OMG, the Colorado faithful must be in full on mourning.
I’m still sad about Cueto leaving the Reds. Yes, I knew it was going to happen, but dammit, the Reds gave all the money to the wrong pitcher (Homer Bailey) and might have been able to work something out for Cueto.
Thanks for the memories, Johnny. Dammit.
Same with the Blue Jays. I cannot see how adding a bat upgrade helps this team, unless they know of a team out there looking to trade pitching for Tulo. I mean, I guess it’s hard to lose if you’re going to score 12 runs each game, right?
Wow, I did not see THAT one coming. Gotta say that while I love Tulowitzki, not sure how this trade is going to give Toronto what they need, unless the man has a 95 mph fastball in addition to his other virtues.
Will COL keep Reyes or trade him away? If so, where?
I guess the same could be said regarding TOR and Tulo.
I do see that the Rockies sent Toronto both Troy and LaTroy. Could have wished they were going to DeTroy(t). Oh well.
Shane Victorino is now an Angel. We’ll have to see who else Boston dumps.
Rusney Castillo is either a major leaguer or he isn’t. We’re about to see that, too.
And rumor has it that the Cubs have talked about sending Starlin Castro to San Diego for Tyson Ross.
I get that, but you should feel pretty good about the trade. The Reds got a better haul than I thought they would for a rental. Hopefully the trade works out well for both teams.
Eh. Anyone who knows anything about baseball around here knew he was gone, soon to be followed by Carlos Gonzales, who is conveniently in the hottest streak of his life (OPS of 1.621 since the All-Star break). No sense in paying two guys $40M between them when you can’t even play 0.500 ball with them. It was past time to rebuild. They are both entering the downside of their careers (30+). It was a good move for the Rox - a no-brainer, really.
Now if they can unload Reyes for some more prospects, it’ll be perfect.
Those loud booms coming out of the north is the sound of Rickjay banging his head against the wall.
As for my Yankees, I don’t know what to make of this team. I don’t have faith in the rotation taking them deep into October, but it’s been fun anyway. As for A-Rod, fuck it, go Alex.
I will be frankly a bit shocked if Colorado does not flip Reyes. I do not understand why they’d want him.
Conversely, Toronto is making it very clear they intent to keep Tulowitzki for as long as they can, up to the end of his contract.
I am equally puzzled as to why this move in particular had to be made. This clearly improves the team in 2015 and 2016, at least; Tulowitzki is a better player than Reyes in every respect, Hawkins will help, and the Jays gave up no major leaguers. But it’s not like Tulowitzki is Honus Wagner or anything, and the pitching staff… well, tonight’s starting pitcher for Toronto is Felix Dubront. Enough said.
I have done only the most cursory examinations of this, but I am pretty sure that if you look at teams that are dramatically under their Pythagorean projection, as the Jays are, they will in fact look a lot like the Jays do; a high scoring offense with poor pitching, especially the bullpen, who get the fancy run differential by piling up 12-2 wins. Adding a few more runs scored does not address the team’s structural weakness.
Every additional run you score has a declining return. If you score 4 runs for every 4 you give up you’ll go about 81-81. If you add 81 runs and score 4.5 runs per game, you’ll add about eight wins. Add another 81 runs, you add 7 or 8; add another 81 runs (by now it’s a wonderful offense, better than Toronto has now) and you add six more, add another 81 runs and it’s five more.
Addition runs subtracted from your runs allow, however, actually have increasing return on investment and are more valuable than runs scored. If you score 4 runs and allow 3.5, you add nine wins from break even. Allow 3 runs a game, you add even more wins, about 11. Allow 2.5 runs a game and you add 12 more wins. Since Toronto’s problem is clearly with ALLOWING runs rather than scoring them there is more to be gained from improving pitching than there is hitting.
Having said all that Tulowitzki does help prevent runs; he is a very good defensive shortstop, while Reyes is a bad defensive shortstop. The difference between them in defense is as great or greater than the difference in bat, even assuming Tulowitzki is actually a somewhat better hitter than he’s shown this year. But a glove upgrade is obviously not the upgrade a real starting pitcher would be.
Of course, if this is the best trade Toronto could arrange, it is. It’s just not really he trade they needed to make and while I love Tulowitzki, the trade COULD turn out exactly the way the Reyes acquisition did, with Tulo breaking down; like Reyes he has a history of injury and is a financial burden.
The acquisition of Hawkins is basically irrelevant. He’s old and not demonstrably a better bet than the myriad righthanded relievers the Jays have now; I do not know who Hawkins will be taking innings from who is not just as good a pitcher, unless Hawkins recently learned how to pitch left handed.
I think the trade made sense for the Rockies, who stink and needed prospects and a lower payroll, assuming they flip Reyes. I think the trade made sense for the Jays, who have an okay chance at a playoff spot, assuming they have something else planned to improve the pitching.
They’re as good a bet as any to get Hamels and/or Samardzija, for one thing. For another, you only need 2 good pitchers and a decent 3rd and OK 4th, along with a hot closer, to win in October. And who else looks that much better? They’re not what they used to be, no, but who is?
I might throw James Shields into that category, but he’s a different trade target altogether. He’s much more like Tulowitzki, because of his contract status. I put very little stock into post-season numbers, but I’m not sure you get from Shields the rest of the way what you’d get for cheaper elsewhere (or even the samewhere, since Tyler Ross is drawing considerable interest).
I would guess you like the **Zobrist **trade, Munch? From the Royals’ perspective it looks like they made an excellent deal–versatility and an alternative at second base.
Also, the Royals made another move today - they acquired Ben Zobrist from the As for minor league pitchers Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks. Brooks is a toss-in, but Manaea was one of the biggest prospects in the Kansas City system. For the return, it’s overpaying. Zobrist isn’t playing like he used to, and he is 34 years old. But it fills a number of needs for the Royals. He’ll start in left until Alex Gordon returns, and provide a slight defensive downgrade (over Dyson and Orlando) for a slight offensive upgrade. But once Gordon is back with the team, he move to 2nd, where he’ll be a major bat upgrade over Omar Infante, even with Zobrist’s lower offensive numbers this year.
As a fan, I’m not as excited about this trade as I am with Cueto. I’ve loved Zobrist for years, but he’s 34. I don’t think adding him increased our playoff run odds that much higher, and Manaea projects to be an SP2 soon. It’s all in for Dayton Moore, and if it brings another flag (whichever the size), I’ll be happy to see both Manaea and Brooks succeed down the road.
Looks like Papelbon to the Nationals. Haven’t seen what the return haul is.
Makes me wonder if the Cubs will ramp up the Starlin Castro-for-Tyson Ross trade talks again. Possibly try to get Craig Kimbrell in the same deal.
I hope the Cubs get rid of Starlin Castro
he is bad
too many error
lol apparently this is a home run
Why TF did he jump over the wall? That was his mistake. Are the walls in Fenway that poorly padded? No reason to go over the wall. Speaking as a Mariners fan who has watched Ken Griffey, Jr. making catches just like that and then crashing into the wall while maintaining possession of the ball.
Dude looked like he was trying to make the ESPN highlight reel.