MLB

[MadTIGERmaN]

so the Brewers trade one of the better lead off hitters in the game (and one of the best theyve had in a long long while) in Aoki (hardest player in the league to SO, top 5 for pitchers per at bat, pesky lead off hitter making the pitcher work to get you out in front of the big hitters) and are now going with basically a rookie in LF, a rookie at 2nd (who will most likely lead off) and moving Braun and his average D in LF to RF... as long as its not Weeks going back to lead off.

enjoy Aoki KC hes fun to watch

[philpritchard]

so the Brewers trade one of the better lead off hitters in the game (and one of the best theyve had in a long long while) in Aoki (hardest player in the league to SO, top 5 for pitchers per at bat, pesky lead off hitter making the pitcher work to get you out in front of the big hitters) and are now going with basically a rookie in LF, a rookie at 2nd (who will most likely lead off) and moving Braun and his average D in LF to RF... as long as its not Weeks going back to lead off.

enjoy Aoki KC hes fun to watch

Well it's not like they were going to be any good with Aoki.

[Chris_H_2]

so the Brewers trade one of the better lead off hitters in the game (and one of the best theyve had in a long long while) in Aoki (hardest player in the league to SO, top 5 for pitchers per at bat, pesky lead off hitter making the pitcher work to get you out in front of the big hitters) and are now going with basically a rookie in LF, a rookie at 2nd (who will most likely lead off) and moving Braun and his average D in LF to RF... as long as its not Weeks going back to lead off.

enjoy Aoki KC hes fun to watch

Well it's not like they were going to be any good with Aoki.

Yeah, this.

Milwaukee has to be one of the most dysfunctional organizations in baseball at the moment.

[MadTIGERmaN]

so the Brewers trade one of the better lead off hitters in the game (and one of the best theyve had in a long long while) in Aoki (hardest player in the league to SO, top 5 for pitchers per at bat, pesky lead off hitter making the pitcher work to get you out in front of the big hitters) and are now going with basically a rookie in LF, a rookie at 2nd (who will most likely lead off) and moving Braun and his average D in LF to RF... as long as its not Weeks going back to lead off.

enjoy Aoki KC hes fun to watch

Well it's not like they were going to be any good with Aoki.

True... but after all those years with Weeks as the leadoff hitter, it was actually NICE having Aoki
Id have kept him as a 4th outfielder to start the year, see how KDavis and Scooter handle the everyday playing and trade him at the allstar break if both are handling the job. At least then ya had a fall back as the minor leagues have been horrible for Milwaukee the last few years.

just horrible drafts from 09-11 (might be off on the years? might be 08-10? or it might be 08-12? but yeah just horrible drafts the last few years)

[numbers]

I don't understand why the mariners are willing to spend so much money on Cano when signing him doesn't put them over the top. Do they think Cano is going to sell tickets? He isn't, the only thing that sells tickets is winning.

[MattA75]

I don't understand why the mariners are willing to spend so much money on Cano when signing him doesn't put them over the top. Do they think Cano is going to sell tickets? He isn't, the only thing that sells tickets is winning.

because teams are flush with cash and it's burning a hole in their pocket

[Electromatic]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

He is not. But one thing Seattle has lacked over the past couple of seasons is consistent hitting. One bat isn't going to do it though. They still need to get a true power hitter in there for better run support.

[shinkdew]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

He is not. But one thing Seattle has lacked over the past couple of seasons is consistent hitting. One bat isn't going to do it though. They still need to get a true power hitter in there for better run support.

They should sign Napoli.

[Electromatic]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

He is not. But one thing Seattle has lacked over the past couple of seasons is consistent hitting. One bat isn't going to do it though. They still need to get a true power hitter in there for better run support.

True, True, its just so much money for one guy...

[Green Habit]

It would have made much more sense to me if the Mariners instead opened up the wallet for Ellsbury.

[philpritchard]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

He is not. But one thing Seattle has lacked over the past couple of seasons is consistent hitting. One bat isn't going to do it though. They still need to get a true power hitter in there for better run support.

They should sign Napoli.

Might as well lock up the rest of the 1B/DH types to back up Morales, Smoak, Morse and Ibanez!

[vegman]

I like The Mets signing of Granderson. Having a lefty power bat will be a huge boost for Wright.

