Frayed Knot

Biggest question is how good a pitcher is he going to be post-surgery. Not that he can't make it on hitting alone, but the reason the pile of cash is as high as it is is for his proven ability to do both.

Got my rarity down to 26 which is probably as low as I've gone. Of course simply completing the grid is a rarity for me. Shane Bieber at 14% (CLE <3.00 ERA) was the only double digit guy. I was afraid to get too cute with my knowledge of Cleveland history. YANX - Canseco - Ron Blomberg - Jeff Nelson CLE - Kiner - Baerga - Bieber HoF - Kaline - Walter Johnson - Eckersley

The thing about Bouton's time in Atlanta is that it was after a five year or so gap* in his career so it wasn't covered in BALL FOUR unless you had a later updated anniversary-type of edition (of which there were several). His comeback was essentially a publicity stunt and the Braves were a bottom feeding organization at the time and so were willing to take him on. * oe: Seven year gap!!

=metirish post_id=142436 time=1701958953 user_id=72] IIRC Judge isn't the best out in CF ?

I got some nice scores with: Jesus Alou (NYM/SFG - 0.2%) Joe Sambito (NYM/HOU - 0.2%) Jim Bounton (HOU/ATL - 0.6%)

He's a bit intense. Not always a team player.

I'd sign 'em all. https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-06/scrubs-mc-220606-ea8ef3.jpg>

btw, none of this appears to be official yet. Even mlb.com is saying nothing more than "talks are accelerating" and that a SDP/NYY trade appears "very likely".

Mainly what the Padres got was controllable pitching. - Michael King is a good reliever now with four ML seasons under his belt so two years of team control left - Drew Thorpe: 23 y/o, minors, 2nd round pick in '22 - Jhony Brito - 26 this coming season. Was ML rookie in '23 - Randy Vasquez (25) also a '23 rookie - Higashioka © is the only non-hurler in the bunch. Useful guy, a bit up and down And remember that Soto can be a FA at the end of '24 so this is all for a one year rental. Now one would think the Yanx will throw everything they have at making his stay a lot longer but of course Misters Soto and Boros will have a say in these matters also.

The 10th round is the final one in which draft "slotting" exists so some interesting picks sometimes come from both that round and from round #11 where the shackles are taken off. The Sox may have seen him as a higher round talent -- the term 'Friday Night Starter' implies 'staff ace' in college ball -- who was passed over in the early rounds due to his injury then grabbed at the lowest possible cost. College seniors with no leverage of returning are frequent round 10 picks as well so he fit both categories. As a 22 y/o he should be closer to whatever final product he'll eventually wind up as but also will be given a shorter time frame in which to find that level.

The Rule 5 restrictions stay with the player who was drafted (Slaten) and do NOT transfer to this Ammons guy for whom he was traded. Not sure why Ammons didn't pitch last year but being less than a year since his drafting he comes with the same amount of team control as anyone with that little pro experience whether on paper or on the field.

Yang & Sawx pull off a rare trade (8th time since the division era began in 1969) which sees Alex Verdugo heading Bronx-ward in exchange for three RH pitchers of varying experience and/or promise. Verdugo, 28 y/o, who went to Boston in February 2020 as part of the package for Mookie Betts and can be a FA after this coming season, is part of the MFY plan to remake their OF and surround Aaron Judge with LH hitters. That remodeling may also involve one Juan Soto as talks between them and Sandy Eggo continue.

Edgy MD wrote: "Desi is NOT the answer" — Mets Online Forum, November 2000 Actually that statement was more circa April of 2001. On April 12th, Desi pinch-ran for Piazza in the 9th inning of a scoreless game vs Atlanta and was thrown out stealing. The Mets would go on to win the game in the 10th but if Desi couldn't steal a base, the reasoning went, he had no business being on the roster. That touched off a lengthy war of words largely featuring myself vs 'Nique of Harlem plus some other guy whose handle I can't remember (Goon?). Desi would go on to steal 13 of 18 bases that season, put up a 119 OPS+ (the Backup SS put up offense nearly 20% better than league average!), plus took the mound on a couple occasions. In my view that trumps getting caught stealing in early April but ymmv.

