MLB Hot Stove 2012/13

[MacNut]

Dickey wins the NL Cy Young. The Mets being the geniuses they are will get rid of him.

[Moyank24]

While the Blue Jays wait for Bud to yay/nay the Marlins' fire sale, they made another move today...

Melky agrees to deal with Blue Jays

2 years / $16 million - I'm a little surprised he signed a two year deal. I assumed he would sign for one and play for another long-term deal. But $16 million guaranteed isn't anything to shake your head at.

I'm not sure, though, that Melky not on steroids is worth much more than $8 mill/year. I do wish him well though. I always liked watching him play for the Yanks and was psyched for him that he was having such a great year. Hopefully it wasn't all because of the PED's. That said, I also hope that he goes 0-80 with 40 K's against the Yanks next year.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by MacNut

Dickey wins the NL Cy Young. The Mets being the geniuses they are will get rid of him.

Dickey is so boring. He throws the ball, nobody hits it, and the game is just so slow.

Congrats to you guys over there in NY.

[MacNut]

Not really hot stove, well not yet. Might be relivent in 5 years.

Nov. 19th: News Corp. would acquire 49% of YES in the transaction according to Richard Sandomir and Amy Chozick, but there would be the option to increase their stake to as much as 80% in 3-5 years. I can’t help but wonder if that option is an indication that the Steinbrenners have their eye on selling the club down the line. The network, meanwhile, is worth a bit more than $3 billion, meaning it is likely more valuable than the team itself. In-freakin’-sanity.
Nov. 15th: Via Matthew Futterman: News Corp. is closing in on a deal to purchase a minority stake in the YES Network. They have their eye on the nearly 40% share currently owned by long-time investors Goldman Sachs and Providence Equity Partners. The Yankees own about one-third of the network and aren’t selling any portion of their share.
Last month we learned that the team was looking for investors to buy out Goldman and Providence. News Corp. is a monster, the world’s second largest media group in terms of revenue. They have stakes in FOX, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal among many other media outlets. Futterman says YES is likely to raise the monthly fees (which currently lag behind other regional networks) it receives from cable providers when their contracts expire in the coming years. In other words, the deal will make the Yankees a ton of money and your cable bill might be slightly higher in the future. Business as usual, really.

http://riveraveblues.com/2012/11/rep...s-stake-79279/

[MacNut]

The Yankees have retained their most consistent starter from 2012 as the club has agreed to terms on a one-year, $15MM contract with Hiroki Kuroda, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Kuroda is represented by the Octagon agency.

Kuroda was seen as fairly likely to re-sign with New York entering the offseason, and indeed, it was reported earlier today that the Yankees were "very confident" about their chances of retaining the Japanese veteran. The righty did turn down a one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer from the Yanks a few weeks ago, assuming (correctly) that he could find a richer deal on the open market. Kuroda's list of suitors included such MLB teams as the Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers, plus Japanese teams, as Kuroda has said that he would like to eventually finish his career by returning to pitch in his native country.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/1...ki-kuroda.html

[Moyank24]

Looks like something is in the water in LA. They appear to be summoning the ghosts of the 1990's Yankees. Buy everyone!

Hamilton Agrees To Deal With Angels

Looks like they're giving him 5/$125. Scary numbers that the Angels are probably going to regret this one in a few years a la ARod.

[TSE]

Eh, I think the amount of years is correct on the deal to where the Angels aren't going to regret it too much. The guy can play Centerfield, although not very well so it's feasible that he won't have to DH much during his contract. 5 years really isn't too bad. I mean he's 31 now so the contract will end when he's 36. That isn't too old. Especially for a guy that doesn't depend on his speed and doesn't depend on his production for being at a premium position like catcher or shortstop. This isn't an A-Rod contract where he's signed till he's 45.

The dollars aren't pretty but they aren't a number that will handicap a big market franchise like the Angels and you pretty much have to overpay for big name free agents nowadays.

[Moyank24]

Originally Posted by TSE

Eh, I think the amount of years is correct on the deal to where the Angels aren't going to regret it too much. The guy can play Centerfield, although not very well so it's feasible that he won't have to DH much during his contract. 5 years really isn't too bad. I mean he's 31 now so the contract will end when he's 36. That isn't too old. Especially for a guy that doesn't depend on his speed and doesn't depend on his production for being at a premium position like catcher or shortstop. This isn't an A-Rod contract where he's signed till he's 45.

The dollars aren't pretty but they aren't a number that will handicap a big market franchise like the Angels and you pretty much have to overpay for big name free agents nowadays.

Eh, I think they're going to regret it a few years from now. Let's see if he stays healthy and out of trouble. There were a teams leery of a long term investment on him for good reason.

