Frayed Knot

Schwinden also threw all of 21 innings; Thayer 10, and Herrera 8 Speculating that those extremely small samples would translate to better than what Gee actually did if only someone had been wise enough to give them 30 starts and 160+ IPs over most of a full season is a bit of a stretch, no? And not only over Gee & Izzy but you also shut out Beato from your list entirely as well as Acosta who went the final three months of the season with a 2.00 ERA over nearly 40 innings. On the hitting side, Baxter and his 34 ABs begs a similar question.

I'd like to wrap this up in the next week or so, so if anyone either wants to get in that hasn't already or wants to update an existing list do so soon. At the moment we can't accept LWFS's list as a legit vote on account of having Angel Pagan listed twice. The same list also has some 'splainin to do with the contention Dale Thayer somehow contributed more to the 2011 season than did Izzy, or likewise with Schwinden over Gee

The final weeks of his stretch as a NYM were his best ... but even then it was hardly earth-moving stuff.

The point being that the very existence of a draft works to severely limit the amount of money an incoming player can make from that initial contract; that's why the team owners like it, they see it as something which saves them money and in the short run it certainly does. But that same limiting process can also drive potential players away from the sport particularly in baseball where the odds against succeeding are long as is the apprenticeship and therefore the lead-time until reaching the really big money. Teenagers tempted by the quicker perceived route to stardom - as in college basketball or football - will often choose that option.

Edgy DC wrote: Well, jeez, I hope nonetheless. And that's fine. It's just that MLB's anti-trust exemption has been so watered-down over the years that it barely matters and it's long been my contention that the threat of it's removal remains a vastly over-played card. The protection could disappear tomorrow and I doubt much if anything would change now that we're four decades into the unionized era.

TheOldMole wrote: I still think Thole can grow into the job, but if they can get a veteran backup who can hit, call a game, and throw out base runners, I really don't care what they pay him. It's not my money. If you can land a veteran catcher who can hit, call a game, and throw out base-runners you better not care what they pay him because it's going to be a lot. The trick, of course, is finding one of those -- along with bmfc's "big time catching prospect" who just happens to be available for trade.

Courts have also upheld the legality of the NFL's draft even as it not only dictates the team that players are limited to negotiating with but also severely limits when they can enter into it, and all despite that league having no such blanket anti-trust exemption.

Vic Sage wrote: Jake fox. He's a Nick Evans type with a catcher's mitt. Actually, he's got a pronounced reversed platoon split, hitting RHP better in his career so far. But he's still under 30, with real power, multi-position flexibility (1b/3b/Lf/Rf/C) and will probably be cheap. Also has a sub-.290 career OBA (in 500 ABs) with all of 32 games (and 20 starts) at catcher in his career. Sounds to me more like the guy you keep as a utility player who can also serve as your 3rd catcher in a pinch allowing you flexibility with the first two guys without fear of getting caught short if an injury occurs.

More CBA details concerning the draft: - The draft has been reduced from 50 to 40 rounds. - The draft caps for all 30 teams for the first 10 rounds will total approximately $185 million in 2012, varying depending on the number of supplemental picks created by free-agent compensation and failure to sign 2011 draftees from the first three rounds. The competitive-balance lottery selections don't come into play until 2013. - Any attempt to circumvent the draft cap, such as an under-the-table agreement, is expressly prohibited. - If a team fails to sign a player in the first 10 rounds, its draft cap is reduced by the assigned value of his pick. It can't reallocate that value to sign other players. However, it can reallocate the difference between a player's bonus and the value of his choice. - If a player fails a physical and the team fails to offer him 40 percent of the assigned value of his pick, he becomes a free agent. In that case, the club's draft cap would be reduced by the value of his selection. - Not only has the signing deadline moved from Aug. 15 to mid-July, it will be at 5 p.m. rather than midnight ET. The 2012 deadline is July 13. - MLB has eliminated its draft-support program, which served as a clearinghouse for offers and was used to strong-arm teams into not disclosing over-slot deals until shortly before the deadline. This means clubs actually can announce signings as they happen rather than pretend that they haven't occurred. - Competitive-balance lottery picks (and only those picks) can be traded. They can only be dealt by the original team that held the choice, and they can't be exchanged for cash (unless it's cash to offset the salary of players included in the trade, subject to MLB approval). Lottery-pick deals can occur only during a regular season and not during an offseason. - Teams get an extra year of protection for compensation picks for failure to sign draftees from the first three rounds. For example, the Blue Jays get the 22nd pick in 2012 after not signing No. 21 overall choice Tyler Beede in 2011. If Toronto can't come to terms with the compensation selection, it would get another one in 2013. - Teams no longer are required to physically tender a contract to draftees within 15 days of the draft, eliminating the rule that infamously led to the four loophole free agents of 1996. - The logistics for a proposed predraft medical combine still are being worked out.

