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The Official 2012 MLB Thread

Nik? - PAN said:
I don't know how fair of an assessment that is. I think it's probably more accurate to say that the good that Gonzalez brings to the table is balanced out by the ugliness of some of the contracts the Dodgers took back so the return in terms of prospects isn't really telling the whole story.

He's got a 2.6 BWAR right now which certainly isn't great but it's also a significant off year for him. I don't think his value is going to drop a ton after a bunch of solid seasons in a row followed up with a disappointing, but not terrible one.
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I think clearly it's a combination of everything. I mean, I think it goes without saying that a player who is traded while having the worst season of his career will command a lower return than if he was traded in any other year. Keep in mind, this is a player who is earning one of the top 10 salaries in the MLB.

With that said, I agree the financial aspect played a huge role in the return. Crawford is in the top 15 in MLB salaries and is the biggest risk in the deal and, at his best, is likely one of the most overpaid players in the league.

Beckett, regardless of what you think of him, is tied for 10th in the league in pitcher salary. I think we've all established that he is not the most consistent guy in the world, and if you want I can provide anecdotal evidence that he seems to be a bit of a knob.

Not one of these guys is living up to expectations this season. So basically, you have three guys who are making a ton and having poor years by their respective standards and, as a result, the return was so-so.
 
#1PilarFan said:
Not one of these guys is living up to expectations this season. So basically, you have three guys who are making a ton and having poor years by their respective standards and, as a result, the return was so-so.
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I don't disagree with any of that. But as busta said I'm not confused about why Boston got the return they did.

I was just weighing in on what I thought perception of Gonzalez/Beckett would be in a strictly baseball sense. Yeah, Gonzalez is having the worst year in a while but I really don't think that hurts his value much if he's still having a pretty good year(which he is. He could finish up with a bWAR of 3.5-4 or something). I mean, you could sort of say the same thing about Bautista's year. I don't think the Jays would be more inclined to take less for him or more inclined to trade him because of it.

What I sort of think is interesting about this trade is that so many people are saying that this trade is all about money and while I think that's true from the Red Sox perspective I don't think the Dodgers care about the salaries at all. I think that with the kind of money that could be generated by the RSN they want to start they could still add 100 milion dollars to their payroll and be comfortable.
 
Andy007 said:
Dodgers just got a 4Billion$ deal with Fox. I don't think they are worried about salaries either.  :D
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Is that done? I thought they were just in the negotiation stage after Selig did away with the deal McCourt signed.
 
Nik? said:
Andy007 said:
Dodgers just got a 4Billion$ deal with Fox. I don't think they are worried about salaries either.  :D
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Is that done? I thought they were just in the negotiation stage after Selig did away with the deal McCourt signed.
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Heard it was a done deal via the FAN on the drive to work this morn.
 
Andy007 said:
Heard it was a done deal via the FAN on the drive to work this morn.
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Huh. I'm not finding anything on it if that's the case.

Anyways, I think it'll be interesting to see if it's like the Lakers deal where they'll create not one but two RSN's with one being Spanish language. That could give the Dodgers a ton of reach, influence and cash to spread around like you say.
 
Nik? said:
Andy007 said:
Heard it was a done deal via the FAN on the drive to work this morn.
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Huh. I'm not finding anything on it if that's the case.

Anyways, I think it'll be interesting to see if it's like the Lakers deal where they'll create not one but two RSN's with one being Spanish language. That could give the Dodgers a ton of reach, influence and cash to spread around like you say.
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Yea, I can't find it anywhere either. Not sure if it was a premature report or what but it was on the news portion on FAN590 around 630am.

Also read that LA tried to pry Teixeira and Sabathia out of NY before pulling the trigger with Boston. They are really shooting for the stars. 

 
Nik? said:
I mean, you could sort of say the same thing about Bautista's year. I don't think the Jays would be more inclined to take less for him or more inclined to trade him because of it.
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Yeah, but that's not really what happened here. If, say, the Jays were sold on trading Bautista in the middle of this season while he's underperforming (to his standards) they would get less than if he was playing at his best.