The problem with overpaying today is that you pay for it tomorrow. The Yanks are a good example of that (and so is the God awful Vernon Wells deal the Angels are stuck with). And the 2011 Angels are a great example that winning the off-season means absolutely nothing.

[mscriv]

That's a huge payroll with both Pujols and Hamilton! I think losing Josh is big for the Rangers, but I believe all of us in the DFW knew that Nolan Ryan wasn't going to give him the big $ and long term contract that he wanted. I'm sad that his career in Texas ended the way it did.

[TSE]

Originally Posted by Moyank24

Eh, I think they're going to regret it a few years from now. Let's see if he stays healthy and out of trouble. There were a teams leery of a long term investment on him for good reason.

The problem with overpaying today is that you pay for it tomorrow. The Yanks are a good example of that (and so is the God awful Vernon Wells deal the Angels are stuck with). And the 2011 Angels are a great example that winning the off-season means absolutely nothing.

I think it's a good contract depending on two things:

1. He averages 120-130 games per season for the life of the contract

2. He averages a .280/.340/.470 line for the life of the contract

[MacNut]

Originally Posted by TSE

I think it's a good contract depending on two things:

1. He averages 120-130 games per season for the life of the contract

2. He averages a .280/.340/.470 line for the life of the contract

Or he doesn't OD in 2 years.

[TSE]

Originally Posted by MacNut

Or he doesn't OD in 2 years.

Doesn't that go with #1? What's the point of saying that? Do former drug addicts always have to live with the stigma of being former drug addicts?

[MacNut]

Originally Posted by TSE

Doesn't that go with #1? What's the point of saying that? Do former drug addicts always have to live with the stigma of being former drug addicts?

I think it's a huge concern for the Angels. He had trouble in Texas, now he is in LA party central. This guy can't even walk about with money in his wallet, how will he handle LA.

[yg17]

Josh Hamilton has more baggage than an airline's lost luggage office. Putting a cocaine addicted alcoholic in LA is like putting a fat kid in a Little Debbie factory.

Clubhouse dynamic should be interesting. Pujols was reportedly upset and held a grudge when the Cardinals signed Matt Holliday to a big contract a couple years ago, making him the highest paid player on the club. Now Pujols is no longer the highest paid player on the Angels. And now they'll be competing to out-Jesus each other to see which one's the more pious snob.

Originally Posted by TSE

Doesn't that go with #1? What's the point of saying that? Do former drug addicts always have to live with the stigma of being former drug addicts?

Former? The guy has relaped several times. He's not a former drug addict. He's a current drug addict who barely has his problem under control.

[TSE]

Originally Posted by yg17

Josh Hamilton has more baggage than an airline's lost luggage office. Putting a cocaine addicted alcoholic in LA is like putting a fat kid in a Little Debbie factory.

Clubhouse dynamic should be interesting. Pujols was reportedly upset and held a grudge when the Cardinals signed Matt Holliday to a big contract a couple years ago, making him the highest paid player on the club. Now Pujols is no longer the highest paid player on the Angels. And now they'll be competing to out-Jesus each other to see which one's the more pious snob.



Former? The guy has relaped several times. He's not a former drug addict. He's a current drug addict who barely has his problem under control.

I've never heard of any of his "relapses" except for the one at the bar where he got drunk. And honestly if it's just alcohol it's not that big of a deal as it was a one time problem.

Correct me if I'm wrong if there was more than one reported issue.

We should also label Carlos Ruiz a drug addict, too.

[MacNut]

Originally Posted by TSE

I've never heard of any of his "relapses" except for the one at the bar where he got drunk. And honestly if it's just alcohol it's not that big of a deal as it was a one time problem.

Correct me if I'm wrong if there was more than one reported issue.

We should also label Carlos Ruiz a drug addict, too.

Hamilton has admitted to needing a chaperone to follow him everywhere because his addiction and temptation is so bad. He doesn't carry more than $5 dollars with him.

[TSE]

Originally Posted by MacNut

Hamilton has admitted to needing a chaperone to follow him everywhere because his addiction and temptation is so bad. He doesn't carry more than $5 dollars with him.

And how bad has that effected his performance on the field? Not terribly bad I'd imagine.

[Moyank24]

Originally Posted by TSE

I've never heard of any of his "relapses" except for the one at the bar where he got drunk. And honestly if it's just alcohol it's not that big of a deal as it was a one time problem.

Correct me if I'm wrong if there was more than one reported issue.

We should also label Carlos Ruiz a drug addict, too.

