199 replies to this topic

[grcenter47]

everyone knew he always had ridiculous stuff, it was just a matter of putting it together. But looking back, Seattle really made some boneheaded moves that seemed alright at the time. Hindsight is 20-20 though. Everyone would've made the Cliff Lee deal (especially when they gave up nothing for him) but the others aren't looking so hot right now

Next year they should probably invest in some offense b/c their lineup is all time awful though they don't get no hit every night like the rays

why was justin smoak sent to the minors?

[DH26]

why was justin smoak sent to the minors?

probably because he was below the Mendoza line and he was exactly tearing up the minors this year anyway. Smoak's built more on what he did in the lower levels. personally, i would've taken Montero but to each their own but this ain't lookin' good either.

You'd figure Smoak at least does have some power to add to the team that's last in average, runs, home runs, hits and god knows what else but who knows? I think at one time (idk if it still holds now) Brett Gardner (!) had a higher slugging than anyone in their lineup

Edited by DH26, 09 August 2010 - 12:17 AM.

[nmigliore]

Smoak was a good return for Lee but yeah I'd rather have Montero.

By the way, speaking of the Mariners, they were my preseason pick to win that division...

[DH26]

Smoak was a good return for Lee but yeah I'd rather have Montero.

By the way, speaking of the Mariners, they were my preseason pick to win that division...

so did a lot of other people. I thought it would be Anaheim again

[RSC]

Chipper's out for the year with a torn ACL, which means his career is likely done since in all likelihood 2010 was going to be his final year. This sucks, I was hoping Chipper would go out lifting the World Series trophy over his head, not like this

[DH26]

Chipper's out for the year with a torn ACL, which means his career is likely done since in all likelihood 2010 was going to be his final year. This sucks, I was hoping Chipper would go out lifting the World Series trophy over his head, not like this

eh Braves weren't winning the World Series anyway with that team barring an 06 Cards like run. This probably means the Phils are winning that division if they weren't already

[nmigliore]

Not that the sample size is all that much (both players only have about 130 PA with their new teams), but, since the Escobar/Gonzalez swap:

Alex Gonzalez: .261/.328/.429, .325 wOBA, +0.6 fWAR
Yunel Escobar: .308/.357/.427, .344 wOBA, +1.1 fWAR

When the trade was made last month I said this:

The problem is, Escobar is probably a better bet to outperform Gonzalez in the 2nd half. I'd be stunned if Gonzalez keeps up his crazy power surge, and I'd be equally stunned if Escobar keeps up his power outage.

Escobar outperforming Gonzalez so far? Check. Gonzalez hitting for less power (.238 ISO with Jays, .168 ISO with Braves)? Check. Escobar hitting for more power (.069 ISO with Braves, .120 ISO with Jays)? Check.

I'm not trying to boast or anything as I'm sure a lot of other people probably saw that coming too. And who knows, to cut Atlanta some slack, Escobar is probably 1 of those players that really did need a change of scenery. I still would have looked for a better return though....

Edited by nmigliore, 21 August 2010 - 05:28 PM.

[DH26]

Not that the sample size is all that much (both players only have about 130 PA with their new teams), but, since the Escobar/Gonzalez swap:

I'm not trying to boast or anything as I'm sure a lot of other people probably saw that coming too. And who knows, to cut Atlanta some slack, Escobar is probably 1 of those players that really did need a change of scenery. I still would have looked for a better return though....

Atlanta needed to get some kind of SS back for him and that was probably one of the only teams that would do it. They could've traded him to Boston for Lowrie or something but there probably weren't many good options out there just to get rid of Escobar

[nmigliore]

Jose Bautista has 40 homeruns.... and there are still 6 weeks of regular season baseball left.

What is the world coming too?

[DH26]

Jose Bautista has 40 homeruns.... and there are still 6 weeks of regular season baseball left.

What is the world coming too?

watch him hit like 12 next year and start hitting like Jose Bautista again

Edited by DH26, 23 August 2010 - 10:48 PM.

[devilsrule33]

Jose Bautista has 40 homeruns.... and there are still 6 weeks of regular season baseball left.

What is the world coming too?

I don't know, but I am enjoying every minute of it in what has been a very surprisingly fun Jays season.

[DH26]

I don't know, but I am enjoying every minute of it in what has been a very surprisingly fun Jays season.

Brandon Morrow really seems like he's fun to watch. Tex said he's pitching different every time out with great stuff. Sounds like Joba when you know he was good as a starter in 2008. How they got him for nothing is still mind boggling

[nmigliore]

Strasburg is expected to have TJ Surgery. Yikes. Major bummer for the Nationals.

[grcenter47]

Strasburg is expected to have TJ Surgery. Yikes. Major bummer for the Nationals.

Major bummer on the price of his rookie card. I have it

[nmigliore]

Its really sad how the Padres have stumbled so much down the stretch and need a lot to go right this weekend in order to get in to the playoffs. And while they made a surprising run this year, I'm not sold at all that they are built well for the future with this current group. I mean Mat Latos is absolutely one of the best young pitchers in baseball, Clayton Richard is pretty good too, and their bullpen was #1 in baseball this year, but after that... there just isn't much to like. What futures do Correia and Garland have with this team? Wade LeBlanc's ERA might look good in the low-4's, but deeper stats indicate hes probably not much more than a mediocre #5, and that's probably being nice. Position player-wise, you have Adrian Gonzalez, who is a star, but is destined for free agency in another year barring an extension. Kyle Blanks missed most of this season but hes got some good upside. Headley was excellent defensively at 3B this year (+14.1 UZR, +19 DRS) though expecting him to routinely do that isn't right. Will Venable was pretty decent overall too (2.8 WAR in 432 PA), and they made a nice trade to get Ryan Ludwick, but really, there just isn't much to like here. Yorvit Torrealba? The Hairstons? David Eckstein? Tony Gwynn Jr.? Bleh.

