MLB Season Discussion - 2013
- Thread starter tomalak301
- Start date
- Status
NFL officials actually do a decent job (not great, though). MLB umpires are the absolute worst officials of any major sport. I don't anticipate much of a drop-off if those fat motherfuckers are mired in labor negotiations for any length of time.
--Sran
Again, what the hell should Fairchild have done differently? Remember, as I said earlier, an umpire is not obligated to discuss balls and strikes with a player. Those were pretty solid pitches that were called strikes, and Cabrera has been in the majors for a decade -- by now, he knows what will and will not provoke an umpire into running him. "Fucking horrible, boss" is flat-out disrespectful to the official, and there's no reason an umpire should tolerate a player jawing off like that.
And, really, outside of Fairchild (who's more temperamental than anything else), C.B. Bucknor and Joe West, MLB's officials are really pretty consistently solid.
Are you kidding? Those pitches were awful. The first wasn't a strike. The second was borderline at best. I may not have minded the ejection had Fairchild allowed Cabrera to finish the at-bat. There was no reason to do it while the at-bat was still in progress. And honestly, is "fucking horrible, boss" really that bad? Fairchild- as you pointed out- has a temper and I'm sure has said worse. Why does he suddenly have a problem with a player using a single "F-bomb?"
Timby said:
You're forgetting about Dan Iasogna, Mark Wegner, Eric Cooper, and Hunter Wendelstedt, all of whom have distinguished themselves for the wrong reasons in recent years. I'm sure there are others I'm not remembering at the moment.
--Sran
Angel Hernandez.
Thanks! I knew I forgot someone. Hernandez is arguably worse than Joe West, if that's even possible.
I'm not Mr. Laser Beam, but Rodriguez deserves to become as irrelevant as John Rocker is. I don't want him to get suspended for life like Rose did- I think what Pete Rose did is much worse- because I actually think it's funny watching his skills erode as his aging body betrays him. I hope the Yankees- who should never have signed him to that contract extension- have to pay him every last cent until the contract expires. Maybe that will teach some of these teams who insist on giving mega-deals to star players (SEE: Ryan Howard*, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, etc.).
*For the record, I'm a big Ryan Howard fan and would love to see him healthy again. I just don't think it's going to happen. He belongs in the American League where he can DH, but no AL team should bother with him because of his bloated contract. But I digress...
A-Rod is an idiot, and he deserves to wither away as America watches. I don't condone cheating, but I understand why fringe players who were fighting for their jobs decided to try PEDs. What I will never figure out is why established stars (Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, Braun) thought they needed an edge. Bonds and Clemens were already HOF-bound, and Rodriguez wasn't far behind. Braun isn't a HOF'er, but he was an up-and-coming star. None of these guys needed to cheat to stick in baseball.
--Sran
A-Rod is not even on my radar right now. 
There was a poll recently about which players Phillies fans want traded. The list was fairly predictable (they want the bad players traded and the good players kept
), but it was interesting that 95% said "trade Papelbon."I haven't seen his comments. But anything he's complaining about he's brought on himself. Maybe if he were actually playing quality baseball he would have room to complain (or at least the ability to attract a trade offer to a good team), but he isn't so he doesn't.
There was a poll recently about which players Phillies fans want traded. The list was fairly predictable (they want the bad players traded and the good players kept
I haven't seen his comments. But anything he's complaining about he's brought on himself. Maybe if he were actually playing quality baseball he would have room to complain (or at least the ability to attract a trade offer to a good team), but he isn't so he doesn't.
Basically, he said that he doesn't want to be stuck on a losing team year after year. Sounds to me like he's having a bit of buyer's remorse after two mediocre seasons in Philadelphia. What's funny is that he actually cited the Red Sox as the example the Phillies should try emulate as they rebuild. Didn't he say the exact opposite when he joined the Phillies? I seem to remember him saying that it would be nice to play for an organization that understood winning after he left Boston before the 2012 season.
