Frayed Knot

Not exactly a guy who screams out 'three for one' deal material, eh?

Not that I'm even the smallest bit Asian ... but I've long had an aversion to plots where the (usually related) characters are mostly loud, obnoxious, and generally just people you wouldn't want to spend 10 minutes with much less your life or even a holiday. But the movie is then passed off with the reasoning that because these characters are all [insert ethnicity here] that all these obnoxious traits become quite charming and humorous. Ummm, no they don't. Not sure how closely CRA follows this trend, but I'm not all that anxious to find out. Just my two Yen.

Willets Point wrote: Not true. When I watch Red Sox games, the stands at Tropicana are packed with Red Sox fans. Yeah, that's the thing, they sell real well for Sawx and Yanx games. Not only do they get visiting snowbirds for April games, plus all those northeast transplants, but both those two AL East opponents have a long history with their ST sites on Florida's west coast so there are native Floridians who were fans of BOS & NYY prior to the history of the Rays themselves.

Frayed Knot wrote: Vic Sage wrote: he already turned that down from Washington; why would he accept it somewhere else? because it may not still be on washington's table anymore. Harper and the Nats reportedly had a lengthy meeting(s?) over the New Year weekend so negotiations between those two certainly isn't off the table and you don't figure that Rizzo and/or the owners called him & Boras back to the table in order to roll out their lesser offer. https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-harper-rumors/c-297610378?tid=282421090MLB.com -- The Nationals' supposed final offer to Harper -- the 10-year, $300 million deal they put on the table at the beginning of the offseason -- might not be so final at all. A source told MLB Network Radio analyst and former general manager Jim Bowden that Washington's most recent offer to their longtime superstar outfielder wasn't just more than $300 million, it was "much more."

Vic Sage wrote: he already turned that down from Washington; why would he accept it somewhere else? because it may not still be on washington's table anymore. Harper and the Nats reportedly had a lengthy meeting(s?) over the New Year weekend so negotiations between those two certainly isn't off the table and you don't figure that Rizzo and/or the owners called him & Boras back to the table in order to roll out their lesser offer.

Looks like I checked in with a whopping total of seven this year (it's possible I'm missing a couple) so I've decided to make my list a Top-Seven In rough order of good-ness DEATH OF STALIN A QUIET PLACE JULIET, NAKED READY PLAYER ONE FIRST MAN LEAVE NO TRACE CHAPPAQUIDDICK

As we continue the discussion from the other site concerning the new NYM radio agreement: The Mets are giving new radio voice Wayne Randazzo "a short leash" https://nypost.com/2019/01/02/the-new-mets-booth-will-start-on-a-short-leash/according to NYP's Andrew Marchand while his step up to full-time announcing gets evaluated by mgmt. The departing Josh Lewin did the same back in his first years at WFAN before receiving a multi-year contract from WOR. His partner and vet Howie Rose has been re-upped with a multi-year deal. Surrounding them, WFAN's Ed Coleman, now 70 y/o, was said to be contemplating retirement but instead will move within the 'Entercom' family of stations in order to retake his job handling pre and post game duties for some 120-130 games this year while CBS morning man Brad Heller filling in on the others.

Or the Astros could simply combine those two prospects and tell the Marlins they'll trade them Forest Tucker for Realmuto. Just because Tucker has been dead for 32 years is no reason not to make the swap IMO. https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2006/16/2047_113754847715.jpg>

An LA Times report -- citing the always popular "person with knowledge of the situation" -- claims that Yasmani Grandal rejected a 4/$60 FA offer from the Mets. That rejection of course led them to turn towards Wilson Ramos and a deal at a lesser rate, for half as long, and without any future draft pick involved. Be interesting to follow those two careers for the next few seasons to see how that all works out. In more recent news, it seems like the Astros are the latest team to balk at Miami's asking price for JT Realmuto. Houston currently has two prospects in MLB.com's 'Pipeline' Top-10 [OF Kyle Tucker; RHP Forest Whitley] and the Marlins are insisting on one or the other as a centerpiece for a trade but the Astros, so far anyway, aren't playing ball at that price and talks are currently shut down. Now one has to wonder whether Grandal and the Marlins are both overplaying their hands here. Grandal, after initially rejecting the Dodger's $17.9 QO, was reportedly seeking a FA deal for 5/$70. But it's hard to see him matching either of those at this point whether he winds up going short-term or long. And while Miami essentially needs to deal Realmuto and would dearly love to hit a HR with their best remaining trading chip (they currently have No top-100 prospects even after their active trading season last winter) they, like Grandal, are starting to run out of options. With the Mets, Angels (just signed Jonathan Lucroy), Braves (McCann), Nationals (Kurt Suzuki), and Astros (Robinson Chirinos) having all added and/or replaced catchers since the end of the season, the market continues to narrow while Jeter et al hold tight to their supposed golden ticket.

