HOT STOVE LEAGUE 2K4/2K5

Funny how Giants brass waits until after Barry retires. Cheap bastards.

The thing that is bad about liking the Cincinnatti Reds is that you know they are not going to do jack squat in the off season to improve anything. The only way they get new talent is by shipping off expensive talent and for the past few years they get the short end of the deal. The Reds can hit like Clubber Lang, but they pitch like Paul Lynne. They are also the most fragile team in baseball, I can't think of any other team that loses players to the DL more than the Reds. It must be some proximity effect from Griffey.

The team I wonder what they will do is Cleveland. They used to be big spenders back in the day and they have a young lineup ready for primetime. They need to build up their bullpen and get another starter.

An outfield of Bonds, Grissom and Alou would add up to a combined 119 years old and would qualify for the all-medicare team. I think the Giants are trying to move Grissom to right and attract a legitimate CF.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets

Nooooo!

At least the loony Wally Backman-for-manager campaign is history.

i had no idea minaya was w/ the mets!?!?

yikes.

George Foster's problem was that he was OLD by the time the Mets signed him. Don't forget, he was released in mid-'86 after complaining that he lost playing time to racism (much of which went to... Kevin Mitchell and Mookie Wilson).

TEN!

YEARS!

Looks like Beltran's agent is trying to get a contract in total cash on in the A-Rod realm, which no matter how good Carlos may be is crazy thinking. Beltran is a great all around player and probably has not yet peaked, but he hasn't hit like A-Rod did in Seattle.

After such a big injury, I would figure that Sexton might go to a team on a short one year deal, just to prove that he is ok.

The team that I am really curious to see what moves the make are the Cleveland Indians. Their lineup is definitely ready to make a run at winning the central, but they need a whole lot of help in the bullpen and probably one or two starting pitchers. Are their finances improved? They used to be a money bags team and then started from scratch in rebuilding.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=fanball-redsoxoffermadetoped&prov=fanball&type=lgns

Come to think of it, is Pedro the first guy who signed his last contract during the Inflated Contract Era to come up for free agency? That is, is he the first of the guys who signed multi-year deals at $15-$20mil/year who will have to take a BIG paycut because of the subsequent market correction?

Delgado is in the same boat right now.

apparently a sosa for shawn green deal is in the works and the chisox have offered konerko, jon garland and prospects for the large unit.

If the Sox have offered Konerko and Garland for the Unit, no matter how good the prospects are the DBacks should bite. Konerko could be in the prime of his career next season and Garland might be the kind of pitcher that does better in the NL and he will be only 25 next season. The Unit will be 41 next season and he might be just as good or his body could fall apart in May, you never know on these things.

Getting rid of Konerko for the Sox is quite a gamble. If Magglio leaves and Thomas is still hurt next season, that team will have a serious hole in the middle of the lineup. Carlos Lee would really have to deliver and other people would have to step up.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmets114038017nov11,0,3885182.story

REYES?? He'll be healed and Cooperstown-bound if they deal him for Soriano, aka Juan Samuel II.

Braves wisely trying to trade Andruw at the peak of his overratedness.

it was good to see the can though, looking a little rough, but that's the can.

Minaya hasn't impressed me so far.

What the heck is the ChiSox farm system like that they can consider giving up Konerko? Or are they going to simultaneously make a play for Delgado or some other 1B freebie?

What's he done besides hire Randolph?

Geez, Mo Rivera got 24 third-place Cy votes -- is all that Wisdom of Gammons-influenced? What crap. Ben Sheets got ONE third-place vote in the NL.

Speaking of Pistol Pete, his latest column sez the Unit doesn't want the Chisox:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1920544

I can't see any way the Braves would deal Andruw Jones for Kevin Brown, especially considering Brown is around age 40 and played like a duffer last season and during the playoffs.

"Soriano, aka Juan Samuel II"

Interesting and apt comparison.

Boras is smoking rope on some of these deals he is fishing out there.

