2010 MLB

[The High Heat]

Braves make one-year offer to Damon

I just saw this on MLB. It said Damon hasn't accepted and there is interest from Detroit and Tampa as well. The report stated the Braves offer may include deferred payments.

 

His arm doesn't play well in Atlanta's and Detroit's OF.

[Lammycat]

His arm doesn't play well in OF.

True.

 

Damon had his pinnacle year last year. A one-year deal would be a smart offer.

[Sir Stewart]

I look forward to his return to Fenway, wherever he lands. He'll finally get the hero's welcome he deserves.

[The High Heat]

Yesterday on XM's baseball channel Scott Boras claimed the Yankees only talked to him once about Damon before they signed Nick Johnson. Boras is a damn good lawyer, so I would take his word with a grain of salt.

[The High Heat]

Someone on the Pirates has a brain.

[MrRain422]

I just saw this on MLB. It said Damon hasn't accepted and there is interest from Detroit and Tampa as well. The report stated the Braves offer may include deferred payments.

 

His arm doesn't play well in Atlanta's and Detroit's OF.

 

True, though at the moment the Tigers' starting left fielder is Carlos Guillen. Damon's noodle arms sucks, but he'll still be a defensive upgrade over Guillen, with his shoddy knees and back. That being said, I only like the Tigers signing Damon if they can get him on the cheap. This has been a really bizarre off season for my Tigers, and giving a ton of money to Johnny Damon would just make it weirder (worse?).

 

The White Sox are also said to be in the running for Damon.

[The High Heat]

True, though at the moment the Tigers' starting left fielder is Carlos Guillen. Damon's noodle arms sucks, but he'll still be a defensive upgrade over Guillen, with his shoddy knees and back. That being said, I only like the Tigers signing Damon if they can get him on the cheap. This has been a really bizarre off season for my Tigers, and giving a ton of money to Johnny Damon would just make it weirder (worse?).

 

The White Sox are also said to be in the running for Damon.

Didn't Leyland promise Guillen he'd be the starting LF this season after Guillen pouted about being moved around, only to end up at DH, which apparently Guillen hated?

You're right about Damon being a better OF in terms of getting to the ball, but it seems the last thing Detroit needs is another questionable defender in their spacious outfield. I suppose Ordonez can DH and Guillen could play right or Damon could even play CF if Jackson isn't ready, but, good god, they will be getting alot of ugly looks from the pitching mound.

[MrRain422]

Didn't Leyland promise Guillen he'd be the starting LF this season after Guillen pouted about being moved around, only to end up at DH, which apparently Guillen hated?

You're right about Damon being a better OF in terms of getting to the ball, but it seems the last thing Detroit needs is another questionable defender in their spacious outfield. I suppose Ordonez can DH and Guillen could play right or Damon could even play CF if Jackson isn't ready, but, good god, they will be getting alot of ugly looks from the pitching mound.

 

Yeah, Leyland said that Guillen gets the LF job next year after Guillen complained, and even that was a compromise -- I think 'Los still thinks he can play SS. Their best option in left is probably Ryan Raburn and he's not really anything special as a left fielder. Ideally I think they should put Raburn in left with Maggs and Guillen taking turns at DH (Raburn in right when Maggs DH's), and Guillen occassionally giving Cabrera a rest at 1B. Regardless, the corner spots are going to be filled with past-their-prime guys who may be able to rake a bit when they're healthy (but only maybe) and a rumored-to-be-talented unknown in center. Other than Adam Everett, Gerald Laird and Miguel Cabrera (yes, Miguel Cabrera), they're going to be a terrible defensive team this year. I don't even have much confidence in Inge with his knees all fucked up.

 

I'm looking forward to this year, but very wearily, as I don't feel confident about any part of this team other than the front 3 rotation spots and 1B.

[bobbob1313]

That Max Scherzer kid is filthy. Enjoy that.

[The High Heat]

The Giants and Tim Lincecum avoid arbitration by agreeing to a two year deal.

[bobbob1313]

Guess his agents were too optimistic with their 13 mil offer for arbi and realized he was probably going to lose. If they go 11 and the Giants offer 8, he probably wins that arbitration case. That's what they get for shooting the moon. Probably cost him a couple million over the next few seasons.

 

 

Also, Marlins sign Mike Lamb to minor league deal:

 

"[He] is only the second player whose last name is a type of animal to homer in the World Series (the first was Tim Salmon in 2002)." - Wiki

[gogo]

The Giants couldn't have ponied up the extra $3million to get him for three years? That's ridiculous, over the next three years they could probably make that much back just by selling caps with Lincecum wigs attached.

[bobbob1313]

The Giants couldn't have ponied up the extra $3million to get him for three years? That's ridiculous, over the next three years they could probably make that much back just by selling caps with Lincecum wigs attached.

 

Huh? He was willing to sign for 3 years, 26 million? That can't be right.

[gogo]

No, I think the report was that they were 3 million apart on a 3-year deal. 37 vs 40, maybe?

[bobbob1313]

Ah, right. I see. Yes.

 

His contract situation is so interesting because he is almost completely unprecedented in baseball history. 3-40 could be a steal for him, but if you're SF, you don't want to just buy out his arbitration years, you want to get at least one year of FA out of a buyout like this.

[The High Heat]

No, I think the report was that they were 3 million apart on a 3-year deal. 37 vs 40, maybe?

These are the numbers generally reported in the story.

[sgtpepper64]

Looking to fill a few spots in my fantasy league on Yahoo. PM if anyone is interested and I'll invite you.

