In what seemed like an inevitability after Jason Bay landed with the Mets, Matt Holliday recently signed a 7 year, $120 million deal with the Cardinals.
This is pretty simple, St. Louis is a great baseball town, with a manager players love to play for, and a great pitching coach to boot. It's probably the best baseball city in the world. Matt Holliday played well there, and him hitting next to Pujols is scary. Also, this signing is extra incentive for Pujols to stick around.
Only question marks include: why didn't anyone else really get in on the bidding? Did they sense he never wanted to leave, and just wanted to use free agency as a tool to get a huge deal out of St. Louis? Is $16-$17 million a year over 7 years smart considering they seemed to be bidding against themselves? If Holliday's fielding is as bad as some say, is he really worth that kind of cash?
Honestly, I think not trying to get him at a lower price is smart, if they had let these negotiations continue much longer, some one else surely would have stepped in and caused competition for St. Louis.
Showing posts with label bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bay. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thoughts on Jason Bay to the Mets
The Mets nabbed their prime Leftfield target this offseason, Jason Bay, for what seems like a reasonable price (around $16 million a year for four years, plus a vesting option for a fifth year).
Positives in this deal: Mets needed a power hitting outfielder, Jason Bay is a .520 career slugger. The Mets didn't overpay really, and Jason Bay's played in a big market so New York shouldn't phase him. He's averaged 154 games played over the last 5 seasons, and the Mets badly needed a player who would stay healthy.
Negatives: Mets didn't have much competition, so did they really need to include this 5th year vesting option that supposedly vests easily? Did they bid against themselves again? He's already 31, so he will be 35 or 36 when this deal ends. He's a poor fielder, and the outfield in Citifield's huge. Matt Holliday would have cost around $10 million more, and would probably be a better value.
Final Thought: Hard to argue against an outfielder with a .900 career OPS. And the Mets with a plus defender in Rightfield (Francoeur and/or Fernando Martinez) and the best centerfielder in the game should be able to overcome his shortcomings in left. And maybe some of his homers in Citifield turn back into doubles, but worse things have happened.
Positives in this deal: Mets needed a power hitting outfielder, Jason Bay is a .520 career slugger. The Mets didn't overpay really, and Jason Bay's played in a big market so New York shouldn't phase him. He's averaged 154 games played over the last 5 seasons, and the Mets badly needed a player who would stay healthy.
Negatives: Mets didn't have much competition, so did they really need to include this 5th year vesting option that supposedly vests easily? Did they bid against themselves again? He's already 31, so he will be 35 or 36 when this deal ends. He's a poor fielder, and the outfield in Citifield's huge. Matt Holliday would have cost around $10 million more, and would probably be a better value.
Final Thought: Hard to argue against an outfielder with a .900 career OPS. And the Mets with a plus defender in Rightfield (Francoeur and/or Fernando Martinez) and the best centerfielder in the game should be able to overcome his shortcomings in left. And maybe some of his homers in Citifield turn back into doubles, but worse things have happened.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thoughts on being a lazy blogger
Between vacation and a lull in interesting baseball news, I haven't blogged in basically two weeks. So this might be a rather long blog.
First up is the 5 spot in the Phillies rotation. Signing Pedro was a dumb move for the Phillies. At best, the difference between him and Jamie Moyer is a wash. And all they did was anger a clubhouse leader, cause a controversy where there didn't need to be one, and insert a pitcher who can potentially maybe have a sub-5 ERA. It's not as if they added Doug Davis, or Aaron Haraang.
Now considering the luck of the Phillies, and the lack of luck by the Mets, Pedro regains his form and proves to be a middle of the rotation starter the Mets so desperately needed. I mean, they added an above average outfielder to replace there, well, nearly identical outfielder, and he turns into Jason Bay. They got J.C. Romero for basically nothing. They got Cliff Lee without giving up one of their 4 best young guys.
And as far as Moyer's reaction is concerned, I'm quite divided on it. On one hand, he should of just shut up and not been a distraction, like he said he didn't want to be. On the other hand, he has something along the lines of 25 years of MLB service time, and has sort of earned the right to say what he wants. I'm completely split-brained on this, and can't make up my mind. Personally, if I was in his situation I would of pitched a fit, but that's me.
Moving on to the Rick Porcello vs. Kevin Youkilis fight. First of all, I'm dumbfounded as to whether Porcello hit him on purpose or accident. The extensive conversation between Jim Leyland and Terry Francona after the fight would indicate that it was most likely on accident. On the other hand, the way the ball was thrown, it looked as if he was trying to nail him. However, he already threw a pitch high and tight clearly intending to hit Youkilis.
Regardless of intent, everything to that point went down as it should've. They hit the Tigers key hitters, they should be throwing back at the Sox.
