Often we agree. But on this one I can’t. I have no idea how good Holliday might someday be, but Cease just isn’t that guy for me. He’s good. Just not THAT good.
I don’t know that the O’s need Jimenez or even Robert. I assume the O’s kicked the tires on Cease and decided they liked their prospects more. I really think they should sign Monty. They have very little on the books long term. They could add a year or two to spread the money out and not really put themselves in financial jeopardy.
The Rangers could probably really use Cease with there pitching questions and they should probably trade Langford since the already have a real good outfield but they won’t.
Number of players in MLB history who were unanimous future first ballot hall of famers while still in their 20s is pretty slim, man.
Every year there’s another “Next Mike Trout” but there really isn’t one. Trout’s the best player besides a roided out Barry Bonds to have played the game in the past 50 years. Finishing #1 in MLB position player WAR from 2012-2016.. 5 straight years? Hasn’t been done by a player with a 10+ WAR season since the days of Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle..
Pujols did it, but never hit that 10 WAR mark.
Bonds never led more than 4 straight years.
Langford is an advanced college hitter. He’s 22 it’s likely that Holliday starts as a 20 year old with less than 700 plate appearances from high school. That’s very rare and he dominated at every stop. In this case yes the numbers lie. I like Langford and in limited appearances he looked outstanding but it still doesn’t change the fact that Holliday is the better prospect and suggesting another team they should trade the better prospect for Cease when you say the Rangers should never trade Langford despite needing starting pitching help almost as bad as the Orioles. Well that’s just being obtuse.
There’s also the caveat that there’s a non zero chance Langford might be a really good DH time will tell but his outfield defensive instincts appear lacking.
Padres passing on Voit and Vogelbach and a host of others on cheap minor league deals.
Cheap minor league deals.
Deals within their budget.
Why?
What is going on with this club, when Voit on minor league deal costs too much?
Create a story by moving Bogaerts from ss to 2b. Acts as an “acquisition” to keep the Padres ‘in the news’ as if they are “makimg moves” with the casuals.
The Padres should call the Cardinals. Alec Burleson and Luken Baker offer more upside than Voit and Vogelbach. They’re both cheap and I’m sure the two teams could work out a deal. We’re not talking about cleaning out the farm system to get either or both of these guys. It would help the Cardinals balance the roster and offer a better path to playing time for both players. Mike Shildt is probably familiar with both players and might be able to unlock something the Cards couldn’t.
They lost a $60MM annual revenue stream. They are probably lucky if they’re getting 1/3 of that now. They were already approaching the MLB debt to income ratio.
It’s going to be a tough few years for all the Diamond Sports teams unless the broadcast and streaming rights get figured out quickly.
In 2013, Javier Baez had 44 errors at short in the minors, in 2015 he was arguably the best defensive player in the majors and was a major reason baseball started the gold glove for utility players.
Baez, like Morel, issue was his arm and footwork. I’m not saying Morel is going to be a good glove defender at third base but people are quick to mock his defense even though he hasn’t had much of a chance to improve it.
drascoo- It’s OK, The commentators here have no idea what the Cubs have in the Farm System . You can tell they’ve watched absolutely zero games. Just like Callis and Friends took forever to see what I knew from watching the games on the MLB Minor League app. The fact is if Morel can’t hack it, And I think he can at 3B, There’s Shaw, Triantos and some others in the lower minors that will come fast. Kalmer and Long are 23 and 21 already. Kalmer had 10 Hr’s and 42 RBI’s in 129 AB’s after being drafted last year in A ball. At 23 he’s been at college for 4 years and has tremendous power. They just need to show some patience. Everybody is saying that it won’t work before a pitch has been thrown in ST. I suggest to anybody who writes for this site actually watch some games before they make judgements. The list of Cub Bashers is as long as it is tedious.
I graduated high school in 1994 and I’m from the same area in the Pacific Northwest where Kurt Cobain cut his teeth, so that band was a big part of my teenage years/early 20’s….but I never listen to Nirvana anymore, I think I just overplayed them back in the day, and they were just so huge that it was just something that had to be left in that era. The MTV Unplugged album is probably the best thing they ever did, especially introducing us to the Meat Puppets, haha.
I love that there weren’t any questions answered about the Rangers. They do as good a job here as Fangraphs and ESPN and especially that John Smoltz fella.
Re the Boras four:
Mark writes some people liken them ‘to bank robbers or something’.
No, I don’t believe many people blame the players. Most people here I believe, blame Boras for blowing smoke up the players ego.
Boras is the bank robber, not the players.
After all these years he players know how the game is played. If they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to play the Boras game, they move to a different agency or simply tell him to get them a deal now.
I’m not a fan of Boras or his tactics (as a baseball fan) but I realize it’s part of the process for the game as we know it in todays world.
Or you’re just being ridiculous. Braves have had barely any public chat questions answered related to them in over a month, as an example, but good luck trying to convince people it’s because of bias against them.
