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2013/14 MLB Offseason Thread


thefiestygoat

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That may be a lot of money for Choo and I know he has crazy platoon splits and some red flags that cause doubt over how he will fare over the length of the deal but I still think it's a solid deal for the Rangers. Talk about wanting to add power to the line up, Texas adds Fielder and Choo in the same offseason.

 

I'm always a bit biased towards the high OBP guys that have some pop though. Maybe that's why I think it's a decent deal.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Is there a more out-of-touch douchenozzle than Ken Gurnick?

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10259259/greg-maddux-unanimous-hall-selection

 

Someone should tell this complete ASSCLOWN that Maddux was the posterboy for a guy who that showed you don't have to be chiseled or gifted with a power pitcher's physique or arm to succeed.  This guy got everything out of his ability and smarts.  The only knock on him is a meh playoff record and a lack of a Jack Morris "You're Going To Have to Rip the Ball from My Fingers to Get Me Off the Mound" mentality, but the guy should be a friggin' no-brainer to get in.  It's not even a debate.

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Is there a more out-of-touch douchenozzle than Ken Gurnick?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10259259/greg-maddux-unanimous-hall-selection

Someone should tell this complete ASSCLOWN that Maddux was the posterboy for a guy who that showed you don't have to be chiseled or gifted with a power pitcher's physique or arm to succeed. This guy got everything out of his ability and smarts. The only knock on him is a meh playoff record and a lack of a Jack Morris "You're Going To Have to Rip the Ball from My Fingers to Get Me Off the Mound" mentality, but the guy should be a friggin' no-brainer to get in. It's not even a debate.

Yeah this is pretty ridiculous. I can at least understand those guys that as a matter of course will not allow someone to be voted in unanimously for tradition sake. But at some point you have to let the steroids thing go,

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I mean, I can't understand how you can send a ballot in like that and try and act like you're sole purpose isn't to get attention. There is no other logical explanation. It's not even a steroids thing, because if anything, the steroid era should HELP a guy like Maddux (not that he needs it, but you get the point). 

 

Unrelated to this moron, one of my biggest pet peeves with Hall of Fame voting (besides the convoluted pool of BBWAA members who have a vote, anyway): the 10 player limit needs to go. There are more than 10 deserving candidates on this list, and that isn't going to change in the near future. In the meantime, at least dump the 5% minimum to stay on future ballots.

 

Seems like Piazza won't be going in again this year, barring a shocker. That's a shame, but he isn't the only one getting screwed, and he will go in eventually. 

Edited by nmigliore
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Well, this jerkoff got attention alright.  There's not a single post I've seen that agrees with what this guy did.  I'm glad people are blasting this zilch.  What an a$$hole.

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Maddux, Glavine, Thomas going into the Hall of Fame as 2014 inductees. Biggio literally JUST missed at 74.8% vote, wow. 

 

More interested in the percentages of the others.

 

Edit: Piazza went up a bit (I expected better, though), Bonds and Clemens went down. Armando Benitez (!!!!) got a vote. Jesus. 

Edited by nmigliore
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Maddux, Glavine, Thomas going into the Hall of Fame as 2014 inductees. Biggio literally JUST missed at 74.8% vote, wow. 

 

More interested in the percentages of the others.

 

Edit: Piazza went up a bit (I expected better, though), Bonds and Clemens went down. Armando Benitez (!!!!) got a vote. Jesus. 

 

The HOF voting process is such a fvcking mess, and so many voters are such idiots that it is hard to take this seriously.

 

From blank ballots, to random players getting votes, to HOF talents getting blacklisted due to speculation...I can't even get worked up about it.

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The HOF voting process is such a fvcking mess, and so many voters are such idiots that it is hard to take this seriously.

 

From blank ballots, to random players getting votes, to HOF talents getting blacklisted due to speculation...I can't even get worked up about it.

 

Agreed, it's easy to become apathetic towards it. 

 

I think Jonah Keri had a pretty good and simple list of how to fix the Hall voting here. I would also throw in publicized ballots so that the morons who treat this like a mockery -- like the folks who voted for Benitez, Jacque Jones, etc. or didn't vote Maddux -- are exposed. 

 

The 10 player limit is damning when you have a ballot like this. Multiple writers are coming out saying Biggio was their "#11" and would have been voted for had the stupid limit not have been in place. Feel sorry for him and all the others who are getting screwed like that.

 

Here is the full list of players and their votes, for whomever is interested: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/80379/piazza-falls-short-ex-met-glavine-elected

Edited by nmigliore
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Good for Maddux (who should have been friggin' UNANIMOUS), Glavine (can't say I loved the Met part of his career), and Thomas (guy was just a beast at the plate).  Jack Morris was a true bulldog who always wanted to go nine, and I appreciate that about him, but for all the arguments that have been made in his favor, I still couldn't see him as a Hall-Of-Famer. 