Except that if you wound up being 'Met Guy in St Louis' for example (or Chicago, or Pittsburgh) all these changes would have reduced your NYM visits over the years from three per season down to one, or from two visits to one in numerous other cities. For some reason the concept that IL games are instead of others rather than in addition to is frequently skipped over. Plus, if I'm fixing the schedule I want the highest percentage of games to come against other teams that are actually fighting for the same prize as mine. Bud seems to believe that the most games possible against teams whose outcomes don't affect yours is optimal.

"[it's] like a cold sore I can't stop flicking with my tongue" -- Vic Sage, Crane Pool Press I can't imagine why the marketing department for this movie didn't use that quote in their newspaper ads.

Edgy DC wrote: Reports are surfacing that Tal Smith and Ed Wade could possibly go shortly after the sale of the Astros is complete. Confirmed. Asst GM David Gottfried runs things for now (winter meetings are next week) although he is not a candidate for the permanent position. Tal Smith was with the Houston Colt 45s starting in 1960 and has worked (non-continuously) for them for many of the years since including the last 17 consecutive seasons. Noble went as far to say that Bobby could get 3-5 extra wins out of a group of players than other managers could, which could be the difference between making and not making the playoffs. But, but, but Chass insists he actually gets 10 fewer wins out of a team on account of everyone else trying so much harder to beat him. IIRC there was a Noble piece one time where he was asked why he didn't get a quote from Valentine on whatever was that column's subject. His answer was that he didn't bother because he had no confidence that the manager's answer was going to be truthful. Certainly harsh - even if quite possibly accurate - but at least, as mentioned above, Marty didn't seem to let that stuff get in the way of the nuts and bolts of his writing.

From Ian Browne at MLB.com -- Barring a major surprise, either Bobby Valentine or Gene Lamont will be named Terry Francona's successor at a press conference sometime within the next few days. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington plans on having his first manager in place before baseball's Winter Meetings, which start on Dec. 5 in Dallas.

From Chass's piece * [veteran manager]: �I�d burn out my bullpen in a minute to kick his ass.� -- and if Bobby's team is my team I'd invite the opposing skipper to do so every time cuz we'll come out better in the long run * In the same conversation, one of the managers remarked, �Valentine�s team has to be 10 games better than anyone else because everyone hates him and plays harder to beat him.� -- Does anyone really actually believe this crap? ... not that sentences like this aren't said but that (by implication) teams/managers actually give up winnable games by not always trying all that hard against managers they do like and only try really hard when there's something personal on the line (and to the tune of 10 games no less)?

Loewen was signed to a minor league contract* with no guarantees of even making the club. And the piece on Mets.com suggests that, if things work out, he'd likely be slotted to fill the role manned by Willie Harris this past year. IOW, we're really making too much of this here ... especially this early. * and even that's just "according to sources"; the team has yet to announce this signing officially

Ashie62 wrote: The idea that Loewen will translate into anything more than a marginal major league player at best is delusional. Sandy..shoot higher.. I was unaware that Loewen was guaranteed a starting job to the exclusion of all other contenders.

Loewen has been a non-pitcher for 2+ seasons so far; prior to 2009 he had all of 2 pro ABs and has had some 1,300 since while hitting at ~ .267/.363/.426; How is that enough to qualify him as anything at this point yet much less as a "stiff"? Ankiel was younger when he started to make his switch, but essentially sat out from 2001 to 2007 and wasn't much different during his hitting apprenticeship than what Loewen is doing now. This idea that Ankiel's hitting was somehow a known quantity all along while Loewen not only can't hit but also never will manages to be both hindsight and speculation at the same time.