But Youkilis is a fool for charging the mound. Are you kidding me? Take your lumps like everyone else. And then throwing your helmet? Maybe Porcello looked scared as he moved away from you, but throwing a helmet is just as cowardly, and those things are hard, and can actually hurt a player (crack a kneecap?). Odds are Porcello just didn't want to fight, at risk of suspension. Because the way he threw Youkilis to the ground, (and the fact that he's 6'5") indicates that he knew he could take Youkilis. And if he was throwing at him intentionally, kudos for already proving to be a good teammate at age 19.
Alex Rios got traded about a week ago. Simple salary dump. I don't know this for sure, but J.P. Ricciardi may be an idiot. He failed to get max value for Roy Halladay, he gave a big contract to Vernon Wells, who's since tanked, and Rios, who's done mostly the same. He also gave a big contract to B.J. Ryan, who basically has spent the last 2 years injured, as well as A.J. Burnett, who proved to be just above average, and also spent decent time on the DL. Ricciardi seems to have an eye for young talent (the young starting rotation, Travis Snider, Aaron Hill, etc.), especially young pitching, but lacks an eye for players who can stay healthy.
The Yankees officially transformed themselves into the version of themselves that lost to the D-backs in the World Series a few years back. Only Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Pettite, and Rivera, etc are all around five years older. This team seems built to win in the regular season, but not for the postseason. Seriously, they have the third worst collection of talent in their own division, and yet they have the best record in baseball. Their catcher sucks behind the dish, Cano's average, and they got very little in the outfield. And their rotation is ok, and the bullpen is average too. Seriously, when teams like the Yankees win it drives me crazy. The Dodgers should win, they are as deep as anyone in the lineup, can play defense, and also have four solid starters. The Yankees are mostly average, and win anyways. Proves to show that I don't understand everything about the game I guess.
First up is the 5 spot in the Phillies rotation. Signing Pedro was a dumb move for the Phillies. At best, the difference between him and Jamie Moyer is a wash. And all they did was anger a clubhouse leader, cause a controversy where there didn't need to be one, and insert a pitcher who can potentially maybe have a sub-5 ERA. It's not as if they added Doug Davis, or Aaron Haraang.
Now considering the luck of the Phillies, and the lack of luck by the Mets, Pedro regains his form and proves to be a middle of the rotation starter the Mets so desperately needed. I mean, they added an above average outfielder to replace there, well, nearly identical outfielder, and he turns into Jason Bay. They got J.C. Romero for basically nothing. They got Cliff Lee without giving up one of their 4 best young guys.
And as far as Moyer's reaction is concerned, I'm quite divided on it. On one hand, he should of just shut up and not been a distraction, like he said he didn't want to be. On the other hand, he has something along the lines of 25 years of MLB service time, and has sort of earned the right to say what he wants. I'm completely split-brained on this, and can't make up my mind. Personally, if I was in his situation I would of pitched a fit, but that's me.
Moving on to the Rick Porcello vs. Kevin Youkilis fight. First of all, I'm dumbfounded as to whether Porcello hit him on purpose or accident. The extensive conversation between Jim Leyland and Terry Francona after the fight would indicate that it was most likely on accident. On the other hand, the way the ball was thrown, it looked as if he was trying to nail him. However, he already threw a pitch high and tight clearly intending to hit Youkilis.
Regardless of intent, everything to that point went down as it should've. They hit the Tigers key hitters, they should be throwing back at the Sox.
But Youkilis is a fool for charging the mound. Are you kidding me? Take your lumps like everyone else. And then throwing your helmet? Maybe Porcello looked scared as he moved away from you, but throwing a helmet is just as cowardly, and those things are hard, and can actually hurt a player (crack a kneecap?). Odds are Porcello just didn't want to fight, at risk of suspension. Because the way he threw Youkilis to the ground, (and the fact that he's 6'5") indicates that he knew he could take Youkilis. And if he was throwing at him intentionally, kudos for already proving to be a good teammate at age 19.
Alex Rios got traded about a week ago. Simple salary dump. I don't know this for sure, but J.P. Ricciardi may be an idiot. He failed to get max value for Roy Halladay, he gave a big contract to Vernon Wells, who's since tanked, and Rios, who's done mostly the same. He also gave a big contract to B.J. Ryan, who basically has spent the last 2 years injured, as well as A.J. Burnett, who proved to be just above average, and also spent decent time on the DL. Ricciardi seems to have an eye for young talent (the young starting rotation, Travis Snider, Aaron Hill, etc.), especially young pitching, but lacks an eye for players who can stay healthy.
