On the one-year anniversary of Stephen Strasburg's Tommy John surgery, let's look at some links from around the league. Strasburg, by the way, will be making his first start back from the injury this coming Tuesday.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm about his recent trip to Japan. Anthopoulos acknowledged that he went to see Yu Darvish, but he called it "due diligence" and noted that there are also free agents (like Hisashi Iwakuma) worth looking at. The link offers plenty of quotes, so make sure you click through.
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he's lobbying for the team to re-sign Derrek Lee after the season, but neither Lee nor GM Neal Huntington would indicate that it's a possibility. "I'm not going to close any doors," said the first baseman, "but it's something I haven't even thought about."
- In a piece for ESPN Insider, Dan Szymborski looked at what the next few years could have in store for Yankees ace CC Sabathia, and also explained how pitchers of similar size performed into their 30s. Sabathia can opt out of his contract after the season, and Szymborski concludes that "losing him is more expensive than keeping him, and there is little evidence that his size will be a problem going forward."
And we fully believe you AA…. Your millions of scouts could not do the job and you had to go there even though it wasn’t serious! I’m just trying to find out how our rotation will look with him in the mix
I personally would like them to resign Lee but I don’t see it happening.
I think the Bucs can get him to sign to a reasonable 1-year contract. His value on the open market surely won’t be all that much at this stage of his career, and given his injury history the past few.
That said, I’m not a big DLee fan. But, barring a trade, there aren’t many available options for the Pirates at 1B. Hague is not ready for the bigs. Jones is not a FT player.
IF FAT BOY DAVID WELLS Can pitch well through his mid 30s, why can’t cc……..
Darvish is going to be a huge bust, (30m+ posting fee plus 60m+ to sign him) 90m for basically for a tripe A prospect.
Thats insane money for a unproven player.
Read a Baseball America article from a few years ago where they believed Darvish slotted 3rd in the 2008 Top 100 prospect list placing him ahead of Chamberlain, Buchholz, Kershaw, and Price. If someone with money is convinced Darvish is comparable to those players, they will spend it.
I tend to agree with you. I think he is talented though, and not really a “triple A prospect”, but its a lot of money to throw at an unproven player. I would rather see AA put that money towards Prince and CJ Wilson, if it came down to one or the other. The gambler in me though certainly likes the potential payout that Darvish represents. The Jays would have a shot if they want to fork out the money, but the Yankees are in desperate need of starting pitching as they move forward, and when the Yankees want something they usually get what they want by overpaying and outbidding everyone else and if they do, I certainly hope it blows up in their face, AJ Burnett-style
First of all, you’re way off. The fee will be significantly higher then Dice K’s $50 million. Most baseball people are calling for in the range of $70 million.
And the Jays should still pay it. Darvish probably is in the top 10 of pitchers on the planet right now. The guy has put up shocking numbers in the Japan League (which is much bettter then any AAA league, and if a prospect was putting up the same numbers in AAA, people would be calling Yu the next great one).
There aren’t too many pitcher in MLB right now who could go over there and put up the types of numbers he has for as long as he has.
in the case of the jays, you aren’t just talking about a switch from the japanese league to the MLB, but to the AL East on a non-boston non-ny roster. the difference between mowing down japanese hitters and facing two lineups that regularly wear out and beat down the best pitching in baseball is difficult to understate
that doesn’t mean the blue jays shouldn’t sign him, but it does mean your “one of the 10 best pitchers on the planet” hyperbole should be toned down a bit
“but it does mean your “one of the 10 best pitchers on the planet” hyperbole should be toned down a bit”
Not at all. The league he pitches in has nothing to do with how good he is. You could put Roy Halladay in NCAA baseball, and he’d still be Roy Halladay…i.e. one of the best pitchers in the world.
Nobody is saying his numbers over there will translate exactly. Of course they won’t. I’m basing my projection on his numbers, as well as watching games of him pitch. Wicked stuff is wicked stuff no matter where you play, and Darvish has deadly stuff. I see him a a solid 2.50-3.00 ERA guy in the AL East.
I don’t think there are 10 MLB pitchers who cuold put up the numbers Darvish has, which is why I’m projecting him as a top 10 pitcher in the MLB right now.
I could be wrong of course, but so can the people who think he is merely a #3 guy.
I don’t doubt that the talent level is there, it’s the adjustment to a new league, style of baseball, and continent that should be cause for hesitation. His filthy stuff in the NPB may not translate as well with a slightly larger, slightly heavier baseball used in MLB.
The worries may seem misplaced, but if you’re dealing with an estimated $70 million posting fee on top of the contract he will demand, it’s well worth looking at the entire thing with some skepticism
The league he pitches in has nothing to do with how good he is.
with respect, that’s just absolutely ridiculous. there’s no meaningful way to measure how good he is except by how he performs and his performance is necessarily conditioned by the competition against which he performs
You could put Roy Halladay in NCAA baseball, and he’d still be Roy Halladay…i.e. one of the best pitchers in the world.
what do you think this proves, though? it obviously doesn’t go both ways. you become the best only by competing and succeeding against the best. roy halladay wouldn’t be roy halladay if he only ever pitched in NCAA. he wasn’t roy halladay until he did so. how can this be lost on you?
Wicked stuff is wicked stuff no matter where you play
i don’t think darvish’s stuff will diminish dramatically, but it’s worth
pointing out that this isn’t even true and daisuke proved it. furthermore, there are dozens of minor leaguers with wicked stuff who are never able to make it work against certain levels of competition. japanese leagues aren’t minor leagues, but the point is exactly the same
you aren’t arguing with someone who thinks he’s a #3. you’re arguing with someone who thinks the claim that he’s a top 10 pitcher on the planet is prima facie absurd
I think you are missing his point. What he means is that if hes a good pitcher… Then hes a good pitcher. It dosnt matter what league he is pitching in, if he can pitch like Halladay and knows how to pitch ( we already know he has great stuff), he has as good of a chance as anyone to succeed in the majors.
that is a self-evident point no one could miss
the point he is missing is that there is no way to know if he’s halladay good or daisuke good outside of scouting and numbers. his scouting reports aren’t significantly better than matsuzaka’s were and his numbers guarantee nothing for the reasons just discussed
dude isn’t saying darvish might be good; anyone would agree that he might be. dude’s saying darvish is one of the top 10 pitchers on the planet already. that’s nonsense
Without bothering to look atthe numbers; haven’t Darvish’s been quite a bit better then DiceK’s by age?
I reallllllly don’t think $70 mil is the consensus bid. I’m actually glad DiceK failed, if he was a perennial CY Young contender then $70 mil is realistic, but with his failure I really doubt it.
Did anyone besides me think it was going to be Cliff Lee when you read in the headline “Lee, Sabathia”?
Ya me 2 that was a waste NO ONE CARES ABOUT U DLEE
Is anyone beside me wondering exactly is going to comprise the NYY rotation next year? There is a really fluky chance they could be a 100 win team that has a 5 man rotation with as many as 4 people not returning.
Not being mean here to NYY fans by any mean.. Just some remote chance CC leaves, Burnett of course stays, Hughes has problems and Colon and Garcia remember who they are, wonder off into either La, La land and are injured or leave and of course one of the highly talented kids they have cracks the rotation.
There is no way the Yanks let CC go. Imagine Ivan Nova as your ace…
can get a couple more closers with cc’s money, make it a 3 inning game
Oh yeah. It is yet another reason they will get him back at any cost.
I see him with 30m and 7 years after the Steinbrenner’s get involved quite easily.
has anyone making these fierce arguments/pronouncements about Darvish actually seen him pitch?
didn’t think so