I dunno, for a non-action shot, the look on Verlander's face is perfect for the situation.

Only if one or more of the tabloids promises to use Fedde Get Ready and Rock Steady as one of their headlines.

Yeah, I was unaware of the two guys going with Kelenic but it turns out both have been around a while (three time zones over). LHP Marco Gonzales had some good years for Seattle but pitched only 10 games last season and is owed $12.5 this coming season where he'll be 32 y/o plus an option for $15 after that. That's an expensive 5th starter but Seattle is kicking in money here. Evan White [bR/TL 1B] is even more puzzling. A 1st round pick in '17 out of U Kentucky, he's barely played and hasn't hit in the limited time he has had. But the M's must have thought he was going to because he has a contract through '25 [$7 + $8] and several option years after that. And it's not like the Braves need a 1st baseman. As far as going the other way: Jackson Kowar is a 27 y/o righty reliever also with 1st round pedigree (KCR, '18) whom the Braves just traded for three weeks ago. Cole Phillips is the intriguing one but will be a ways off even if things go well. A 2nd round pick by the Braves in '22, he's yet to throw a professional pitch due to TJS So, yeah, the Ms are playing the money game here and it took Kelenic to allow them to do that. The Braves, as they did with Oakland on several occasions over the last few seasons, are happy to take advantage of those conditions and will, at worst, wind up with a platoon LF'er maybe just entering his prime.

More generally, if the Mets are kicking the tires on this guy and on Michael A. Taylor, it's starting to smell like they're looking to shift Nimmo over to LF. If it's M.A.T. then I'd expect him to be the 4th OF/late inning PR/defensive replacement type. But if they latch onto J.H.L. then maybe moving Brandon happens full-time and as soon as this season.

=metirish post_id=142149 time=1701697589 user_id=72] Won? What does that even mean? ... wait and see , Jon

Don't have a handle on any of the other four names involved, but I think we all know how this plays out: Kelenic finds himself by May and by July has agreed to an eight year deal buying out all his arb years plus the first few FA seasons for well under market rates. Four All Star games later he'll be a FA in his early 30s as the Braves won't resign him.

The Yanx trading (giving up on?) him seemed to be an odd move at the time and not a whole lot clearer since. They dealt him back in '22 to StL presumably because they thought Harrison (Master) Bader was going to win them a bunch of games with his glove in CF while allowing them to move Judge back to RF. But they were thin on pitching so it smelled more line a dump than a dealing from strength kind of move.

Edgy MD wrote: A yes to Andruw Jones along with a no to Carlos Beltrán is tough position to stake out. To my thinking, anyhow. Mine as well. Andruw at his best was a terrific player but his age 30 and up seasons were mediocre at best. The fact that he started so young made his 20's a complete decade of HoF level play but Beltran was still contributing to teams in his second decade as well. Jones also got pulled off the field more than occasionally for not hustling both on offense and in the field. I remember an exasperated Bobby Cox muttering to reporters that he was running out of ideas on what to do about his lapses, 'I've already taken most of his money from him' (fined him repeatedly). Edgy MD wrote: Andre Dawson says he has written the Hall requesting that his plaque be altered to depict him in a Cubs hat, rather than as an Expo. Here's where I go into my rant about how ridiculous the idea is that the insignia on the plaque makes one a HoF'er for that team to the exclusion of any others he played for. People have been acting as this is the case for decades now and it's driven me nuts for just as long. I'll spare you all the full rant as you've heard it before.

Have no idea how it will eventually work out, but a one year deal is the way to go here.

I have no idea how you people remember all this shit. My mistake was putting Keith in the NYM/CLE slot, where I had multiple other choices, instead of saving him for StL/CLE which wound up being my only whiff.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Harrison and Sophia may someday prove to be the next comings of Jeff Wilpon and Lorinda deRoulet I had no idea Jeff and Lorinda were married.

And the expansion fees will solve all their problems, just like the ones from the 1993 expansion teams did.