 

Looks like a lot of voters suspect Piazza of 'roid use.  That's the only reason a guy who put up incredible offensive numbers as a catcher isn't in yet. 

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The MLB BBWAA is absolutely a joke.  Congrats to Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux though.  But thank god Jack Morris didn't make it.

 

I would put Jack morris in way before Biggio !!!  & Biggio will get in next year its a joke... He's a very good player who compiled very good numbers, but he was NEVER a top player in the game... hell he only hit 300 like 4 times!!!  he better not get in...  Its bad enough Spit ballers are welcome in but steriod users are considered cheats and not allowed in... I donot get it.

 

And there was a  span where Jack Moriis was the best pitcher in the American league, 3 maybe 4 years...

Good for Maddux (who should have been friggin' UNANIMOUS),

It took Joe D 3 tries to get in, if Joe D is not a first ballot HOFer, then no one who gets in on the 1st try should ever complain!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Garza going to the Brewers, 4/52 per Ken Rosenthal. I'd expect Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez to sign fairly soon too. Tanaka was the big domino that needed to fall for the free agent pitching market to get into gear.

Santana and Jimenez can't be happy about Garza getting that contract when he had no draft pick attached to him.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dave Cameron offers up a reasonable fix to the broken Qualifying Offer system that is currently in place: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/a-suggestion-to-improve-the-qualifying-offer-system/

 

It basically involves: eliminating the 7-day acceptance/decline window for those receiving the offer and giving teams a chance to revoke the QO at any time; allowing any free agent to be offered a QO (thus removing the trade deadline rule), which helps replace the marginal/decent players who would no longer receive a QO, with players who were traded at the deadline (think Matt Garza, Ricky Nolasco, Zack Greinke). 

 

I'm a fan of it. It's a big help to a player's market so that we don't get stuck with a handful of decent players looking for jobs in February and March. The league gets too keeps its tax on player salaries. Teams get to benefit from good quality trade deadline players becoming more valuable, since they can be offered a QO at season's end by the acquiring team. 

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Jimenez going to the Orioles for something in the neighborhood of 4/48, pending a physical, per Ken Rosenthal.

I like it, solid move. They needed to make a move like this after a disappointly quiet offseason.

I think Ervin Santana will get something very similar. Toronto could be a fit.

Edited by nmigliore
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Jimenez going to the Orioles for something in the neighborhood of 4/48, pending a physical, per Ken Rosenthal.

I like it, solid move. They needed to make a move like this after a disappointly quiet offseason.

The O's signed that Korean guy, too. They really needed to do something with that rotation. They're gonna be dangerous if Tillman can put up the numbers he did last year and the signings work out. I'm pretty disappointed about McLouth.

Edited by thecoffeecake
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The O's signed that Korean guy, too. They really needed to do something with that rotation. They're gonna be dangerous if Tillman can put up the numbers he did last year and the signings work out. I'm pretty disappointed about McLouth.

 

Yeah I thought that was a very solid gamble; costs next to nothing, his upside may not be great but what's there to lose? Even with Jimenez the rotation isn't great overall but there's enough arms to hold down the fort and plenty of reinforcements on the way -- Kevin Gausman, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Mike Wright are just a few names that could have an impact at some point in 2014, maybe even Bundy if his rehab goes swell (particularly Gausman, who I think forces his way into the rotation by June, if not earlier). 

 

I don't know if he'll start, and he doesn't have much of a track record, but David Lough hit pretty respectably and played superb defense with the Royals last season. I could see him being a nifty player in the McLouth mold. 

 

I don't buy that their offseason is over, though. Cruz is a logical fit as someone who can split at bats between LF and DH, as is Morales as a pure DH. These guys have to land somewhere, and while Cruz might be a better bet to end up in Seattle, I'm not sure Morales will have any other place to go besides Baltimore. Neither player will move the needle that much for the O's, but every little upgrade can go a long way given their status as fringe contenders.

 

---

 

May as well just throw these interesting links into this post:

 

 Jonah Keri of Grantland has some early power rankings out with a brief take on each team's doings and what they are facing in 2014. 

 

Baseball America also unveiled their Top 100 prospects for 2014. 

 

The Phillies being dickbags and turning in two drafted college players they did not sign for having agents, thus getting one of them suspended indefinitely.

 

It's not just the Phillies to blame for being poor sports but also the ridiculous NCAA rule prohibiting players to have agents despite the fact so many of them do and it's commonly acknowledged and accepted.

Edited by nmigliore
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I don't buy that their offseason is over, though. Cruz is a logical fit as someone who can split at bats between LF and DH...

 

And a few days later..... O's sign Nelson Cruz, 1 year, $8 million plus incentives. Sounds like he'll primarily DH, which is probably the most optimal fit. 

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MLBAM is unveiling some incredible tracking data, it's all over Twitter right now. 

 

Some sweet visuals:

 




 


Edited by nmigliore
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