MLB Offseason 2013-2014

[R. Star]

It would be hard for him to pull that off. He couldn't even outvote Biggio last year. Not only is he on his second ballot, but you have Maddux and Glavine appearing for the first time. If at least one of them doesn't get the votes first time I'll be surprised. Plus a lot of other strong candidites. I think Mr Morris is done. He was a good pitcher who had a long career with a few great seasons, but that's the extent of it.

 

[Scout101]

tough one, a few strong new candidates, which is tough for the older candidates. BBWAA gets antsy when they let too many in, so a few of the newer guys may hurt the older guys' chances...

 

[Timby]

It would be hard for him to pull that off. He couldn't even outvote Biggio last year. Not only is he on his second ballot, but you have Maddux and Glavine appearing for the first time. If at least one of them doesn't get the votes first time I'll be surprised. Plus a lot of other strong candidites. I think Mr Morris is done. He was a good pitcher who had a long career with a few great seasons, but that's the extent of it.

Morris is on his fifteenth ballot.

 

[R. Star]

Poor use of pronouns. Biggio's on his second ballot is what I was saying. First Astro in the Hall of Fame probably. Though I'll be disappointed in the extreme if Maddux isn't a first ballot HoFer. Last year was really Morris' best shot, too many big names on this years ballot to justify electing him short of sympathy voters.

 

[Timby]

The ballot is so crowded this year, though, that I wouldn't put it past some knuckleheaded writers to leave Maddux off their ballot this time, knowing that he'll make it in at some later date, in order to vote for someone who's in danger of falling off.

 

[Danny99]

The ballot is so crowded this year, though, that I wouldn't put it past some knuckleheaded writers to leave Maddux off their ballot this time, knowing that he'll make it in at some later date, in order to vote for someone who's in danger of falling off.

Why does the HOF let people fall off? I know in the NHL, players can be voted in whenever, so if there is a particularly weak year, you can pick up a Jack Morris.

Speaking of Morris, he's the only reason I can stomach watching Blue Jays broadcasts.

 

[Timby]

The ballot is so crowded this year, though, that I wouldn't put it past some knuckleheaded writers to leave Maddux off their ballot this time, knowing that he'll make it in at some later date, in order to vote for someone who's in danger of falling off.

Why does the HOF let people fall off? I know in the NHL, players can be voted in whenever, so if there is a particularly weak year, you can pick up a Jack Morris.

Part of it is quality control. There really are years when it's such a shitty ballot that no one deserves to get in, which is in stark contrast to the NFL Hall of Fame, which mandates that at least four people are inducted every year.

As for flat-out dropping off ... well, if you 1) don't get 5 percent of the vote or 2) can't pick up 75 percent of the vote after fifteen years, there's probably a reason. That being said, there's still the Veterans Committee, which can vote people in after they've been dropped from the main ballot (which is how Ron Santo finally got in -- after he was dead -- and I fully expect Morris to be voted in by the VC next year, because they're a bunch of mouthbreathing hucksters like Joe Morgan).

Long story short, if Jack Morris makes the Hall of Fame from a BBWAA vote this year, and Ser Barrold of House Bonds continues to get a cold shoulder, then burn the entire fucking thing to the ground.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Story

No major league managing experience, but he does have some minor league experience as a manager.

Plus he's bi-lingual, so he can ream Starlin Castro out in two languages.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Looks like the Astrodome is finally due for demolition.

 

[R. Star]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Story

No major league managing experience, but he does have some minor league experience as a manager.
Plus he's bi-lingual, so he can ream Starlin Castro out in two languages.

Hmm, looks like they went out of their way to get a guy with experience developing players. I wonder how many years this deal's going to be.

Looks like the Astrodome is finally due for demolition.

That makes me sad. First Major League Park I had ever been in... and it was so much better than Minute Maid.

 

[Use of Time]

Looks like the Astrodome is finally due for demolition.

The place was pretty cool. I saw a game there in the mid 90's.

 

[Timby]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Story

No major league managing experience, but he does have some minor league experience as a manager.
Plus he's bi-lingual, so he can ream Starlin Castro out in two languages.

Hmm, looks like they went out of their way to get a guy with experience developing players. I wonder how many years this deal's going to be.

Three-year contract with team options for 2017 and '18. Fairly standard terms for a first-time manager. He's a solid choice, although I'm amused by the idea that the Cubs think that Renteria can magically teach Starlin Castro to play defense or Anthony Rizzo to hit lefties.

Speaking of Castro, there's a rumor the Cardinals are interested in trading for him. I swear to God, Hoyer, if they offer you a box of baseballs and Chris Carpenter's corpse, you take that deal and get that fucking terrible contract out of Chicago.

 

[R. Star]

Three-year contract with team options for 2017 and '18. Fairly standard terms for a first-time manager. He's a solid choice, although I'm amused by the idea that the Cubs think that Renteria can magically teach Starlin Castro to play defense or Anthony Rizzo to hit lefties.

Speaking of Castro, there's a rumor the Cardinals are interested in trading for him. I swear to God, Hoyer, if they offer you a box of baseballs and Chris Carpenter's corpse, you take that deal and get that fucking terrible contract out of Chicago.