The Yankees officially transformed themselves into the version of themselves that lost to the D-backs in the World Series a few years back. Only Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Pettite, and Rivera, etc are all around five years older. This team seems built to win in the regular season, but not for the postseason. Seriously, they have the third worst collection of talent in their own division, and yet they have the best record in baseball. Their catcher sucks behind the dish, Cano's average, and they got very little in the outfield. And their rotation is ok, and the bullpen is average too. Seriously, when teams like the Yankees win it drives me crazy. The Dodgers should win, they are as deep as anyone in the lineup, can play defense, and also have four solid starters. The Yankees are mostly average, and win anyways. Proves to show that I don't understand everything about the game I guess.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Thoughts after watching Rays-Red Sox
I watched Rays vs. Red Sox tonight, and basically came back reassured with many beliefs about these teams that I already had were true.
First off, that the Rays have the best pitching in the division. They have two starters (3 once Price is promoted) which are better than anyone the Red Sox have in their rotation. Kazmir was on tonight, and brought his A game to a big series. This isn't a knock on the Red Sox, because they have great starting pitching, but the Rays are just a little bit better.
Secondly, Grant Balfour's not a fluke. I remember watching him a few years ago in Rochester as a Red Wing. I was incredibly impressed, thought he could be a big league closer right then (or at least Joe Nathan's setup man). It took a few more years than I thought, but he's made it. He's got a closer's mentality -- this guy not only wants to get you out, he wants to make you look silly doing it.
Thirdly, the Red Sox miss Manny Ramirez. Jason Bay's great. Solid defense, great bat with plus power, can steal a base or two. But he doesn't have swagger. This Red Sox team may be more talented than the last two which have won titles, but they don't have that swagger. Papelbon has some swagger, but a team can't feed off a closers' swagger until the 9th, which won't matter if they've already lost. Manny had swagger, Manny had class (don't laugh, I'm serious), Manny had talent. Manny wanted to hit the ball over the fence, punch you in the mouth, and then laugh in your face afterwards. The Red Sox don't have guys with swagger anymore. They miss Manny, they miss Kevin Millar, they miss Orlando Cabrera, they miss Johnny Damon. With the skills of the Rays, they won't be able to win the division on sheer talent alone. Epstein doesn't make many mistakes, but he sure screwed up with the Manny debacle.
Next, Saito looked flat. It was a good idea to invest in him, because he was just one year removed from an amazing season, but I think age is catching up with him.
The Rays aren't perfect either though. With Fernando Perez and BJ Upton both out, they look real weak in the outfield, offensively and defensively. Luckily they get BJ back next week, but they aren't looking smart for letting Rocco Baldelli go to, ironically, the Red Sox. Also, can Joe Maddon needs to make Balfour his closer. I know the committee thing is working, but I think if he can boost that guy's ego a little more Balfour can take his competetive edge to the next level.
First off, that the Rays have the best pitching in the division. They have two starters (3 once Price is promoted) which are better than anyone the Red Sox have in their rotation. Kazmir was on tonight, and brought his A game to a big series. This isn't a knock on the Red Sox, because they have great starting pitching, but the Rays are just a little bit better.
Secondly, Grant Balfour's not a fluke. I remember watching him a few years ago in Rochester as a Red Wing. I was incredibly impressed, thought he could be a big league closer right then (or at least Joe Nathan's setup man). It took a few more years than I thought, but he's made it. He's got a closer's mentality -- this guy not only wants to get you out, he wants to make you look silly doing it.
Thirdly, the Red Sox miss Manny Ramirez. Jason Bay's great. Solid defense, great bat with plus power, can steal a base or two. But he doesn't have swagger. This Red Sox team may be more talented than the last two which have won titles, but they don't have that swagger. Papelbon has some swagger, but a team can't feed off a closers' swagger until the 9th, which won't matter if they've already lost. Manny had swagger, Manny had class (don't laugh, I'm serious), Manny had talent. Manny wanted to hit the ball over the fence, punch you in the mouth, and then laugh in your face afterwards. The Red Sox don't have guys with swagger anymore. They miss Manny, they miss Kevin Millar, they miss Orlando Cabrera, they miss Johnny Damon. With the skills of the Rays, they won't be able to win the division on sheer talent alone. Epstein doesn't make many mistakes, but he sure screwed up with the Manny debacle.
Next, Saito looked flat. It was a good idea to invest in him, because he was just one year removed from an amazing season, but I think age is catching up with him.
The Rays aren't perfect either though. With Fernando Perez and BJ Upton both out, they look real weak in the outfield, offensively and defensively. Luckily they get BJ back next week, but they aren't looking smart for letting Rocco Baldelli go to, ironically, the Red Sox. Also, can Joe Maddon needs to make Balfour his closer. I know the committee thing is working, but I think if he can boost that guy's ego a little more Balfour can take his competetive edge to the next level.
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