[MadTIGERmaN]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

Ichiro has to be thinking "where was this for the last 5 years I was there???"
They do got some good pitching coming up, but they still have the A's, Rangers, and Angels in the division, its going to make the division real tight, but I think the M's would have been better off stock piling young talent to take the division in a year or two when the other teams hit a down time, and then use all that money to tie up the young talent.

at least Felix should get A RUN in support now

[philpritchard]

Cano Just signed 10 years 240 Million with the Mariners.

This is DUMB, I have seen Junior and this man is no Junior.

Ichiro has to be thinking "where was this for the last 5 years I was there???"
They do got some good pitching coming up, but they still have the A's, Rangers, and Angels in the division, its going to make the division real tight, but I think the M's would have been better off stock piling young talent to take the division in a year or two when the other teams hit a down time, and then use all that money to tie up the young talent.

at least Felix should get A RUN in support now

Well Ichiro's last contract with the Mariners was pretty much in line with this one, given how much contracts have increased over the last few years.

I agree that it's a bit of a weird "win now and screw the future" move. Cano is one of the best players in baseball and the best second baseman in the league and I would pay $24 million a year for his services in a heartbeat. But there's no way I would fork out $24 million a year for Cano at 35 years old, let alone 40.

[MattA75]

I like The Mets signing of Granderson. Having a lefty power bat will be a huge boost for Wright.

15 mil a year for 4 years is not bad value at all considering some of these other completely insane deals

[philpritchard]

I like The Mets signing of Granderson. Having a lefty power bat will be a huge boost for Wright.

15 mil a year for 4 years is not bad value at all considering some of these other completely insane deals

I think on a per year basis it may be a bit of an overpay, but at least they're only locked in for four years (and until he's 37, not 40). He won't likely provide the same impact as guys like Cano and Ellsbury, but it's a comparatively "safe" upgrade, especially considering what they've had in the outfield the last couple years.

[The Argonaut]

Beltran to Yanks, 45mil/3yrs is interesting. Beltran seems to have carved himself out a little niche in the free-agent market. He's the guy that teams replace a recently-lost $200 million dollar man with. He essentially replaced Pujols's bat in the Cards line-up a couple years ago, and now he's replacing Cano's bat with the Yanks. It'll be interesting to see how Girardi juggles this line-up, and how Soriano and Ichiro fit into the outfield. I can't imagine Ichiro getting too many ABs next year. Maybe it will look like

Ellsbury (CF)
Gardner (LF)
Beltran (RF)
Teixeira (1B)
McCann (C)
Soriano (DH)
Jeter (SS)
Kelly Johnson, or other generic 2b (2b)
whoever 3b

but would they bat Jeter 7th? Probably not. thus

Ellsbury
Jeter
Beltran
Teixeira
McCann
Soriano
Kelly Johnson
3B
Gardner

with Gardner back in the leadoff-man-the-second-time-around role.

This is all assuming (dreaming/hoping/praying) that A-Rod is banned for all of 2014 (and beyond?)

[MadTIGERmaN]

Beltran to Yanks, 45mil/3yrs is interesting. Beltran seems to have carved himself out a little niche in the free-agent market. He's the guy that teams replace a recently-lost $200 million dollar man with. He essentially replaced Pujols's bat in the Cards line-up a couple years ago, and now he's replacing Cano's bat with the Yanks. It'll be interesting to see how Girardi juggles this line-up, and how Soriano and Ichiro fit into the outfield. I can't imagine Ichiro getting too many ABs next year. Maybe it will look like

Ellsbury (CF)
Gardner (LF)
Beltran (RF)
Teixeira (1B)
McCann (C)
Soriano (DH)
Jeter (SS)
Kelly Johnson, or other generic 2b (2b)
whoever 3b

but would they bat Jeter 7th? Probably not. thus

Ellsbury
Jeter
Beltran
Teixeira
McCann
Soriano
Kelly Johnson
3B
Gardner

with Gardner back in the leadoff-man-the-second-time-around role.

This is all assuming (dreaming/hoping/praying) that A-Rod is banned for all of 2014 (and beyond?)

Ichiro is a good insurance OF, you know theres no way Ellsbury / Gardner dont spend about 60 games on the DL combined, and Ichiro can play all 3 spots... if hes okay with the limited AB's to try and win a W.S.? id take him for a 4th OF (with the Yankees money)

[philpritchard]

Roy Halladay, the greatest pitcher of the last decade, is signing a one day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and announcing his retirement from baseball this afternoon.