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Hot Stove Part II

MrRain422

By MrRain422,
in Tongue-Tied Lightning

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Lammycat

Lammycat

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Oakland to trade Kotsay to Braves for some shitty pitcher. What's going on with Billy Beane?:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3193556

 

Clemens developed an abscess on his ass around the time McNamee says he was injecting steroids into Clemens in 1998. Abscesses are common side effects of needle injections, apparently:

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/home_MLB.aspx

 

And Jacob's Field to be re-named Progressive Field:

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/arti...sp&c_id=cle

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Lammycat

Lammycat

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They're in a rebuilding mode. Nothing wrong with that if you do it right.

I understand they're rebuilding and that Beane is probably the best GM out there for that task, it just seems he's getting little in return for dishing away some key figures. I'm sure Oakland will be fine, but right now they've got some big gaps.

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Duck-Billed Catechist

Duck-Billed Catechist

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You really think he got little in return for Swisher, for instance? Anytime you get another team's two best pitching prospects that's probably not a bad deal. What would you expect him to get for Swisher?

 

Though I'm defending Beane, I think his legend is (rightly) fading a bit. So far as I can tell, the reason Oakland needs to rebuild is that they haven't gotten much out of the draft. The trades aren't really the problem. Though I probably wouldn't be too happy if I was an Oakland fan.

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Lammycat

Lammycat

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You're right, the return on the Swisher trade is nice for Oakland. The three pitchers are all five-star prospects. But Swisher is in the meat of his career, too, as well as a fan fave.

 

Blanton and Street will probably be going, as well. Two more guys in their prime. I guess I'm used to seeing veteran's with albatross contracts being shipped out of town during team re-buildings rather than fan favorites in their prime.

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Smokestack Joe

Smokestack Joe

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CF Mike Cameron to the Brewers, one- year deal. $5 million, $1.25 sign bonus, althougth he is suspended for the first 25 games due to substance abuse so his salaray is really $4.22.

 

likely move Bill Hall to 3B and Ryan Braun to LF.

 

not a fan of the move, replaced Geoff Jenkins $7 million/yr with a younger guy with some pop but a lot of strikeouts and will mist first month or so of season.

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Lammycat

Lammycat

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Most random trade ever?

Pretty random, but I can see STL wanting to get rid of Rolen for a comparable player as he's been a pain in the ass to deal with for LaRussa. I can see TOR wanting to get Glaus out of town for something comparable, too, due to injury/foot issues from playing half his games on the turf the last two years.

 

I think STL gets the edge in the deal but really, they're both on the downsides of their careers and both injury-prone.

 

And there's this:

"According to a source with knowledge of the trade, the Cardinals only signed off on the deal after Glaus agreed to exercise his $11.25 million option for 2009. St. Louis management didn't want to give up three years of Rolen for only one year of Glaus, so Glaus had to commit to the option year as part of the deal."

 

"A source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Toronto will be responsible for the three years and $33 million left on Rolen's contract, while St. Louis will assume the $24.5 million owed Glaus through 2009. Since no cash is involved in the trade, it appears that no approval from commissioner Bud Selig's office is required."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3193566

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Nobody Girl

Nobody Girl

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Oakland to trade Kotsay to Braves for some shitty pitcher. What's going on with Billy Beane?:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3193556

 

Either way, the A's would have been out of the $8 million they owe Kotsay for 2008 (a season in which they won't compete and after which Kotsay is a free agent). Now, not only are the Braves giving Oakland about $2 million, but they're also sending over Joey Devine -- who's mostly had a rough time in his limited experience in the majors but has pretty good numbers in the minors -- and, if other reports are correct, a Single-A pitcher.

 

Considering Kotsay is on the decline, has chronic back issues, and has no future with the team, I like this trade and am surprised that Beane could get that much in return. (Assuming Kotsay passes his physical, which I'm not terribly optimistic will happen.)

 

Though I'm defending Beane, I think his legend is (rightly) fading a bit. So far as I can tell, the reason Oakland needs to rebuild is that they haven't gotten much out of the draft. The trades aren't really the problem. Though I probably wouldn't be too happy if I was an Oakland fan.

Not happy doesn't begin to cover it. Obviously with the state of the farm system, a rebuild was coming at some point. With the team's health situation already looking bleak, this made it a logical time to start. Still, the irrational fangirl in me is pissed off that it came to the point where Swisher and Haren (two of my favorites, no less) were traded despite (as has been mentioned before) being cheap and probably having their best years ahead of them.

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Duck-Billed Catechist

Duck-Billed Catechist

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The posts of the supposed scout on the White Sox board are getting pretty interesting. I like to think that my bullshit detector is pretty accurate and he seems to be who he claims to be. At first, his posts just included his scouting philosophy and his opinion of specific players (often that touted White Sox propsects were overrated). Recently, he posted this about the White Sox' last draft (the White Sox recently fired their head scout, Duane Schaffer. They've gotten virtually nothing out of the draft in recent years):

 

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...t&p=1559610

 

Duane Schaffer didn't control one draft pick from the 2007 draft. Not one. He may have been "in charge" to the media, but from everything I've been told since I started - he didn't have control of one pick.

