Frayed Knot

This certainly turned out to be a worthwhile thread.

Things were much closer on the AL side PITCHERTEAM1st2nd3rdTOTALDavid PriceRays14131153Justin VerlanderTigers13132149Jered WeaverAngels021470Felix HernandezMariners00541Fernando RodneyRays10538Chris SaleWhite Sox00117Jim JohnsonOrioles0005Matt HarrisonRangers0002Yu DarvishRangers0001

PITCHERTEAM1st2nd3rd4th5thTOTALR.A. DickeyMets275000209Clayton KershawDodgers211101696Gio GonzalezNationals11268493Johnny CuetoReds141010275Craig KimbrelBraves1055941Matt CainGiants0016722Kyle LohseCardinals000226Aroldis ChapmanReds000011Cole HamelsPhillies000011

On the other hand, the Tiggers paid a shit-load for him. I wouldn't have thought he'd get anywhere near 2x$13 considering that he'll turn 38 mid-season 2013

Not even close as it turned out. 27 1st place votes (of 32) and either 1st or 2nd on every ballot.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Tensions were inadvertently broken via twitter, breaking news prematurely for Gold Glove (Brandon Phillips), NY ROY and NL MOY (congratulatory tweets from nationals official feed). All bs. So if someone wants to follow the Nats tweets again and see if there's a premature congrats for Gio Gonzalez then we'll know ahead of time. Nats front office probably won't be able to contain themselves if they hit on three in a row this week.

Ever since the NFL draft and 'Selection Sunday' became 'must see' events (for some anyway) in their own right, this trend toward making an entire show out of these silly non-events like an award announcement or the unveiling of a list has become de rigueur for these sports. Besides, what else do these channels have to do with their time?

TransMonk wrote: Per Rubin: NL Cy Young will be announced at 6:47 p.m. ET. I haven't been watching any of these shows that they've put together for RoY or MoY, but they've essentially created a full hour show to read off two names so obviously they use much of that time trying to simulate as much "tension" as possible.

Was rumored to be a target of the Yanx to be their designated old outfielder for 2013. Guess you can't always get what you want.

Jeff Mathis © also headed to Miami in the I suppose not-yet-official deal. I hadn't heard his name initially. John Sickels' take on the prospects involved. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS: -- signed by the Blue Jays from Cuba in 2010, Hechavarria is a 5-11, 180 pound right-handed hitter and thrower, born April 15, 1989. Renowned for his defensive skills, he features above-average range and a very strong throwing arm. His bat draws mixed reviews. He hit .312/.363/.424 in 102 games for Triple-A Las Vegas this year, but just .254/.280/.365 in 126 at-bats for the Blue Jays, with four walks and 32 strikeouts. Poor plate discipline is his biggest issue, though it looked like he was making some progress in that department before being promoted to the majors. Jake Marisnick, OF: -- drafted in the third round in 2009, from high school in Riverside, California. He is a right-handed hitter and thrower, born March 30, 1991. His physical tools are first-class, with premium athleticism, good speed, a strong arm, and a chance to hit for power. His glove is ahead of the bat at this point. He hit .263/.349/.451 in 266 at-bats for High-A Dunedin this year, but just .233/.286/.336 in 223 at-bats for Double-A New Hampshire. He stole 24 bases, but a hyper-aggressive approach cut too much into his hitting skills against advanced pitching. Marisnick has the physical tools to be a star, but the skills are still quite raw. Justin Nicolino, LHP: -- drafted in the second round in 2010, from high school in Orlando, Florida. A 6-3, 190 pound lefty, he was born November 22, 1991. His 2012 season was excellent: 10-4, 2.46 with a 119/21 K/BB in 124 innings for Low-A Lansing in the Midwest League. Nicolino works with an 88-92 MPH fastball that he locates with precision. He has an excellent changeup, and his curveball is also solid, giving him three pitches to conquer hitters with. Command and control are his best attributes, and he projects as a number three starter if all goes well. Anthony DeSclafani, RHP: -- drafted by the Jays in the sixth round in 2011, from the University of Florida. A 6-2, 195 pound right-hander, he was born April 18, 1990. He had a decent year alongside Nicolino in the Lansing rotation, going 11-3, 3.37 with a 92/25 K/BB ratio in 123 innings, allowing 145 hits. He got a lot of ground balls, with a 1.88 GO/AO and just three homers allowed. Mainly a reliever in college, he was moved to the rotation as a pro to build up his innings and work on his secondary pitches. DeSclafani works with a low-90s fastball, mixing in a slider, curveball, and changeup. His control is good and he keeps the ball down, but he's hittable when he misses his spots. JS -- The Marlins got some decent prospects here, although none of them are sure things. Hechavarria and Marisnick have loud tools, but their hitting skills are questionable. Nicolino is one of the best southpaw prospects in baseball, and he's a good pickup, while DeSclafani adds more depth to a farm system that really needs it.

