NEWS/RUMORS Thread

haishan says:
February 12, 2015 at 2:54 pm
Also, Friedman’s contract is 5/$35M. That AAV would buy you all of one win on the open market.



Lol so much win

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sourc...-response-to-declining-offense-232940947.html
Major League Baseball is considering altering the textbook definition of the strike zone for the first time in nearly two decades, fearful that the proliferation of the low strike has sapped too much offense from the game, league sources told Yahoo Sports.


Since 2009, the average size of the called strike zone has jumped from 435 square inches to 475 square inches, according to Roegele’s research. The results: Pitchers are throwing more in the lower part of the zone, and hitters are swinging at an increased rate, knowing the tough-to-drive pitches will be called strikes.

Roegele’s study estimated 31 percent of the offensive drought could be attributed to the strike zone while Mills estimated it’s between 24 percent and 41 percent. After seeing a strong correlation among the size of the strike zone, all-time-high strikeout rates and historically low walk rates, members of the committee now are fairly certain the relationship is causative, too, and seem primed to do something about it.
The above is from the link

BZ, I believe we discussed the possibility of the strike zone being modified a few weeks ago.

 

Royals, Greg Holland Avoid Arbitration
By Steve Adams [February 13, 2015 at 9:44am CST]
The Royals and closer Greg Holland have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $8.25MM contract reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (on Twitter).



Go Tribe. Royals need to sell one of those relievers at the deadline. Namely,Wade Davis.

 

Great post...
Yeah, they do have a dating site... that's how I started up with Jessica Biel. She got pregnant though...so I moved on to Halle.

 

Proved with precise geometric logic, like Capt. Queeg and the strawberries. Was he rolling two large metal ball bearings in his hand?

 

BZ you and the financial savvy folks will appreciate this from Forbes a couple of weeks ago. It was Forbes that early on called the Dodger bankruptcy correctly. Was very insightful for me back then. This says it all:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeoza...cable-gets-brushback-pitch-from-sportsnet-la/

Time Warner Cable Gets Brushback Pitch From SportsNet LA

Comment Now
Mark Walter, Magic Johnson, Peter Guber and their partners might be smiling over the resurgence of their baseball team on the diamond since they forked over $2 billionto Frank McCourt almost three years ago.

But I doubt Time Warner Cable TWC +1.24% executives are feeling as upbeat about the $8.3 billion, 25-year regional sports network deal they agreed to with the Dodgers prior to last season.

Despite being launched a year ago, almost three-quarters of the MLB team’s local market is without the regional sports network. As a result, the deal is not yet paying off. TWC’s 2014 results, released yesterday, fell short of expectations and the company’s stock price sank.

According to the company: “For the full year, the decrease in Adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) was driven by an increase in operating costs of 28.1%, primarily related to SportsNet LA content costs and growth in costs associated with advertising inventory sold on behalf of other video distributors, partially offset by growth in revenue.”

In other words, SportsNet LA is consuming more cash than it is generating for TWC shareholders.

All of this may soon become the problem of Comcast CMCSA +1.44%, which is in the process of buying TWC, pending regulatory approval
The above is from the link

Forbes is Forbes and the investment community is on notice as are TW shareholders.

 

How does Moncada stack up against Addison Russell? Ability to play SS obviously in Russell's favor and we've seen Addison actually play but just curious.

@chrisdodgers

 

No one should be signed whose first name does not begin with "Y"...that's the way it is.
Was Big Yaz Cuban?

 

McCovey Chronicles, a San Francisco Giants community
New Hector Olivera video from FanGraphs, along with dispiriting Dodgers news



Kiley McDaniel from FanGraphs recently went to the Dominican Republic to scout some of the upcoming international prospects who will be available on July 2nd, and he was also able to see several Cuban prospects, including one the Giants still have a chance with (Hector Olivera) and one they likely don't (Yoan Moncada). The Giants are obviously interested in Olivera, according to McDaniel:

The five teams I’m told are most interested in Olivera are the Dodgers, Padres, Braves, Giants and Marlins. All had at least one high level scout at the workout I attended

The article also details the explicit concerns about Olivera's health -- kind of a big deal, considering his new team probably is going to have to pay for some years when he's in decline. There's also a hint at what the 2B/3B might cost:

My prediction is a 3-year deal with an option for a $25-30 million guarantee, with the above mentioned caveats of incentives and a potentially adjusted post-physical deal
​

There is bad news, though. Yet again, we have someone who is fully convinced that Moncada is going to the Dodgers. If that's the case, they'll blow past their bonus allotment and be taken out of next year's international market. If that happens, then they start spending like a old, rich man who hates his kids. They'll get the new flavor of the week, Yadier Alvarez, and then they'll get that guy and that guy and that guy and that guy.