In any case, I don't have much sympathy for him given that he complained his way out of Boston. I can empathize with the players who helped make the Phillies a contending team (Howard, Utley, Hamels, etc.) who now have to watch what they built fall apart (as their bodies fall apart). I can also root for someone like Lee, who's never done anything but give his effort on the mound in every one of his starts. But Papelbon should just STFU. He's a tool who doesn't seem to realize that he's no longer good enough to be sounding off through the media, or that it's not smart to throw his teammates under the bus (again).
--Sran
So you Phillies fans, is Darin Ruf going to amount to anything? I'm in a fantasy baseball league with more teams than normal, so finding good players is tough, especially when you have to replace big bats that go down in your lineup.
On a side note, the Phillies GM is rumored to be asking for three or four top prospects for Lee... in addition to the team trading for him picking up all the money left on his contract. Not sure who would go for that.
On a side note, the Phillies GM is rumored to be asking for three or four top prospects for Lee... in addition to the team trading for him picking up all the money left on his contract. Not sure who would go for that.
Someone who is a contender would. But they would have to be willing to barter away some of their future and eat a lot of the remaining contract. It's not very attractive but there are teams that would consider it.
The thing about Ruf is that he has offensive upside but doesn't really have a position (at least on the Phillies). He is atrocious defensively and the Phillies have been shoehorning him into the lineup any way they can. If he realizes his potential at the plate he could be comparable to a Matt Adams type player on the Cardinals.
Last edited:
ARod should only receive a second offense suspension. Brauns contract wasn't voided, so either should ARods.
^ Braun reached a special deal in exchange for not fighting it. In fact, not only did he not contest the charges, he affirmatively reached out to MLB. That would only apply to Rodriguez if he does the same.
Yeah, I pretty much agree with this. Although, once again, if he were the only good player on the team (as opposed to one of many underperforming players), he'd have more of a right to complain.
He hasn't done much so far. He theoretically should get some playing time, but I probably wouldn't put much faith in him.
Yeah, I pretty much agree with this. Although, once again, if he were the only good player on the team (as opposed to one of many underperforming players), he'd have more of a right to complain.
He hasn't done much so far. He theoretically should get some playing time, but I probably wouldn't put much faith in him.
He hasn't done that much so far. He has power, but he's never had an opportunity to play everyday at the big league level. I'm hoping that the Phillies find a way to buy out Howard's contract so that Ruff can move to 1B next season and Howard has the option of becoming a DH in the American League. It's the best option for all concerned.
As is the case with most Phillies fans, I believe that Ryan Howard can still be a productive player if he can stay healthy. If one looks at the last two half-seasons he's played, he's hit twenty five home runs and driven in close to one hundred runs despite playing hurt for much of that time. He's not baseball's premier power hitter or run-producer anymore, but he's still a dangerous hitter and could help a team under the right circumstances. I think he could probably hit between 30-35 home runs in the AL while spending most of his time at DH. But if he remains in the NL and plays 1B, he'll end up out of baseball by 2015 at the rate his health has declined. His body has gone the way of Mo Vaughn and can't take the pounding of playing the field each day.
I like Howard and think he's one of baseball's genuinely nice guys. I'll never forget chatting with him while he was still in the minor leagues and coming away impressed with how he carried himself. Be that as it may, he should never have been signed to that ridiculous contract. Ruben Amaro should have been fired for that blunder alone (much less every other stupid thing he's done recently). And Ruf needs to play. He's the player who's going to help the Phillies done the road, not Howard.
Charlie Manuel refused to move Howard out of the clean-up spot because he doesn't believe anyone can provider Howard's level of production. Dominic Brown has shown he can hit for power, and Ruf's production would likely increase were he allowed to stay in the lineup more frequently. The Phillies should do everything they can to get rid of Howard, even if it means eating a chunk of his salary to make things work. Utley should be allowed to walk, as his deal is up at season's end.
