The Mariners have the best ERA in the AL and the fewest runs scored. That is the path to insanity. The result is a team that plays a lot of one run games and is around .500.
So the Reds were in second place going into a set of 10 games against NL Central leaders (Brewers, Cards, Cubs), 7 of which were on the road (3 against Brewcrew, 4 against Cards), and they only win three of the freaking games.
And it’s because we can’t score when it matters! Yesterday’s 14 inning tilt against the Cubs at home being a perfect example. The pitching was great, but once we tied the game 3-3, we left 15 batters on base in the subsequent innings!
Damn. Gotta get Joey Votto back in the lineup, and Jay Bruce needs to wake up!
Albert Pujols hit MLB’s first two-run sacrifice fly since 1982 against the Rockies yesterday.
Only an amazing catch by Colorado LF Gonzalez prevented it from being a two-run triple.
Great week ahead for Yankee fans. Back to back series against the Red Sox and Mets. Not looking past the game with the Rays tonight, but that is one fun week of summer baseball ahead.
I remember that one, in the 1982 World Series by Tommie Herr, but it was not the last one in MLB. In fact, it was done twice just last year.
Damn. The Cards just dropped their fourth in a row. It’s too early to panic, of course, but… Oh, the hell with it. I’m panicking. Maybe they won’t run away with the division.
Draft today. The big question, of course, is whether Washington will draft Stephen Strasburg, whose agent (Scott Boras, quelle surprise) wants a $50 million signing bonus.
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Is any amateur pick worth $50 million? I don’t think Strasburg is. I suppose it’s theoretically possible someone could be, but I’d be unwilling to commit $50 million to someone who’d never played a professional game before, especially a pitch. Of course, he might turn out to be worth it, but there’s a godo chance he won’t, so it depends on your risk aversion.
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Assuming the Nationals get Strasburg, will they be stupid enough to put him in the majors right away and blow his arm out?
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Is MLB headed for a limitation on draft pick signing bonuses? I think so, and I suspect they can get it in exchange for other concessions.
The possibility of draft picks being priced out of the range of poorer teams concerns me a LOT more than free agency ever did. You can construct a team of quality by drafting intelligently, and the system of giving compension picks to teams that lose players to free agency makes emphasis on the draft a legitimate alternative way of building a winner. If the top picks become too expensive for all but the Yankees and Red Sox, then the point of the draft is lost. I think we’re 1 or 2 collective agreements away from a pre-set bonus structure for draft picks.
Hmmm.
I guess the people at Yahoo Sports don’t check their stats very well. Here’s what it said alongside Pujols’ name in my fantasy league:
I guess it could mean that it was the first for the Cardinals since 1982, but if so, then it’s a very poorly worded sentence.
Originally posted by RickJay
As someone who remembers Brien Taylor far too well, I say absolutely not. There are far too many risk factors with a young player, particularly a pitcher, to invest that kind of money in them.
Let’s panic together while we lob cursewords in the general direction of Brewers fans…
That isn’'t really much of a question. The organization has been committed to taking him for a while.
Absolutely. I mean would you rather have Oliver Perez for four years than sign him? Of course many things can go wrong, but one that can be true of any pitcher and secondly that is he would only get 50 million. If he is as good as everyone things he could be, he will be worth more than double that. The Nats won’t have the pay that much, because the draft is designed to hold down the salaries of amateurs.
I don’t know that pitching in the majors is inheritly riskier, if they keep his innings and pitches under control. Also, given that pitchers do break, you might want to get as many innings out of him before he does. I probably wouldn’t bring him up this year, but i have no problem with him being in the rotation come April if he proves capable.
Of course the union would go for it (for concessions) as draftees aren’t union members. I would expect amateurs and agents to have much more of a problem with a hard cap. I don’t think it would stand up in court and it might get the entire draft thrown out. How would you like if a governing body dictated how much you could be paid in an industry.
So the Yankees and Red Sox sign every foreign free agent since they aren’t in the draft? How bout the one the A’s signed to a record bonus last year, or the guy the Pirates look to sign this year? Small market teams can compete they just will need to spend less on the Jose Guillen’s of the world and more on the draft. Besides isn’t like small market teams don’t ever take signability picks now. For that matter minor leaguers aren’t that predictable, signing the most expensive ones doesn’t generally guarantee success. good recruitment pitches, quality scouts, a strong local presence, and playing time opportuinities can outweigh extra money.
For me the most important issue is that draftees are getting less money than the market will bear. If your goal is parody there are better ways to do it.
The union has fought against price caps in the draft for years. They fight against anything that caps salaries or bonuses. This might change now with the draft signing bonuses going up so high. Some players might begin to balk and not mind a cap, if they find the discrepancy of a new player getting 50 million, while a proven player is only getting 18 or 20 million a year. There was an article on espn.com about this a few weeks ago. They asked a couple of players. A few cited the discrepancy, the others said they don’t care what others get.
The NFL limits the amount draftees get paid based on the league wide salary cap. If that is legal why wouldn’t a bonus draft cap in baseball pass the legality test?
I think Boras will be looking for a bonus in the 15 - 25 million range. In spite of his talk about 50 million. And, no doubt, he will have no problem letting him play amateur ball for a season if he doesn’t get what he wants. He did it, successfully, with JD Drew. So, he has a record of waiting out teams that draft his players.
Just went to the A’s game last night and watched them win their 7th straight! Texas lost, so that pulls us to within 6.5 games. In this putrid division, we might actually compete. Of course the win streak won’t last - our pitching has been out of this world (iirc we have given up 14 runs in the 7 games during the streak) but it can’t keep this up forever, and the hitting is just pathetic. We won a game recently when we had 2 hits the entire game, and scored 3 runs without any of them scoring on a base hit. The only reason we won last night is because their pitcher melted down in the 4th inning and couldn’t find the plate (even beaned a player in the head to load the bases). Not going to win many games like that, but I am having fun while it is lasting, and the collection of quality young starters we have is starting to remind me of the early days of the Hudson/Mulder/Zito era. I’m just hoping we stay competitive long enough to be buyers at the deadline.
The deal was a record for the A’s for an amateur, not baseball foreign free agents. The total ($4.75 mil) is still chump change compared to what the sox paid ($50.1 mil) just to NEGOTIATE with Daisuke. Sure there are risks with every signing, but some risks are riskier than others, and taking a flier on a 16 year old kid is much different than grabbing one of the top japanese free agents on the market.
You mean like the NFL, NBA and NHL?
Baseball is not subject to antitrust law. If other sports leagues can do it, they certainly can.
Sorry, it was $4.25, not $4.75
Papi’s back.
In a week or two, so is Lowrie.
Never a truer word spoken.
I seriously think Lugo’s days are numbered-I think the Sox will just eat his contract when Jed gets back, and Green (homered last night!) becomes the utility guy.
Tigers led 6 to 3 in the 9th. They brought in their closer Rodney. He promptly walked the first 3 batters. Most of the pitches were not even close. The Sox tied it up. I guess Rodney does not want to keep his closer spot. It is time to put Zumaya there. The Tigers walked 12 batters and won last night.