I'm not really knowledgeable about their farm system, but this current team that led the NL West for the majority of this season really isn't a team to build around. You got the star players like Mat Latos and Adrian Gonzalez along with a top-tier bullpen (though lets not forget bullpens can be pretty volatile year to year), but there just isn't a whole lot after that, and like I said, there's a good chance 1 of those stars (Gonzalez) is gone by 2012.

So while this may look like a season in the right direction for San Diego, they probably should still realize that this team, while it certainly has SOME nice, young pieces, isn't built for the future as is, and they'd be wise to deal Adrian Gonzalez while they still can (if not extend him).

Edited by nmigliore, 30 September 2010 - 10:05 PM.

[grcenter47]

Its really sad how the Padres have stumbled so much down the stretch and need a lot to go right this weekend in order to get in to the playoffs. And while they made a surprising run this year, I'm not sold at all that they are built well for the future with this current group. I mean Mat Latos is absolutely one of the best young pitchers in baseball, Clayton Richard is pretty good too, and their bullpen was #1 in baseball this year, but after that... there just isn't much to like. What futures do Correia and Garland have with this team? Wade LeBlanc's ERA might look good in the low-4's, but deeper stats indicate hes probably not much more than a mediocre #5, and that's probably being nice. Position player-wise, you have Adrian Gonzalez, who is a star, but is destined for free agency in another year barring an extension. Kyle Blanks missed most of this season but hes got some good upside. Headley was excellent defensively at 3B this year (+14.1 UZR, +19 DRS) though expecting him to routinely do that isn't right. Will Venable was pretty decent overall too (2.8 WAR in 432 PA), and they made a nice trade to get Ryan Ludwick, but really, there just isn't much to like here. Yorvit Torrealba? The Hairstons? David Eckstein? Tony Gwynn Jr.? Bleh.

I'm not really knowledgeable about their farm system, but this current team that led the NL West for the majority of this season really isn't a team to build around. You got the star players like Mat Latos and Adrian Gonzalez along with a top-tier bullpen (though lets not forget bullpens can be pretty volatile year to year), but there just isn't a whole lot after that, and like I said, there's a good chance 1 of those stars (Gonzalez) is gone by 2012.

So while this may look like a season in the right direction for San Diego, they probably should still realize that this team, while it certainly has SOME nice, young pieces, isn't built for the future as is, and they'd be wise to deal Adrian Gonzalez while they still can (if not extend him).

san diego needs hitting. they were winning game by scoring only a few runs. their pitching is amazing and sadly they may need to trade one or two of them to get some sluggers

[nmigliore]

their pitching is amazing

I don't really agree with that; I mean their bullpen was definitely amazing, but like I said, bullpens can be pretty volatile year to year. Mat Latos is an ace and Clayton Richard looks pretty good too (though he is 27, which is older than I originally thought), but after that, there are 3 question marks in their rotation. Wade LeBlanc is a #5 starter at best; Fangraph's WAR system put him below replacement level this year. Kevin Correia was also replacement level this year, and hes an impending free agent anyway. Jon Garland is... well, Jon Garland; a durable back-of-the-rotation pitcher, but hes not that valuable, and hes not on the young side.

They can build their rotation around Latos and Richard I suppose, but with guys like Correia, Garland, and LeBlanc? No way. That's just not going to cut it, especially with how weak of a lineup they put out there.

Edited by nmigliore, 01 October 2010 - 12:22 PM.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Problem is, can the Padres even help themselves?

I know that they've been a low-budget team for a while now, and I'm not sure they're going to want to try and help themselves out.

Their best plan, TBH, is probably to trade Heath Bell for an impact bat if they plan on contending in '11. Even at $6MM (which MLBTR figures he'll get through arb raises), Bell should appeal to several teams looking for closing help. I'm just not sure who the Padres would want for it.

[nmigliore]

Their best plan, TBH, is probably to trade Heath Bell for an impact bat if they plan on contending in '11. Even at $6MM (which MLBTR figures he'll get through arb raises), Bell should appeal to several teams looking for closing help. I'm just not sure who the Padres would want for it.

Absolutely. Relievers get overvalued anyway, and their bullpen can survive without him. The problem is Heath Bell at 1 year (hes a free agent in 2012) vs Bell at multiple years makes him less attractive. I don't think he brings back an impact bat, but that's just a guess on my part. We'll see, should they opt to move him.

Extending or trading Adrian Gonzalez should be their primary plan though. If they want to trade him, get it done over the winter; the longer they wait (lets say they hang onto him until next year's deadline), the weaker return they'll get.

Edited by nmigliore, 01 October 2010 - 02:25 PM.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Absolutely. Relievers get overvalued anyway, and their bullpen can survive without him. The problem is Heath Bell at 1 year (hes a free agent in 2012) vs Bell at multiple years makes him less attractive. I don't think he brings back an impact bat, but that's just a guess on my part. We'll see, should they opt to move him.

Extending or trading Adrian Gonzalez should be their primary plan though. If they want to trade him, get it done over the winter; the longer they wait (lets say they hang onto him until next year's deadline), the weaker return they'll get.

Agreed on Gonzalez. Their closing meeting in 2010, whether it's next week or in November, should start with what to do about Adrian.

As for Bell, what if the Padres brought an old NBA favorite to MLB...the good ol' Sign 'n' Trade! See if Bell extends for 1-2 additional years, then flip him to a contender with an excess of bats.