If you don't think any type of relapse for a drug addict or alcoholic is a "big deal", you obviously don't know anyone who has gone through anything like it. It's a HUGE deal.

Originally Posted by TSE

And how bad has that effected his performance on the field? Not terribly bad I'd imagine.

Well, considering he snorted away his first how many years in professional baseball, we'll never know how good he could have been. Not to mention that years of drug abuse will probably catch up to his body sometime in the middle of this contract.

[mscriv]

I actually think the move to the Angels could be beneficial for Hamilton's recovery. An addicts ability to stay sober is directly tied to his or her ability to positively cope with stress in life. In Texas he was expected to be the face of the franchise and therefore it was always a media storm with Hamilton. With the Angels he will simply be one of many stars on the team and I think there will be much less personal pressure. He still needs to be vigilant about his sobriety, but I think less scrutiny will make that a little bit easier.

[Moyank24]

Originally Posted by mscriv

I actually think the move to the Angels could be beneficial for Hamilton's recovery. An addicts ability to stay sober is directly tied to his or her ability to positively cope with stress in life. In Texas he was expected to be the face of the franchise and therefore it was always a media storm with Hamilton. With the Angels he will simply be one of many stars on the team and I think there will be much less personal pressure. He still needs to be vigilant about his sobriety, but I think less scrutiny will make that a little bit easier.

I don't see how there is going to be less scrutiny. He just signed a $25/year contract on a team who has now 2 years in a row made a huge splash in free agency. And they didn't even make the playoffs last year. There's going to be a lot of pressure on the team to live up to all of the big contracts.

If he has a bad month, or gets into a prolonged slump, it's going to be a big deal. Making that kind of money lends itself to dealing with that kind of thing. And let's not forget, he's now making more money than Pujols. And playing in LA is going to probably garner him more attention than it did in Texas - even if he's not the "biggest star" on the team.

[mscriv]

I hear what you are saying and agree, but I still think there's a difference in being in an ensemble of stars and being "the man" who is expected to take the team on your shoulders and will them to victory. He is making more money than Pujols on a year by year basis, but Pujols contract was definitely bigger and he is still regarded by most as the best player in baseball. And with Trout there and the solid pitching they have I just think there won't be as much specific focus on Hamilton as it was here in Texas.

I know you live in Houston so I'm not sure how much Astros news eclipses Rangers news, but here in the DFW Hamilton couldn't sneeze without the media reporting and analyzing it to death.

[Moyank24]

Originally Posted by mscriv

I hear what you are saying and agree, but I still think there's a difference in being in an ensemble of stars and being "the man" who is expected to take the team on your shoulders and will them to victory. He is making more money than Pujols on a year by year basis, but Pujols contract was definitely bigger and he is still regarded by most as the best player in baseball. And with Trout there and the solid pitching they have I just think there won't be as much specific focus on Hamilton as it was here in Texas.

I know you live in Houston so I'm not sure how much Astros news eclipses Rangers news, but here in the DFW Hamilton couldn't sneeze without the media reporting and analyzing it to death.

Ask A-Rod about playing with an ensemble of stars. It hasn't lessened his scrutiny.

I understand that he was a big fish in a small pond in DFW, but he's going to a bigger city, with a bigger contract, with bigger expectations. Maybe the entire focus won't be on him every.single.minute, but if he has a few bad weeks, it's going to be talked about. A lot.

I do get what you're saying, though. But with a big contract comes big expectations. There's just no way around it. A-Rod got killed last season because he was awful in the playoffs - which eclipsed the fact that everyone was bad in the playoffs. Why? There are $25 million reasons.

[yg17]

They should make Under the Bridge his walk-up music

Sucks for Houston though, they sucked in the NL Central which is generally regarded as one of the easiest divisions and now they're in the AL West which is shaping up to be one of the toughest. Wouldn't be surprised to see a new record set for the worst record in a major league season. The AAAstros can't catch a break.

[mscriv]

Originally Posted by Moyank24

I do get what you're saying, though. But with a big contract comes big expectations. There's just no way around it.

Agreed 100%. I just like to think that Hamilton won't personally feel as much pressure even though we all know that the "big expectations" and the media will still talk about him. My hope is that the talk will now be more focused on his play and not that he had lunch or dinner at a restaurant with a bar or was spotted at a grocery within x miles of a liquor store.

----------

Originally Posted by yg17

Sucks for Houston though, they sucked in the NL Central which is generally regarded as one of the easiest divisions and now they're in the AL West which is shaping up to be one of the toughest. Wouldn't be surprised to see a new record set for the worst record in a major league season. The AAAstros can't catch a break.

No worries, Moyank is a Yankees fan. She just happens to live in Houston.