Odds & Ends: Griffey, Tigers, Torrealba

Spot DH duty, definite pinch hit option, minimal outfield work is what I expect from Griffey. In this role Griffey should do just fine. The PR aspect of this is also a factor in resigning the Marniners most beloved players.

Matt Holliday compared to Mark Teixeira?? Wow then Matt Holliday is one of the most OVERRATED players EVER! He's not even a SHADOW of Big Tex.

Griffey has the sweetest swing in baseball

It's amazing there are rumors about the Tigers trading Granderson and Edwin Jackson (two worthwhile pieces to retain at reasonable salaries) to cut payroll while they are stuck with some of the worst contracts in baseball. If this isn't an indictment of Dombrowski's failures, I don't know what is.

WEZ

"He'd have the HR record for sure an baseball wouldn't have to worry bout cheaters takin the crown"

I wouldn't be so sure. Griffey was anything but a workout monster, yet he always looked pretty ripped. Lots of soft tissue injuries, too.

How soon before adrain gonzalez is traded? thats if he does get traded.

Holliday most overrated ever???? wow.. although boras should compare the two as big tex was over paid last year.. and he'll be looking for the same w holliday.. in holliday's defense.. TEX PLAYS fist.. where an argument could be made he isn't even a top 5 first basemen.. Holliday's production in left is second 2 none over the last few years

teixeira, the gold glove first baseman, is not in the top 5.

you obviously dont watch yankee baseball- he made coutless game saving defensive plays and played just outstanding defense this year

Texiera is a top 5 first baseman behind Pujols (of course. He's on the same level, if not better then the Prince, A-Gon, and Joe Mauer.

Holliday is the best Left Fielder in the majors.

I'd love to build a team around either one, but give me Tex any day of the week.

And here is how other firstbasemen fared defensively, according to the UZR rankings:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=0&season=2009&month=0

UZR is a horrible rating for 1B and C. Just ask any expert

Teixiera's glove is good when he is on, but he has a history of off years. Check PM over UZR to confirm.

Texiera isn't on the same level as Prince or Adrian Gonzalez. Defensively there's no one better, but offensively the other two could both end their careers with hall of fame numbers.

if the padres trade adrian gonzalez they might as well just pack it in. I wouldn't support a team that did that.

IMO the yanks need Lackey. I don't think Burnett is a reliable enough number 2 in the AL East moving forward. Pettite's done. Sabbathia, Lackey, Burnett, Joba, Hughes...

Yanks should sign Lackey and trade for Fransisco Cordero to set up for Rivera. They do that, they should be like 2-1 to repeat.

The Jays would be really stupid to trade Halladay within the division. There's very little I'd trade him for if we're talking about the Yanks or Red Sox.

You also forgot to mention that Fielder and Gonzalez play in the much weaker NL when other than that brief stint in Atlanta Tex has played his entire career in the AL. It's not a big stretch to compare them as you are making it out to be. Teixeira is certainly in the same company as them.

I agree that the market will be substantially weaker this year than ever before.

Not because of the economy, but because of the Yankees.

Even if Holliday was as talented as Tex (which he is not), there would not be 1 team on which he would be the difference maker.

I say this because, as good as Tex is, he is not the reason the Yanks won the W.S this year.

Without A-Rod, Sabathia, Jeter, Damon, Rivera, Burnett etc. (all $15M+/year players), the Yanks wouldn't have won.

If you are the owner or GM of another team, I'd think you would be more likely to look at teams that have suffered under the weight of mega contracts given to 1 player while the rest of the team had to be sold off to pay for the player then you would be to look at the Tex deal and say; one player can win you a world series.

Bottom line: You can't outspend the Yankees so you have to outbuild them. The only way to do that is to not get involved with mega contracts which limit your ability to sign your top young players to reasonable long term contracts.

The Rockies would be in far better shape if they could have signed Holliday/Fuentes long term instead of footing the bill for Helton. The Blue Jays will probably have to deal Halladay because they are stuck with Vernon Wells. The Giants have been handcuffed for the last few years with Zito. The Mariners got lucky with Johjima this year, especially because they had been limited for years due to Sexson's bad deal.

The amount of decently bank-rolled mid-size market teams that haven't been able to compete in years will just grow if one of them jumps on Holliday or even Bay for a Mega Contract.

I'd think by now these teams would know to leave these players up to the big market clubs that can afford to have the player not work out.