 

 

As a Tiger fan, I'm really hoping the Johnny Damon signing works out. Boras sure knows how to play people like a fiddle, and willingly so. Detroit knows it's being sold something it didn't want, but not it's clear we need it. He'd be a solid leadoff hitter and luckily, in left field, you don't need to be a great defender. I just wish we could put Guillen back at shortstop and end the Adam Everett shame-dance that is going on. The guy can't hit his weight. What Guillen lacks in defensive prowess (I still think he's an average defender, despite how down the organization is on him) he makes up in his switch hitting abilities. The only way Adam Everett gets a his is by switching him out of the lineup.

 

Seems like a nice dude though.

[MrRain422]

You're nuts to want Guillen at short over Everett. It is true that Everett can't hit, but he's in a class with few peers with his defensive skills. Guillen can barely play any position in the field, and his hitting capabilities have diminished substantially. Everett would be the more valuable player at the shortstop position, though Guillen could still be more valuable elsewhere where he wouldn't be quite as disastrous in the field.

[sgtpepper64]

I don't agree that Everett is a stellar defender. I think he is above average certainly, but I don't think he's the be all end all of short stops. He is not an everyday short stop. He's the kind of guy you bring into the last couple innings of games to help secure the victory. It wasn't a lack of defense that hurt the Tigs last year, it was an inability to hit. Imagine a lineup with Guillen in there rather that Everett gives you the option of putting in another good hitter (ala Johnny Damon) in the lineup than the proverbial suck-hole that was Adam Everett. Never in my life (and I help out coaching a middle school girls softball team) have I seen someone strike out more and hit more meaningless grounders than Adam Everett last year. With several short-stop options on the market, I sure with the Tigers would have gone out and done something at that position. You can't platoon two non-everyday players and expect something game changing.

 

I think like you said, the best option would just be to get Guillen out of the field. He's not a bad everyday DH. However, that isn't likely to happen unless we sign Damon, and the two will probably platoon. I just can't stand how many automatic outs the Tigers have/had in their lineup. 3 out of 9 guys are rally killers, it's unreal.

[MrRain422]

It's true that Everett is a terrible hitter, but he's a great fielder.

 

Although UZR is definitely flawed, it's probably the best system for evaluating fielding at this point, and based on UZR/50 games, Everett was the 3rd best fielding shortstop in baseball last year.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=0&season=2009&month=0

 

I mean, there's an argument to be made for value of hitting vs. value of fielding, but I don't understand the argument that Everett is anything less than a top tier fielding shortstop.

[The High Heat]

Probably don't want to put a rookie 2B working with Guillen instead of Everett. Then again if the rookie can't cut it perhaps Guillen plays second. The Tigers should have never gone this road with Damon and Boras. If they want flexibility maybe they should sign a utility player or a veteran backup OF who can start in case of injury or various failures/limitations of their current starting outfielders. Probably the last thing they need is another veteran under contract. Getting carried away with that has gotten them in trouble.

[sgtpepper64]

Probably don't want to put a rookie 2B working with Guillen instead of Everett.

 

Really good point there.

 

One thing that is nice about Everett is that he is an un-flashy defender. He does what he has to do, gets to where he has to be and you pretty much don't have to worry about him letting the ball eat him up, so I didn't mean to suggest that Everett isn't a good defender because he is; I just think that Baseball unlike a lot of sports is a two way street. You need to be able to produce both offense and defense to be a meaningful contributor (This is just one way of looking at it). Everett has proven to be a solid defender and if he could even hit .245 with 10 home runs, he would be a huge asset. But, his offense is holding him back from making a truly valuable contribution, IMHO. I do think having him work with Sizemore is going to help though the rookie adjust though.

 

The Tigers have just put themselves in such an unfortunate situation. Sometimes I see glimpses of Dave Dombrowski's vision and I get excited, and other times I'm distracted by so many questions left unanswered: Who's the fifth starter? What is Austin Jackson doesn't play well at the major league level? What is Scott Sizemore doesn't cut it? There are so many what ifs and so many absolutes that must work out for the Tigers to have a good year, it's a little scary, but it's also exciting. I don't want to count them out, because I think if everyone comes back and plays to what they're capable of, they'd be a strong team in a weak division.

 

And I agree, getting into long term deals with veterans has gotten the Tigers in big trouble, but, I do think signing Johnny Damon to a two year deal would help them. He is somebody who is going to contribute unlike the laundry list of the Tigers other veterans.

 

I would like to see Guillen make a valuable contribution because he's a really good player, but it's the same deal, What if he gets hurt? What if the Tigers don't get Damon, and Guillen can't play left field? Is Ryan Raburn really the answer? So many ifs.

 

Reminds me of the Big Lebowski, a lotta ins. A lotta outs. A lotta what have yous.

[MrRain422]

I agree that ideally you have a team full of guys who are good hitters and good defenders, but there aren't too many who are really solid at both. For years good bat/bad glove guys have thrived in the league, at DH, 1B and corner outfield spots (as well as occasionally elsewhere) and people have accepted their contributions without complaining too much about their faulty fielding, but good glove/bad bat guys don't get the same benefit of the doubt. It's easily understandable because hitting is so much easier to quantify than fielding is, but I don't think that this necessarily means that a good glove/no bat guy can't be nearly as valuable.

[The High Heat]

Best trade of the offseason: Scott Boras was fired by Felipe Lopez and hired by Kendry Morales. Cha-ching!

[The High Heat]

Mark Mulder may be retiring, reports are conflicting.

 

The Royals plan on giving Kyle Farnsworth a shot at the rotation.

 

B.J. Upton and the Rays went to arbitration to squabble over $300K. The Rays had the winning offer of $3M. Perhaps they should have submitted a $2.3M bid, gambled on saving one million or spending an extra measly $300K.