NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

lol classic

Haren's retirement is everything we dreamed of as a kid
by Mike Oz | Big League Stew — 21 January 2016

Dan Haren's doing retirement right. Even before he ended his 13-year MLB career, Haren was one of the best Twitter follows in baseball, but retirement has made him even better.

Remember his recent exercise-bike confessional in which he opened up (hilariously, at times) about his own insecurities in the twilight of his career? That was the type of frankness you don't get from pro athletes of any sport very often. Keep in mind that his Twitter handle is @IThrow88, so Haren has no problem admitting that he wasn't the most feared guy in MLB.

The most recent wonderful Haren exploit is about another topic entirely. If you're wondering what a recently retired pitcher is doing in January, when his old peers would be getting ready for spring training? Well, it's exactly how you wanted to spend your days when you were 10.

Ah, yes, Link and his seemingly never-ending quest. I spent far more than two hours playing that one was a kid. Admittedly, I never trudged through the entire game — it was too long and there was a steady stream of NES baseball games that seemed more appealing.

Still, it's hard not to think that Haren isn't living the dream of every kid who grew up in the NES era. He's retired at 35 after a pro sports career in which he made $81 million. Now he just needs a Power Glove and a copy of "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" to really be the coolest.​

 

and conversely, what a clown

Adam Wainwright is mad about where he was taken in a fantasy draft
by Chris Cwik | Big League Stew — 20 January 2016

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright was one of the safest pitchers in the majors. Sure, he missed 2011 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but every other year he's been one of the best pitchers in the game.

After tearing his Achilles last year, there's some doubt about Wainwright's production. He's 34, coming off a major injury and was limited to just 28 innings.

Those issues are especially concerning to people who play fantasy baseball. Sirius XM held its F.S.T.A Experts Baseball Draft on Tuesday, and Wainwright lasted until the seventh round. He was the 22nd pitcher to go off the board.

Normally, this wouldn't be news. Who cares where Wainwright goes in a fantasy draft, right? Well, apparently, he does. Wainwright called into the station shortly after he was selected in order let the league know he felt disrespected with his current draft slot.

As you can tell from the interview, Wainwright's not really mad. It seems like maybe he's playing up his outrage a little. While the hosts try and get him to proclaim he's better than some players selected ahead of him, Wainwright doesn't take the bait.

If anything, Wainwright's call is a good reminder that fantasy teams consist of actual people. Every season, those people are picked apart by analysts, ranked and then put into a draft thousands of times. That's a little weird. Imagine doing that at your own job for a second. Is Bob from accounting really worth a second-round pick?

For the most part, athletes seem to ignore this stuff. It's pretty rare to see a baseball player comment on a random person's fantasy draft because they probably don't care. Wainwright probably doesn't care either, and is just giving the station some entertaining sound bytes.

For now, all Wainwright can do is use this as an incentive to go out and dominate hitters again in 2016. Has a player ever hung up a fantasy draft sheet in their locker for motivation?​

 

Dodgers' left-handed rotation could make for busy right-handed relievers
by Steve Dilbeck | Los Angeles Times — 4 hours ago

If the Dodgers rotation looks like it will side with the liberals, the bullpen could lean distinctively conservative.

The Dodgers are scheduled to start four left-handers in their rotation in 2015 – Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson and either Hyun-Jin Ryu or Alex Wood.

And if teams are stacking lineups with right-handed hitters to face this throng of left-handed starting pitchers, it only figures the Dodgers will typically first go to a right-hander out of the bullpen.

A bullpen full of right-handers is nothing new for the Dodgers. It was not uncommon in the last three years for J.P. Howell to find himself the lone left-hander in the bullpen.

But last year there was more typically two – or even three and four. At different times left-handers Adam Liberatore, Paco Rodriguez, Daniel Coulombe, David Huff and Luis Avilan all took turns in the bullpen with Howell.