--Sran
Ruf is kind of odd in that he's 27 and only has 29 games of major league service time under his belt. I like his ability to draw walks, but that strikeout rate is toxic (and has been for his entire career), and his power stats have been ridiculously erratic for the past few years. His BABIP is also hilariously unsustainable.
That being said, he's cost-controlled (isn't even up for arbitration for another two years) and it's not like he's embarrassing himself at the plate or in the field, so there's no reason for the Phillies not to ride him for a while and see what they've got -- it's not like they're making the playoffs this year.
In other Phillies news, they've apparently gone to Michael Young about waiving his no-trade clause, and he has said he'll only accept a trade back to the Rangers. If Jon Daniels gives Ron Washington his favorite toy back after going through all the trouble of getting rid of him in the first place, I will laugh my ass off. (Bonus Ruben Amaro, Jr., hilarity: Young had a partial no-trade clause in Texas before his 10 / 5 rights kicked in, but would have been uncovered had the 10 / 5 been broken; Rube agreed to add a contractual full no-trade clause in as one of the concessions to get Young to waive 10 / 5. And now he's trying to dump that contract.
)
That being said, he's cost-controlled (isn't even up for arbitration for another two years) and it's not like he's embarrassing himself at the plate or in the field, so there's no reason for the Phillies not to ride him for a while and see what they've got -- it's not like they're making the playoffs this year.
In other Phillies news, they've apparently gone to Michael Young about waiving his no-trade clause, and he has said he'll only accept a trade back to the Rangers. If Jon Daniels gives Ron Washington his favorite toy back after going through all the trouble of getting rid of him in the first place, I will laugh my ass off. (Bonus Ruben Amaro, Jr., hilarity: Young had a partial no-trade clause in Texas before his 10 / 5 rights kicked in, but would have been uncovered had the 10 / 5 been broken; Rube agreed to add a contractual full no-trade clause in as one of the concessions to get Young to waive 10 / 5. And now he's trying to dump that contract.
)
Which is why I'm in favor of him getting a shot. He can't be any worse than Howard has been, and it's not as though there are any other options available.
Timby said:
Amaro has been nothing less than a disaster as GM. If the Phillies don't do anything else this off-season, they need to fire him and bring in someone else. Manuel should go, too. I don't blame him for the mess the organization is in (that's Ruben's fault), but he is at fault for being too loyal to his guys (Howard, Utley, Rollins) when it was obvious they weren't getting the job done. I suppose Howard and Utley deserve something of a pass because they were battling injuries, but Rollins hasn't been right since his MVP season of 2007, yet Manuel hasn't had the stomach to bump him from the lead-off spot.
I hope Young is moved. He should never have been acquired in the first place, but that's Amaro overestimating his team's ability to contend. Yes, Young should go, as should Lee as soon as Ruben finds a deal he likes (who knows when that could be?). I'd also be in favor of moving Utley were it not for the fact that his contract comes off the books this winter.
--Sran
Well, Howard is now an obscenely expensive platoon player who is utterly incapable of hitting left-handers, so it'd be hard to find an option worse than him.
They might still get a decent piece or two for Lee, but there's no way they'll get anything even remotely respectable for Young -- he's a utility "infielder" who really needs to be a full-time DH, and guys like him are a dime a dozen. Basically, Rube does a salary dump or he doesn't.
Just because I can't resist jabbing Alidar Jarok, I'm going to refer back to what I originally said about the Young deal:
As expected, but holy shit, what a terrible deal for Philadelphia. The Rangers got rid of Young, only had to pay half his salary, and got a prospect and a decent reliever in return. Just as a reality check, Young's 2011 performance that people are citing as his possible ceiling was his third-best offensive season in his career, and he's 36. He's going to hit like Polanco and field like ... well, Michael Young.
Rube gonna Rube.
- Status
