Stark's Latest: Patterson, Lohse, Lofton, Clemens

Ok, the Clemens steroid saga I could care less about, he wants to grow his own breasts and have a bloody ass, that's fine with me. But, the Clemens yearly watch of "is he finally finished" is getting on my nerves.

Seems like MLB got fed up with Boras' constant high demands and over evaluations. He had a good run, but now when teams see a Boras client, it seems they usually mark that as something against the player.

Sure Loshe and Patterson might not have benefited.

A few scored big time though.

Gagne - 1/$10m - that's after imploding once arrive at the Red Sox

Jones - 2/$36m - that's after hitting .222 and posting a .724 OPS

And of course A-Rod. While there is some debate about how much Boras was involved I think what we saw was orchestrated perfectly. The Yanks feel like they are the winners after giving the guy a 7 year extension at $30m/season. That's the beauty of Boras.

jza1218,

I was just going to suggest the same thing. Sure, Lofton isn't the power hitter they are looking for. But he'd be a great platoon partner with Hairston and they wouldn't have to worry about rushing Headley. Plus, even though he's fallen off defensively, Lofton would give them another CF option for the inevitable Edmonds injury. And he'd look pretty good atop their lineup against righties.

How far has Lofton fallen defensively in CF? Is there any reason he couldn't go to Florida to play CF until Maybin is ready? The Fish aren't looking to contend anyway, and if they already stomach Uggla and Hanely up the middle, what's another below-average defender going to hurt (other than young pitchers' ERA)?

The Cubs seem like another option. If they aren't ready to go with Pie yet and want someone with good OBP for the top of their lineup, then Lofton fits the bill.

Dayton shot down the Sosa rumor. It's in the KC star.

"bisguess, I'd say the Rangers were more of the winners. They no longer have to pay a good chunk of Arod's salary. So instead of what was in essense a $16M player, they have a $30M player"

Which has zero relevance on anything that is being discussed. What you said is true, but doesnt factor in to Scott Boras and how he does his job and how he should be looked at.

I'm still shocked to hear people talk about how the Yankees stuck it to Boras. Absolutely funny stuff.

On a side-note, I know the Yanks are 6 deep if Joba stays in the rotation and if Mussina has anything left in the tank. However, I don't think it would be a bad move to try and sign Loshe to a one year deal.

If the youngsters perform at a high level and all stay healthy then you waste $8m (or whatever he would accept on a one year deal). If Mussina or one of the kids struggles/gets injured then Loshe is right there to provide some stability at the back of the rotation.

Loshe is by no means a great pitcher. But on a one year deal, when you have major question marks in the rotation, on a team that can afford an extra $8m, why not? Call me a skeptic but I could easily see one of the THREE kids having something go wrong this year.

Lohse to the Padres for a one year deal seems to make the most amount of sense to me. If he can pitch half-way decent for the Phillies and the Reds, imagine what he could do in Petco. Going into free agency with a 3.50 ERA seems like a better idea then with a 4.62.

yes lofton should get a major league deal. the cards would have serious interest but i dont think larussa likes him. honestly i dont think larussa likes black guys but maybe thats not true. i think lofton to san diego would make good sense. between hairston and edmonds they will need sometning more in their outfield. lohse is a bum. there is a reason no one has signed him. he sucks. how on earth does a guy with a career sub 500 record expect to get a big contract? he was barely good enough for the twins rotation last year and the twins rotation was barely good. i predict 4-5 million for one year. if hes cheap enough the cards would have to check it out. the cardinals have one of the worst rotations on paper, not to mention health concerns(mulder and clement) and ability concerns(everyone without the last name wainwright). they have lots of potential and could be good. but seriously between clement, mulder, piniero, and whoever else they could really be bad.