Frayed Knot

Flores not in the lineup ... THERE'S A DEAL BREWING!!!!

Edgy MD wrote: I'm not sure, but I think a Milwaukee reporter declared the deal done first. I would speculate that he got it because somebody in the Brewers front office told Gomez the news when he was on the plane, and Gomez sat on it for about two seconds. Quite likely. Although that raises the question as to why the Brewer exec decided to blab about something not yet done. This is what I mean by the lack of secrecy in these deals. It seems to me that if I were a front office dude I'd want as few people in on even the existence of a potential deal until it was signed, sealed, and delivered. I want to blame the Mets booth for getting all blabby But at that point they're just commenting on what it already public news so they'd be negligent if not at least mentioning it. Sure they reported it as done as everyone else did but, again, they were just repeating what had already been said. ... but I have to wonder how the MLB.com editors can look at themselves in the mirror this morning. If they can run the story without getting a confirmation from 24-7 Jay Horwitz, what more authoritative source so the piggybacking outlets have to confirm it with before they all fall like dominoes? Should they all have to get a confirmation from an authorized Mets source before giving a peep? I'm sure there were the usual "neither team has confirmed this story yet" qualifiers even as the rest of the story made it seem as if uniform measurements were already being made. Ultimately it's the news culture now where the big boys [those under the FOX, ESPN, CBS umbrellas] are fighting to out-scoop each other (even though ESPN will ultimately take credit for everything anyway) while holding off those uppity internet dudes at the same time.

I'm surprised at how NOT secret clubs are at this sort of stuff. I mean I know they've got every reporter in the world sniffing around this kind of thing, especially during this week of the year. But at heart this should be a GM-to-GM negotiation which, unless no-trade clauses and the like are involved, shouldn't require that agents be kept informed or that strategic leaks need to be doled out to the press as some sort of catalyst to get the deal done. Instead, with the rare exception (maybe Reyes/Tulo qualifies), deals that are even remotely a surprise by the time it all goes down -- or, in the case of this one, doesn't go down -- just don't seem to happen these days to the point where the press, and by extension the fans, feel they have enough information they're confident in declaring still ongoing discussions as done deals.

Zvon wrote: Even Gomez and his team mates tweeted about it on the plane. Sure, because they were all reading and hearing the same stuff as we are and assumed it was a done deal.

Media's dirty test apparently came during the time he was serving his initial suspension. The new suspension was announced about three weeks after he had returned but the results of tests, and any possible appeals of them, often take some time before they're acted upon.

The earlier link to the report on MLB.com has totally disappeared as if they think this is a way for them to pretend that they didn't report this thing as a done deal hours ago. Yeah, and Sherman too.

Duda - 5.0 ATorres - 0.6 Gilmartin - 0.4

MLB.com: In addition to Wheeler and Flores, the Brewers had also asked for Triple-A IF Dilson Herrera, but the Mets refused, according to the NY Post�s Joel Sherman (July 29, 9:38 pm). So the fault of Flores not being pulled wasn't on Terry (because he was never told) or on Sandy (because he never agreed to it) but on the reporters who grossly jumped the gun on this one announcing it as all but official when it apparently was nothing of the sort.

I'm not objecting to him staying in the game because of his emotional state. I'm against it from a logistical standpoint of what it could do to the trade. Yes, they don't HAVE to take him out until the deal is official, but it's simply smart business to do so. The only role social media plays here is that more people know about it quicker than they would have otherwise.

Zvon wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: If this trade is as far along as it seems the fact that he's still in there is weird - even if it's not exactly official yet. Very weird. Like Gary said, social media has changed things that we dont even think about until they happen. But social media doesn't really enter into this as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing to be gained by Flores staying in the game for another 2-3 innings and there's a whole lot to be lost by a simple pitch getting away from a Padre reliever or a simple turned ankle. Even if Wilmer and the entire stadium didn't already know it as would have been the case in the pre-wifi days, Sandy certainly knows it and you assume Terry and the coaches too.

If this trade is as far along as it seems the fact that he's still in there is weird - even if it's not exactly official yet.

Seems like that Marlins/Dodgers dealio is in the process of morphing into a 3 team extravaganza with the Braves now involved. From MLB.com: If the trade is completed, the Dodgers will reportedly receive Latos and Morse as well as Atlanta starting pitcher Alex Wood, closer Jim Johnson, reliever Luis Avilan and infielder Jose Peraza, while sending to Atlanta recent Cuban signing Hector Olivera, injured reliever Paco Rodriguez and Minor League pitcher Zach Bird, according to Major League sources. Atlanta also will receive a competitive-balance Draft pick from Miami, which would get three Minor League pitchers from Los Angeles. The clubs have not confirmed the deal.

Edgy MD wrote: Help me out. When did it become OK to trade a guy on the DL? Openly and explicitly and stuff? I don't know, but it certainly seems as if the attitude towards trading DL'd players has changed in recent years and maybe some written rules as well.

Zvon wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I'm still liking Conforto's ABs. He's been struck out a couple times tonight and yesterday on bastard pitches (and which may or may not have been strikes) but he's usually looked good in doing so -- and, no, that's not a contradiction in terms. They weren't in my opinion. I like how he yelled at the ump while walking away, not turning his head back to him. This kid is a mature intelligent player. Whether they were strikes or not is pretty much irrelevant (not to the AB but to the larger question). Point is that back-door breaking stuff that nips (or doesn't) the outside corner are virtually impossible to hit so it's not like he's looking overmatched by ML hurlers. An extra inch or two outside and it's Ball 4. An inch or two closer to him and I think he'd be all over it.

