ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark asked five GMs how many teams have a shot at winning the World Series and each executive said 13-16 clubs could win it all. The Mets, Astros, Pirates, Cubs, Padres, Orioles, White Sox, Twins, Mariners and Athletics didn’t receive any nominations. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors…
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Stark he would take a look at a bat if one were to fall into the team’s lap. That is to say, he’d welcome players willing to accept minor league deals and hit their way onto the 25-man roster. “In terms of adding a free agent on a guaranteed contract, we won't be doing that," Anthopoulos said.
- Stark had heard a rumor that the Blue Jays may have interest in right-handed bats such as Magglio Ordonez or Vladimir Guerrero.
- Shane Victorino, who is on track to hit free agency after the 2012 season, told Stark he’d like to stay in Philadelphia, even if that means signing an extension that delays his arrival on the free agent market. Click here for the latest on extension talks around MLB.
- Braves GM Frank Wren told Stark he isn’t worried about locking Brian McCann up just yet, since he's under team control through 2013. “I think it's probably premature for those discussions,” Wren said. “But we love him. And we know he's a big part of our club.”
So….does that mean Victorino would accept arbitration?
I’m excited for the Jays to start and more excited to see no news on the leafs.
I agree. Leafs are painful to watch and hear about right now.
I witnessed my father turn off the Leafs in rage… only to watch a re-run of Pawn Stars instead.
Could have been worst, he could have put on the habs game (and that’s coming from a frenchmen). Side note: I too decided to watch pawn stars instead of the leafs, it had a Noufie selling an 1800 New Foundland 2$ gold coin. Who knew Noufies had their money? Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on the MTS High Speed Mobility Network
I saw that!Neat stuff.
Much better than the Leafs.
They were their own country for a while up until 1949. An interesting province.
Id watch a re run of pawn stars than watch gusterson allow 8 goals
C’mon bruh. Enough already. Time to take all that Leafs hate and turn it into more Jays love!
You’re right, I need to quit beating a dead horse. I’m sure the media will be doing a good enough job of it.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on the MTS High Speed Mobility Network
If Yadier Molina gets somewhere near $70M for five years (as is being reported), I wonder what it will take to sign McCann?
Since the Molina deal was on the high, I would anticipate it should be around the same, maybe with 1 year extra
Well at least 20 of 30 MLB teams stand a chance!
atleast 10-14 of the those teams, literally everything would have to go right..
but hey that’s why they play the game.
Happens quite a bit. And the last 2 teams to win championships (St. Louis Cardinals and NY Giants), had “luck” go their way.
in the playoffs, yes.
actually, never mind, braves collapse was pretty epic. you’re right..
Actually, I felt kinda bad when the Giants did beat the Braves because that was Manager Cox’s last game. I would have been pulling for Atlanta big time had they won.
That’s the SAN FRANCISCO Giants and they beat the best teams in baseball: Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Texas and none of those series went the distance. That hardly seems like “luck” to me.
Are you aware of this sport us Americans call football? Stop acting like such a fanboy and read the sentence.
Sorry, I thought I was in a baseball forum.
To be fair, not many would automatically assume he was talking about the NFL Giants since this is a baseball forum, he said last 2 championships, and the SF Giants are one of the past 2 teams to win it all. I didn’t even notice the “NY” part and assumed he was talking San Fran.
Thank you.
Brooks Conrad = luck
Bobby Cox = luck would be more accurate. Conrad should’ve never been out there with Diory Hernandez on the roster SOLELY for defense.
Did I say the last 2 teams to win a World Series? And did you also fail to see that I wrote it happens quite a bit? I never said it happens all the time.
Get over yourself! Any logical SF Giants fan knows they had 99% of things go their way at the end of that season and the playoffs. The trophy and rings still count though, so settle down and enjoy them!
“Settle down” and “get over yourself”?….for expressing an opinion? The same could be said for you. Grow up and stop lecturing people whom you do not agree with.
Yeah ok, keep lying to yourself. Whatever makes you feel better! Luckiest champs I’ve seen in my lifetime, that’s for sure.
considering, pretty much the same team didn’t even make the playoffs the very next year. How could you say luck had nothing to do with it?
The only run scored in game one of the NLDS shouldn’t have happened, as Posey was out at 2B. Brooks Conrad should’ve never been on the field to make a million errors. I won’t say they had a ton of luck in the Phillies and Rangers series, but a lot of it during the NLDS.
Isn’t winning a World Series the ultimate example of “everything going right”? Any team can be a contender, but they don’t turn champions without a lot of luck. For all the stars a team can have on their roster, it’s the Al Weises, George Stones, and Lee Mazzillis that leave their biggest mark in the creation of a championship.
Mets, Astros, Pirates, Cubs, Padres, Orioles, White Sox, Twins, Mariners and Athletic. One or two of these teams aren’t exactly pushovers. The Mariners play in a weak division (outside of Texas and Anaheim) and they aren’t a pushover. They have built a solid team out there. Also, the Padres play in a weak division also which is up for grabs. The Mets Os and Astrosare pretty fair assumptions for not receiving any votes. CWS and Twins hmm toss up there. Cubs are a wildcard type of team not sure what to expect out of them.
“The Mariners play in a weak division (outside of Texas and Anaheim)” So the A’s and Mariners are the two left in that “weak division” so doesn’t that make them a pushovers?
Haha true. But its only going to be a pushover this year, since the Astros are moving in next year.
What about Damon and Vladdy
Minor League contract on a bat….Already missed Nick Johnson. Anybody who could handle first base and hit their way into a lineup?
There is no doubt that McCann is the better catcher.. however I don’t think the difference is as big as WAR would lead you to believe…
Yadier is probably the best defensive catcher in the game and defensive measurements for catchers are subpar to say the least.
Regardless though, Yadier was paid handsomely, second highest in catcher history I believe.. So I’m thinking McCann gets more years, he’ll be younger than 30, but I dont think the AAV will be much higher.
If Yadi’s deal is the reported value of $70-75M, it would make his the third-highest deal for a catcher in history, behind Mauer and Piazza.
Which has to leave the obvious question for everyone.. Will/would Atlanta be willing, or even want to spend 15m per on McCann?
Which has to leave the obvious question for everyone.. Will/would Atlanta be willing, or even want to spend 15m per on McCann?
…
While I think Shane might take arbitration, his agent probably has different feelings on the matter.
Shane is a tough call, on the one hand, his power is probably under-rated, his speed on the bases, and his defense are huge assets. On the other hand, he will be 32 this off season. His real “prime” years are running out. The last thing that I want the Phillies to do is to overpay in terms of years, just because Shane was on the 2008 team, and is a fan favorite.
I would realistically offer 3/$50M after this year, with a team option for a fourth year. At 32, I do not think it would be wise to offer more than four years since that would gaurantee money into the mid-30’s which is always risky.
That offer would put Shane at $16.7M AAV, which I think is fair based on his past production. If he and his agent think that is a fair offer, I hope they take it, if they think they can do better, I wish them the best.