HOT STOVE LEAGUE 2K4/2K5

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://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/20702.htm

xpost - did R. Kelly sleep with his ex-chef, though?

Yeah, why would Pavano suck in the AL, Yanc? (Pro Player has been a strong pitcher park; Pavano was still one of the 4-5 best in the NL last year, neutrally speaking.)

Mrs Sheff's adventures with R predated her trophy-wifery.

as for kelly/sheff -- i don't care if it happened long after i was dead, i would not want a tape of my wife grooving on kelly's no-cry-shampoo scented cock. talk about being shamed!

She is 28 years old and the incident happened "more than 10 years ago".

Also note - he's only 28! (I just did a quick PECOTA check, & hoped to find Tom Glavine's name on his list, but no dice. HOWEVER, 1998's Jon Lieber (link!) is #3 on his list of comparables.)

They better make RFK into Shibe Park or the Polo Grounds. With a water-slide in the field of play. And mascots (filibusters!) running onto the field at random times to interfere with balls in play.

i'd guess the nl-to-al thing is 90% conventional wisdom, but i'll leave that to morbius.

chances are his era will be closer to 4.30 than 3.00, but in b/w the two, agreed?

If I'm reading the charts right, CP's bullpen support was among the worst (3.63) in '03 and decent (-0.83) this year:

http://baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sp_pen_support2004.html

http://baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sp_pen_support2003.html

Keep in mind Pavano's 2000 surgery meant he didn't have 30 (or even 25) starts in a year til 2003. Will Carroll, BP's injury guru, greenlights him:

"Carl Pavano (GREEN) - Here's a test case for pitchers. Pavano never pitched more than 136 innings before age 27, then jumped up to the 200-inning mark in his next two seasons. He pitched for a World Series winner, then got better the next season. He has a classic pitcher's frame, good mechanics, and everything but a strikeout pitch. If BP built a pitcher, Frankenstein-style, there'd be some Pavano parts in the mix. You have to be damned good to dump Alyssa Milano. (prediction: Orioles)"

The full Carroll free-agent report (non-premium!):

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3622

Kent has been healthy even as he's aged, assuming he can be kept away from "car washes." (Cubs)

Views
The Tigers now have two closers. They recently picked up the $4-million option on Ugueth Urbina's contract for 2005. You can expect they will be asked about this at their upcoming press conference; it's quite possible Urbina will be traded at baseball's winter meetings. Percival was reportedly being pursued by up to 12 teams, most notably the Indians, who will now likely focus their attention on landing free agent Armando Benitez as consolation. Percival's fantasy value will suffer a little in Detroit, as he will have fewer save opportunities than he's had in Anaheim, but will be pitching in a better pitcher's ballpark. The main concern with the 35-year-old Percival remains his health, as he has battled various ailments the last couple years and is certainly past his prime.

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).