Links for Saturday evening..
- New to Arizona, J.J. Putz tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he's a perfect fit for the Diamondbacks.
- Second baseman Josh Barfield is competing for a utility spot on the Phillies but isn't concerned with talk of Luis Castillo, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
- Brian MacPherson and Tim Britton of The Providence Journal wonder how much longer Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will continue to play. Varitek could be asked to backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2011 but could still be given plenty of playing time in a platoon. McPherson set the over/under at 2.5 years but Britton takes the under, pointing out that the list of catchers who have played the most games is chock full of players who retired before reaching 40-years-old. The team captain will celebrate his 39th birthday in less than a month.
- Pirates left-hander Joe Beimel was scratched again due to elbow pain today, which seems to contradict what GM Neal Huntington said yesterday after picking up Garrett Olson off of waivers, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington insisted yesterday that the addition of Olson was not motivated by concern about Beimel or Scott Olsen.
- Pittsburgh right-hander Kevin Hart was on the bubble for a roster spot with the club and out of options for 2011, but the club will now have more time to consider him after a shoulder injury sent him to the 60-day DL, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs rallies against the tyranny of the corner label.
- Red Sox veteran David Ortiz told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that the pressure isn't off, even with the new additions.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) hears from a talent evaluator that the best way for Kevin Millwood to get back to the big leagues is by signing with a team and pitching in games. "That's no way to win a job — sitting at home," said the source. Millwood's fastball was clocked at 85 mph during a recent workout.
- The Rangers ackowledge that Chris Davis has opened some eyes with his strong Spring Training, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. He's under consideration for a roster spot, though teams have inquired about his availability.
- Now without star second baseman Dan Uggla, the Marlins are once again in a transitional phase, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- While he really enjoyed his time in Houston, Lance Berkman is happy to be with the Cardinals, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
So the best way to get a job is by getting a job in that line of work and doing what you’re supposed to do? Why didn’t anybody tell Millwood this before?
He’s being advised by Jermaine Dye.
I understand the snark, but I also understand why players are fickle about signing major league deals, especially veterans past their peak like Millwood. They really don’t need the trouble of working through the minors because they’ve already made their fortune. This is why a lot of them would rather just retire than play in the minors again. Why deal with the long bus trips and years away from their families if they are only going to receive a small amount compared to what they made in their careers overall?
Is it possible that the Marlins defense got even worse AFTER trading Uggla and acquiring a defensive upgrade in return? That would be pretty hilarious….
Coghlan can’t possibly stick in CF. Morrison is said to be below-average in LF. Hanley seems to be getting worse with the glove every year. Dominguez is a rookie, but is said to be brilliant defensively. His bat clearly isn’t ready though.
Anyway, look for Loria to fire coaches left and right if they’re hovering around .500 at the break. Guy places unreasonable expectations on his club every single year and gives them a short leash. “Start playing over your heads or else!” What a joke…
after all loria owns the eagles as well
I think you’re confusing Jeff Laurie with Jeff Loira.
kinda of a poor attempt at humor ill take a bump bump bumpaaaa for that
Sheesh Papi. Take it easy man. It’s not like your contract ends this year or anything. Oh wait …
Before that Gordon Edes interview with Big Papi, I never realized how [Expletive] articulate Ortiz is.
Very, very, timely article here. Most readers were wondering whether Ortiz would think the pressure is now off. While some people may think this is not news, but simply an excuse to put up a Red Sox post, people in the know see this as another timely piece by MLBTR.
Reporters don’t have to flag down Big Papi. He flags down them. And then gives them random pieces of information that don’t deal with the thing at hand. He should be worried about not hitting .102 with 1 homerun (if he’s lucky) for the first two months of the season.
Wasn’t Ortiz the most productive DH in the league last year? I vaguely remember him having an OPS around .900 and 30+ HR at some point.
Which is why I said first two months and not the entire year.
Meh, does it really matter all that much? He’s producing at a high level. Teixeira rarely gets trashed for his slow starts.
Plus, last year Ortiz had just 15 games at the start of the year where he wasn’t producing. He didn’t post an OPS below .848 in any month aside from April.
Luckily for Ortiz he’ll be batting lower in the lineup so the pressure is off in a sense.
Ha! We agree on something….
Considering that they gave away their star 2nd baseman for a super utility guy and a pen arm with control issues, Johnson will probably be on the Sox in 2013 for a package of Salty and one or two B prospects.
The fact that the Marlins and Rays can’t hold onto their best talent is one of the biggest problems with baseball. Even the teams with the best development and farm system can’t contend with the big buck teams that don’t do those things as well.
….I’m down.
If they really want something for Johnson, they should talk to the Yankees now. Brian Cashman has been talking a good game about standing pat, but everyone knows the Yankees have quality prospects now, and nobody they can trust behind Sabathia.
As am I, I want him out of the NL East.
You really should have explained that to the Rays before they went and won the division last year. It must be really awkward for them to find out NOW that they aren’t supposed to contend.
The fact that those teams can’t afford to keep their star players isn’t a problem with baseball, it’s a problem with their location/lack of fan support, and in some cases a problem with their owners being cheap.
I’m not 100% sold that he won’t be back, but it does seem unlikely.
flawless victory
“The fact that those teams can’t afford to keep their star players isn’t a problem with baseball”
Ummmmmm yes it is. The Marlins won the WS a few years ago, and the Rays won the division last year, the issue isn’t that they can’t ever win its that they can’t the sustain that success over a period of time.