Part of the problem with attendance may be that the norm in December is for New Yorkers to be headed for Miami, not the other way around.

And speaking of YSIII, there looked to be many dozen people in attendance tonight for the whatever'th edition of the 'Pinstripe Bowl', this version pitting U of Wisconsin vs U of Miami. Not to pick on this game in particular (I happened to flick by it on TV) but if it weren't for the fact that ESPN created and owns many of these bowl games, and that the schools get charged for their share (as in many thousands) of tickets regardless of whether they re-sell them or not, most of these games wouldn't exist and indeed most schools 'lucky enough' to be selected for these wind up losing money unless it's to either one of the major New Year's Day games or part of the playoff system.

Mex17 wrote: How long until we can start talking in terms of Jeter being the "Isaiah Thomas of baseball"? Wouldn't he have to bankrupt the minor leagues first? Not talking about just the teams in his own minor leagues system, but the whole damn thing!

Recently re-saw this one, and I'm going with 'pretty damn funny'. Except as it got more serious towards the end, but at that point it needed to considering where the story was headed. Although at the very, very end I hope all who saw it caught the scene where Khrushchev is in the concert hall listening to the very same pianist from earlier and the crawl is describing how he would go on to consolidate power by 1953 and run the country until he himself was disposed by Brezhnev in '64 ... and right behind him in the audience is a younger guy with really thick and dark eyebrows staring at the back of his head with an 'I'm coming after you old man' look on his face. Nice touch. So, yeah, probably my favorite of this past year also.

Nelson Cruz, one year plus 2020 option with Twins. Has more HRs than any other ML'er since 2014

Particularly odd since I thought I heard that he was one of those high-pct high exit-velo guys. Maybe I misremembering since I don't pay of ton of attention to that stuff but, aside from being made to face more LHPs, not sure what would account for a big predicted decline.

Yeah, Bailey was at one time an across the board top-10 prospect in all of baseball [looks like in both the pre-2007 and pre-'08 lists] and he and the Yanx' Philip Hughes were #1 & 1A (in either order) among pitching prospects just as both were on the eve of their ML careers. Just goes to show how tough it is to pick future stars sometimes, particularly with hurlers. And I guess it was a case where believing in that kind of potential dies hard -- the old adage about how the low draft pick has to prove that he can play (Jeff McNeil) while the top pick (Bailey was drafted #7 overall) is given multiple chances to prove he can't -- because by February of '14 they were still willing to buy out his back years of arbitration and several FA years as well even though he had only been intermittently good by the time they took that plunge. That he needed to have TJS later that same year, which in turn limited him to just 8 starts over 2015-16 and just 46 over the last four seasons now, was just bad luck piled on top of the already questionable contract.

Two catchers is always too few while three, particularly in this age of large bullpens, is too many. So if by having one or more of them play other positions on occasion you could effectively hit the right number by having 2-1/2. Hell, give Plawecki a 1st base mitt too! Also, it's tough to even think of Ramos as a full-time catcher seeing as how he's topped 100 games caught just three times in nine seasons (108, 125, 128 in 2011, 2015, 2016) and he's certainly not a guy you're looking to stick anywhere else on the field making it necessary to see versatility out of the other guys.

- Travis signs for $3.515 mil, a nominal raise from last season - the Mets "expect" him to be ready by opening day - in recent days, the Mets are receiving "a significant amount of interest" in both d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki - if the Mets keep d’Arnaud, BVW has said he could be used in a utility role, corner IF / LF, in addition to catcher All from NY Post/Puma

Looks like it's Puig + Kemp + Alex Wood + Kyle Farmer (28 y/o, PH/3B/C w/<100 ML ABs) + cash for Bailey plus the two prospects. I guess for the Reds it gives them some 'name' players to sell some tickets (they were 13th in the NL in 2018 attendance) and maybe a short term bump in the standings for not a lot in return. The Dodgers get payroll relief as mentioned and maybe a less chaotic lineup out of this all. Roberts (or the folks upstairs from him) was so platoon happy that they wound up sitting their top four HR hitters for both game 1 & game 2 of the WS!! And who knows where anyone would wind up in the field on a given day on that team or even from inning to inning. every time Kemp is traded it's because his employer thinks he's paid too highly. Yup. This will be the third time he's been dealt just during this current contract (signed in Nov 2011) and the third time that the trading team paid part of the freight to make him go away. During various seasons of this deal he was being paid by three teams simultaneously (Dodgers, Padres, Braves). It also won't be the first deal where a team dealing Kemp acquired a player w/a big contract for the sole purpose of dumping him. The Padres dealt Kemp to the Braves in July '16 straight up for Cuban disaster Hector Olivera only to release Olivera 10 days later. But the Dodgers, who paid Olivera a stunning $67 million contract following his defection, paid almost all of that despite him never getting a ML AB with them.

