By Tim Dierkes | at
Pitcher Curt Schilling sounded off on former teammate Manny Ramirez yesterday on WEEI. His comments can be found here and here. Schilling says management ultimately took a players’ vote, and they elected to have Manny traded. The public is aware of just 10-20% of Ramirez’s antics, according to Schilling.
Meanwhile, Joe Posnanski takes a look at the genius of Manny in a column at SI.com.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Highlights from Jon Heyman’s latest column at SI.com:
By Tim Dierkes | at
WEDNESDAY: Amalie Benjamin sifts through the murky statements regarding the Epstein negotiations. Regardless, it looks like he’s staying.
TUESDAY: According to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has agreed to a contract extension. Some details still need to be hammered out though.
Epstein’s moves since winning the World Series last year:
By Tim Dierkes | at
Digging into today’s random links…
By Tim Dierkes | at
Let’s take a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa is shaking things up – last week he asked the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams not to draft him. He wants to join an MLB team instead. His decision, coupled with interest from multiple MLB teams, is putting a major strain on MLB-NPB relations.
Peter Abraham of The Journal News had an informative article on the Tazawa situation yesterday. He says Tazawa’s decision is testing an informal agreement that MLB will not sign Japanese prospects. Abraham says the Red Sox, Mets, Braves, and Dodgers have scouted Tazawa. The Tigers, Pirates, Cubs, and Mariners may also be in the mix. The Red Sox are said to be in the lead. There’s no posting free for an unsigned player, though Tazawa may want a big league deal.
The Yankees will pass – GM Brian Cashman told Abraham he will honor the gentleman’s agreement between the two leagues. When the Yanks sent Gene Michael to Japan last week, it was apparently to scout Yu Darvish. Darvish’s availability this winter will hinge on the whims of the Nippon Ham Fighters. No one knows whether the Fighters will cash the 22 year-old in now for a possible $60-80MM posting fee.
NPB directors convened to discuss the Tazawa situation last week, and they’re sending a delegation to the U.S. to meet with MLB. Abraham suggests NPB could strike back if Bud Selig doesn’t step in to stop the pursuit of Japanese players before they are drafted. Abraham speculates Japan could pull out of the World Baseball Classic or even sign an American amateur player as retaliation. Or, as Patrick Newman suggested to me recently, a team like Softbank could jump in and sign Pedro Alvarez or Aaron Crow.
By Coley Ward 2 | at
The Red Sox announced Saturday that reliever Hideki Okajima’s option has officially vested for next season.
Because he pitched in 115 games this season and last, the Red Sox were bound to pick up Okajima’s $1.75 million option for 2009.
Entering Saturday’s doubleheader with Toronto, Okajima, 32, has pitched in 123 games over the past two seasons. This season he’s got a 2.88 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 56.3 innings. Those are impressive numbers, though he’s had a bit of a problem allowing inherited runners to score.
Still, Okajima for $1.75 million is a steal — an absolute no-brainer. Other teams are paying set-up men far more, and have had to hand out long-term contacts, like the Phillies gave to J.C. Romero (three years and $12 million) or the White Sox gave to Scott Linebrink (four years and $19 million).
Oh, and Okajima’s got the absolute greatest theme song.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News thinks the Rockies are primed for a major shakeup this winter. Specifically, GM Dan O’Dowd could move two star players in Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins.
Ringolsby figures the Phillies, Angels, Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox will be the main suitors for Holliday. The 28 year-old is hitting .311/.403/.492 on the road this year, suggesting he could be a .900 OPS masher in any park. I’m not seeing the fit for the Red Sox, while the Yanks could work Holliday in if they let Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu leave. The other three teams also make sense in certain scenarios. But do the Phillies have the top-level pitching needed to acquire Holliday? It’s been suggested in the past that dark horses such as the Royals or Nationals could enter the mix for the slugger.
Atkins, 28, is hitting .235/.281/.386 away from Coors. His road OPS was under .800 last year as well, so suitors will be wary. Ringolsby suggests the Angels, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees here. Again I don’t see the fit for Boston. The Twins would need faith in Atkins’ ability to play third base. Unlike Holliday, Atkins is under team control through 2010.
By Tim Dierkes | at
As expected, amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa has decided to forego Japanese baseball and sign with an MLB team. The Braves, Tigers, Red Sox, Pirates, Mets, and Yankees are thought to be in on him. Patrick Newman has a slew of links and videos on Tazawa here.
I am curious what NPB fans think of this development.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Random links to start the morning…
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