Official MLB Offseason Post: Michael Young asks for a trade.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm
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eek.gif
dude is finally out of prison
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

Phillies have 2, maybe 3 years to make another run before things fall a part and they have to retool, and the Mets have 2 years to be really competitive...I could live with watching the Red Sox mutilate the Phillies in the World Series until then.
How's that gonna happen?
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

Phillies have 2, maybe 3 years to make another run before things fall a part and they have to retool, and the Mets have 2 years to be really competitive...I could live with watching the Red Sox mutilate the Phillies in the World Series until then.
How's that gonna happen?
 
how many phil fans are on here? the past phillie season threads i made were fails
30t6p3b.gif
dont know if a should make another
laugh.gif


anyway heard Phils might got after Dye.
grin.gif
 don't know how i would feel having Raul adn Dye patrolling the corner OF
 
how many phil fans are on here? the past phillie season threads i made were fails
30t6p3b.gif
dont know if a should make another
laugh.gif


anyway heard Phils might got after Dye.
grin.gif
 don't know how i would feel having Raul adn Dye patrolling the corner OF
 
Originally Posted by ScarsOrScabs

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

Phillies have 2, maybe 3 years to make another run before things fall a part and they have to retool, and the Mets have 2 years to be really competitive...I could live with watching the Red Sox mutilate the Phillies in the World Series until then.
How's that gonna happen?
Rebuilding the farm. All the Mets need is a couple of pitchers. Draft well and you could either bring those pitchers up or trade them for someone more established. 
 
Originally Posted by ScarsOrScabs

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

Phillies have 2, maybe 3 years to make another run before things fall a part and they have to retool, and the Mets have 2 years to be really competitive...I could live with watching the Red Sox mutilate the Phillies in the World Series until then.
How's that gonna happen?
Rebuilding the farm. All the Mets need is a couple of pitchers. Draft well and you could either bring those pitchers up or trade them for someone more established. 
 
Dye should have played last year, dude can hit, but he took a full year off from the MLB, I don't know if I'd wanna risk that...


ALSO


Cliff Lee press conference at 3pm on MLB Network
 
Dye should have played last year, dude can hit, but he took a full year off from the MLB, I don't know if I'd wanna risk that...


ALSO


Cliff Lee press conference at 3pm on MLB Network
 

If you've been following the AL West this offseason, you've undoubtedly seen the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels make most of the headlines. Obviously, this isn't a surprise -- both clubs have been linked to big-time free agents, such as Cliff LeeCarl Crawford andAdrian Beltre. And other than the Oakland Athletics' brief pursuit of Beltre earlier this month, neither Oakland nor Seattle, the division's other two teams, have made much noise. But let's not forget about the A's. Now that we know that neither Crawford or Lee will be coming to the AL West, this division is as wide open as any. Here are five good reasons to believe Oakland will contend in 2011.

1. Luck evens out: Many years ago, Bill James developed a formula for what he calledPythagorean record in which he attempted to predict a team's record based on runs scored and allowed. Usually, a team that overperforms its Pythagorean record got a bit lucky, while the opposite is true for unlucky teams. According to Pythagorean record, the A's should have won 85.2 games in 2010, as opposed to the 81 they actually won. That difference of 4.2 games below expected was the largest in the American League.

What accounted for such a difference? An obvious factor was the A's performance with runners in scoring position. As a team, Oakland slugged .378, but with runners in scoring position that number was .335. It's impossible to string together big innings without getting extra-base hits with men on base. The performance of most teams in those two situations was within 15 points of each other; the A's difference of 43 points was the largest in the AL. That kind of gap isn't likely to repeat itself. Over time, players tend to perform with men on base as well as they do otherwise.

2. Don't mess with (David) DeJesus: Missing out on Beltre was a huge blow for the A's, who had the punchless Kevin Kouzmanoff (.679 OPS) at third base in 2010. If Oakland had signed Beltre, it might be the AL West favorite. But even without him, the A's made a huge upgrade by trading for David DeJesus. No, he's not a superstar, but he's an excellent defender and he's hit .300/.363/.443 over the past three years for the Kansas City Royals. In 2010, Gabe Gross hit .239/.290/.311 as the A's primary left fielder; DeJesus is an upgrade. The A's also added Hideki Matsui as their designated hitter, and he's a far more well-rounded hitter than three-true-outcomes superstar Jack Cust. Throw in a healthy Coco Crisp in center and reasonable bounce-back from Kurt Suzuki (his OPS dipped to .669 last year), and Oakland's offense will be far more formidable.

3. Their pitching is elite: The Mariners earned a lot of pub in 2010 for trying to win with a strict pitching-and-defense philosophy. As it turned out, their division rivals to the south are doing a much better job of it. Brett Anderson (2.80 ERA) and Trevor Cahill (2.97 ERA) are one of the best young one-two punches in the league, andDallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez are mid-rotation stalwarts. These arms are aided by one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball, and a defense that might be the best in the league. DeJesus, Crisp and right fielder Ryan Sweeney are all above-average at their positions, according to advanced defensive metrics, and first baseman Daric Barton just won his first Fielding Bible award.

4. They have pieces to trade: Things didn't exactly go as planned for A's prospects last season. Outfielder Grant Desme left for the priesthood, right fielder Michael Taylor couldn't seem to find his power stroke, and first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter began his career 0-for-33 after making it to the bigs in August. That's less than ideal, but hope is not lost. Shortstop Grant Green established himself as one of the better middle-infield prospects in the game with a strong season at high Class A, and Carter is certainly better than his first month in the majors indicated. Both players could contribute at some point in 2011, or they could be trade bait. The same can be said for right-hander Tyson Ross, who is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. With plenty of prospects who are close to the majors, there's good reason to believe the A's could be players in the trade market because ...