I dunno. Both those contracts boggled me. You have team control over them for six years... why throw long term money at them until you have a pattern to see what they consistently do over that time? I'm hoping they know something we don't, but... I sure didn't see anything worth those contracts last season.

If the Cards are interested in Castro, I'd say go for it too. Aren't we supposed to have a hot shortstop that's close to being ready for the bigs anyways? Though our luck, he'd magically turn around and crush us everytime he plays us. Though Zombie Carpenter could be a great marketing ploy. Everyone loves zombies.

 

[Timby]

Three-year contract with team options for 2017 and '18. Fairly standard terms for a first-time manager. He's a solid choice, although I'm amused by the idea that the Cubs think that Renteria can magically teach Starlin Castro to play defense or Anthony Rizzo to hit lefties.

Speaking of Castro, there's a rumor the Cardinals are interested in trading for him. I swear to God, Hoyer, if they offer you a box of baseballs and Chris Carpenter's corpse, you take that deal and get that fucking terrible contract out of Chicago.

I dunno. Both those contracts boggled me. You have team control over them for six years... why throw long term money at them until you have a pattern to see what they consistently do over that time? I'm hoping they know something we don't, but... I sure didn't see anything worth those contracts last season.

Going back to what I said about those deals when they were signed...

Cubs are about to extend Castro for seven years, $60 million, with a team option for the eighth year.

What the fuck is wrong with you, Theo? Any time you can lock up a player for huge money who has no plate discipline and is contending for the Starlin Castro Triple Crown (outs made, times caught stealing, errors), that's really something you don't want to do.

...

It's not unheard-of for teams to buy out a player's arbitration years to get some guarantee of cost control.

It's just that they tend to do it with players who, you know, don't suck.

I mean, maybe the Cubs' endgame is that they think they can sucker some moron like Dan Duquette or Ben Cherington into trading for Castro because they'll think he's worth more because his arb years are bought out, but ... good Lord, this is a moronic contract extension if it goes through, because he's going to be untradeable junk during the last three years of the deal, after his exposure as a two-tool player is complete.

Cubs lock up Anthony Rizzo to a potentially nine-year contract, in a deal that makes no sense whatsoever for the team.

I will never understand those contracts, considering Castro had huge, glaring warning signs that he was going to regress horribly, and his best-case scenario provides little to no value outside of hitting for an empty average. Unless he learns how to run the bases, play defense, and consistently hit .310 in the offseason, that contract's just this side of a giant money sinkhole, especially considering that the Cubs aren't exactly hurting for middle infield prospects in their system.

If the Cards are interested in Castro, I'd say go for it too. Aren't we supposed to have a hot shortstop that's close to being ready for the bigs anyways? Though our luck, he'd magically turn around and crush us everytime he plays us. Though Zombie Carpenter could be a great marketing ploy. Everyone loves zombies.

Javier Baez is the hot prospect in AA right now, but he's 20 and needs more time to develop. Like Castro, he strikes out a ton, and while he's got decent pop, he's still allergic to walks.

 

[Aragorn]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Speaking of new manager, I feel bad for Lloyd McClendon, the new manager for the Mariners. They're an organization with every resource available to be successful, but they have incompetent upper management that's been running them into the ground and a GM who isn't as smart as he makes himself out to be in a lame duck season.

 

[Timby]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Speaking of new manager, I feel bad for Lloyd McClendon, the new manager for the Mariners. They're an organization with every resource available to be successful, but they have incompetent upper management that's been running them into the ground and a GM who isn't as smart as he makes himself out to be in a lame duck season.

McClendon is an utterly incompetent and terrible manager, too, so it's a perfect fit. (Also, Jack Z is apparently getting a three-year extension.)

 

[SmoothieX]

Hey now, if you want extreme incompetence, ask the resident Mets fan.

 

[Danny99]

The new Cubs manager is looking to be Rick Renteria.

Speaking of new manager, I feel bad for Lloyd McClendon, the new manager for the Mariners. They're an organization with every resource available to be successful, but they have incompetent upper management that's been running them into the ground and a GM who isn't as smart as he makes himself out to be in a lame duck season.

McClendon is an utterly incompetent and terrible manager, too, so it's a perfect fit. (Also, Jack Z is apparently getting a three-year extension.)

Has serving under Jim Leyland made him a better manager than his dreadful Pirates days?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Looks like the Braves are getting a new Stadium.

http://deadspin.com/reports-braves-leaving-atlanta-for-cobb-county-1462167449

The Atlanta Braves will announce their intention to leave the 16-year-old Turner Field for a new stadium in Cobb County, Georgia, when their stadium lease expires after the 2016 season.

Now MLB will have another stadium to visit soonish.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

DAFUQ?!?!?

What in the seven circles of hell is so wrong with Turner Field that they have to abandon it after only 16 fucking years?

Look, I love a new stadium as much as anyone, but this shit is a total waste. And I thought the Falcons were burning cash with replacing the Georgia Dome after only like 25 years?