There are still multi-sport athletes though despite this age of youth specialization. Not a lot, but the handful that do exist a frequently the elite types who can choose their path at a young age. As will the new procedure to hold down the signing bonuses paid to draft picks. It's not just the signing bonus. That's part of it although the true elite prospects will still tend to get their money. But the lack of the ML contract, which serves to speed up the timetable for advancement through the apprenticeship that is the minor leagues, could push those elites into their other sport where the payoff from HS star to 'big-time' colleges, or from college draftee straight into the pros is so much quicker.

Some details/less-noted changes (courtesy of BP): * Free agents who sign minor-leaguer contracts who are not added to opening day roster or are unconditionally released five days prior to the start of the season will receive a $100,000 retention bonus and the right to elect free agency June 1. * On FA signings - Only players who have been with their clubs for the entire season will be subject to compensation [no comp for Beltran-like pickups] - A free agent will be subject to compensation if his former club offers him a guaranteed one-year contract with a salary equal to the average salary of the 125-highest paid players from the prior season [currently around $12.5mil]. The offer must be made at the end of the five-day free agent �quiet period,� and the player will have seven days to accept the offer. - A club that signs a player subject to compensation will forfeit its first round selection, unless it selects [u:3pxabs33]in the top 10[/u:3pxabs33], in which case it will forfeit its second highest selection in the draft. [previously that was top 15] - The player�s former club will receive a selection at the end of the first round beginning after the last regularly scheduled selection in the round [iOW, a supplemental pick]. The former clubs will select based on reverse order of winning percentage from the prior championship season [previously this was based on the "value" of the FA signed as per the now-discarded) Elias ratings]. [What this whole thing also means is fewer supplemental picks and sliding the start of round 2 much earlier] * On first-year (Rule 4) player drafts - The signing deadline will be moved to a date between July 12 and July 18 depending on the date of the All-Star Game [previously Aug 15th] - Drafted players may only sign minor-league contracts. [this one is actually a biggie and it seems to me it may turn certain multi-sport athletes away from baseball] - Players selected after the 10th round do not count against a club�s signing bonus pool if they receive bonuses up to $100,000. Any amounts paid in excess of $100,000 will count against the pool.

metirish wrote: great pic Only if he also draws one on the kid.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: What about Adam Loewen? Yeah, it wasn't apparent to me via the above post that he had been signed by the Mets or if this were merely speculation. Turns out it's the former. Assuming his numbers last year weren't entirely a PCL mirage, he could be second or third in line to make an appearance when someone goes owie next year. And the idea gives me a little half-Kieschnick in my pants. Not just PCL-inflated but specifically Las Vegas inflated. That place has the rep as one of the best hitters' parks in all of organized baseball. The hope is that, between the late start and reaching his prime years (28 come opening day), his 2011 stats shows he's getting better and not just a one-year fluke. And the problem with the Brooks Kieschnick dream is that his switch from pitching was caused by numerous and severe injuries so I don't think the pitching part of the PH/OF/RP trifecta will ever be an option.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: The parties agreed that no new players will be permitted to use a low density maple bat during the term of the agreement. Hmmm... I wonder what prompted this? Those are the bats that are more given to dramatically shattering. The traditional ash bats when they break tend to chip; maple ones tend to explode. Probably they're afraid of decapitating a few pitchers.

And when a call is reversed after the batter, the base-runners, and fielders have all made decisions (good or bad) based on that original live-ball call ... then what?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: USA Today adds this: Instant replay also will be expanded, subject to negotiations between MLB and the umpires' union, to include fair/foul and trapped/caught balls. I'm very (Tim) leery of this.

Yeah, I think the plan all along was to target Feliz as a starter and putting Nolan in charge certainly doesn't hurt. The fact that he started so young allowed them to use the reliever route to break him in more slowly. I don't think this means Wilson is gone necessarily, but it's a nice contingency plan either way and now with Nathan they've got their ass covered on the other end too.