MLB Discussion - 2012 Season

[Starbreaker]

WTF is wrong with the Rockies? Their GM must be a complete moron. Their pitchers all suck balls so they trade for an even worse pitcher???

[Alidar Jarok]

A little while ago, the Phillies's Cole Hamels publicly told management that no matter who he was playing for at the end of the season, he would still give the Phillies the first option to re-sign him at the end of the season. The message was unmistakable - trade me for some talent and I'll come back in the off season. However, other teams got the message too, so he didn't have much trade value. Then the story shifted to how they could not reach a deal and how he likely would be a free agent. Now the report appears to be that Cole Hamels and the Phillies appear to be close to a deal. There's still the issue of the luxury tax, which could hit them in the next season or two.

On the other hand, the team has the big dilemma of sell or buy after going 4-2 on the last road trip. Basically, they did well enough to show promise but not enough to realistically make the playoffs:

That's why a 4-2 road trip added more thorns to Amaro's already tough situation. Had the Phillies gone 2-4 or 1-5 and fallen further back in the wild-card race, it would have been easy for the general manager to field and accept the best offer for Victorino right now.

And if the Phillies had gone 5-1 or 6-0, the best-case scenario of gaining ground would have Amaro and the front office enthusiastic about keeping the core together and adding immediate bullpen help.

Instead, things remained status quo.

"I think [Amaro] knows how a lot of guys feel," Halladay said. "He knows we want to keep Cole and Victorino. As a player, there are certain lines that you don't cross. He understands you want to win and you want to have the guys here to do that, but by the same token he is the GM and I'm a player and I respect his position."

Nobody, however, envies the spot Ruben Amaro Jr. is in right now.

[Starbreaker]

Braves had their biggest comeback in 25 years, overcoming a 9 run deficit to beat the gNats 11-10.

[Timby]

Starbreaker wrote:

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WTF is wrong with the Rockies? Their GM must be a complete moron. Their pitchers all suck balls so they trade for an even worse pitcher???

I believe it's generally accepted that Dan O'Dowd has photos of the Monfort brothers engaging in lewd acts with farm animals, as there's no other explanation for him having had his job since the end of the 1999 season.

[Tom Servo]

Starbreaker wrote:

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WTF is wrong with the Rockies? Their GM must be a complete moron. Their pitchers all suck balls so they trade for an even worse pitcher???

Hell Sanchez walks everyone, so it'd be hard for someone to hit a homer off him in Coors if the ball is never in the same zip code as the plate.

[Danny99]

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/20...houston-astros

Not a huge trade by any means, but the fact that we could trade Cordero for anything besides a bag of baseballs is amazing. He might have the second highest save total with active pitchers (read it somewhere, but can't find the site) but he was just brutal in his time in Toronto.

[Starbreaker]

Ben Sheets through another 6 scoreless innings today. I'm convinced he was equipped with a bionic arm after his surgery.

[Timby]

Alidar Jarok wrote:

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A little while ago, the Phillies's Cole Hamels publicly told management that no matter who he was playing for at the end of the season, he would still give the Phillies the first option to re-sign him at the end of the season. The message was unmistakable - trade me for some talent and I'll come back in the off season. However, other teams got the message too, so he didn't have much trade value. Then the story shifted to how they could not reach a deal and how he likely would be a free agent. Now the report appears to be that Cole Hamels and the Phillies appear to be close to a deal. There's still the issue of the luxury tax, which could hit them in the next season or two.

Signing Hamels to a mega deal would be a complete disaster for a team that's at the dead-ass end of its contention cycle. It would severely hamper their ability to reload, and they wouldn't be able to move it.

[Alidar Jarok]

Then again, other big teams manage to stay competitive without having to go through years of mediocrity to do so. Hamels is still relatively young and healthy and pitching better than he's pitched before. Yes, their salary is tied up in a couple big pitchers, but I do think Hamels is important to keep. When they retool, it still helps to have veteran players who are talented and can contribute.

[Timby]

Alidar Jarok wrote:

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Then again, other big teams manage to stay competitive without having to go through years of mediocrity to do so. Hamels is still relatively young and healthy and pitching better than he's pitched before. Yes, their salary is tied up in a couple big pitchers, but I do think Hamels is important to keep. When they retool, it still helps to have veteran players who are talented and can contribute.

Yeah, but the teams that enjoy long-term, sustained success, like the Yankees, are still primarily doing it through in-house development, while Rube is trying to bring everything in from the outside, Dallas Cowboys-style. Meanwhile, the farm has been completely and utterly decimated through trades.

The Phillies are already at $172 million this year, so I have no doubt that they're willing to do a high payroll, but if you're bringing Hamels and Pence back, you're already looking at $150 million worth of commitments for 2013, and that's before they replace Victorino or Blanton, and with an aging non-playoff core a year older. Even if ownership approves Rube going to ~$220 million like the Yankees (and with the expanded luxury tax, that's not really long-term sustainable), it's hard to see how they improve enough to contend again -- and then the year after, they have to deal with Halladay and Pence hitting free agency ... it just doesn't get better from here on out.

If Rube had half a brain, he'd be having some severe buyer's remorse on Pence; it was a horrible trade the day it was made and it's gotten substantially worse since then. The real franchise-crippling deal is the Howard extension, but the Pence trade isn't far behind, if for no other reason than the guys used to go get him could have formed the basis of a move for an elite controlled player, instead of a good / not great, expensive dude.

[SmoothieX]

I'm have a 'look at the flaming train wreck' sort of interest in watching how the Johan Santana injury goes.

The no hitter was fun, but also a big PR move by the team since they famously never had one before. You don't let a guy who missed last year after major shoulder surgery throw 478 pitches in one game.

You notice how he started to fall apart after that. He stunk it up in the meantime. His pitching has led to more runs than a batch of ex-lax brownies. I don't buy the ankle thing. And if it is the ankle, why not put him on the DL right after that?

This team mismanages injuries like no other. A guy is supposed to miss 2-3 with an itchy nose, then goes on the 15 day DL a week later. Then during a minor league rehab stint, suffers 'setbacks.' And by August, he needs open heart surgery and is doubtful untiil 2053.

[Timby]

It's honestly a toss-up as to whether the Mets' or Cardinals' medical staff is more grossly incompetent. The Cardinals could see a guy with an ax in his skull and tell him to put a Band-Aid on it.

In other news, just as the market was beginning to heat up on him, Matt Garza left his start in the third inning last night with triceps cramps, and the Cubs aren't ruling out putting him on the DL.

[Starbreaker]

Braves have acquired Ryan Dempster. The other half of the deal isn't finalized yet, but looks like pitcher Randall Delgado is the centerpiece.

[Timby]

Starbreaker wrote:

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Braves have acquired Ryan Dempster. The other half of the deal isn't finalized yet, but looks like pitcher Randall Delgado is the centerpiece.

Not the best pitcher the Cubs could have gotten (Frank Wren is a fucking moron, so I was hoping Theo and Hoyer could spring Teheran), but not a bad return for a 35-year-old rental. I'm also hearing that the holdup is that the Braves need to make some moves to balance money, so there may be some more pieces changing hands (or cash).

[Starbreaker]

It's probably cash. There's already talk on the Braves end about signing an extension due to Dempster's familiarity with Frediot. Like that's ever going to happen.

Dodgers are closing in on Matt Garza. They need to save some good trades for the deadline!