This year Howell and Avilan are expected to hold down two left-handed spots. The right-handers will likely be Kenley Jansen, Chris Hatcher, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton and Yimi Garcia.

Since Jansen has the ninth inning and Hatcher is earmarked as the set-up man, a lot of early calls could be going to Blanton, Baez and Garcia. Which if nothing else, should be interesting.

Blanton apparently re-invented himself as a reliever last season, after a couple of highly forgettable seasons with the Dodgers (4.99 ERA in 2012) and Angels (2-14, 6.04 ERA in 2013). After sitting out a year, he came back as a reliever in 2015 and went 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 36 games.

Baez had a 3.35 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 52 games last season, but faded badly. He had a 5.51 ERA in his last 20 appearances and was crushed in two brief postseason appearances. The smoking fastball suddenly had little movement.

Garcia got off to a sensational start – a 0.63 ERA and 23 strikeouts in his first 14 appearances (14 1/3 innings) – and then turned awful – a 7.94 ERA in his next 14 games. Soon, he was sent back to the minors. He was more good than bad the rest of the way, but inconsistency marked his season.

That’s a lot of right-handed uncertainty for a bullpen that figures to typically call early to its conservative side.

 

fucken yankee loving/dodger hating punk bkitch torre
rest assured, had we stuck with the chapman deal the case would still be open
but because he went to the yankees they rush it through
and guaranteed torre is looking for any possible way to suspend puig and for as long as possible
fuck off already

Manfred treading carefully with Puig investigation
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 42 minutes ago

With Los Angeles Dodgers position players expected to report for Spring Training by Feb. 24, Major League Baseball’s investigation of Yasiel Puig continues to linger on.

Puig was involved in a scuffle with a bouncer outside of a Miami bar back in November, with the incident allegedly beginning after employees noticed the outfielder getting physical with his sister.

However, evidence was not found to support that claim, and Puig and the bouncer both agreed not to press charges.

The Cuban Native said he threw a punch out of self defense. While Puig avoided criminal charges, he’s not yet been cleared by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

Along with Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes and New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, Puig being investigation by the league under the domestic violence policy that allows Manfred to discipline players for “just cause.”

Of the aforementioned trio, only Reyes was arrested. It was announced on Thursday that Broward prosecutors will not press charges against Chapman. From the league’s perspective, a previous report indicated their investigations would conclude no later than March 1.

The Dodgers’ Cactus League opener is scheduled for March 3 against the Chicago White Sox. On Thursday, Manfred noted the timetable to closing the investigations hinges on external factors that he is cautious to overstep, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press:

“I would love to have these resolved before we begin play again,” Manfred said. “The one thing I’ve learned about these cases is timing is not mine, right? You have to really rely on the criminal process playing out in order to put yourself in a position that you’re comfortable to actually know what the facts are.”​

Given the investigations of Chapman, Puig and Reyes are the first of their nature under the domestic violence policy, Manfred stressed the importance of being mindful of setting a precedent:

“When you have a new policy, the first ones take on a special significance in terms of tone and precedent and all those things,” Manfred said. “So I’m going to make sure that I know everything I could possibly know about each of these cases before I make any decisions.”​

The Commissioner’s comments reflect those made by MLB executive Joe Torre last December. He too stated the process of arriving at a decision would not be rushed. Puig is looking to rebound from a season in which he played a career-low 79 games.​

 

hear what you're saying
guess it all depends on how he reacts

 

J.P. Howell passed up lucrative FA market for LA return
by Eric Stephen | True Blue LA — 21 January 2016



J.P. Howell is a part of the Dodgers' bullpen for a fourth season in 2016, thanks to a decision made by the left-hander in November to exercise his player option to return to Los Angeles for one more year. But as the hot stove continues to produce lucrative contract after lucrative contract for middle relief pitchers, it is becoming more and more clear that Howell left quite a bit on the table to stay with the Dodgers.

