Dodgers uniform or folded under the pressure of the World Series.

Yu Darvish was the one that had 137 IP

 

At the point he signs the "amateur" bonus deal, he's no different than anybody else with no MLB service time. Jon Singleton, (former Astros prospect) signed an incredibly team friendly deal (but a guaranteed deal nonetheless) before reaching the majors.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singljo02.shtml

 

Interesting piece on the Dodgers depth at C. I had no idea that Barnes was rated/viewed as highly as he was and the combo with Grandal made for an elite force at C even in a down year for Grandal. Will be interesting to see how the team views this. Will Smith's mostly lost season really hurt us here in the likliness of the team's comfort level to move Grandal.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-dodgers-framing-surplus/

 

Come on man, we are all Monday Morning QB's.....that is why we have 9-5 jobs and spend 1/2 of that time here on this blog......think of it like Doyer Therapy.

Of course MGT made the best decision they could have made. Just like when they let Piazza walk only to sign Kevin Brown. Just like when they traded away Miton Bradley for Andre Either. Some work some don't.

My point here is that current MGT has consistantly dinked and duned with FA's and trades and yeah they have had overall success. But we are still in the same boat we were 10 years ago/5 years ago/ 2 years ago......no WS title to show for it. You can throw stats around all day long but if they do not garner the results needed, something needs to change. Maybe adding Stanton is the change that is needed.

 

:clap::fl:

 

Great post. In the WS thread I complained time and time again about the praise for the Verlander trade. The Darvish trade was viewed so much higher at the time by everyone, even Houston would've rather had Darvish than Verlander. Verlander was a desperation trade they were forced into because of multiple injuries. You don't make a Plan A trade on August 31.

And Martinez hit out of his ass after being traded, and you are right we were talking about him as a replacement for Puig.

In hindsight either trade would have been better for us, but I can't blame our FO for that.

 

Why does everyone keep saying that Martinez would have replaced Puig if he was traded for?? I get that Martinez is NOT a CF and Puig though not ideal has been decent there in the past, but Taylor did just fine there. This year was the first year he has played the OF and his Fld% for LF was .990 with 48 games there. His Fld% for CF was .989 with 49 games there. Yes Joc started 72 games in CF and put up a Fld% of .992.....but really is .003 worth not signing Martinez over Granderson????

 

I'm just so bummed out that we lost again.
For once, I want to be able to watch postseason highlights with joy. Like JT's walkoff in the NLCS. But knowing we ended up losing, it just hurts.
Same with all the other postseasons

 

Ok lets be realistic, Det asking for Verdugo and Alvarez was way too much. They got Perez who was ranked #32 by BA and #40 by MLB. Conversely Verdugo was ranked #35 by BA and #23 by MLB. Most likely MGT would have had to give up Alvarez and Calhoun to get Verlander.....and yes I would have done that trade, simply because he is battle tested in the playoffs - 6 years 14 series - 3.07 ERA and a 1.015WHIP.

Yes, i am pinning managerial decisions on the nerds......roberts even said so. In one of his post game interviews he said something to the extent that they typically don't let their SP's get to the 3rd time around the order.....except for Kershaw. I also doubt roberts was the one that made that decision to start Darvish in game 7......there were no more games and after and Wood did great against the Stros IN Houston. Wood should have started with Kershaw wiating in the wings should he falter.

Not sure why you are asking if I would trade Bellinger/Seager/Urias. Bellinger and Seager are staying put, that is just silly to even mention. Urias......yeah, I might have offered Urias and Calhoun for Verlander. IMO Urias is damaged goods. His shoulder is still giving him issues and he can't seem to get his control in check.

I agree Verdugo and Alvarez are highly rated but they are still prospects......unproven yet. The benefit of a great farm is to add in cheap youth as well as have assets to trade for quality stars. MGT has had a good run of keeping the good ones - Bellinger/Seager/Joc and selling the bad ones - DeJesus/Calhoun/Cotton (I still think he will pan out). At some point they need to use the "assets" to get over the hump. IMO adding Verlander instead of Darvish would have gotten that done even before hindsight.

 

Some news article picked up by Bleacher Report is saying chances are the Dodgers will not re-sign Darvish.

Don’t know where they are getting that info.

 

I hope that is true