5. ... they have money to spend: With both Ben Sheets' and Eric Chavez's exorbitant salaries no longer on the A's books, general manager Billy Beane has a plethora of financial flexibility. Oakland currently has just $29.64 million committed for 2011, and while that will go up once all the arbitration cases are settled, the Opening Day payroll will be south of $50 million. For 2012, there's just $8.54 million committed. In other words, if the A's need to take on salary to trade for a player who will put them over the top, they are in great position to do so.
 

If you've been following the AL West this offseason, you've undoubtedly seen the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels make most of the headlines. Obviously, this isn't a surprise -- both clubs have been linked to big-time free agents, such as Cliff LeeCarl Crawford andAdrian Beltre. And other than the Oakland Athletics' brief pursuit of Beltre earlier this month, neither Oakland nor Seattle, the division's other two teams, have made much noise. But let's not forget about the A's. Now that we know that neither Crawford or Lee will be coming to the AL West, this division is as wide open as any. Here are five good reasons to believe Oakland will contend in 2011.

1. Luck evens out: Many years ago, Bill James developed a formula for what he calledPythagorean record in which he attempted to predict a team's record based on runs scored and allowed. Usually, a team that overperforms its Pythagorean record got a bit lucky, while the opposite is true for unlucky teams. According to Pythagorean record, the A's should have won 85.2 games in 2010, as opposed to the 81 they actually won. That difference of 4.2 games below expected was the largest in the American League.

What accounted for such a difference? An obvious factor was the A's performance with runners in scoring position. As a team, Oakland slugged .378, but with runners in scoring position that number was .335. It's impossible to string together big innings without getting extra-base hits with men on base. The performance of most teams in those two situations was within 15 points of each other; the A's difference of 43 points was the largest in the AL. That kind of gap isn't likely to repeat itself. Over time, players tend to perform with men on base as well as they do otherwise.

2. Don't mess with (David) DeJesus: Missing out on Beltre was a huge blow for the A's, who had the punchless Kevin Kouzmanoff (.679 OPS) at third base in 2010. If Oakland had signed Beltre, it might be the AL West favorite. But even without him, the A's made a huge upgrade by trading for David DeJesus. No, he's not a superstar, but he's an excellent defender and he's hit .300/.363/.443 over the past three years for the Kansas City Royals. In 2010, Gabe Gross hit .239/.290/.311 as the A's primary left fielder; DeJesus is an upgrade. The A's also added Hideki Matsui as their designated hitter, and he's a far more well-rounded hitter than three-true-outcomes superstar Jack Cust. Throw in a healthy Coco Crisp in center and reasonable bounce-back from Kurt Suzuki (his OPS dipped to .669 last year), and Oakland's offense will be far more formidable.

3. Their pitching is elite: The Mariners earned a lot of pub in 2010 for trying to win with a strict pitching-and-defense philosophy. As it turned out, their division rivals to the south are doing a much better job of it. Brett Anderson (2.80 ERA) and Trevor Cahill (2.97 ERA) are one of the best young one-two punches in the league, andDallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez are mid-rotation stalwarts. These arms are aided by one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball, and a defense that might be the best in the league. DeJesus, Crisp and right fielder Ryan Sweeney are all above-average at their positions, according to advanced defensive metrics, and first baseman Daric Barton just won his first Fielding Bible award.

4. They have pieces to trade: Things didn't exactly go as planned for A's prospects last season. Outfielder Grant Desme left for the priesthood, right fielder Michael Taylor couldn't seem to find his power stroke, and first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter began his career 0-for-33 after making it to the bigs in August. That's less than ideal, but hope is not lost. Shortstop Grant Green established himself as one of the better middle-infield prospects in the game with a strong season at high Class A, and Carter is certainly better than his first month in the majors indicated. Both players could contribute at some point in 2011, or they could be trade bait. The same can be said for right-hander Tyson Ross, who is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. With plenty of prospects who are close to the majors, there's good reason to believe the A's could be players in the trade market because ...

5. ... they have money to spend: With both Ben Sheets' and Eric Chavez's exorbitant salaries no longer on the A's books, general manager Billy Beane has a plethora of financial flexibility. Oakland currently has just $29.64 million committed for 2011, and while that will go up once all the arbitration cases are settled, the Opening Day payroll will be south of $50 million. For 2012, there's just $8.54 million committed. In other words, if the A's need to take on salary to trade for a player who will put them over the top, they are in great position to do so.
 
Originally Posted by Captain Charisma

abovelegit1 - Thank you very much.
No prob.
In other news, Hall of Fame pitcher and Tribe great Bob Feller died Wednesday night of leukemia. R.I.P. to one of the greats.
 
Originally Posted by Captain Charisma

abovelegit1 - Thank you very much.
No prob.
In other news, Hall of Fame pitcher and Tribe great Bob Feller died Wednesday night of leukemia. R.I.P. to one of the greats.
 
In other news, Hall of Fame pitcher and Tribe great Bob Feller died Wednesday night of leukemia. R.I.P. to one of the greats.

tired.gif


92 years old, and he was still regularly making appearances and attending games. Even spring training. He was due at yet another Fantasy Camp next month, too.

Cleveland Indians baseball embodied. Rest in peace.

"I would rather beat the Yankees than pitch a no-hit game."
pimp.gif
 
In other news, Hall of Fame pitcher and Tribe great Bob Feller died Wednesday night of leukemia. R.I.P. to one of the greats.

tired.gif


92 years old, and he was still regularly making appearances and attending games. Even spring training. He was due at yet another Fantasy Camp next month, too.

Cleveland Indians baseball embodied. Rest in peace.

"I would rather beat the Yankees than pitch a no-hit game."
pimp.gif
 
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