Don't get me wrong; nobody is crying poor for Howell, who made $11 million total in 2014-2015, and will be paid another $6.25 million in 2016.

He has earned those salaries and then some in his three years in Los Angeles. Howell from 2013-2015 has a 1.97 ERA, ranking eighth among relief pitchers with at least 150 innings during that span, a 3.14 FIP, and has held left-handed batters to just .185/.265/.226 during that span.

Howell is also one of just 16 pitchers to throw in at least 65 games in each of the last three seasons, proving to be quite durable.

When Howell exercised his option to return, we looked at other recent contracts for relief pitchers who weren't closers — Howell has 22 career saves, but 17 of those came in 2009; his role is setting up and middle relief — and two pitchers last offseason cracked the $6 million mark in average annual value on multi-year contracts, Pat Neshek (two years, $12.5 million) and Luke Gregerson (three, $18.5 million), both with Houston.

Two more last season — Zach Duke (three years with White Sox) and Luke Hochevar (two years with Royals) — signed multi-year deals for $5 million per year.

"I know he loves it in LA. He and his wife are really happy," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Howell in November. "He's really happy with the team and likes the direction."

On Wednesday night, reliever Antonio Bastardo reportedly agreed to terms with the Mets on a two-year deal worth $12 million. It was just the latest example of middle relievers getting paid this offseason:

• Dec. 6: Darren O'Day, Orioles, 4/$31m
• Dec. 6: Ryan Madson, A's, 3/$22m
• Dec. 6: Mark Lowe, Tigers, 2/$11m
• Dec. 9: Jason Motte, Rockies; 2/$10m
• Dec. 9: John Axford, A's, 2/$10m
• Dec. 10: Tony Sipp, Astros, 3/$18m
• Dec. 10: Shawn Kelley, Nationals, 3/$15m
• Dec. 12: Steve Cishek, Mariners, 2/$10m
• Jan. 20: Antonio Bastardo, Mets, 2/$12m​

That makes four multi-year reliever deals this winter at at least $6 million per season, and five more at at least $5 million per year, with a few relief pitchers (Tyler Clippard springs to mind) still on the market.

It might be cheating above including recent-ish closers Madson, Axford and Cishek, but all three have been in and out of the role enough in recent years that they don't automatically carry the magic capital C at all times. The point is there was money to be had on the open market this offseason for relief pitchers, and Howell passed that up to remain with the Dodgers.

 

Mets to re-sign Cespedes
by Jeff Todd | MLB Trade Rumors — 10 hours ago

The Mets have reached agreement on a deal with outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, pending physical, according to multiple reports. He’ll earn $75MM over three years and can opt out after one season, per reports, at which time he’ll have earned $27.5MM. The contract is said to include a full no-trade clause.

While a return to the Mets has always seemed plausible, it’s also appeared at times to be a long shot. That’s due in large part to the fact that Cespedes seemed destined to land a much greater, longer-term commitment than Sandy Alderson and co. were willing and able to make.

With Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson at the corners, and Juan Lagares and recent addition Alejandro De Aza available up the middle, there wasn’t a need, strictly speaking. But Michael Cuddyer’s retirement opened a roster spot and some capital, and the Mets stayed in position as the winter progressed. The team’s payroll, surely, seems destined to move north, but the somewhat surprising World Series run last year and an impressive crop of young pitchers certainly justified such an advance.

It remains to be seen what New York will do in crafting an outfield alignment. A trade of Lagares makes some sense at first glance, though it isn’t clear what they’d be looking for in return. And selling low isn’t appealing either. Then there’s the fact that the gifted fielder might be of importance not only down the line, but also in 2016. Granderson could surely stand to avoid left-handed pitching, while Conforto is still somewhat unproven despite an impressive debut. And Cespedes did not look terribly comfortable in center last year.

