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MLB Hotstove 08
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With Eckstein now a FA, and though STL has in house bargaining preferences 'til Nov. 12 or somewhere in there, I've read some rumors where they may look elsewhere for a S.S., like to a kid from Cuba now in the D.R., Alexei Ramírez who's supposed to be all that. Just rumor though.
Their new management seems to be beating the drum to revert emphasis to stocking up their farm club system, but this move, the way it's done in this day and age, may well set them back to square one in being competitive. All La Russa's staff returns. Pitching-wise, that doesn't excite me.
Their new management seems to be beating the drum to revert emphasis to stocking up their farm club system, but this move, the way it's done in this day and age, may well set them back to square one in being competitive. All La Russa's staff returns. Pitching-wise, that doesn't excite me.
Keep in mind that this is the first day to declare for free agency, the list will grow.
The deal with Torre is all but done. Presumably Mattingly will be coming too, along with other coaching staff, so far unnamed. The informed speculation is that one of Torre's conditions was that the Dodgers sign a power-hitter, which of course raises the Rodriguez question. For his part, Scott Boras is mum on the subject, and A-Rod only says that he liked playing for Joe Torre. The plot thickens...
Nobody really knows. Frank McCourt's finances have been kind of murky since before he bought the team. When he became the owner it sort of looked like he was borrowing money left and right. But since then he has spent money on the stadium and big contracts, plus attendance is up.
Personally, I think the Angels or Cubs are the most likely destinations for Rodriguez.
That's something we don't know. The team payroll has been rising steadily these last few years (along with ticket prices) and I suspect that we haven't reached the limits on either yet. They will also be spending something like $40 million on stadium renovations this winter and need to sign at least one top starter, perhaps two if Schmidt doesn't come back in good health. The bench also needs some work. It looks like the team will lose both its right and left-hand pitch hitters.
EDIT: echo, echo, echo....
The Dodgers have money to burn if they want to. The question is do they want to.
I think the unspoken biggest factor is position.
The Angeles have O. Cabrera, the Dodgers have R. Furcal.
After moving to 3b for Jeter, I'd be surprised if Arod didn't want to move back to short stop to show the world that he actually is a fantastic short stop who can also hit like Ted Williams.
Assuming that's true, that he wants to play short (haven't seen anything stating this for a fact yet), Chicago makes the most sense.
Ryan Theriot?
Mike Fontenot?
Mark DeRosa?
Ronny Cedeno?
Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh.
Yeah no problem sticking Arod at short @ Wrigley.
And they have Aramis at 3b anyway.
Keep DeRosa for 2B, keep Theriot for util, and deal fontenot/cedeno/murton for a better OF or another arm.
I think the unspoken biggest factor is position.
The Angeles have O. Cabrera, the Dodgers have R. Furcal.
After moving to 3b for Jeter, I'd be surprised if Arod didn't want to move back to short stop to show the world that he actually is a fantastic short stop who can also hit like Ted Williams.
Assuming that's true, that he wants to play short (haven't seen anything stating this for a fact yet), Chicago makes the most sense.
Ryan Theriot?
Mike Fontenot?
Mark DeRosa?
Ronny Cedeno?
Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh.
Yeah no problem sticking Arod at short @ Wrigley.
And they have Aramis at 3b anyway.
Keep DeRosa for 2B, keep Theriot for util, and deal fontenot/cedeno/murton for a better OF or another arm.
The McCourt's dollar resources are far from clear. Still, you are right to bring up the position issue.
Another issue is the park. Dodger Stadium is quite pitcher-friendly. Rodriquez is probably not going to be able to hit 50+ home runs in LA, a feat he's more likely to repeat in Chicago, and of course being in the batting order with Soriano has to be appealing. Still, we are talking about the Cubs, a team with a grand tradition of losing and an uncertain future in terms of ownership. Can the Cubs afford to add another $300 million to the liability side of their ledger, above and beyond their commitment to Soriano?
Good luck getting any financial information out of McCourt.When he was buying up the South Boston waterfront,trying to get info out of him was like asking the Vatican about the abuse scandal. He was always "My way or the highway" when it came to his business dealings..
Seems like the Dodgers are doing well financially tho:
Dodgers are valued at $632 million
That's the estimate by Forbes in the magazine's annual examination of how much baseball franchises are worth. The valuation is a huge jump from the $482 million last year - and it's based on a bunch of factors, including the Socal market, the stadium and the team's brand management. The Forbes report also shows that the Dodgers operating income this year will be $28 million, compared with $13 million in 2006 (and operating losses for years before that). Revenues are up (higher ticket prices have helped) and player expenses are under control. In other words, Frank McCourt is making a business out of the Dodgers - and for all the gripes about Jaime's management style, the long concession lines, the lousy parking system, etc., the team is drawing better than ever. Go figure. Forbes ranks the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 13th, with a valuation of $431 million. That's almost double the value when Arte Moreno bought the team in 2003. The Angels will show an operating income this year of $12 million. Rank, team and valuation on jump.
Seems like the Dodgers are doing well financially tho:
Dodgers are valued at $632 million
That's the estimate by Forbes in the magazine's annual examination of how much baseball franchises are worth. The valuation is a huge jump from the $482 million last year - and it's based on a bunch of factors, including the Socal market, the stadium and the team's brand management. The Forbes report also shows that the Dodgers operating income this year will be $28 million, compared with $13 million in 2006 (and operating losses for years before that). Revenues are up (higher ticket prices have helped) and player expenses are under control. In other words, Frank McCourt is making a business out of the Dodgers - and for all the gripes about Jaime's management style, the long concession lines, the lousy parking system, etc., the team is drawing better than ever. Go figure. Forbes ranks the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 13th, with a valuation of $431 million. That's almost double the value when Arte Moreno bought the team in 2003. The Angels will show an operating income this year of $12 million. Rank, team and valuation on jump.
