In today's Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo makes the case for Braves pitcher Tom Glavine to earn induction into the Hall of Fame. For his part, Glavine said he would be thrilled to go in with Greg Maddux and Bobby Cox. “Bobby Cox had the biggest influence in my career and probably the second- or third-biggest influence in my life,” Glavine said. “Greg was a dear friend, and just being around him made me better. I learned so much. We talked so much about pitching and situations, and hitters. I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate and influence on my career. To have three of us together like that would be incredible, and Smoltzy next year.” More from today's column..
- One of the reasons the Phillies haven’t been able to find a buyer for Jonathan Papelbon is his drop in velocity. Papelbon, who was regularly 95-96 in his Red Sox days, fell to 91-92 and sometimes less last season. “That was a red flag for me,” said an AL scout. “He didn’t look like the same guy. Whether that was physical or he just didn’t have the adrenaline flowing with a bad team, I don’t know.”
- Kevin Youkilis' one-year deal could be worth up to $5MM and is apparently more than he could have received anywhere in MLB. The Yankees had some interest, but at a lower price. The Indians, Giants, and Rays also had interest at one time. Back problems limited Youkilis to 28 games last season with the Yankees, and he simply couldn’t convince the masses he was healthy.
- Lyle Overbay's market is lukewarm right now and he'll likely be a January tack-on for someone. Cafardo predicts he'll wind up as a backup or a low-cost option for a team such as the Orioles or Indians.
- The Mets and agent Scott Boras have discussed parameters but no firm numbers for Stephen Drew and right now, it looks like GM Sandy Alderson is sticking with Ruben Tejada. There’s always the Yankees, but Drew has never played anywhere but shortstop and Derek Jeter doesn’t appear to be moving to another position. The road, for now, is still leading back to the Red Sox.
- Agent Scott Boras scoffs at the notion that the market for Kendrys Morales has dried up due to the draft pick compensation issue. Cafardo says that at some point a team such as the Orioles may give it up to have a superb hitter in the middle of their order and cautions to never underestimate Boras.
- Mark Mulder is looking for a minor league deal with incentives if he makes the major league club. He's worked out for the Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks, Angels, and Phillies over two sessions and the second session he improved his velocity from 88 to 92 mph. The Red Sox have inquired on Mulder, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2008, but probably won’t pursue him. Back in late November, Giants GM Brian Sabean indicated that he wouldn't be in on Mulder since he's seeking a big league deal.
- Even with the Yankees' declaration that Brett Gardner won’t be traded, they would listen to the right deal.
- It's a big surprise that agent Scott Boras couldn’t get Tigers owner Mike Ilitch to outbid the Rangers for Shin-Soo Choo since they have a need for a leadoff hitter. The Tigers are apparently continuing to commit to Austin Jackson at the top of the order and hope his game smooths out.
- The Rays and Cubs want at least three very good players for David Price and Jeff Samardzija, respectively, whether they're major league-ready or top prospects.
I don’t think Os fans will react to well if they sign Morales and lose a pick after the Balfour mess
They’d sign him and then change their mind because of his ankle.
Personally, I’m tired of the holier than thou HoF voters who have an agenda.
Maddux should receive 100% of the vote. Any voter who doesn’t put him in should have their vote revoked. Howard Bryant, I’m looking at you, with your boycott to include anybody last year due to PED premise.
And Glavine, he’s worthy of a first ballot induction as well. Was he Maddux? No. But he was arguably the 2nd best pitcher of the 90s, even ahead of Clemens. He was no worse than 4th if you put Clemens and Randy Johnson ahead of him (4 of Johnson’s Cy Youngs were in the 2000s).
There are a few 300 game winners not inducted the first time. He is not a lock for first time pick. Maddux on the other time, is a lock.
Agreed, Maddux is arguably one of the top 5 RHPs of all time. He easily deserves to get in the 1st time around with over 90% of the vote. Glavine might have to wait a year but he’s 100% a HOF too.
This is coming from a Phillies fan who despised those Braves teams for context.
Yes, I agree Glavine should be a HOF also. All 300 games winners should.
Agreed. A pitcher who retires with 300+ wins, 2 Cy Youngs, 4 other top-3 finishes in the Cy Young voting, and 2600+ Ks despite never having a fastball that topped 88 deserves to get in on the first ballot. Glavine probably won’t get named on as many ballots as Maddux, but nobody can come up with a compelling reason why he shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.
How would you compare Glavine, Mussina, and Schilling? Glavine has the most wins, but the others match up pretty well. Do all three go in, or is the 300 win plateau enough to differentiate Glavine?
good points – I guess I never realized how close they were on WAR, not to mention, both Moose and Schilling are higher on WAR7 (Schilling being ~5 higher).