The Marlins have had two good post-seasons. Other than that, they've topped 80 wins just six times in twenty seasons, 85 wins only three of them, and are still division title-less despite the two WS wins. But I'm not even talking about on-field success. It's about the way several ownerships now have treated the team and, by extension, the fan base. First Huizenga saw the team as just another one of his typical pump-then-dump assets before a series of interim mis-steps led to Loria who seems to be mysteriously coddled within MLB circles although I'm not sure why. And I'm fine with blaming MLB for expanding there in the first place without a better stadium/ownership in place, but you can't go and tear down your (mostly free) stadium-induced restructuring plan after one year because you're shocked that fans didn't flock to your park after 19 years of mostly indifference if not flat-out abuse. Do they really expect that result of this makeover is going to make it all different? And even if they did why would the peeps in south Florida believe it?

It speaks badly for those running the franchise in Miami. Not that I think south Florida will ever be the greatest sports town in America (them, Atlanta & Houston are always going to be amongst the weakest IMO) but you can't play in a stadium ill-suited for the area & sport for 20 years and run the team like shit for most of that same time period, then expect to find immediate success simply because someone bought you a shiny new crib.

dinosaur jesus wrote: Bowie Kuhn would have vetoed this one. Depends on if/how much cash is involved. But as long as this is a talent for talent deal then any other team is welcome to try and match or top it.

A number of the Blue Jays prospects mentioned: Adeiny Hechavarria -- SS #8 prospect acc to BA Yunel Escobar -- SS, 29 y/o Henderson Alvarez -- 22 y/o; 9-14; 3.53; 1.44 w/Toronto Anthony DeSclafani -- 22 y/o; 11-3; 3.37 in Low-A midwest Lg Justin Nicolino -- LHP, #5 Jake Marisnick -- OF, #2 There was talk late last season that the Marlins were willing to make anyone except Reyes & Stanton available. And by that they apparently mean just Stanton. Or maybe he goes in next week's deal?

MoYs MGRTEAM1st2nd3rdTOTALBob MelvinA�s16120116Buck ShowalterOrioles12160106Robin VenturaWhite Sox001212Joe MaddonRays0077Joe GirardiYankees0055Jim LeylandTigers0022Ron WashingtonRangers0022 MGRTEAM1st2nd3rdTOTALDavey JohnsonNationals2344131Dusty BakerReds5141077Bruce BochyGiantss4101161Fredi GonzalezBraves04517Bud BlackPadres0011Mike MathenyCardinals0011

