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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira

By Cork Gaines [November 28, 2008 at 12:05pm CST]

Let's take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere...

River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates' signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
The 'Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
Amazin' Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
Batter's Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

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Comments

Disagree with the Firebrand article.

Kind of tired of people penciling in prospects, particularly Lars Anderson, as replacements for Big Papi/Lowell/Youk.

Anderson is probably the best 1b prospect in the minors, but that guarantees absolutely nothing.

Posted by: Kenan and Kel | November 28, 2008 at 12:23 PM

I like the Lumsden acquisition by the Stros. Lot of upside, lefty and basically has nothing but potential

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 12:25 PM

Teixeira=Yankee uniform or angels, he dont want to go to Boston.

Posted by: yanks12025 | November 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM

The Red Sox aren't going to sign Texiera. They're just screwing with Prince Hal and Mr. Hankey and hoping that the Angels somehow keep Tex.

When Lowell's contract is up, Lars Anderson will be ready to move from first baseman of the future to first baseman of the present and Youk moves back to third.

Posted by: Little Bear | November 28, 2008 at 12:39 PM

I've seen it mentioned that the Astros are looking for a catcher. Doesn't Varitek make sense for them?

Of course with the asking price from Boras, maybe not. But that aside, he would seem like a great addition for that team.

If they could get Varitek and Sheets, adding to Oswalt (not to mention trying to patch things up with the ever sensitive Pettitte), they could be a real surprise contender.

Thoughts?

Posted by: Mr. Exceptional | November 28, 2008 at 12:39 PM

"Teixeira=Yankee uniform or angels, he dont want to go to Boston."

Because...

And don't bring up that draft nonsense from years ago.

"When Lowell's contract is up, Lars Anderson will be ready to move from first baseman of the future to first baseman of the present and Youk moves back to third."

See this is what I mean. You're not only counting on Lars to start but assuming Youk can simply shift to 3b two years from now and and still be a viable starter.

Posted by: Kenan and Kel | November 28, 2008 at 12:45 PM

RBI Magazine also has a story weighing in on the Varitek situation. http://www.rbimagazine.com/2008/11/the-red-sox-may-offer-varitek-arbitration/

Posted by: RBI Magazine | November 28, 2008 at 12:52 PM

Re: the Royals FA comment. I only count three. Grudz, Stairs, and Riske.

Posted by: PJH | November 28, 2008 at 12:52 PM

I don't think Boras and Drayton have a very good relationship and we have towles and Q in the system so one of them is the catcher of the future just depends on who shows well this year in between RR and the MLB. Plus Varitek has to go to Boston cause Boras will not allow Boston to sign any of his players unless they take Boras back.

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 12:54 PM

Varitek doesn't make sense for any team practically, and certainly not the Astros, who are already loaded with old players.

The Astros need to get younger and cut their payroll down a bit. Varitek certainly doesn't allow for that to happen.

And yeah, it's only 3 of the Royals' contracts. Not a big deal, but worth noting I suppose.

Posted by: MorneauVP | November 28, 2008 at 12:54 PM

well kenan, what do you think WILL Youk be a viable starter in 2 years? its not fair to chop someones comments but not explain things

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 12:55 PM

I just read the firebrand article abour the red sox and i couldn't disagree more. The suggestion to sign injury-prone furcal to solve problems is insane and would just add another questionmark (ans bad SS contract). Signing Tex and moving Lowell would be removing one.

Posted by: Mowses | November 28, 2008 at 01:00 PM

We can bring up the draft thing if we want. Yous guys talk about CC not wanting to come to the east coast but i have not seen it written or talked anywhere(i mean it coming from his mouth).

Posted by: yanks12025 | November 28, 2008 at 01:01 PM

Okay, I can accept all that.

Just thought Varitek might work for them.

What's the outlook for the Astros?

Posted by: Mr. Exceptional | November 28, 2008 at 01:23 PM

who is "you guys"? I never said he is def not going to the Yankee's. I dont THINK he is but it all makes for good conversation with smart individuals. The thing you have to seperate is the people who dont know a thing and disregard there comments

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 01:26 PM

*their

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 01:35 PM

Ibanez not an improvement over Tatis, the guy avg's 100 rbi's 25 homers & hit 270 to 290 every year Amazin Ave. has lost any & all credibility as far as i am concerned Tatis was not doing that 10 yers ago when he was in Mtl. Ibanez is among the top 5 left fielders in the game!!!! the only guys hes not an improvement over is manny basically!!! AMAZIN MUST BE A YANKEE FAN

Posted by: liltedspop | November 28, 2008 at 02:16 PM

TheTEEJ,
"You Guys" mean anyone who has brought it up about CC. Has he said it at all, i have only seen third parties report's saying he dont want to play for an east coast team never him on video saying it.