So despite how they’ve seen quite a number of writers come and go over the course of almost a decade and a half, they’ve managed to keep a consistent bias of the Rangers throughout it all? Yeah, that doesn’t sound ridiculous at all…
Maybe nobody is talking about the Rangers because they’ve made it obvious for a month now saying that they’re pretty much done and tapped out. It’s not like they’re waiting for prices to come down anymore, Most teams have decided that the big 4 that are left just aren’t worth the investment, Period. Montgomery overplayed his hand with Boston because his fiance’ is a medical professional who’s doing her residency in Boston which is why they’ve been living there. Other than that, The rest are just living in fantasy land as to what they think they’re worth. They all have or have had flaws
that make big money long term contracts highly unlikely, Especially at this late stage. Montgomery should of signed early with Boston but you know who put images in his head of big piles of money coming his way. If he signs a 1 year deal now just glancing at next years FA pitchers, He’s going to be an afterthought again next year. He’s boxed himself into a corner.
I don’t put too much stock in low minor numbers, at least not when it’s guys we drafted out of college and they are playing against significantly younger and inexperienced competition. A lot of these guys are trying to develop pitches and older competition takes advantage of that.
Double A is generally where I concentrate, generally it’s more advanced competition, triple A has too many guys that get sent back down to work on a particular thing and again, hitters realize it and exploit it.
I would agree with this assessment. The team is clear that the Diamond Sports bankruptcy is impacting revenue to the point that they’re not going to even have the same payroll. This fits a lot of the teams impacted in this fiasco.
Ignorant it all depends on where you live at least it seems that it’s mixed in the Midwest people say coke pop soda. I’m a soda guy (Chicago area) Northeast is soda . South mixed . This is a great idea for a pole question in next chat . Is pop the choice term in the area you live in? Now have a coke and a smile.
Lol yeah in here in the Pacific Northwest I do hear Pop a lot more often
but it was far more the rule when I was a kid. If anyone said Soda, we thought they were from the East Coast.
Cease for Holliday? Sheesh.
Often we agree. But on this one I can’t. I have no idea how good Holliday might someday be, but Cease just isn’t that guy for me. He’s good. Just not THAT good.
I don’t know that the O’s need Jimenez or even Robert. I assume the O’s kicked the tires on Cease and decided they liked their prospects more. I really think they should sign Monty. They have very little on the books long term. They could add a year or two to spread the money out and not really put themselves in financial jeopardy.
Even the fantasy trade evaluator agrees. It’s not even close to a 1:1 trade. The O’s will not make this trade.
The Rangers could probably really use Cease with there pitching questions and they should probably trade Langford since the already have a real good outfield but they won’t.
But yet you want the Orioles to trade the better prospect for Cease. Yup makes a lot of sense.
Number of players in MLB history who were unanimous future first ballot hall of famers while still in their 20s is pretty slim, man.
Every year there’s another “Next Mike Trout” but there really isn’t one. Trout’s the best player besides a roided out Barry Bonds to have played the game in the past 50 years. Finishing #1 in MLB position player WAR from 2012-2016.. 5 straight years? Hasn’t been done by a player with a 10+ WAR season since the days of Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle..
Pujols did it, but never hit that 10 WAR mark.
Bonds never led more than 4 straight years.
Langford is an advanced college hitter. He’s 22 it’s likely that Holliday starts as a 20 year old with less than 700 plate appearances from high school. That’s very rare and he dominated at every stop. In this case yes the numbers lie. I like Langford and in limited appearances he looked outstanding but it still doesn’t change the fact that Holliday is the better prospect and suggesting another team they should trade the better prospect for Cease when you say the Rangers should never trade Langford despite needing starting pitching help almost as bad as the Orioles. Well that’s just being obtuse.
There’s also the caveat that there’s a non zero chance Langford might be a really good DH time will tell but his outfield defensive instincts appear lacking.
Dreaming on Dom Smith? Double sheesh!
Padres passing on Voit and Vogelbach and a host of others on cheap minor league deals.
Cheap minor league deals.
Deals within their budget.
Why?
What is going on with this club, when Voit on minor league deal costs too much?
Create a story by moving Bogaerts from ss to 2b. Acts as an “acquisition” to keep the Padres ‘in the news’ as if they are “makimg moves” with the casuals.
Smh.
The Padres should call the Cardinals. Alec Burleson and Luken Baker offer more upside than Voit and Vogelbach. They’re both cheap and I’m sure the two teams could work out a deal. We’re not talking about cleaning out the farm system to get either or both of these guys. It would help the Cardinals balance the roster and offer a better path to playing time for both players. Mike Shildt is probably familiar with both players and might be able to unlock something the Cards couldn’t.
Mike Ford is still avaliable!!! Send a postcard to AJ Preller to remind him of the fact. Ford hit 16 bombs for the M’s last season!!
They lost a $60MM annual revenue stream. They are probably lucky if they’re getting 1/3 of that now. They were already approaching the MLB debt to income ratio.
It’s going to be a tough few years for all the Diamond Sports teams unless the broadcast and streaming rights get figured out quickly.
In 2013, Javier Baez had 44 errors at short in the minors, in 2015 he was arguably the best defensive player in the majors and was a major reason baseball started the gold glove for utility players.
