Current big leaguers Mike Olt, Jurickson Profar, Adam Eaton, Tony Cingrani, Dan Straily, and Carter Capps were all named to Baseball America's Minor League All-Star Team today. Here's the latest from around the league on Friday night…
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says he doesn't believe that the Rangers or Red Sox will bid enough to sign impending free agent Josh Hamilton this offseason.
- "This is the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball … It could use help everywhere," said Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine to Ian Harrison of ESPN Boston when asked if there was a particular part of his roster he would like to see improved.
- "Now are they winning without me?" said Hanley Ramirez to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, a response to Marlins president David Samson saying they "couldn't win with him" recently.
- Ken Davidoff of The New York Post listed the best managers of 2012, led by Buck Showalter of the Orioles. Earlier today we have updates on Showalter, Astros' managerial search, and other managers.
Hey Hanley, are the Dodgers winning with you and all the other overpaid guys your greedy ownership bought? There’s a good chance he can be in the same spot as the rest of his Marlins teammates come the end of the season.
Greedy, seriously? At least the new ownership is investing in their team unlike McCourt who was investing in himself.
McCourt was a horrible owner but it’s not like the team had no payroll during his tenure. Acquiring 300M worth of players in one year seems pretty greedy to me. I know I have no room to talk with the epic collapse my team is in the middle of, but I think it would be pretty humorous to see both LA teams spend nearly a billion dollars in one year and not even make playoffs.
Spending a bunch of money on players is greedy now? I could have sworn that was the opposite.
So the Yankees outbidding everyone for the top free agents makes them the evil empire but it’s cute when the Dodgers do it because they’re from LA and they deserve to win a World Series? Please.
There’s nothing wrong with spending money. Everybody does it. Some teams just do it more. Doesn’t guarantee championships.
and some do it more because they have more…it has nothing to do with greed, it is just economics.
Considering they just left Frank McCourt’s grasp, It’s good to see them actually spend money. They went from cheap owner to the big spenders they’re expected to be.
My only hope is that someone does the same with the mets…they are in a much worse situation b/c Fred and Bud are buddies
with some minor exceptions here and there …the Yankees have been doing this for almost 100 years…
most of their chips ( 20 of their 28 ) came from 1920-1960…back when they had a major financial competitive advantage and there was NO REVENUE SHARING.
6 of their other 8 chips came when again…they had a team full of free-agents with sprinkles of home-grown players ( jeter/bernie/posada/pettite/rivera )
when was the last time the yankees were able to DRAFT an all-star
1B? Don Mattingly?…before that…I cant recall
2B?…I cant recall…( soriano and cano are IFA’s )
3B?…I cant recall…
RF?…I cant recall…
LF?…i cant recall
CF? Bernie Williams…and before that…?
SS – Derek Jeter…and before that….Phil Rizzuto?
its a bit early to put the dodgers and yankees in the same book…much less same sentence
A lot would have been before the draft.. LF Roy White., tho Roberto Kelly as a CF was signed as an IFA later on.
well why is that?
why cant they draft all-stars at every position as well as sign free-agents?
the dodgers have drafted all-stars at damn near every position !
They have had solid players, just maybe not AS. I didn’t mention 2B Horace Clarke, who had a long career as a solid 2b. They had Thurmon Munson (C) AS and solid C whose career was cut short from his tragic flying accident.
Edit:
Wow.. Just realized forgot Joe Pepitone.. he was solid RF AND an AS…
considering the financial advantage they have in drafting hs players ( back when there was no cap or penalty)
they have had an absolutely horrific record in the draft..
You can’t not count amateur IFAs when you’re talking about home grown players.
International amateur scouting is just as difficult as US amateur scouting and drafting, and big market teams don’t have an advantage in the IFA market outside of Japan.
big market teams don’t have an advantage in the IFA market?
now that might be true…
but pre-2012…if u offer more money than the next guy…u get the more touted player..
thats an advantage
But the amounts were low enough as a whole that the cost wasn’t at all prohibitive to a small market team. The largest single non-Cuban Latin American amateur signing ever is like 5MM.