I'm still liking Conforto's ABs. He's been struck out a couple times tonight and yesterday on bastard pitches (and which may or may not have been strikes) but he's usually looked good in doing so -- and, no, that's not a contradiction in terms.

Gomez = 30 in December Yes he's been injured (Syndergaard hit him in the head among other things) only 73 of 100 games played this year but I think he's OK now - most of his missed games were in April.

Rather than have this buried in the game thread, let's follow the progress (or not) of the rumored big deal, Carlos Gomez for Wilmer Flores & Zack Wheeler, here. My immediate reaction is that I like it. I have limited hopes for Flores. He turns on a pitch as well as anyone but I've yet to see him drive anything the other way (he'll direct the ball to RF but rarely if ever hard) and with almost no walks and still questionable power I don't know how high is his upside. As far as Wheeler goes, I sense that it's become fashion to knock him down a few pegs partly because of his injury but also because he didn't round into an All-Star as quickly as our other precocious youngsters. But this is still one we could look back on as the one who got away a few years from now. But you have to give up to get and I'll take the hit to our strongest part right now to get 220 or so games out of Gomez while we're in this position sitting just out of a division & WC

He was getting dinked to death early but that excuse no longer flies.

Ceetar wrote: Something to do with market share and blah blah blah. varies slightly each year. Could probably look it up, but it's not super important. Think it's pick like ..35? practically a first rounder. Somewhere around where Wright got picked originally. (They called them sandwich picks back then, but now that 'is a hot dog a sandwich' debate has gotten heated, they did away with that terminology) Yeah I know in general what CB picks are but I've just never delved into exactly how they're awarded -- it's like half on merit (if one determines that a small market size is "merit" - StL gets one almost every year) and half via lottery (which is an even stranger concept if you ask me) and they're the only picks which are allowed to be traded. most people framing this is pretty bad from the Marlins standpoint. think I agree. Without knowing who the minor leaguers are it's impossible to say (and it may take several years after that to know for sure) but it seems like a strange deal for the Dodgers too. They already have too many OFs and A Gonzalez is a top-notch everyday 1B so that reduces Morse to a RH pinch-hitter who's not really hitting these days (like an older & worse-fielding version of Scott Van Slyke). And I shouldn't think the Giants are quaking in their boots saying; 'Oh shit, the Dodgers just added Mat Freakin Latos to their roster!!'

Just to clarify, the reports on this deal say it would be: Morse + Latos + One 'competitive balance'* pick going from Miami to Los Angeles in exchange for three (yet to be named) minor league pitchers heading to south Florida Given that neither Morse or Latos are having a particularly good year, it seems like a bit of a tame trade for the Dodgers now that the Giants are hot on their heels. * 'CB' picks, though I don't claim to understand exactly what the criteria are for handing them out, are given to smaller market teams so there's no way the Dodgers would ever have one of their own

The best evidence I've heard that these changes would help those from the steroid era who have been falling short is that apparently those players have been getting lower percentages from those who don't publicize their ballots and those who don't publicize their ballots tend to be more heavily represented among the non-active segment of writers. Those sound like general tendencies more than absolutes but it's probable that weeding out some retired votes will increase the odds for some of the '90s-era players. Whether it's enough to make a meaningful difference or not we'll have to see. I saw a young writer write last week that Pete Rose should be inducted because Ty Cobb was a rapist. "Information" that he probably got from the Tommy Lee Jones movie (actually there's a scene with an attempted rape of a younger women which Jones/Cobb can't complete due to drunken impotence). Only problem with that 'fact' is that writer Ron Shelton has admitted he invented the scene entirely, that it had no basis in fact but it sounded to him like something an aging, drunken, angry Cobb might do so it was written in so as to add to the story.

In the transaction, the Nats agreed to pick up Papelbon's 2016 option (though at a reduced rate and with deferred money) so we best get used to seeing him there for a while. The Phils also pay part of this year's freight and it doesn't sound like the minor leaguer they got back for him is much to crow about. So the main attraction for the Phils seems to be that they got a malcontent out of their clubhouse and got out from under the option which would have kicked in automatically with a certain number of games closed -- but that's what tends to happen when closers get signed to long-term deals.

TransMonk wrote: Noah's been exponentially better than I thought he would be since joining the majors. Based on the limited number of times I had seen him in spring and the minors, I thought it might take some time for him to adjust, but like Harvey and deGrom, he has burst on to the MLB scene with maturity I didn't give him credit for. Terry said almost the exact same thing post-game last night, that everyone knew in advance about the heat and the potential and the works-in-progress secondary pitches, but that he in no way saw how quickly the physical and mental parts would all come together.

He was eligible this past season as well, it's what jumped his salary from ~1/2M in 2014 to about $2.6M Of course he's never going to see most of that money. By my reckoning he was active for about 20 days of the season meaning he gets about 20/182 of his pay, or some 11% (although I'm not going to be holding any telethons for a guy who took in close to 300K for three weeks work). Not sure how the 20% max cut rule would work in this particular case. Under normal circumstances, if the Mets kept him after the suspension's up they'd have to offer him at least 80% of his current contract or risk losing him. They could cut him loose and then try to resign him at a lower rate but of course that would allow him to seek other offers as well. Either way, it'll certainly throw a wrench into the works.

Syndergaard - 5.2 Granderson - 2.4 Duda - 2.4