Centerfield wrote: Edgy MD wrote: If your agent is doing his job, he tells you to pick 10 teams with big markets or big budgets to put on your no-trade list And he wasted one on the Mets? LOLOLOL Note that he says big budgets OR big markets. But jokes aside, whenever this happens someone will inevitably interpret the N-T clause as proof said player hates the Mets, doesn't want to play in NYC, and is likely to fail if/when he does. When instead, it's more a case of trying to guess which teams might trade for you and, by eliminating them, it helps to nudge a partial no-trade into more of a full no-trade and therefore have a bit better control over your future. Minor was once a #7 overall draft pick - by the Braves in 2009 out of Vanderbilt. That was one slot after Zach Wheeler, six after Steven Strasburg, and, as is required to be pointed out with all 2009 1st round draftees, 18 slots ahead of Mike Trout.

It's being reported as a two year deal w/Murph and the Rox ... although nothing official yet. I'd have thought Muffy to be a sure bet for the AL going forward, but at that length the guy who'll turn 34 y/o on opening week isn't a bad bet for Denver where I guess he now replaces three-time 2B Gold Glove winner (and 4-1/2 years younger) DJ LeMahieu, a guy who ain't a bad hitter in his own right. And why haven't we heard more about DJ LeM as a top FA this winter?

As if on cue (actually, this ran four days ago) George Will talks about the role, one that Congress has largely abdicated in recent times, of the legislative branch in deciding matters of international commerce: "... the president’s power in foreign relations is plenary [absolute] except regarding commerce, where the president has no independent power and where the Constitution’s Commerce Clause establishes Congress’ primacy. iow, according to that pesky Constitution thing anyway, a President cannot unilaterally negate commerce agreements with other countries and previous Supreme Court decisions have said that Presidential power is at "its lowest ebb" when the President acts against "the expressed or implied will of Congress". Specifically here Will is not talking about baseball (unusual for him, I know) but rather about a current bill proposed by three Republican representatives anticipating a potential Presidential termination of the Congressionally approved NAFTA treaty in order to force a vote on what he proposes as its replacement. So, yeah, there is the potential for Agent Orange to think that deals between MLB and Cuba are up to him but they aren't unless Congress decides to sit back and allow him to do so. But, seeing as how the constitution specifically vests power in the Congress to "regulate commerce with foreign countries" it would be nice if they'd stop sitting by while the executive branch broadly usurps those powers.

Ain't up to him.

OK, this is kind of a big deal. Essentially it's an agreement by MLB and their player's association (MLBPA) with the FCB (Federation for Cuban Baseball) which mimics the agreements currently in place between MLB and the Japanese (NPB), Korean (KBO), and Chinese (CPBL) baseball associations for the purpose of allowing an orderly and fair transfer of players between professional leagues. In particular with the case of Cuba, it seeks to end the exploitation of players trying to leave their homeland and for their need to defect at all in order to pursue jobs in MLB. Specifically: "Under this agreement, the FCB must release all players under contract to the FCB who are at least twenty-five (25) years old and have six (6) or more years of playing experience (known as "Foreign Professionals" under MLB rules) to sign with MLB Clubs. The FCB may also release younger players to sign with Major League Clubs. Once a player is released by the FCB, he is free to negotiate and sign with any Major League Club without leaving Cuba, subject to the same collectively bargained rules applicable to all international players. A Major League Club that signs a player released by the FCB pursuant to this agreement will pay the FCB a "release fee," the amount of which is calculated using the same formula contained in MLB's protocol agreements with the NPB, KBO and CPBL. When it is time for the player to report to the United States or Canada for baseball activities, he will do so pursuant to a standard work visa, which will also allow him to travel with his family and to return to Cuba during the off-season if he chooses." So drink a toast with a rum and coke tonight in honor of this change.

And if it does work out it'll cost them more than the $11 million base price. Michael Brantley, the 10-year vet of the Cleveland OF who's hit while he's been healthy and is coming off a bounce-back year in 2018 after missing huge chunks of '16 & '17, signs a two-year deal w/the Astros.