It seems like the smart, rich teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, and especially the Yankees have a strategy going in the international market, in which they blow past the spending cap to get all of the players they want, and don't worry about the year they have to sit out. As in, they'll sign eight or nine guys in a year, skip the next year, and repeat the process, rather than sign three players every year and stay under the cap. The latter strategy saves money; the former strategy nets extra prospects.

Will the Giants ever follow suit? I can't see anything in their history that suggests it. They've been burned on their highest-profile signings, like Angel Villalona and Rafael Rodriguez, and they seem content to apply the Vladimir Guerrero Theorem to international prospects, too. Hey, it's worked so far. To a point. But we'll probably just have to sit and take it when the Dodgers get all spendy and obnoxious.

Still, the bonus stuff doesn't matter with Olivera because he's an older player, and the Giants might pick him up to hedge their bets for this year and have a built-in replacement for Casey McGehee next year. It would be fantastic for the Giants to pick up a competent Pablo Sandoval replacement at a third of the price. Let's all think about how nice it would be before the news comes in that they finished in second place.

 

From all reports the end of next week we should see a resolution in the Moncada thing and then ST!!!! I'm old so I normally don't want time to go by faster but I'll make an exception this month!!!

 

Russell is a better shortstop (haven't seen Moncada obviously) and has similar tool grades for his hit and power. Moncada is faster by a good margin but they are both very good athletes. It's actually a close one.

 

Hard to compare Moncada to anyone for more than one reason, but one of those reasons is the fact that the kid is swinging a hammer from both sides of the plate. Shout out to Lance Berkman..who should eventually get the HOF nod no later than his 2nd go round. Great switch hitters are a rare breed. Incredible value.


Welcome back Ramon Troncoso as well, btw. Another pen piece.

 

Yeah.

Not gonna happen. Hall of Very Good.

 

Less than 400 dingers, less than 1500 RBI, no MVP, no ROY, etc.

To his credit, he's one of the few modern era hitters with power that walked more than he struck out.

 

Talking about HOF before he even has played in the majors?! Not saying he doesn't have a chance, but man, I don't know about that.

 

Aside from being among the elite hitters over a 11 year stretch, his post season slash line in 52 games.. .317/.417/.532 and of course 31HR/94RBI with Cards and a WS ring hitting .432 in the series. Same level player as Kent and McGriff..Berkman and those other two will eventually get in. All three represent the " clean guys " of their generation as well..maybe most importantly in this day and age with the voters.

 

Rangers Sign Jamey Wright To Minor League Contract
By Mark Polishuk [February 14, 2015 at 3:26pm CST]
The Rangers have signed right-hander Jamey Wright to a minor league contract, the team announced in a press release. The deal contains an invitation to Texas’ Major League Spring Training camp. Wright will earn $1MM if he makes the Rangers’ big league roster, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports (Twitter link). Wright is represented by Excel Sports Management


Good luck

 

Wonder if Dre has read this:
http://dodgerstoday.com/2015/02/11/...in-a-bench-role-with-the-los-angeles-dodgers/
In all likelihood, Ethier is going to start the season on the bench, and there are some signs that he could thrive in such a role entering his age-33 season. In addition to having some surprising positional flexibility in the outfield, Ethier has shown a talent for pinch-hitting, and despite a poor offensive showing in 2014, the left-handed hitter still fared quite well in high-leverage situations, albeit in a very small sample size.
Over the course of the 2014 season, Ethier slashed .249/.322/.400 with 4 homers, 42 RBI and a wRC+ of 98, just below league-average. His steadily declining production is part of the reason the Dodgers have found him so difficult to move, and as the season approaches it would be best for the both the team and the player to focus on a role in which Ethier could very well succeed: pinch-hitting.

While it is not ideal to have a player making $18 million in 2015 taking on a bench role, it is a role in which Ethier could be exceptionally productive. Ethier has looked less and less like an everyday player with each passing season, so delivering consistent bench production is what he should be turning his attention to. Whether he is thrilled about the role is a whole other story, but if the Dodgers are to get the most out of Ethier as theyseek a World Series title in 2015, it is likely as a late-inning, left-handed bat off the bench.

Hopefully Dre is a analytical type of guy, reads the article and accepts it.