HOT STOVE LEAGUE 2K4/2K5

Kendall DID lead NL catchers in VORP last year (trailing Pudge, Javy, Posada, Martinez and Varitek in the AL).

You're talking about Rick "Kazmir Ain't Spit" Peterson, right?

Yanc3, I think he's counting Harden as 1 of the 4 - Saarloos got starts when one of the 3 went on the DL. I was under the impression that Redman had a solid #5 type of year, but I could be wrong.

Oh no I do!!! It's just that nobody else seems to ("Big Three this and that"), Harden outpitched Zito last year.

Oliver Perez reminds me a little bit of Johan. Esp. the change when it's working.

And yes, Redman as their #5 guy is pretty solid.

Here are the Sacramento Rivercats (NOTE: hitter-friendly PCL, it would be nice to see these adjusted) pitching stats:

http://rivercats.com/game/stats/?type=pitching

Zito hasn't shown much of the excellence that he showed up to and including his CY year. His reputation far exceeds his ability at this point, and Beane surely has recognized the slow slide in his performance over the last couple of years. I'll be shocked if Zito doesn't get dealt soon.

Is Rick Peterson some sort of conditioning wizard? Oakland's pitching was great up until around the end of July, then everybody became ass all at once. So ... was this just bad luck, or a mark of bad coaching/preparation?

Kapler first to bolt World Series champions

November 22, 2004

BOSTON (AP) -- Gabe Kapler became the first player to leave the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo.

``He spent the better part of a week really agonizing over the decision,'' agent Paul Cohen said Monday. ``He really felt at this point in his career, he wanted the guarantee to play.''

Kapler, 29, was a backup on the Red Sox team that won the AL wild-card berth, then came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in the AL championship series. Boston swept St. Louis in the World Series, with Kapler going 0-for-2 and appearing in all four games.

ADVERTISEMENT
Kapler, among 16 Boston players who became free agents, was a full-time player for three seasons, the last in 2001, when he played 134 games for Texas. He joined Boston from Colorado during the 2003 season and appeared in 63 games with the Red Sox, batting .291.

Last season, he played in 136 games but started only 73 and hit .272 in 290 at bats.

With Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon and Trot Nixon all under contract, the Red Sox starting outfield seems set for next season. They also have outfielder Dave Roberts, a starter with Los Angeles before Boston acquired him July 31.

Did anyone else catch the YES 2K4 Yankee season recap? I only watched a brief snippet (because, y'know, I wanted to have a little gloat, & I was curious as to how they'd address the season's conclusion). The one segment I caught was a roundtable discussion w/ Brian Cashman. Not that it was really a "discussion" - it was more like an interrogation or a hostile exit interview, w/ Michael Kay & Suzyn Waldman asking blunt pointed questions about where things went wrong & how they were going to reload for the upcoming year. As always, BC looked like he just crapped himself, or maybe that's his face of restraint - lord knows I'd be hard pressed to control my temper if I had puppet asshats grilling me about the shortcomings of personnel decisions I possibly had little control over (if only because I imagine George asked the very same questions, albeit in a more profane manner). Should I be surprised that the broadcast tentacle of the Yankee behemoth is exhibiting the same sort of pensive anger and soulless resolve as the mother brain in regards to what happened last year? Should I read anything into the YES Network's endless rebroadcasting of past glories over the last 4 weeks? Am I a hypocrite for painting Los Yanquis as cold haet-filled automotons while I pledge my support to the team that's right behind them in terms of wealth & power & nuclear capabilities?

Also - Suzyn Waldman is joining Andy Capp in the Yankee radio broadcast booth; Mr. Charley Steiner is possibly escaping to the Dodgers' broadcast booth.

Cashman's answer to all "what happened" questions should be "Mariano walked the leadoff guy."

The Steiner move is done; Waldman isn't as big a dick (ahem, metaphorically) as Sterling, but her voice thuds on my ears. I'm sure she's in the amen chorus on the Greatness of Jeetah, yes?

The few times I heard Yankee games on the radio this past year, Steiner sounded shocking out of place & out of sorts, either because he's not so hot as a radio broadcaster, or because he was trying to fight the implants.

You know, a walk's as good as a homerun at this point.

I dare say the Twins are afraid of their farm system. However, someone on Baseball Prospectus posited yesterday that the Twins' questionable handling of prospects (dicking them out of playing time, letting them fester on the bench or in the minors) could be some dastardly cost-cutting measure (to avoid paying contract incentives, perhaps lower the arbitration salary ceiling, etc.) - of course, if they were cutting costs, then please to explain why they're throwing money at Proven Veterans that aren't much of an improvement of their own organization's players.

