MLBTR Chat Transcript

Wow, that was horrible.

Just another chat with Tim ignoring all of my questions LOL

Your joke about the Mets salivating over King Felix reminded me of something I'd been thinking about a while ago--why are the M's hanging on to King Felix? By the time they are anywhere near contending, he's going to be a FA due for a pretty huge payday... so what's the point? At his current salary, factoring in his age and upside... he'd be worth so very much in the trade market... Other than keeping a slight air of respectability within the team's pitching staff I see no reason for him to be there.

Tim

Are you serious that you would trade Yunel Escobar, Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez for Roy Halladay? That would hurt the Braves more than anything, they'd be trading their best pitcher from last season and their starting SS(with no backup)for a damn good pitcher but won't be around long enough for the Braves to really make a run with him. After his two years he'd be gone and the Braves would be left worse than before. At least Peavy would be around for 4/5 years not just 2, even if Peavy has to have TJ(and I'm not wishing injury on an person) they'd still have him longer than Halladay.

Svengoolie-

Absolute steal for the Angels, fair for the Sox, really bad for the Orioles.

Bad for the Orioles because they are now paying a replacement level outfielder (GMJ) 17.5MM over 3 years (half the money owed). GMJ has zero/negative trade value even if half his contract is eaten. If they're getting extra talent in return, that's fine, but they're not. Poreda/Getz/Fields is a very fair package for Roberts; asking the O's to assume even part of a bad contract means that the Angels would have to give up a prospect to make it worth the money for the O's.

If I'm Kenny Williams, I don't even go this route because trading your only prospect arm with frontline upside is all sorts of stupid. However, if questions remain about whether he will be able to start, trading him might be the best idea. This package is fair for the White Sox. Giving up Konerko, Poreda, Getz, and Fields to get Figgins and Roberts is perfectly fair.

Steal for the Angels. Konerko's contract isn't nearly as bad as GMJ's.

Well, scratch that. Figgins for Konerko is not a fair trade numerically for the Angels. Maybe Konerko + lower level prospect for Figgins?

I agree with Jay212033 this trade would make no sense what so ever for the Braves.

Also and I don't mean any disrespect but as Braves GM I wouldn't even consider that deal.

IMO the Braves need an ace but should not trade alot of there future pieces for any starting pitcher that's only going to be there for 1-2 years.

Like Jay said, atleast Peavy would have been there for 4-5 years.

Gotta say, I generally think Tim knows his stuff and respect his informed opinions, but his feelings regarding a salary cap smack of 'homer-ism' and apathy. There is some truth to the notion that all of this salary cap talk is the product of backlash stemming from the Teixeira deal- although, I think you have to include CC and AJ in the conversation as no ONE contract brought on the backlash- however, there's a whole lot more to it. Yes, Tex's contract, on top of the others, was the impetus behind the uproar, but the actual matter in question- a salary cap- is neither new nor 'simple.'

Tim rhetorically asks, 'what is wrong with baseball,' without even a hint of irony. Um, Timmy my boy, there's plenty wrong with the game, in its present state. That's part of the reason that football- college and pro- and, to a lesser extent, basketball, have overtaken 'America's game' in the eyes of so many fans. Look at the numbers!

Perhaps it's easier to ignore the issue, when your team- and Tim is a noted Cubs fanatic- has had as much success as has his and while they play in another division; hell, another league.

People talk about the current 'free market' system, but seem unwilling to accept the paradoxical nature of that term in reference to a sport that lacks any real regulation when it comes to said market. Like antitrust laws and the like, a salary cap would actually free the so-called free market; giving teams a legitimate chance at competing and rewarding those clubs that make good decisions and smart moves instead of those with the deepest pockets. A team like the Yankees- at present- lacks a certain measure of accountability. Sure, I suppose the Steinbrenners and Cashman COULD run the franchise into the ground, but it would be exceedingly difficult. Conversely, a team like, say, the Pirates, have to do EVERYTHING right and even then, nothing is assured, since the Cubs (or someone else) could, conceivably, come along and buy up all of the talent available in free agency.

Sport- at its most essential level- is based upon competition and rules of 'fairness'. This is why there are rules in every game. It is so that one team cannot skirt what is fair in order to win. While the Yankees, in this case, have broken no rules, there IS a question of fairness. How can the Orioles, for instance, expect to realistically compete, when they play in a division with not one, but two economic behemoths? How can they be expected to feasibly field a playoff contender when their 'rivals' need only write a check to turn the divisional balance back in their favor? Right now, the Rays face just such a situation; having built a winner from within only to watch a club they bypassed, toss over $400 million at three players to shift the label of favorites back to them. Certainly, they could go out and win the division again next year, but why should it be a task of such Herculean measures when the other guy need only break out his checkbook? That is hardly in the spirit of competitive fairness and, as such, demands some response. The Yankees will still be richly rewarded...in revenue. THAT- not World Series rings- is their geographic entitlement. A salary cap, after all, does not preclude a team from competing; it assures the opposite. How can that be seen as a bad thing?

As it stands...well...as Tim would say, it's total 'bullsh*t'!!! And it's what's wrong with baseball, Mr. Dierkes.