Category: MLB

MLB

My GM Can Beat Up Your GM

By Jon Morrill

We all know, or at least should know, by now that Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane is one of the best, if not the best, in baseball. The only argument one would have against him is that he hasn’t won anything yet; and sure, winning is the biggest criteria when judging the performance of just about anything in sports. Whether it be playing the game, coaching, managing, anything–the first thing people look at are the wins and the championships. While Beane obviously doesn’t have any rings or trophies just yet, the one thing Beane can claim is the fact that he’s perennially put together a young, exciting team that has finished no worse than second in the AL West since 1999, Beane’s second year on the job; winning the division 3 times in 4 years. What’s more is that Beane has done this with a payroll of practically peanuts; forcing Beane to try and squeeze what he can out of all his players in the 3 to 4, sometimes 5 year timeframe–often having to either trade away his prized superstars for younger, more raw talent or just let it walk when the time comes for the respective player’s big payday (see: Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Tim
Hudson, Mark Mulder, Keith Foulke, Johnny Damon).

MLB General

The Yankees Should Push Hard for Garciaparra.

Post author By NickMalicious
Post date December 16, 2005
1 Comment on The Yankees Should Push Hard for Garciaparra.

Looking down at the list of free agents that have signed with teams so far this winter and even at some of the trades that have gone through, we see that very few would have made much sense for the Yankees. B.J. Ryan, and Tom Gordon wanted to close. Brian Giles and Paul Konerko wanted to remain with their former teams. The Yankees did not need to acquire any starting pitchers with injury histories: Beckett, Burnett, Byrd or have a void to fill behind the plate. With Torri Hunter and Andrew Jones free agents next year it makes little sense to overpay for 4 years of centerfielder Johnny Damon, and ruin the chance to pick up a real stud next winter. Juan Peirre would have been a good one year option, but the Cubs likely gave away too much for a one year fill-in. A case could be made that 1B Lyle Overbay would have been a good fit, but the Yankees did not have the pieces for that deal. When looking at all of these moves, LHP Demaso Marte looks like the only guy who the Yankees could have acquired, for say Andy Phillips, that would have made sense for the team. For whatever the reasons, this year’s free agent class did not cater very well to the needs of the Yankees, but one man would be a perfect fit: Nomar Garciaparra.

San Francisco Giants

Most-Improved Team: SF Giants

Post author By NickMalicious
Post date December 14, 2005
5 Comments on Most-Improved Team: SF Giants

Though every GM tries to improve the state of their team each off-season, whether by stockpiling young talent, or paying for free-agent studs, few can do enough in one off-season to bring a team from being a non-contender to a team with realistic Championship aspirations. In 2005, the San Francisco Giants finished third in their division winning only 75 games. GM Brian Sabean, has done as good a job as any GM this winter in picking the right pieces to get his team back over the top the NL West. Many exterior activities are working for him: the poor over-all talent in the division, and the return from injury of the greatest player in the last 25 years–Barry Bonds. That withstanding, Sabean has done a terrific job in improving his team for 2006.

Florida Marlins

Fishing for Sympathy

When asked how he chose his franchise name, former Florida Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga, an avid deep-sea fisher, explained, “I choose Marlin because the fish is a fierce fighter and an adversary that tests your mettle.” After gutting $41 million out of a $60 million payroll, current Marlins ownership announced a 30.7 percent price hike on tickets. Originally, Huizenga’s chosen metaphor may have been aimed at player performance, but with Florida fans moaning, the mettle being tested is in the stands, not on the field.

Washington Nationals

Sorry-ano

By: Jon Morrill

Alright, so it’s a cheap shot. Calling Alfonso Soriano “Alfonso Sorry-ano”, I mean. It’s really not fair–making fun of a man’s last name. It’s not like he can help it. But the truth is I’ve never liked Aflonso Soriano. “Boy with Man-Head”, I used to call him. Ever see the frame on that guy? He looks like something from the X-Files. It’s probably why he runs so well–he’s spent half of his life running from David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. But I digress… there are more reasons for me not to like Alfonso Soriano than just the fact that he looks like an orange stuck on top of a pencil (zing!). He always does well against my Red Sox, especially when he was a member of the hated Yankees.

New York Yankees

Yankees

The “hot stove” has stayed cold for the Yankees thus far, especially for a team that needs to make a lot of improvements.

Boston Red Sox

Pulling the Thread — The Unraveling of the Red Sox

Post author By jmorrill16
Post date December 9, 2005
5 Comments on Pulling the Thread — The Unraveling of the Red Sox

By: Jon Morrill

In an article in the Boston Globe this morning prior to the announcement of the Edgar Renteria trade, Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield openly pondered things like, “What the heck is our team going look like next year?” and “Why are they dismantling the whole team? The whole starting infield is gone. Manny will be gone. If they don’t sign Johnny, he’ll be gone. If they trade Trot, holy cow, the only guys left will be [Jason] Varitek and I and [David] Ortiz.”

MLB General

Bad (Sales) Pitch

Do Major League Baseball GM’s understand what they are doing? Do J.P. Ricciardi or Pat Gillick thoroughly think things through? The reason I’m asking these questions is because I’m astonished at the contracts players have been receiving this off-season, especially the pitchers. I don’t know about you, but if I’m running a Major League organization, I’m not willing to pay someone $75,000 per inning to pitch for my team, unless the back of his jersey says “Rivera” or “Clemens”.

Philadelphia Phillies

Gordon signs with Phillies

Post author By cd1711
Post date December 6, 2005
No Comments on Gordon signs with Phillies

George Steinbrenner will trade his best minor league prospects for a 41-year-old starter but he won’t resign a 38-year-old setup man. With an ERA of 2.39 over two years with the Yankees, their front office did not see fit to resign setup man/closer, Tom Gordon, and he was grabbed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

MLB General

Bobby I’lltradeyou — Why trading Bobby Abreu for Manny Ramirez wouldn’t work for either team

Post author By jmorrill16
Post date December 5, 2005
2 Comments on Bobby I’lltradeyou — Why trading Bobby Abreu for Manny Ramirez wouldn’t work for either team

By: Jon Morrill

This past week, rumors ran rampant about a possible deal between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies involving two little-known journeymen outfielders, Manny Ramirez and Bobby Abreu. Apparently they both have some offensive potential; one’s a Gold Glove winner, the other a former World Series MVP… or something. I didn’t even know that the Red Sox had won a recent World Series. I’m even told that the A-brew kid won a Home Run Derby somewhere–I don’t know, I’m not even that into baseball.