Baez, like Morel, issue was his arm and footwork. I’m not saying Morel is going to be a good glove defender at third base but people are quick to mock his defense even though he hasn’t had much of a chance to improve it.
drascoo- It’s OK, The commentators here have no idea what the Cubs have in the Farm System . You can tell they’ve watched absolutely zero games. Just like Callis and Friends took forever to see what I knew from watching the games on the MLB Minor League app. The fact is if Morel can’t hack it, And I think he can at 3B, There’s Shaw, Triantos and some others in the lower minors that will come fast. Kalmer and Long are 23 and 21 already. Kalmer had 10 Hr’s and 42 RBI’s in 129 AB’s after being drafted last year in A ball. At 23 he’s been at college for 4 years and has tremendous power. They just need to show some patience. Everybody is saying that it won’t work before a pitch has been thrown in ST. I suggest to anybody who writes for this site actually watch some games before they make judgements. The list of Cub Bashers is as long as it is tedious.
Ok Mark, before I engage your Nirvana assessment, I have to ask. How old were you in 1994?
I graduated high school in 1994 and I’m from the same area in the Pacific Northwest where Kurt Cobain cut his teeth, so that band was a big part of my teenage years/early 20’s….but I never listen to Nirvana anymore, I think I just overplayed them back in the day, and they were just so huge that it was just something that had to be left in that era. The MTV Unplugged album is probably the best thing they ever did, especially introducing us to the Meat Puppets, haha.
Totally agree….about Nirvana.
Nirvana WAS NOT overrated
What team does this Nirvana guy play for?
Northern Lights
I love that there weren’t any questions answered about the Rangers. They do as good a job here as Fangraphs and ESPN and especially that John Smoltz fella.
Neither does your alter ego.
Re the Boras four:
Mark writes some people liken them ‘to bank robbers or something’.
No, I don’t believe many people blame the players. Most people here I believe, blame Boras for blowing smoke up the players ego.
Boras is the bank robber, not the players.
After all these years he players know how the game is played. If they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to play the Boras game, they move to a different agency or simply tell him to get them a deal now.
I’m not a fan of Boras or his tactics (as a baseball fan) but I realize it’s part of the process for the game as we know it in todays world.
The players thst sign with him do as well.
I believe he suggested the reference as the Boras 4 sounded like a 1930’s bank robbing gang, not the 4 as robbing anyone.
Db
Why does anyone need to be “blamed” for anything?
Or you’re just being ridiculous. Braves have had barely any public chat questions answered related to them in over a month, as an example, but good luck trying to convince people it’s because of bias against them.
So despite how they’ve seen quite a number of writers come and go over the course of almost a decade and a half, they’ve managed to keep a consistent bias of the Rangers throughout it all? Yeah, that doesn’t sound ridiculous at all…
Maybe nobody is talking about the Rangers because they’ve made it obvious for a month now saying that they’re pretty much done and tapped out. It’s not like they’re waiting for prices to come down anymore, Most teams have decided that the big 4 that are left just aren’t worth the investment, Period. Montgomery overplayed his hand with Boston because his fiance’ is a medical professional who’s doing her residency in Boston which is why they’ve been living there. Other than that, The rest are just living in fantasy land as to what they think they’re worth. They all have or have had flaws
that make big money long term contracts highly unlikely, Especially at this late stage. Montgomery should of signed early with Boston but you know who put images in his head of big piles of money coming his way. If he signs a 1 year deal now just glancing at next years FA pitchers, He’s going to be an afterthought again next year. He’s boxed himself into a corner.
I don’t put too much stock in low minor numbers, at least not when it’s guys we drafted out of college and they are playing against significantly younger and inexperienced competition. A lot of these guys are trying to develop pitches and older competition takes advantage of that.
Double A is generally where I concentrate, generally it’s more advanced competition, triple A has too many guys that get sent back down to work on a particular thing and again, hitters realize it and exploit it.
I would agree with this assessment. The team is clear that the Diamond Sports bankruptcy is impacting revenue to the point that they’re not going to even have the same payroll. This fits a lot of the teams impacted in this fiasco.
I refuse to read any sports stories about salaries and payrolls.
It’s called Pop, not Soda.
Ignorant it all depends on where you live at least it seems that it’s mixed in the Midwest people say coke pop soda. I’m a soda guy (Chicago area) Northeast is soda . South mixed . This is a great idea for a pole question in next chat . Is pop the choice term in the area you live in? Now have a coke and a smile.
Lol yeah in here in the Pacific Northwest I do hear Pop a lot more often
but it was far more the rule when I was a kid. If anyone said Soda, we thought they were from the East Coast.
Next time around, ask him how the “tonic” was. That should rattle everyone’s cage.
Thanks for the chat. Informative as usual.
Would it be possible to format the text like the regular articles? I find it difficult (very) to read.
Robert M
7:41 How do baseball fans keep the motivation to continue watching when your team perpetually misses the playoffs?
Focus on the farm system, enjoy the ball park experience.