And there are quite a few Cuban IFA signings playing on non-big market teams. Viciedo, Cespedes, and Hechevarria come to mind, and all but Cespedes’ signing would now be banned under the new CBA.
the yankees also offered Cano a signing bonus DOUBLE what the mets were willing to offer lol
and there have been quite a few IFA’s they got…they just trade them to other teams…
Jose Rijo comes to mind…
its not so much the lack of ability to recognize talent ( they drafted Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders )
its the major league front office mantra of filling the Bronx with “star” power…eventually this is going to rear its ugly head and they will have to scrap that…
unless of course they just trade for Jose Reyes, absorb his contract and sign his buddy David Wright to play 3B while A-Rod plays DH
To be fair, Hanley isn’t the reason the Dodgers are doing poorly. Hanley’s arguably been the most productive hitter in the lineup since the trade.
you are right.. Over the winter there will be the obligatory chicken and beer stories written by the LA Times and beckett was the cause of all the problems…
“I have confidence in our young players that they can finish strong the season” –What any manager other than Bobby Valentine would say
EDIT: So I’m not going to fix it, but “finish strong the season”? Is my ideal manager Yoda? Actually…….
@KarKat
Could you really respect a manager that would lie to you?
I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to say. Maybe not “finish the season strong” but at least don’t just blurt out how terrible you think they are.
@KarKat
You should know that Bobby is not one of my favorites, but to be fair, he’s in a no win situation. If makes the statement you suggest, he’s called phony or a guy just talking in order to save his job. When he states the obvious, he’s killed for not towing the company line by the media or fans that don’t care for him.
What he said may be a bit of an exageration, but it’s not that far from the truth. Sounds more like the pain is about not what’s been said as much as who said it.
I think you are presenting a false dichotomy. Surely there is a middle ground between being phony and not towing the company line. How about naming a few areas of weakness, for example? “We could use some starting pitching and we’re looking forward to having Lackey back next year” would be a nice, diplomatic way of being genuine and yet not plain rude.
Even ignoring the hyperbole, to tell the media that you think your players are awful is hardly a good idea for a manager, especially when the vast majority of those players will be back next year. It sounds to me like a manager who does not think he is going to be back with them, and quite frankly he is probably right. If he didn’t deserve that fate before, he does now.
@KarKat
Come… To…The… Dark Side…
“Confidence have I that finish the season strong they can. Yes, yes!”, says manager Yoda Valentine.
Link is to the wrong Adam Eaton.
If Olney is right about Hamilton, Josh will end up in RF in Yankee Stadium next year. It’s a natural fit.
Is Olney ever right? Yankees are trying to reduce payroll, or at least have some financial flexability. They don’t have much money coming off the books, and still have to look at Cano long term….don’t see it
The Yankees strength in their farm system is in OF’s. Also they are looking to lower payroll for 2014 so it doesn’t make sense for them to sign Hamilton and Granderson to long term contracts.
Yanks will have significant money coming off their payroll over the next two years. We’ll be done paying for Burnett next year, with Pedro Feliciano and Freddy Garcia coming off the books at the end of this year. Don’t see Swisher re-signing in 2013 since he’s looking for a $100M contract. Those savings alone create nearly $20M that can be used to sign Hamilton. Plus, I don’t see Granderson as a lock to re-sign, Yanks will give Mason Williams every possible chance to win the CF job in 2014 if he makes significant progress in AAA next year.
Does anyone think Josh Hamilton won’t be a Yankee? Granderson to the corner & Gardner in center.
The last thing the sox need is Hamilton.
“This is the weakest roster we’ve ever had in September in the history of baseball”
You would think that Bobby was old enough to remember the Red Sox of the early 60s, but apparently not. Maybe he was too much of a Yankees fan to notice.
Hey now.. NY wasn’t exactly “lighting it up” when Boston went to the WS in ’67 ya know
True enough. But NY WAS exactly lighting it up in the early 60s, when the Sox were even worse than they are now.
You bet.. I remember the days of them rebuilding with petrocelli, Foy, Reggie Smith, Mike Andrews, Jum Lonborg and a host of others nearly all at once and the “old guard” was shuffled out the door, like Frank Malzone.
Whoa! Let’s be fair to old Frank here. If he was the biggest problem those Red Sox teams of the late 50’s & early 60’s had they would have been giving the Yankees a run for their money.