Any way you cut it, the signing looks to represent a major coup for the Mets, who’ll look to defend their NL East title with the man who helped lead them there in the first place. Cespedes, 30, put up a huge .287/.337/.604 slash down the stretch after coming to New York in a deadline deal. Though he dealt with some injuries and wasn’t a major force in the post-season, there’s no question of his impact last year.

Looking forward, the Mets will hope that Cespedes can continue to provide top-notch overall value. Though he’s not much of an on-base threat, he’s made huge contributions with his power stroke and high-quality corner outfield defense. To be sure, Cespedes was more solid than great in the two preceding seasons. But with the chance to head back to the open market after the season, he’ll surely have all the incentive necessary to fuel a repeat performance, and the downside here is far less worrisome than those found in many player option scenarios. Plus, New York stands to gain a draft pick through the qualifying offer system if Cespedes triggers his clause.

The reported concept also makes good sense as a fall-back for the Roc Nation client. It certainly carries a high-end annual salary, with the larger portion due up front, though the term does fall well shy of expectations. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes had pegged his earning capacity at $140MM over six years entering the winter. It appeared he’d have a good chance of reaching it after Jason Heyward inked a monster, opt-out-laden $184MM deal with the Cubs and Justin Upton went for six years and $132.75MM to the Tigers.

While the overall guarantee pales in comparison to those contracts, Cespedes adds an enormous amount of upside through his own contract. The early opt-out provision means that he’ll have a chance to re-enter the market in just one year’s time in search of yet another big payday. The structure ultimately falls into what we’ve discussed here quite a bit in recent weeks, as a supercharged short-term deal that includes a significant guarantee but cabins the team’s risk and leaves plenty of earning potential for the player.

Barring a catastrophe in 2016, it’s hard to imagine that Cespedes won’t hit free agency again next year. There’s an excellent chance he’ll be the top outfielder available next winter in a much less robust market, and he won’t be so old that he won’t be able to cash in.

Rosenthal adds that “higher offers” were available elsewhere from multiple clubs (Twitter link). Obviously, we’ll need to learn more about the details before assessing their relative merits, but it appears that Cespedes did indeed put some priority on returning to New York. It seems that several clubs had interest in a pact of this nature, with the Nationals also said to have interest in something like five years and $100MM (possibly including deferred money). That scenario would obviously have conveyed a steeper guarantee, but even with an opt-out provision after two years would have sapped a good portion of the massive earning upside that Cespedes will now enjoy.

Ultimately, with what’s been reported thus far, it isn’t surprising that Cespedes chose to take this offer to return to the bright lights of New York. And while there’s plenty of work yet to be done, the Mets will enter the coming season as a popular choice to challenge once again for a trip to the World Series.

Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first said a deal was close. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (links to Twitter) reported the financial details. Jon Heyman first said a deal was done (Twitter links).

 

ned's already booked his flight...

Lincecum hoping to hold February showcase
by Charlie Wilmoth | MLB Trade Rumors — 10 minutes ago

Free agent starter Tim Lincecum hopes to hold a showcase in the first half of February, Jon Heyman tweets. Lincecum had surgery on to treat a degenerative hip condition in September, and it had previously been reported that Lincecum was planning to hold a showcase in January. The new February date would, then, suggest a delay, although the reasons for that delay are unknown. The Marlins are among the teams that have reportedly had interest in Lincecum.

Before being shut down midway through the season, Lincecum had posted a 4.13 ERA, although with a 7.1 K/9 and a high 4.5 BB/9 that were even less impressive than that modest ERA figure. His average fastball velocity also fell from 89.6 MPH in 2014 to 87.2 MPH, probably an untenable number for a righty. It remains to be seen whether Lincecum’s surgery will fix the issues that ailed him last season, but in any case, he’ll probably have to settle for a one-year deal from a team hoping he can recapture some percentage of his past glory as he enters his age-32 season. It has, however, been five years since Lincecum was a top starter, as he’s provided value consistent with that of a back-of-the-rotation starter since 2012.​

 

Latest on Yovani Gallardo
by Jeff Todd | MLB Trade Rumors — 12 hours ago

Reports suggest that there are three teams currently pursuing free agent righty Yovani Gallardo. We heard yesterday that the Rockies were lining up to participate in talks, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo suggested today on Twitter that the Orioles and Astros have also remained involved.