I’m not sure how to reconcile between Glavine and those two. Schill has been a guy I’ve wanted to see in the HoF, but more for sentimental reasons as a Phils fan. I almost feel like I was giving him the Jack Morris treatment, but I didn’t realize his peripherals were as good as they were. I guess that’ll happen when you play on some pretty bad teams (a la mid to late 90s Phillies).
Schilling is unusual in that his peak began at the age of 34, when he moved to Arizona. His command improved dramatically at that time.
As a Red Sox fan, I have great respect for Schilling (key contributions to three championship teams) and Mussina (57 GS against the Red Sox, and always a bulldog).
Tom Glavine only pitched in the National League which is so much easier. If Tom Glavine was an AL -lifer he would not even be mentioned as far as the hall goes.
WAR normalizes for the level of competition one faces, for those of you who hold your AL biases near and dear to your hearts.
It would be crazy if mulder could come back.
Anyone who gives up three top prospects for Samardzija is making a big mistake
don’t mess this up for me. i’ve been sending old highlights of him playing football at ND with really intense music to kirk gibson and kevin towers all offseason.
Lol
I hope you’re titling the videos, “True Grit.”
I think Mulder is the type of project the Twins would take a look at.
Not sure why Cafardo thinks Overbay is more likely to end up in Cleveland, they already have Swisher and Santana as primary options, and they have Cooper and Aguilar on the 40 man (Cooper signed a ML deal but has an option remaining). Why would they really need another 1B?
Cafardo seems to be out of touch in his column re: Tigers. Frustrating that a writer who is given so much national credibility, did not do basic research (apparently) on the a non AL East team:
His quote:
“It’s a big surprise that agent Scott Boras couldn’t get Tigers owner Mike Ilitch to outbid the Rangers for Shin-Soo Choo since they have a need for a leadoff hitter. The Tigers are apparently continuing to commit to Austin Jackson at the top of the order and hope his game smooths out.”
1. It looks like he did not take into account the Tigers offseason so far at all from a financial responsibility standpoint.
2. Did he not notice that Kinsler will likely be at the top of the order pushing Jackson down?
3. Did he also not notice that they got Rajai Davis? When he starts (against lefties), it is likely that he will also have a chance to be at the top of the order. Also, where would he play if they got Choo?
4. Does he not know that Dombrowski is making an effort at signing BOTH Scherzer and Cabrera this offseason?
Bottom line: Tigers got an expected value of near .800OPS, 40 Steals and above average defense with their LF platoon…. at a cost of about $7MM for 2014. That is a HUGE bargain compared to Choo or Ellsbury in year 1 of their mega contracts… not even counting years 5+ of their contracts when they will be well past their current peak performance levels.
I’m actually a Reds fan and I was taken aside by his remark on the Tigers and Choo. There’s no reason to replace Jackson with Choo for that cost.
Jackson was likely told to be very conservative on the basepaths the last couple of years because of the potential for Cabrera intentional walks. He has to potential reach the upper 20s in steals again.. ironically… if he is at the BOTTOM of the order (and with a new manager).
I agree, Jackson has tons of upside when he has free rein to run. I think at the bottom of the order he will be burning up the base paths.
the person who was writing that i guess didnt put into count everything you said. looking at Shin-Soo Choo stats to me seem like he was a little overpayed. my dodgers didnt even pay ethier that much and he was was putting up choo like numbers
That’s pretty typical of national writers…they simply dont put the effort into individual teams like you’d want them to…outside of their own former club of interest at least (Jayson Stark with the Phillies, Gammons with the BoSox, etc etc)
Forest instead of the trees and all that I suppose.
But MLBTR does put in the effort! That is what sets this site apart, despite the fact that is run by fans, not “insiders”.
It totally does, I agree. This is easily the best site on the web for rumors and signing info.
And I want a billion dollars. Sorry, Cubs, it ain’t happening. Rays? Absolutely.
A team like the Phillies has nothing to lose by offering Mulder a minor league deal with a ST invite…or one of those classic minor league deals with an out clause by June 1st if he’s not on the 25 man. Sure, he likely doesn’t have anything left but its a zero risk move for a team not in contention anyway. In that extreme chance that he does have something left, maybe they flip him for a C level prospect at the deadline. Win win for both sides really.
Besides, they need a 5th starter anyway right now given that MAG is a complete enigma and Pettibone is recovering very, very slowly from his shoulder issues.
I haven’t seen a health update on Pettibone since maybe late August, early September. What have you read/heard that suggests he’s recovering slowly?
Remember, he was supposed to be back well before the end of the season and he never had surgery or anything like that. Supposedly, he’s been throwing since October now but given the concerns any pitcher has with coming back from shoulder issues and especially the rotator cuff like he had, it wouldn’t hurt to have more depth. Their 40 man is pretty devoid of SP depth as is their upper minors.