Pretty amazing that the Sox were able to come up with an entire outfield in a few short years that was all HOF caliber or very nearly- Yaz, Conigliaro & Reggie Smith
Not giving Malzone a hard time at all. Joe Foy came around and was part of the youth group, George Scott. I have named off the kids Boston brought up from 63-66 numerous times here and I liked Mals also. he stayed as a coach for years and even in ST throughout the early 80’s.
One think positive can say about Boston for years (decades) is that they have ran a developmental machine.. Mostly having AS caliber people come up to replace people. Only in the last decade has that plan changed with multiple FA signings.
One would be hard pressed to find a team other than Boston that had brought up as many AS positional players from 1960 on from their farm system.
The natural fit for Hamilton is with the Rangers, if they go 100 million/6-7 years, it’s a fair deal for Hamilton. Not great, but fair. His history is way to risky that another team should ever gamble on a big contract with a player that may blow up if he comes to another team.
The downside on a Hamilton deal is too big for even the big franchises. They need to use every dollar on re-signing and getting “sleeper” type of free agents.
One player that should be on the move next year is Shane Victorino, he’s underperformed this season, but could have some juice left, he should.
Look for the O’s and the Astros to scout him, even Cubs. A 3 year deal on Victorino @18-20 million would be a total steal.
No thanks, no need to pay a load for a player with his skill-set and personal stuff.
Swinging at everything and low plate discipline is a bad skill set, regardless of how good you are. He can do that in Texas because it’s a hitter haven. He would be suppressed mightily in Seattle. Don’t forget he’s has some injury problems and is 31. Any GM that offers longer than 4 is completely incompetent.
If your going to sign him to 5 or 6 years, he’ll be 36-37. That’s not good. If he would take a shorter or more reduced amount, then yes I’d consider. Swisher would be more ideal, considering he’d play 1st, a position we really need, and I think would come at a lower price.
It’s not how old you are when you sign the deal. it’s how old you’ll be at the end of the deal. IIRC, he’s going to be 32 by the time next season starts. And if he signs a 4 yr deal, that means he’d be 36 at the end of the contract, which is probably manageable. But if he wants a 6 yr deal, he’d be 38 in the final year of the deal, which is getting pretty old, particularly for a player you may be paying over $20M/yr.
Any team that considers signing Hamilton for more than 4 yrs is taking a serious risk that he’ll be able to earn those big bucks in the final years of the contract. It also likely means that NL teams would probably avoid Hamilton for longer deals. AL teams might take the risk, knowing that they can move him to DH.
Addiction is addiction. Falling hard off the wagon can happen anywhere regardless how great or little pressure is placed on a person. As for major spotlight… the man has been a part of 2 World Series runs, I’d say he understands pressure.
My bet is whatever team signs him will make sure his teammates and coaches keep a close eye on him.
The pressure of playing has nothing to do with it. On the ball field he’s quite fine. It afterward where he has to be babysat. You say teammates and coaches will help.
Just like the Yankees did with Daryl Strawberry and Steve Howe?
If pressure has nothing to do with it then why would he be steered away from “a major city spotlight?”
From everything I’ve heard the Rangers as a team have pretty much been already watching out for Hamilton. It’s a different culture in baseball now, players are not just guys on a field, they’re also assets. The yanks never paid $20M a season for Howe or Strawberry. Whatever team does sign Hamilton will make sure their asset is protected.
Could hire a “keeper” like Tampa did for Elijah Dukes 24 hours a day.. Then that didn’t help either…
But you can’t control every single thing he does or wants to do. If he wants to relapse and can’t restrain himself, it will happen. He controls everything, no matter who or what you put around him. I give him props for holding up as well as he has – with the exception or his two slip ups – he’s done better than most users.
That’s part of my point. His potential for relapse will probably be the same whether he’s playing in New York or Kansas City. With addicts anything can be an excuse whether it’s pressure from the media or simply a bad day at the plate.
However whoever signs Hamilton has a vested interest in him staying sober so he will be watched.
yea i wouldnt perfer hanley on detroit but you never know maybe he can turn him self around and be a good teammate
I agree that more than 4 years is a risk for Hamilton but I would not be surprised to see the Mariners take that risk. They will be moving the fences in next season and everyone knows how desperate they are for offense, I can see them matching the yearly salary of other offers and then add additional years onto the deal to get it done (they have to over spend to get hitters to Safeco). They have a lot of money coming off the table and they need to do something to get the fan base back and prepare themselves when they can opt out of their TV contract in a couple of years.