Brandon League told reporters that he has informed the Dodgers that he would like to re-sign this winter, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. After a rough handful of games to kick off his Dodger career, League settled down to finish with a 2.30 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in Los Angeles. Here’s more from around baseball as Miguel Cabrera celebrates his Triple Crown season..
- With his status uncertain for 2013, Rockies skipper Jim Tracy is set to meet with front office management on Friday, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Tracy was said to have a handshake agreement for next season but there has been heavy speculation that the club could let him go this offseason.
- From talking to people around the Rays, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) can’t find anyone who thinks that Tampa Bay will come up with the money to retain B.J. Upton. Recently, more than 61% of MLBTR readers polled said that the Rays should extend Upton a qualifying offer this winter.
- Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos says that he is comfortable with John Farrell returning to manage the club with just one year left on his contract, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The GM went on to say that the club’s payroll will go up for next season, though there will not be a “bottomless pit” to work from (Twitter link).
- Dodgers outfielder Shane Victorino will be parting ways with his representation at ACES and is interviewing other agents, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The veteran is set to hit the open market this winter. Earlier tonight, we learned that Nyjer Morgan has also dropped ACES.
- If the Rangers are bounced early from the postseason, Josh Hamilton’s dropped pop-up against the A’s earlier today will have an impact on Texas’ willingness to bid on him, opines Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).
Don’t you mean Miguel Cabrera’s triple crown season? Pretty sure Melky’s season will be memorable for something else.
Yes, Melky tested positive for Testosterone, Amphedimines and Skittles.
No wonder he was in Beast Mode all season.
And failure to cover his tracks in an adequate way.. IE: His internet coverup.
Washington had Watergate conspiracy and SF had Milk turned bad.
I think you mean Miguel Cabrera…Not Melky
Hopefully the Red Sox will not sign any outfielders who have played for the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason.
Or the Rangers
Agreed! They cannot catch pop ups down there in Texas…. 🙂
I doubt it. Last FA they signed who was comparable to Upton attitude wise was Jose Off(al)erman.. Boston isn’t going to give Upton (nor his agent) any contact info.. A waste of time.
Hmmm… Remember Carl Crawford? 7 yrs. @ $20M per….
If you don’t that is okay. He didn’t play much.
Crawford didn’t have a crappy attitude and half play when he want, need a manager on his rear to run out grounders, get benched for not hustling etc….
“Here’s more from around baseball as Melky Cabrera celebrates his Triple Crown season.”
Something’s off here…
MIGUEL Cabrera
So much for John Farrell going to Boston…… in 2013.
Thankfully! I mean it cant get much worse than Bobby V but Farrell hasnt been very good in Toronto either.
what is Farrel’s batting Avg again…?
Bobby V’s team entirely blew up. Anybody can do better than that.
Congratulations to Miguel Cabrera! Now give the man his well deserved MVP!
No reason the Rays shouldn’t make a qualifying offer to Upton.
Best case: he turns down the offer and Rays get a first round pick.
Worst case: he accepts, they trade him to a team that can afford a $12-13M outfielder worth 2-3 WAR and an opportunity to get a pick next year.
I thought traded players don’t get compensation picks? Does anyone know when the cutoff to this rule applies?
All they need is 1 full season with their new team.
I really think it is a bit ridiculous to have him being paid $13M. I think this is a case where WAR way blows it out of proportion on the value that he adds to the team. He really is atrocious in the lineup, and sure he is good in center, but that is his extent of value.
The big surprise is that Cabrera did this so under the radar—then again, he’s just that consistent year in and year out. I know that Mike Trout is making a strong MVP case, but Cabrera should have won it already at least once…and I think that this pushes Miguel Cabrera over the top for the MVP discussion. His fielding hasn’t been too big a liability either (his fielding percentage was .967).
I really don’t like that arguement. I think mvp should win it regardless. I could care less if someone won it before or even last year, if they deserve it then they win it. Comes down to who was more valuable.
this Trout v. Cabrera thing p’s me off bigtime.
throw all the stats at the wall, geek and/or trad, and its close as to whatever argument you want to make either way.
Trout was epic rookie, but Cabrera was a beast with the bigger burden.
triple crown, people. this ain’t a no-hitter. on any given day a Bud Smith can go no-no.
triple freakin crown
Triple Crown is based off of HR/AVG/RBI. HR are important, AVG is moderately important, and RBI are really a bad indicator of the worth of a player. Maybe if it had different stats, but those really aren’t the best qualifiers.
Despite Miggy’s Triple Crown season, Trout is by far the winner. 30-50 seasons are actually more rare (and more valuable IMO) than a Triple Crown, and Trout also contributes the best CF defense inn the game. Though Cabrera may be a better pure hitter ( though not by much), Trout’s contributions on the basepaths and in CF leave him far and away the better candidate for MVP.
Tigers made the playoffs with Cabrera, Angels missed the playoffs with Trout. Without Cabrera, the Tigers do not make the playoffs. Without Trout, the Angles still would miss the playoffs.
MVP = Cabrera
I’ve never liked the playoffs argument for MVP. I mean, the Angels finished with a better record than Detroit but finished third in their division. While Miggy is clearly very valuable, I don’t think he had anything to do with the overall weakness of the AL Central that let the Tigers win the division with their 88-74 record. I’m not necessarily saying that he shouldn’t win the award, I just think that argument is a fundamentally flawed one. (Personally, I think Cabrera’s surprisingly adequate play over at third, after several seasons at first, is what gives him that exact nudge as most *valuable* player.)
Angels are the better team, easy counter to that argument.
Cabrera WAR – 7.2
Trout WAR – 10.4 (in one less month)
Not even close.
Whether they are a better team is a matter of debate. I can tell you the Tigers are in the playoffs and the Angels aren’t.
The WAR comparison is too literal. Statistically, I agree that Trout had a more impressive year, especially when you factor in his defensive contributions. But however good Trout was, it wasn’t good enough for the Angels to make the playoffs and have a chance at winning the World Series. Without him, they’d still be on the outside looking in. The same can be said about the Tigers without Cabrera – he was the difference maker putting them over the top – he’s the MVP.
The Angels are a better team though. The AL Central is incredibly weak division, It is one of the only 2 divisions with more than 1 90 game loser AND there is 3 of those 90 game losers in that division. It is also one of the only 2 divisions with 3 90 game winners. It is a competitive place. WAR is definetely not the best measure when comparing between different positions, but Trout plays spectacular defense at a more difficult position, 49 sb with a 91% theft rate. Look at the # runs allowed by the other teams in that division, it is some of the weakest pitching, compared to al west with some of the best pitching staffs. You are basing your cabrera mvp off of the terribleness of the indians, royals, and twins rather than the fact that trout was better.
You proved my point … Trout may have been better, but the award isn’t for the best player, it’s for the most valuable.
Not exactly.
Man you have the point, I agree with you, this guys maybe forget about last year, when Kemp have a better season than Braun, Its similar with this two guys…
That’s completely illogical. Trout is the better player and was MORE VALUABLE to his team, more so than any other player. Playoffs are irrelevant in determining who had the most valuable. Who contributed the most? Trout. Not his fault the rest of his team couldn’t supplement his play to get past the Rangers and the A’s
“But triple crown!!!!!” –BBWAA
Reread my other response. He had 30-49. There have been 48 30-30 seasons. Arod had 42-45 in 1998 and came 9th in mvp voting.
Cabrera MVP…..end of discussion.