But Baltimore executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette said earlier this morning that the club is strongly disinclined to part with its top draft choice (currently 14th overall). And the club does not appear willing to go to a fourth year for Gallardo, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Houston, too, would need to punt a valuable pick (18th overall). While it’s long been expected that those clubs would consider starting pitching additions, and could still stand to do so, that added disincentive poses a significant barrier.

As for the Rockies, Gallardo’s agent, Bobby Witt, tells MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that his client would “be happy pitching for any of the three teams” — apparently suggesting that the specter of Coors Field won’t deter the veteran. Indeed, the Rockies are participating in “serious” talks with Gallardo, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. But he adds that the club does not currently have an offer outstanding, and GM Jeff Bridich downplayed the link in public comments.

Unlike the other two teams, the Rockies would not have to give up their top choice — the fourth selection in this summer’s draft — to add Gallardo, who requires compensation because he turned down a qualifying offer from the Rangers. Attracting pitchers to throw at altitude has always been a challenge, of course, but that beneficial draft situation and a somewhat slow-to-develop market for Gallardo could leave the Rockies in solid position to make a move.

The fit for Colorado is obvious: while the organization has some potentially valuable arms, their rotation is as unsettled as any in the majors. There are questions up and down the staff: Jorge De La Rosa is steady but aging; Jordan Lyles and Tyler Chatwood are coming off of significant injuries; and Chad Bettis had a surprisingly solid 2015 but hardly has a deep track record. Younger options such as Jon Gray, Eddie Butler, and Tyler Matzek have shown talent but are hardly sure things, while Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Anderson, and others may be in need of further seasoning before they’re considered at the MLB level.

From a payroll perspective, the Rockies already have about $91MM on the books for the coming season and will still need to add the arbitration salaries of Charlie Blackmon (between $3.9MM and $2.7MM arb filings) and DJ LeMahieu ($3.3MM vs. $2.8MM). Of course, after signing Gerardo Parra, the club seems in position to deal an outfielder, and that could bring some salary relief along with a return in players. The team has never reached the $100MM threshold on an Opening Day roster.

Gallardo, who’ll soon turn 30, has turned in excellent results of late and is quite durable. But his peripherals are on the decline — in particular, a plummeting strikeout rate — and he’s now one of only three starters among MLBTR’s top fifty free agents who have yet to sign. (The others, Mat Latos and Doug Fister, figure to be available on shorter deals.) MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted a four-year, $52MM salary entering the winter. It is fair to note that we’ve seen other pitchers — Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Garza — reach that level of salary at this stage of the offseason or later. And there’s no denying that the market for starting pitching has been robust.

 

John Buccigross ✓ ‏@Buccigross 47m
If Cespedes opts out, he'll get $27.5MM for 2016. That would
be the largest single-season salary ever paid by the Mets.
6:31 AM — 23 Jan 2016 · Details

 

great article
and i'm sure bluezoo, codge, diablo, darth and others would agree... watching a team take infield was always awesome
but kurkjian is right... it'll never happen

One way to improve defense: Make teams take daily infield practice
by Tim Kurkjian | ESPN Senior Writer — 18 minutes ago

Editor's note: In the days leading up to Rob Manfred's one-year anniversary as commissioner on Jan. 25, we asked our writers what one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport were starting over today.

The change: Require each team to take infield during the hour before every game.

How it would work:

Nothing happens on the field after the visiting team finishes batting practice roughly 45 minutes before every game. Fans are left to stare at an empty field for almost an hour. Baseball wants to get rid of the dead time in the game, when there is no action? Well, this is the time.