Posted by: yanks12025 | November 28, 2008 at 02:45 PM

just saw a report from chronicle stating the astros are not or are "slowing down" negotiations with Wolf..this is a big no-no unless Wade pulls something out of his hat....

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 03:08 PM

well Yanks, I think (my opinion) that his delay is he is waiting on the Angels offer to see if it is close and will probably accept that. That is just my opinion.

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 03:09 PM

sorry, meant he is delaying the yanks offer to see what the Angels do......

Posted by: AstrosCoverage.blogspot.com | November 28, 2008 at 03:17 PM

Rather have Burnett than Sheets becuase Burnett proved he can pitch in the AL.
I think Varitek would be a great fit in Detroit he might be able to fix that rotation.
I dont think the Red Sox will sign Teixeira either bc they have Lars Anderson waiting in the wings.
Ibanez is for sure an upgrade over Tatis but if its being compared to a Tatis/Murphy platoon then its a reasonable accusation.
Eric Hinske would be a great fit for the Bucs he can mentor the youngsters and he also would make Moss and Hansen feel more comfortable bc they played in Boston together.

Posted by: Rolling{Night}Hawk{09} | November 28, 2008 at 06:49 PM

I don't know who wrote that article for firebrand but he should be fired. What a moron. The sox shouldn't get a guy that can hit Manny like numbers because they already have a third baseman who will start the season at 35 and has been having injury problems. The sox should address more important issues? What exactly is more important then replacing Manny's bat. What is more important then adding incredible versatility and flexibility to the sox lineup, makes everyone better, and adds protection for the current best hitter on the team, Ortiz. Oh and as a professional sports writer you should probably know that Youkilis is a third baseman that converted to first to make room for Lowell and his numbers at 3b defense are just as impressive as 1b. And Tex won two gold gloves at 1st. So we would lose defense by signing Tex because we would hypothetically be replacing a 35 year old third baseman who has one gold glove with a 28 year old first baseman who has two? This guy is a moron. Period. And what exactly do they think Anderson could develop into? Someone better then Tex? haha. Wow I can't believe this article was actually written.

Posted by: evilsauron2 | November 28, 2008 at 10:51 PM

As far as the Sheets vs. Burnett argument, I've been saying the same thing for a couple of weeks now. If the Sox are serious about adding another pitcher I'm sure they have already taken a serious look at Sheets. His name has come up in trade talks many times over the years and they apparently really like him. His stuff is filthy and he would be able to make the transition to the AL flawlessly since he would be the number four guy and would be under very little pressure. The Sox also like to take the lower risk high payout pitchers. (Wade Miller, Bartolo Colon, rumors of Dontrelle Willis.) Plus with the addition of the two relievers they've picked up so far they have the flexibility to move Masterson back to the rotation to start the season if Sheets doesn't recover by the start of the season. All of these reasons and the fact that he would presumably come cheaper then C.C., Burnett, Lowe or any other trades they might be exploring, with the potential to be just as good if not better than these guys, says to me that it just makes sense. Tip of the cap to River Ave. Blues for making the point I've been trying to make by bombarding the readers with so many statistics. Numbers don't lye. Great article guys.

Posted by: evilsauron2 | November 29, 2008 at 04:13 AM

Ed Wade, the GM for the Astros is struggling to put his team together because Drayton McClane wants to lower the payroll, but Drayton McClane doesn't want to rebuild or else he'd obviously move Berkman, Lee, Tejada, Valverde, Wigginton, and Kaz Matsui somewhere else.

DRAYTON MCCLANE NEEDS TO MAKE UP HIS MIND OR SELL THE TEAM TO MARK CUBAN OR SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!! I'M SICK OF HIS $#1T!!!! ALL HE IS IS SOME IGNORANT, RICH COUNTRY GUY WHO JUST WANTED TO SAY HE OWNED A BASEBALL TEAM!!! THE GUY HARDLY KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL!!! I DON'T DISAGREE WITH REBUILDING AT ALL, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO REBUILD, THEN DRAYTON NEEDS TO SELL THE TEAM. THE REASON WHY HE WANTS TO LOWER THE PAYROLL IS BECAUSE HE'S HAVING MONEY PROBLEMS AND NEEDS TO GET IT LOWERED. HE'S ALWAYS SAYING THAT HE TRIES TO PUT A WORLD SERIES TEAM ON THE FIELD EVERY SEASON, BUT HE'S FULL OF $#1T!!!

Posted by: averybear11 | November 30, 2008 at 12:12 PM

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira

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