Oh man I don't see how this isn't pure gold for the A's (I mean assuming health and all that and that the Pirates assume a good part of this stupid back-weighted contract.)

Pedro to Mets? Good idea?

http://doc-baseball.blogspot.com/2004/11/to-pedro-or-not-to-pedro.html

but Oakland pays $1M and $2M for Kendall in 2005 & 2006 so a net $2M contribution from PIT and if Kendall gets traded again (with OAK, a high possibility), they pay nothing.

Apparently the Jays were the only MLB club that didn't have full operating control over its stadium.

sf chronicle article

My gut tells me that the Giants just bought the services of the Armando that no one likes, not the Armando happily toiling in relative obscurity in Florida. Even if they were getting the good Armando, I'm not sure he's worth $7M - I'm guessing most of that paycheck is to (briefly) allay the bullpen fears of San Fran fans.

At this rate, Nomah might be able to swing $15M, and Ordonez can probably sucker a team into a $80M / 5 year deal. (Granted, I'm exaggerating a bit, but this off-season doesn't seem as fiscally responsible as last year's.) (I could be mistaken.)

Also, the article mentions a lefty in the works for the Giants... hmmmm... any speculations? Their targeted salary of $79-80M looks to be in jeopardy unless they start dealing away some of their higher paid players.

PROS:
Benitez reminds me of Nen: 3 solid pitches with a high 90s fastball, a low 90s slider and a decent 3rd pitch. He's coming off a career year which is always risky, but could pay dividends for the Giants who haven't had a legitimate closer since 2002.

CONS:
His OPS allowed of .475 last year seems impossible to duplicate (Gagne allowed .508 in 04) but maybe playing half his games in PacBell will be similar to playing half his games in ProPlayer. His steady decline of K/9 (while still high at 8.01) spells trouble (although his control is much better than earlier in his career, eg: his WHIP was less than 1 for the first time in his career in 04).

Yeah, the obscure Defending World Champion Marlins.

At this rate, Nomah might be able to swing $15M, and Ordonez can probably sucker a team into a $80M / 5 year deal. (Granted, I'm exaggerating a bit, but this off-season doesn't seem as fiscally responsible as last year's.) (I could be mistaken.)

Ordonez might hit the jackpot if he gets a deal equal to Tejada ($72M/6) but I highly doubt Nomar is going to command 8 digits. Whereas Ordonez has a shot at regaining his pre-injury form, I don't think anyone considers Nomar anywhere near allstar ability.

Remember, Benitez is coming off a season where he was arguably was one of the top 3-4 closers in the game. He had the lowest ERA in the majors, the 2nd highest amount of saves in the NL, blew less saves then anyone not named Gagne in the NL. He is not some hobbly gimp who got benched in favor of Neifi Perez at times late last season.

Touche, duder, but the few times I recall folks mentioning their World Series win, it was as an "oh, by the way" afterthought. Either no one gave a spank, or the Marlins need better PR.

I'd be shocked if either of these guys get 2 years (esp. Nomar.)

Benitez has struggled at SBC Park, however, with a 4.91 ERA in five appearances. Furthermore, Benitez will be remembered most for allowing a dramatic three-run, pinch-hit home run to J.T. Snow in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS in San Francisco. The Giants, however, lost to the Mets 5-4 in 10 innings and blew a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the series, which they lost in four games.

from ESPN

Pedro Martinez - $90M/7yrs = $12.86M/yr

$38/3yrs = $12.66M/yr

= -1.5% decline

He made over $18M (with bonuses) last year for the Red Sox!!!

does he not have a world series ring (not bad, a 3-hit 7 inning shutout in the world series)?
Has Joe Morgan hijacked gygax's ILX account? The fact that he won a WS this year with by far the best team he's ever played on has nothing to do with the fact that he's not the pitcher he was in 1999 (when he was dominant in the playoffs, unlike this year save one WS game), or even 2002.

You guys are being unfair to discount inflation so heavily as well.

What makes you think there has been a lot of permanent inflation between 1997 and 2004 (obv at various points things were very inflated, but I not so sure things haven't stabilized at roughly the same point they were around then)?

Re: playoffs, Pedro had a 4.00 ERA this year in 27 IP. That's good (considering the higher level of competition) but not great, and not the kind of performance that makes you spend a few million more per year plus an extra year on the contract just to make sure you get that particular guy.

In the 1999 playoffs he was a lot better, and of course was a better pitcher then too. And five years younger. And on the DL four or five fewer times.