Look at Youkilis. The White Sox got him for nothing. Part of that is due to the fact that, despite his career numbers, he was hitting like garbage. That, and apparently Cherington likes to sell low.
 
#1PilarFan said:
Yeah, but that's not really what happened here. If, say, the Jays were sold on trading Bautista in the middle of this season while he's underperforming (to his standards) they would get less than if he was playing at his best.

Look at Youkilis. The White Sox got him for nothing. Part of that is due to the fact that, despite his career numbers, he was hitting like garbage. That, and apparently Cherington likes to sell low.
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But the difference between Youkilis and Gonzalez, the reason I thought Bautista was a better example, is that Youkilis was actually objectively bad. He wasn't just having an off year for him, he was barely hitting above replacement level.

Gonzalez isn't doing that. He's got an OPS over .800 and his bWAR  was 2.4.

So i guess what I'm saying is that I agree with you to a point. You're right, if the Red Sox were bound and determined to deal Gonzalez they would have gotten less than one might expect because of what he's done this year. Where I disagree is that I don't think they were determined to deal him. I think they, if they could have, would have kept him. His presence in this deal, to my eye, is a reflection of how badly they wanted to get rid of Crawford/Beckett.
 
And that's probably a fair assessment.

It'll be interesting to see what Cherington does with his newfound financial freedom. So far, he's seemed to be more interested in dumping off contracts regardless of the return. Now he has flexibility, but will he able to resist throwing absurd amounts of money at new free agents?

And while you're right about Youkilis having a terrible season, I still think that move was a mistake. I understand that they wanted to create room for Middlebrooks and that it would have been difficult keeping Youk on, but the return was literally nothing and predictably, Youk has already rebounded.
 
#1PilarFan said:
And while you're right about Youkilis having a terrible season, I still think that move was a mistake. I understand that they wanted to create room for Middlebrooks and that it would have been difficult keeping Youk on, but the return was literally nothing and predictably, Youk has already rebounded.
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I agree on a gut level but the thing for me is that the situation in Boston was so messed up in the clubhouse that, as you sort of alluded to with Beckett, it's hard for me to form a really strong opinion on any trade they make without knowing how it fits into that ridiculous soap opera.

And Zach Stewart has been ok at Pawtucket.
 
Another blown call by umpire Jerry Meals cost the Yankees a chance to win last night - he was the same guy who missed another game deciding call in that 19 inning game between the Pirates and the Braves earlier in the year.

The correct call would have allowed the Yankees to tie the game in the top of the 9th. Instead, the O's win and that's that.

More fodder for replay I suppose.

Link here
 
Derk said:
Another blown call by umpire Jerry Meals cost the Yankees a chance to win last night - he was the same guy who missed another game deciding call in that 19 inning game between the Pirates and the Braves earlier in the year.

The correct call would have allowed the Yankees to tie the game in the top of the 9th. Instead, the O's win and that's that.

More fodder for replay I suppose.

Link here
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Pretty glaring blown call alright.  Don't know how the ump could have missed it, but it was clearly evident that the player was safe sliding into first.
 
Unless you're trying to avoid a tag sliding into first base is so stupid I'm fine with someone getting called out on principle.
 
Derk said:
Another blown call by umpire Jerry Meals cost the Yankees a chance to win last night - he was the same guy who missed another game deciding call in that 19 inning game between the Pirates and the Braves earlier in the year.

The correct call would have allowed the Yankees to tie the game in the top of the 9th. Instead, the O's win and that's that.

More fodder for replay I suppose.

Link here
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Jeffrey Maier
 
Nik? said:
Unless you're trying to avoid a tag sliding into first base is so stupid I'm fine with someone getting called out on principle.
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I think he blew his leg out on the play, so maybe he knew that he wouldn't be able to make another step?
 
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