I mean its really easy for a red sox fan to make a comment like that, you guys really have no perspective.
While they likely could get some elite prospects for Johnson, it’s best to hold onto him at least for this year. The Marlins actually have the talent to contend for the WC if things fall into place. I think they had like 20-something blown leads in the 8th and 9th innings last year and they have upgraded the pen. There’s a lot of ‘if’s’ in the equation, but I really like their rotation assuming Vazquez can get back to league-average and that lineup, while young, can definitely produce.
But I think it’s a given he’s traded by the end of 2012 unless the Marlins look like annual contenders. Their farm is in horrible shape, although to be fair 90% of their top guys have been promoted recently. But regardless, they’re gonna need to restock that farm and if Johnson is still an ace after the 2012 season, he’s a guy who can help out a lot with that.
But trading him now would be completely giving up on this year(as they just traded Uggla), and most likely next as well. Getting rid of 2 of your top 3 players in the same season wouldn’t go over well. And again, looking at the return on the Uggla deal……I’m not so sure they’d get good value for him. Now that I think about it, none of those guys they got for Cabrera and Willis panned out either.
Unbelievable.
Vazquez is the weak link in the Marlins rotation by a long shot with JJ, Volstad, Sanchez and Nolasco all returning this year. The BP is still going to be a problem have a fear of and the lineup will be young, but has nice youngsters in Morrison, Coghlan and Stanton coming back who should be improving.
The BP is going to be the problem again.
Your point about Cabrera and Willis is well taken. A prospect is just a prospect, which is why I’m sure Cashman will end up giving up a few.
As for the Marlins, whether or not they want to deal Johnson, I think that will have to do with whether or not they can contend this year. As you said, they have a chance for the Wild Card, and they may make that their #1 priority.
It is only a problem when a team like the Marlins or the Rays can’t draw fans despite success. If nobody comes to the games, the teams aren’t making money, players won’t be paid.
The Red Sox were once a losing team and had a hard time getting fans to show up to the park; the difference is that once the Sox started winning fans actually started showing up to the games. If the fans of the Rays and the Marlins could be bothered to show up to the games when they actually do put a winning team on the field then they would have a chance to keep their star players. Since their fans don’t show up even when they are winning it makes it hard for them to be able to afford to keep those players. That’s not a problem with baseball it’s a problem with getting fans to show up to games.
Another thing that they could do to keep star players would be to put more of their revenue into their team: the Rays put 46% of their revenue back into payroll, the Red Sox put 60% into payroll. If the Rays put 60% of their revenue into payroll their payroll would go from a little under $72mil to a little over $93mil, or about $21mil which, ironically enough, is about what it took the Sox to sign Crawford.
P.S. The Marlins make the Rays look like big spenders: last year they put 39% of their revenue back into payroll and as if that isn’t bad enough, just a couple of years ago they were putting 15% into their payroll. If there is a problem with baseball that’s it.
They’ve got some solid arms in the pen, but it’s very young. But it would be hard to suck more this season than last.
I hate Volstad, I see nothing in him that suggests that he’s an above-average starting pitcher aside from good control. He doesn’t strike out many, is very hittable, and his fastball is straight as a board. I think Vazquez has the better season, but his velocity worries me. Everyone’s assuming that since the last time he pitched in the NL he finished 4th in the Cy Young voting that he’ll have a large bounce back. He’s another guy who’s hittable and has good control, but he relies a ton on his K’s and if his velocity is down that’s obviously going to cause problems. But he’ll probably be serviceable at his worst.
Sanchez has good stuff, just needs to stay healthy. Nolasco is confusing. His peripherals are always great, but his ERA rarely reflects it. I think he’s just too careful with his pitches, so he tends to throw it over the plate more often than a pitcher should.
Glad to see i’m not the only one….
What you are expressing is a problem with baseball, because with no cap, and limited revenue sharing there remains that disparity between those teams. The problem with baseball is there will never be anything close to a cap or to a good revenue sharing system, and every attempt baseball has made to close the gap on this problem (i.e. revenue sharing to an extent, Type A and B free agents compensation) has either made the rich richer or done just about nothing noticeable to close the payroll gap.
I understand the Red Sox worked to where they are, and the Red Sox have a good infrastructure now between their farm system and players in place, but Red Sox and Yankees fans are the only fans who don’t think this is a problem with baseball. That is just the “teams” fault. Well it may be the owners fault, you can make that argument, but that still goes back to it being a problem with baseball overall, since the major league sport can’t put a system in place that closes the spending gap.
If the Rays or Marlins can’t get fans to come to the park, why should that be the Red Sox or Yankees problem? If the Rays and Marlins wont put as much of their revenue into payroll, why should the Red Sox or Yankees make up the difference? If those teams compete anyway, why should anything be done about it to begin with?
The only argument behind a cap is “it’s not FAIR!” I used to say that to my mom when I was 5. If you really want to close the spending gap put a floor in place instead of a cap. All a cap is going to do is put more money into the pockets of the owners of the high payroll teams. Why not force teams to put at least a certain percent of their revenue into their payroll? Cheap owners would be forced to either spend on the team instead of pocketing all of the money, or not buy the team in the first place.
I don’t think anything should be done, but if something has to be done then a floor makes a lot more sense than a cap.