Market value doesn't mean much unless you sell or borrow against it. McCourt's purchase of the Dodgers was heavily leveraged. Some of that debt is now retired but we simply don't know how committed McCourt is to winning -- the Dodger draw big crowds win or lose.
They're just lining up their ducks...
They can't officially negotiate with Arod until Nov 13 anyway, so it makes sense to focus on the managerial side and get that nailed down now.
I would expect to see Torre's signing announced by the end of the week.
They can't officially negotiate with Arod until Nov 13 anyway, so it makes sense to focus on the managerial side and get that nailed down now.
I would expect to see Torre's signing announced by the end of the week.
According to the local press, the Torre deal should be finalized soon, possibly today. It appears the only reason it hasn't been announced yet is that some issues remain regarding coaching personnel. The terms we're hearing are $14.5 million for three years.
True.Unless he's trying to make the team as profitable as possible to get a new stadium?At one time,there was talk of McCourt getting an NFL franchise to the LA market..Is this still being discussed?
There was speculation that McCourt might sell the stadium and land to build a new one elsewhere, since the downtown hilltop location is pretty desirable. But since then he's invested quite a bit in stadium improvements, which would seem to indicate that he doesn't plan to sell it, at least not to someone who would tear it down.
The NFL has no future here, despite the occasional rumors. There's no sign at all that there will be a team here within the next four years, maybe longer.
He was always successful here,no matter what the venture..Sounds like he's continuing out West:
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt lives in Jack Benny's old house and his neighbor is Hugh Hefner. His sons and his wife, Jamie, are top executives with the team. He has moved his real estate development business here in Los Angeles from Boston and attendance at Dodger Stadium is pushing 4 million. His farm system might be the best in baseball.
Southern California has been very good to McCourt, who lost his bid to buy the Red Sox to John Henry's group even though he owned prime real estate on the Boston waterfront for a possible new ballpark
McCourt already has poured $60 million into improving Dodger Stadium, which will become the third-oldest park in the major leagues (after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field) when the new Yankee Stadium opens in 2009. By next offseason, that number will rise to $125 million..
Like Henry and Co. did with Fenway Park, McCourt made the decision that refurbishing Dodger Stadium was a better option than building a new ballpark. It will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012 and McCourt has publicly made a 25-year commitment to the park. He has replaced all 50,000 seats, replicating the stadium's original seatbacks. New field seats were added, drainage has been improved, and next offseason the concourses will be widened and the bathrooms and concession areas will get an upgrade.
The Dodgers' spring training headquarters will move to a state-of-the-art facility in Phoenix in 2009.
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Does Colletti stay on once the Torre deal is finalized?
I will gladly join in the booing.
I hope to get to a game at Yankee Stadium some time next year, just because it's Yankee Stadium.One good thing about the pink hats.
Most of them are hot.
Kerry Wood and Matt Clement as FA's. Think the Cubs want them back?fotographica said:
I wouldn't exactly be surprised if Clement has a good 2008, depending how far along he is in rehab. Wasn't there a chance he could have pitched for the Sox in September?*slight aside, does Clement get a ring?
A) Williams was a leftySobe said:
2) NO ONE can hit like Ted Williams until they break .400. Not Bonds, not Manny, not Ortiz, not A-Rod, not Nomar (does anyone even think of him that way anymore?), NOBODY.
I will gladly join in the booing.
One good thing about the pink hats.
Most of them are hot.
Kerry Wood and Matt Clement as FA's. Think the Cubs want them back?
*slight aside, does Clement get a ring?
A) Williams was a lefty
2) NO ONE can hit like Ted Williams until they break .400. Not Bonds, not Manny, not Ortiz, not A-Rod, not Nomar (does anyone even think of him that way anymore?), NOBODY.
Courtesy of Buster Olney:
Name 5 players to lead the league in Runs, HR, and RBI...ever.
ever...in the history of baseball.
Alex Rodriguez-2007-54 HR, 156 RBI, 143 R
Roger Maris-1961-61 HR, 142 RBI, 132 R
Mickey Mantle-1956-52 HR, 130 RBI, 132 R
Johnny Mize-1947-51 HR, 138 RBI, 137 R
Ted Williams-1942-36 HR, 137 RBI, 141 R
Batting average aint everything. But Arod's .306 lifetime mark isn't exactly Dave Kingman territory either.
Is Williams a better pure average hitter? Sure, but he doesn't have Arod's power.
With 3 HR, ARod will tie Ted Williams for career HR, and he has about 350 fewer career AB.
Is Williams a better pure hitter? Sure, but people need to start realizing the caliber of player we're talking about here, if they don't already.
Again, ripped from Olney:
• Youngest ever to hit 300 HR, 400 HR, 450 HR, 500 HR
• 6 straight 40-HR seasons; 10 straight 30-HR seasons
• 3 50-HR seasons
• 2 MVPs (2003 & 2005) [add a 3rd for 2007 as soon as it's announced]
He can hold his own with any player ever, including Williams.
And sure Williams was a lefty, but that only makes his lead in average less important, due to the advantage it gives you.
And let's not pretend that hitting in Fenway your whole career isn't a huge advantage offensively.
I love Ted Williams, but let's be reasonable. The numbers that Arod is putting up are truly spectacular.
I don't like the guy, but you cannot argue with the numbers.