(aka Renteria's wallet)

Jim Bowden = ???? Didn't anyone tell him that both Vinny & Guzman are the bottom of the barrel at their respective positions this free agent season, and that he could probably get equal production from cheaper folk and / or sign those two for less money after everyone else filled their left infield needs? You'd think his many months working for ESPN would've taught him SOMETHING.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1985108

Fare ye well, my sliding-catching friend...

How bizarre. Never heard of anything like that. And Boras accepted it?? I guess it's great for Maggs if he does in fact stay healthy. We shall see.

WTF indeed! I'm not gonna call it that. It's a dome, not a centre. Fuck you Rogers, either put more money into the team or lower the price of cable!

It was almost a point of pride for me, that our stadium hadn't succumb to the corporate branding of anything you could fit a logo onto. Worst offseason ever.

Vernon Wells
Alexis Rios (though he's still unproven)
Josh Phelps (jury's still out, of course)
Kelvim Escobar (?)

... and a lot more semi-notable folks than what I'm coming up with. Granted, none of those guys are Junior Felix, but who the hell is?

It's Bo b/c he plays both baseball and football, I take it. He's a Bermanism waiting to happen.

Also, if you REALLY want to push things, there's that would-be phenom SS currently on the Reds that's supposedly "washed up" at the ripe old age of 25. (Is his name Felipe Lopez?)

Rich Aurilia?

Ha ha! Lopez, forgot about him. If we're going to be reaching into the bargan bin why not mention Mr. Cesar Izturis!

I guess now my question is (re: the Jays) - who were their shit-hot prospects from the 80s & 90s?

70s / 80s: (I'm really not sure on any of these)
Tony Fernandez
Tom Henke
Dave Steib
Jesse Barfield (?)
Kelly Gruber (woo!)
Garth Iorg (?)

90s / early 00s:
Carlos Delgado
Shannon Stewart
Jeff Kent
Pat Hentgen (for a brief while)
Mike Timlin
Ed Sprague (woo woo!)

From what I can recall, the meat of their championship teams (Robbie Alomar / Joe Carter / Devon White / David Cone) (& Mitch Williams -ha!) came from other organizations.

Pat Borders
David Wells
Mark Whiten
George Bell (drafted by Phillies, came up as a Blue Jay)
Fred McGriff (drafted by Yanks, came up as a Blue Jay)
Juan Guzman (drafted by Dodgers, came up as a Blue Jay)
Jimmy Key
Todd Stottlemyre
John Olerud (came pretty much straight out of college)

Add in some of the players listed above and that is pretty good for a 8 to 10 year run (like 85 to 92) of player development.

as for 90s & aughts, don't forget...jay gibbons!

okay, you can forget him.

STRICKEN FROM THE RECORD (if we're talking strictly about players drafted by the Jays, which I was). Not that I'm knocking the front office's knack for recognizing talented players in other orgs and/or fleecing the Yankee farm system (which, in the '80s, was required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement).

But, yeah, I think the Jays' farm system now is comparable to what it was - the only problem is the guys they acquire from outside of their system (either through trade or through free-agent signage). And the lack of developed starting pitchers. And having to play in a division w/ the two most lucrative franchises in all of baseball, if not all of American professional sports. And Skydome doing double duty as a vacant lot between April & October. And the team's inability to stick w/ a uniform design & logo for more than 2 years before coming up w/ a worse design. Otherwise, thumbs up, Canada!

I would still give the Jays credit for getting that talent out of the other teams minor leagues as there are bunches of players traded around that never do much at all. Whatever they were doing in late 80s early 90s worked, they were a perennial contender and won two championships. Some teams seem to develop one or two positions pretty well but the Jays came up with players all over the diamond.

bo was the chicago sun-times high school athlete of the year a few years ago, he seems pumped at the opportunity to play for the cubs.

Pitchers and Catchers report today for about 1/3 of MLB (Astros, Braves, Devil Rays, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Phillies, Pirates, Redsox, Rockies and Tigers).