 

The draft process:

 

Each scout (local scout - the same idiot you saw walking around at your HS or college games) - scouts his area, and turns in his list to the area supervisor. The area supervisor then scouts the players who are turned in. He then turns in his list to the Cross-Checker (West Coast, East Coast, Midwest). The cross-checker then calls in the National Cross-Checker for any player he deems viable (this is generally only for players who are "Top 10 round" worthy). Then National Cross-Checker then calls in the Scouting Director. The Scouting Diretor then reports to the GM.

 

The draft room is made up of all this information - but the GM has final say. All this work can be un-done VERY quickly by a GM who wants to draft "his player" even if the rest of the scouting team heavily disagrees. And it happens in all sorts of ways - the GM can watch a player play and decide that is his guy and I've seen in MANY cases the GM ONLY watching a kid's "videotape" - yes the same one you and everyone else can see online, and has not seen this player EVER play in real life - he can override ANY AND ALL decisions made by the scouting team. In the draft room - if the GM says "player A" is a 60 OFP and the "scouting team" says he is a 52 OFP - well, guess what? The GM's decision heavily outweighs even 10 people's combined opinion. In some organizations - the OWNER even makes the decision at the last minute - and those are some of the truly unbelievably bad decisions you see at times.

 

This past draft - from all accounts - was entirely one man's draft. All decisions were made by one person for rounds 1-10. Of course - there was IMMENSE friction caused by this and the people who were not in charge were kept around as "fall guys" for a later date - just as any smart businessman would do. The draft's decisions were made by one man this past summer & one man's decision outweighed many others - and included people who disagreed with what happened were searching for a new job shortly thereafter.

 

That was the strategy at the time - the GM wanted the draft to himself this year as there was too much of a difference in what the GM wanted (which he got), and what others voiced what they wanted (which they are not with the White Sox anymore) but it was changed heavily in the fall - starting with Buddy Bell replacing Alan Reiger in charge of player development (although, under a "different" job title - as Reiger's job is as the mouthpiece to the media for the GM & that allowed there to be "less upheavel in the office" & the rest of the new player development staff and a few replacements on the amateur scouting department.

 

Thats how the draft works though. This past year for ChiSox camp was very different though - in that only one man made every decision without advice, etc. except from a very select few - who happen to be the ones who remain in the organization now. That is one thing I've learned & that I'm pretty good at. Its not worth it to me to argue with the man in charge when he has his mind made up. I let the ones in charge make their own mistakes and let my reports speak for themselves and smirk about it when I'm proven right in the end. Some guys can't do that though - as they feel they NEED to voice their reasons, etc. - and they're out of a job sooner than later. I'm not a man of "loyalty". I'm a player development mercany who goes to the highest bidder.

 

I think that some of his posts might receive some media attention if he posted on the most popular White Sox board.

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P Dub

P Dub

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Cards consider inviting Gonzalez to their camp

By Derrick Goold

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

01/17/2008

 

Two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez is seeking another swing at a comeback after nearly three years since his last at-bat, and the Cardinals have discussed extending him an invitation to spring training.

 

Gonzalez, 38, has been working out at Eduardo Perez's Winter Training Program in Puerto Rico. The Cardinals, intrigued by descriptions of Gonzalez's workouts, are exploring the possibility of signing the former All-Star outfielder, but a source cautioned that no deal is completed.

 

"He really never stopped playing," said Perez, a former Cardinal and founder of a winter program that offers professional players training facilities in exchange for community work. "He looks great, like he hasn't missed a beat. His legs look strong. Once a hitter, always a hitter."

 

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols and coach Jose Oquendo were visiting Perez's program this past week, to work with the players. Early Wednesday morning, Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina took batting practice with Gonzalez, Perez said.

 

An MVP in 1996 and 1998 with Texas, Gonzalez has 434 career home runs but only one big-league at-bat since May 2004. He tore a hamstring in his only 2005 at-bat and has not played in the majors since.

 

Recently, his name appeared in the Mitchell Report, which detailed a 2001 incident when steroids were discovered in a bag searched at Toronto's airport. The bag was linked to Gonzalez, though the report says a member of his entourage claimed ownership. In his book "Juiced," Jose Canseco wrote that he introduced Gonzalez to performance-enhancing drugs when they were teammates.

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Twisted Acres

Twisted Acres

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The sad sidebar to that story is the fact that the Puerto Rican Winter League is no more as of this year. It was shut down due to a lack of interest and attendance. Eduardo Perez started his Winter Training Program as a result, to give Puerto Rican players an opportunity to play during the winter, despite the absence of the League. It's sad really, because the League had been around since before the 1940s.

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Duck-Billed Catechist

Duck-Billed Catechist

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why teams sign this guy is beyond me. He'll be on the DL by May.

Because he's pretty good. Injured a lot though, sure.

 

Last year they acquired a bunch of young, unproven flamethrowers who all failed.

 

This year they're lining up expensive veterans in the bullpen.

 

I think I'd rather they stick with last year's strategy--given what a crapshoot middle relievers are.

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