The Portland team is a fairly new entry in MLS but it has proven to be extremely popular up there in its short life. Seattle too (which makes for a nice rivalry) but even they aren't to the same extent as Portland. - Part of it is kids with a new toy syndrome - Part is that it's been a one-team town up there for so long and this gives them a 2nd one in a different season - the soccer-only stadium helps, 30K (or whatever) have a lot more fun in a 30K stadium than 30K will have in a 70K stadium - the college sports up there (Oregon State & U-Oregon - aka Nike Univ) are only semi-big in football but neither is right in Portland - and I suspect that being a bit off the beaten track gives them the feeling that they're ignored by the big eastern media (partly true) so they'll just go out and find their own thing as opposed to following the trend. Even track is still big up there.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Eighteen hours until we get the news on Dickey. Actually about 30 hours (from when you wrote that). They're going with 6PM announcements in conjunction with a show on MLBN - so they might not even get around to it until nearly 7 on Wednesday depending on whether they do AL or NL first. I'll be driving home from work, listening to NPR. There's very little chance that they'll mention it. If I think of it, I may switch to WFAN, but only briefly. (There's only so much WFAN I can stand.) Maybe no one can cover it worse than ESPN. I flicked by 'Sportscenter' this morning and caught their announcement of the winners, which led them into a (much longer) retrospective on past rookie greats. Past Baseball rookie greats? Of course not. All of the past winners they thought to be worthy of truly great rookie seasons just happened to be NFL & NBA rookie greats. Apparently a past stellar season from a teenage phenom like Tony Conigliaro wasn't on their radar screen, and the likes of Jackie Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, etc. just didn't make their cut in a discussion of great rookie seasons. Certainly can't compare to the likes of Randy Moss & Cam Newton. I then heard them tell me that "coach of the year" would be announced tonight.

RoYs: PLAYERTEAM1st2nd3rdTOTALMike TroutAngels2800140Yoenis CespedesA�s019663Yu DarvishRangers091946Wei-Yen ChenOrioles0022Jarrod ParkerA�s0011 PLAYERTEAM1st2nd3rdTOTALBryce HarperNationals1688112Wade MileyDBacks12136105Todd FraizerReds37945Willin RosarioRockies12112Norichika AokiBrewers02511Yonder AlonsoPadres0011Matt CarpenterCardinals0011Jordan PachecoRockies0011

Ceetar wrote: bmfc1 wrote: The author of the comment which I was just passing along "FYI" deleted the tweets. and said he had no special info just hearsay. IOW, his employer found out about the tweets and laid some version of; 'stick to your fantasy stuff and stop pretending to be a journalist while you're on our payroll' on his ass.

Yeah, but he's not available this off-season.

Edgy DC wrote: Upton is everybody's favorite flavor of ice cream these days, isn't it? And why not? Comes in three varieties these days: - one is a 28 y/o FA/CF - one is a 25 y/o under team control for the next three years and reportedly on the trading block - and the other is ridiculously hot

If we trade those two for Kate Upton will we get Verlander thrown in too? I'd do that one in a (skip a) heartbeat.

bmfc1 wrote: Read it and hope he's right about a change in ownership. Read what, there's nothing much to read except for a couple tweets saying that some guy is saying that someone else is saying so. That doesn't automatically make it NOT true, just that this "news" of it isn't very illuminating. The part about Bay doesn't seem to hold much proof. Last week's stories about his release all said that the deferral was just a small portion and wasn't for a very long term. Whatever the amount of the deferral amounts to hardly seems like the difference between being solvent or not, even temporarily, or to be much of a headache for the next owner. Hell, they ate half again that much in one bite last year with Castillo & Ollie. Haven't we known for a couple years that the Wilpons are broke? There are enough variations on the definition of "broke" that, even if they are defined that way, we don't really know what it means.

MFS62 wrote: I know, this falls into the blatantly obvious category, but methinks the Mets are waiting to see if he wins the CY, so they can judge his value for an extension/ trade. Reasonable extension if he doesn't and high return trade if he does. I don't think any GM - on either the giving or receiving end of a trade - is going set his giving/asking price on a player based on whether said player finishes 1st or 2nd or 3rd in a CY vote. Dickey's season, his assets, his age, etc., are what they are regardless of how a small and almost random sample from the BBWAA cast their votes.

Keep in mind that the minimum offering price of $13.3 is pretty steep, and for Napoli it would have meant around a 50% increase. Then you factor in that he's a mediocre at best defensive catcher who just turned 31; has only once topped 115 games played; that he saw his BA fell nearly 100 points this year from 2011 plus his OBA about 70 and his Slugging about 160. All of which makes his 2011 season look more like an outlier and less like a guy who simply figured things out late. Now he still has some pop, still takes his walks, and certainly still has some value, I just don't know whether that value equals $13+ million worth. Texas was probably afraid he'd take it, although I have no idea what other plans they might have in the pipeline regarding backstops.