Uncategorized News & Rumors

Just wanted to make sure anyone who is remotely interested in basketball has bookmarked the new site HoopsBuzz.  We’ve got twelve sharp guys currently writing for it, so several posts appear every day.  It’s in the general style of this blog, and I think you should get acquainted.  Leave some comments, the authors would love some feedback.

If you’re baffled by the current state of fielding statistics in baseball, welcome to the club.  Dave’s latest post at U.S.S. Mariner outlines the contenders and rates the usefulness of the various defensive metrics.

And don’t forget to swing by HoopsBuzz regularly.  Check out the latest rumors involving Chris Bosh, Darko Milicic, and Ron Artest.

Finally, I’ve got a Wade Miller projection up at RotoAuthority.

I’m looking for a few good writers.  Could be bloggers, journalism majors, or anyone else who can write a few paragraphs five times a week.  We’ve got a sister blog called HoopsBuzz, where I’m attempting to create a community based on basketball trade rumors and signings.  It’d be very similar to this blog, but all about the NBA and college hoops.  I’ve got a couple of openings for worthy bloggers.

I can’t pay anything currently because I doubt the site will make money.  If you can build an audience and consistently post quality material, there will be compensation down the road.  The benefits: free use of the TypePad blogging service (costs over $100 a year), a nice resume builder, and a built-in audience of at least a couple hundred readers.  Plus, it’s just plain fun to establish a network of sources and be a conduit of inside information.  Email me if you’re qualified and interested.

A frequent commenter here at MLBTradeRumors named Jarid recently launched a Cubs website that you should check out.  Talking Cubs has a cool live chat option and a discussion board if you want to start up a conversation.  The site also has a countdown until Opening Day.  In case you were wondering, we’re 95 days, 12 hours, 52 minutes, and 4 seconds away.

The Rangers signed Kevin Millwood today to a four year deal with an option for the fifth year, the Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.  MSNBC is reporting that the deal is worth $60MM over five years and the fifth year vests based on innings pitched.  The signing is vaguely reminiscent of the five-year pact given to Chan Ho Park after his stellar age 28 season.  Upon joining Texas, Park saw his walk, home run, and hit rates shoot up dramatically.  He pitched only 380 innings for the Rangers.

The revamped Rangers rotation will include Millwood, Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla, and a couple of holdovers.  The Rangers don’t seem to be considering right-hander Joaquin Benoit for a rotation spot, and he might make a very good pickup for a team in need of a cheap starter with upside.

According to component ERA, Millwood’s career best 2.86 ERA should’ve actually been more like 3.40.  That ranks just above Jon Garland.  Component ERA takes a pitcher’s walks, hits, and homers allowed to compute an ERA without factoring in luck or defense.

Millwood has averaged 185 innings over the last three seasons.  Health will be a major concern for Texas’s pitching staff in 2006, as Adam Eaton has averaged 170 and Vicente Padilla is at 157.  One positive note is that Millwood is above average in home run prevention.

Randy Johnson and Mark Prior both had disappointing seasons in 2005.  Johnson didn’t meet high expectations based on his past performance, and Prior’s season has caused some to question whether he’ll ever be an ace.  I’ve done my best to project both pitchers’ 2006; check it out at RotoAuthority as a sneak peek before my 2006 Fantasy Guide becomes available.

Randy Johnson Projection

Mark Prior Projection

Back on October 25th, I mentioned in my Top 50 Free Agents list that "if Damon and Lofton aren’t available, Preston Wilson may frighteningly be the best option in CF" for the Yankees.  At this point, it’s starting to look like the Yankees won’t try to acquire even a Wilson type for their vacancy.

According to a source of mine just returning from the winter meetings, the Yankees don’t like the CF market and didn’t have the ammo to acquire Juan Pierre or even Joey Gathright.  The club plans on shoving Bubba Crosby out there to start the season and making a deal mid-season.  I origninally thought all of this Bubba stuff was just posturing, but it seems the Yankees will really give him a shot for a few months.

Once we reach July, the Cardinals and Twins will have a better gauge on whether they want to deal Jim Edmonds and Torii Hunter.  Edmonds has an affordable $10MM club option for 2007, so the Yanks would really have to put together an impressive package to pry him away.  But the Cardinals are looking more like an 85-90 win team these days, and with a little bad luck they could be dealing off a few veterans by summertime.  The Twins can exercise a $12MM option on Hunter for 2007, and that’s probably not going to happen.  Look for the Hunter talks to heat up a few months into the ’06 season. 

Today, the Red Sox sent shortstop Edgar Renteria and $11MM for third baseman Andy Marte.  That’s got to be a record for Martes traded in one day.  I don’t think it was a bad move by the Braves, considering that they’ll have a decent shortstop for three years at less than half the price of Rafael Furcal.

On the other hand, Marte has the potential be a star.  I know, "potential" is a loaded word.  But when a player hits .275/.372/.506 in Triple A at age 21, it screams "future star."  Marte was ranked the best prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus heading into 2005. 

Conditionally, this could be a historic trade by the Red Sox.  I say conditionally because if the Red Sox flip him to Tampa Bay for a mere Julio Lugo, it would be a colossal mistake.  I don’t know who should play short for the Red Sox, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of Marte.  Sign Alex Gonzalez or Nomar, whatever.

Fenway would be very beneficial to Andy Marte, as it inflates home runs for righthanders by 13%.  Could be an extra 40-50 bombs over the course of a long and illustrious career.  It would be a shame if Mike Lowell got in the way for more than a month or two just because he makes a lot of money.   

For all you NBA fans out there, Jim has a new post up on HoopsBuzz concerning the 76ers’ options for their trade exception.  Read the article here.

I’m proud to introduce a new blog in our little family here.  It’s called HoopsBuzz, and you’ll find the latest basketball rumors and happenings there.

Jim is the main author, and I think you’ll find him eloquent and well-versed in the game of basketball.  Feel free to shoot him any hot hoops tips you’ve heard at hoopsbuzz@gmail.com. 

So, what are you waiting for basketball fans?  Bookmark HoopsBuzz and be the first to know what’s going on with the NBA and college hoops.

Today’s post concerns possible deals involving Michael Olowakandi and Earl Watson.