Mulder growing up a ChiSox fan, I’d like to see him on a minor league deal to compete with Leesman and Veal for the second lefty spot in the pen
Missed the chance to move Papelbon last June when he was pitching great and the Phillies struggled to play .500 baseball.
Yeah but as Rube said then, they were still “in it”. Of course, they were 12 games back and clearly not but that was what he said at the time.
Yeah but why deal a young pitcher who was doing his job effectively? You could argue that Pettibone was playing over his head, and maybe that’s true, but those are the type of players the Phillies should be trying to acquire not move.
The real missed opportunity was not moving Lee when the Dodgers claimed him in 2012. I love Lee and all, but we could have gotten out of that deal just by admitting it was time to rebuild. Now we get the pleasure of a longer purgatory.
I think you confused Papelbon with Pettibone in what I wrote.
“Now we get the pleasure of a longer purgatory.” You have not known the pleasure of a “longer purgatory” until you have had Barry Zito for seven years at $126. mil. The Giants had to pay him $7. mil just to ask him to please not come back in 2014. What a contract! Needless to say, there has been ZERO interest in him by any other team this offseason. Your pitching staff would have to be the dregs of society for you to want him on it as either a starter or reliever.
Yeah, but come on man, you also won (with no help from Zito) TWO World Series during that time.
Why you crying with two loaves of bread under your arm?
Yeah, but come on man, you also won (with no help from Zito) TWO World Series during that time.
Why you crying with two loaves of bread under your arm?
Yeah…Kendrys Morales is not a “superb hitter”.
He is a good hitter, but he isn’t elite.
Tigers should try to put a package together for Price and either Zobrist or Sean Rodriguez.
Lyle Overbay a tack-on for the Orioles?
That would be the biggest signing for the O’s this off-season!
PS Come on Balfour File that Grievance! I can’t say it enough, I am so looking forward to a showdown between you and the Powers that Be in “Charm City!”
It would “Make MY Day!!!!”
Will someone please inform the Rays that they won’t get Wil Myers for Price? Will someone please inform the Cubs that they won’t get Lou Brock in his prime for Shark?
One can shoot for the moon, but deals like Anderson for Bagwell are rare. Let Price and Shark play out their contracts for QO compensation picks. Some of us are getting tired of hearing of teams giving up their farms for David Price or half of their farms for Shark.
Roger Maris to the Yankees happen less than often. Wil Myers to Tampa Bay should be rare. Don’t press your luck, Rays and Cubs.
And I am assuming that you would put the starting price for your vehicle at $1000 and go from there instead of trying to get more for it? Regardless the car… It is called negotiating man, everyone starts high and goes from there… Cant believe it bothers you that much…
Knowing the Cubs luck they’ll get three top pitchers and Samardzija will start pitching like an ace. Then all three prospects will end up being just solid relievers.
Is Samardzija really even that good? In his 2 years as a full-time SP he’s pitched to a 4.10 ERA in under 400 innings with an 8.5 H/9, 1.29 WHIP and 2.8 WAR. Not sure how that’s worth “3 very good players”.
3 very promising lottery picks more like it…
Please note before this response that I do not value Samardzija super highly, I think the Cubs do and I think another team will. Why? Good FIP, solid peripherals, not to much mileage on the arm and of course very good stuff have a lot to do with it. Not super expensive either, with a market that demands the sky for pitching. Do I think they’ll get what they are asking for? Absolutely not. Something good? Yes.
In the NL that is, which makes it even more pedastrian.He is of no use to any AL team (0 WAR) when you convert those stats to the AL. .
I’d take a chance mulder. He could play half the season. He’s a good clubhouse guy, and the the angels could use someone like him.
Wouldnt shock me to see overbag end up back in milwaukee
Why can’t the Wilpons do the right thing and go for Drew. Give this team a chance for once!
Why can’t the Wilpons do the right thing and go for Drew. Give this team a chance for once!
Jackson is not at the top of the lineup, it is probably going to be
Left/right handed starting pitcher
2b-Kinsler
LF-Davis/Dirks
1B-Cabrera
DH-Martinez
RF-Hunter
3b-Castellanos
C-Avila
CF-Jackson
SS -Igleasias
If the Orioles were willing to pay $7.5M/year for Balfour, wonder if they’d be willing to part with a mid-level prospect like Mike Wright to get Papelbon at maybe $6M/year.
Why isn’t Kinsler going to lead off for the Tigers? He’s been very good at it, I thought that was one of the big reasons they wanted him.
Tom Glavine is mediocer at best. A 3.54 ERA only pitching in the lesser league is not very good at all. He would have been regarded as a 4th starter in the AL never mind HOF.