The MLBPA is looking into the Pirates and the Marlins over revenue sharings. Now I don’t know much about the Marlins, but I do know that Bob Nutting is a greedy bastard, so I’m not surprised. It’s especially depressing when you compare him to fellow Pittsburgh sports owners like Mario Lemieux and the Rooneys. (Pittsburgh sports fans are hardcore, and it’s disgusting. I’m not a baseball fan, but I AM a Pirates fan, if that makes sense.)
I’m not sure they have a legitimate case against the Pirates, whose moves make sense to me. Greedy or not, the team’s decision to get out from under the contracts of two non-superstar players, when they have a team with not one regular player who deserved\ to be an All Star last year - an amazing thing to say about a baseball team - is understandable. I know Andrew McCutchen used to be awesome but he’s not anymore, and comparing him to Mario Lemiuex or the Rooneys makes no sense at all; they own teams in leagues where salary caps are in place. It sucks, but as a Blue Jays fan, I wish my team would have the courage to pick a direction and stick to it.
The Marlins are a gigantic scam in baseball team form. The fire sale is just one of many things.
I’ve heard the Brewers are shopping Santana. I assume they’d want proven MLB pitching in return.
In Dead Stove news, Todd Frazier to the Mets for 2 years/17 million. I keep thinking one signing might get the ball rolling on this peculiar free-agent class, but perhaps not. This was significantly less money and/or years than every projection for Frazier.
As Cosell would say, Down Goes Frazier!
I was ambivalent about him returning to the Yankees. I thought he played with a great deal of heart, I thought he cared about being a Yankee, but it’s my opinion that his best years are behind him.
Yeah, I agree. On the other hand, would I be surprised if Cashman signed the more versatile Neil Walker to a similar contract? Not really.
That’s not an expensive risk for the Mets, I guess.
I wonder how cheap some of these guys are going to end up going for? It sure makes for an interesting runup to the season; there’s enough talent out there that an enterprising team could add a lot of potential wins in the next two months and change the face of a division.
The position playing so-called top tiered talent isn’t that good. Hosmer and Moose are asking for way more than they are worth. Martinez is a DH type with an ugly injury history. Metrics has changed free angency forever.
Hosmer got an absolutely insane offer from Kansas City already - $147 million over 7 years, apparently - and said no. He may well regret that.
Handing a huge contract to a big first baseman based on his career year - I mean, Jesus. It’s too much as is.
But there is talent out there, and while it may be too expensive NOW, it’s gonna start getting cheaper as spring training arrives. A team in need of bats can add a lot of offense right now and there’s solid starting pitching, too. If the prices start going down many teams will be able to improve quickly.
Really does seem like a good deal for the Mets, added some D and pop at the same time and he is an excellent clubhouse guy as a bonus.
RickJay:
The Royals have confirmed the years but denied the amount.
Yankees acquire rights to Seattle QB Russell Wilson. Uh- why? Seems the spring will be better spent evaluation legitimate talent and not indulging another sport’s star.
Just in case this football thing doesn’t work out for him, yanno. Think of Wilson as the reverse Elway.
What I found most surprising is that the Yankees GOT Wilson by - getting him from the Rangers in a trade. I didn’t even know Wilson was already signed. (Again. He played in the Rockies system awhile back.)
His scrambling ability means no one will be able to tag him out in a rundown.
It’s weird that the Yankees wanted a gimmick. I highly doubt the Yankees have problems selling spring training tickets. The Rangers don’t have a national fan base and are a few years away from their World Series teams.
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It has to be a favor to Wilson, the Yankee spring training tickets have actually become hard to get and will be harder this year, especially with Stanton joining them.
Interesting. I’m watching the 1971 all star game on YouTube and Curt Gowdy mentions that this is the first time Willie Mays and Hank Aaron have ever played at Tiger Stadium and he thinks that’s the greatest endorsement for interleague play. It still took another 25 years or so. But, hopefully that’s something for the purists to think about.
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I was there. I didn’t take my glove since I thought nothing would be hit to my seat in the upper deck in center field. Roberto Clemente hit one that hit the guy next to me and bounced back, I could have snared it had I brought the glove. That was the day that Reggie hit the light tower in right field, I saw the entire flight, just awesome in person.
Yes, it was a thrill to see Willie and Hank in person. But it doesn’t change my mind about interleague play. With 15 team leagues, it’s hard to avoid so even though I hate expansion, I think going to 16 team leagues in 4 divisions of 4 each would be superior to the current system. No wild cards, just the eight division winners get in.
I just heard a quick blurb on the radio yesterday that the Texas Rangers had traded Russell Wilson to the Yankees. There was no explanation given, so I figured the reporter misspoke. Guess not. An article I later found said he will likely report to spring training. But why? He has no plan to actually play baseball, so why is this happening?