As a young baseball writer in the late 1970s and early '80s, I loved watching teams take infield every night. I especially enjoyed watching the best right fielders in the game throw as hard as they could from medium right to the plate, showing off their tremendous throwing arms. I also loved watching baseball's best middle infielders make double plays, displaying their great footwork and their amazingly quick, agile hands. I could watch Roberto Alomar and Omar Vizquel -- the best DP combination I've ever seen -- take infield all day.

Many of the players enjoyed it, too. "I love taking infield,'' said Aaron Boone, a former major leaguer.

Indeed. When infield is run properly, with great vitality at game speed, it is like a beautifully choreographed play, everything in sequence, nothing out of place. When Clint Hurdle managed the Colorado Rockies in the late '90s, the full infield his teams would take during spring training was breathtaking to watch. The ball never stopped, the players never stopped. It was constant movement. And there were times -- I saw them myself -- when, during a 10-12-minute infield session, the ball was never dropped, never bobbled, on any ground ball or throw.

"That was the goal,'' Hurdle said.

Why it would help baseball:

The game is still great, don't get me wrong. The players are bigger, stronger, faster and better than ever, and they work very hard, especially during their time spent in the batting cage. But when it comes to the finer points of the game, the nuanced parts, today's players are lacking compared with the best players of 25 years ago. I've heard constantly from veteran managers, coaches and instructors for many years that the mistakes made by some players today on defense stem in part from them not taking infield. "I took infield before every game I ever played,'' said Larry Bowa, who won a Gold Glove at shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972 and 1978. "If the tarp was on the field before the game, and we couldn't take infield, I would go to the indoor batting cage and play pepper with a coach. I had to get the feeling of the ball coming off the bat. If I didn't, I didn't feel prepared for the game.''

"I watched infield every night,'' said Phil Bradley, a former outfielder for several major league teams. "I learned [from] watching guys [on the opposing team] throw 20 minutes before a game. Sometimes, I could see that someone wasn't throwing well. I'd think, 'We might have a chance to run on him tonight.' ''

But outfielders today don't throw as well as they used to, in part because they don't take infield, and therefore they don't practice nearly as much at throwing as hard as they can to a target -- in this case, a base. Twenty or 30 years ago, it would be easy to name the best throwing outfielders in the game -- Dwight Evans, Dave Winfield, Mark Whiten, Jesse Barfield, Ellis Valentine, Dave Parker, Vlad Guerrero, Reggie Smith and a dozen others -- without even thinking. You can't do that today because there are so few outfielders who are exceptional throwers.

"Bill Virdon (a great defensive outfielder in the 1960's) is the best outfield instructor I've ever seen, and he used to say that outfielders need to throw to the bases every day,'' said Rich Donnelly, a major league coach for several teams over the past 35 years. "I've seen outfielders [in recent years] throw a ball home, and they hit the third-base coach, or the ball goes in the dugout. It's because they don't throw.''

The Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series because, among other reasons, they were the best defensive team in the major leagues. The New York Mets lost the World Series in 2015 because they lost three games in part because of their defense. Defense matters. And every team would get better at it if, for 10 minutes every night, it took infield practice.

How realistic is it:

It will never happen. Today's players would never allow it. They stopped taking infield (in that half-hour before a game) 15-20 years ago because they found it difficult to, say, take batting practice until 5:30 p.m., then cool down, take infield at 6:30 p.m., cool down again, and then play at 7:05. And yes, the players do put in a lot of work today. They take their ground balls and fly balls during batting practice. Some teams, including the Mariners when they were playing at home the past two years, would take a full infield before batting practice. But it's not the same as taking infield at 6:40 p.m., in full uniform, at game speed. Doing that would engage the fans and give them something entertaining to watch after they enter the ballpark. And it would help make the players even better. But it's not going to happen. And that's a shame.​