Arena The Major League Baseball Thread

In non-steroid/A-Rod related news... http://deadspin.com/the-cubs-new-mascot-is-a-nightmarish-perverted-furry-1500538043]Cubs[/url] unveil new mascot.






Yikes. This leaves 3 teams (I'm surprised the number is that low) without mascots... the Yankees, Angels & Dodgers*.





*It better remain that way. As fun as this was during the NLCS last year: , it would grow tiring ever so quickly on a nightly basis. Of course, that was just a random dude doing his thing, but the point remains.

 

As a Cubs fan, this grinds my gears. Theo should be focusing on making us competitive, not worrying about keeping little kids occupied during the game(obviously watching the kriffing thing isn't important).

At least they didn't resurrect this guy:



Sent from my stupid little astro droid using TapaTalk 2.

 

Could have been worse. They could have picked this one for the Cubs mascot!

 

That would be an improvement, methinks.

 

Because he's 25, entering the prime of his career, and is arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, this deal more than makes sense/is one I & other Dodger fans ought to be happy with. Of course there's risk, injury wise or if Clayton takes a Linceumeqsue drop off in ability, but considering the financial health of the franchise and how close baseball wise the team is to something great & special, this is a very good risk to take.


Short version:

 

Why oh why did my parents not push me more with baseball when I was little? $215 million to pitch every 5th day! Is there any better life? I mean seriously.
Good for the Dodgers though. At least they are giving him all this money while he's still real young, and he's likely to keep producing at a high level for the duration of the contract, or close to it.
Kershaw is a total beast, but $215 million for a pitcher though...I just...there are no words!

 

With this deal, I wonder if the Dodgers will still pursue and afford Tanaka.

 

The Dodgers new TV deal is paying them something like $250 million per year. I wouldn't say they can easily afford it, but they can still work in Tanaka, especially since Ramirez and Beckett are free agents after this season.

Amazing.

 

Must be nice.

My Reds can't even get rid of one free agent pitcher, Arroyo. But they did try to rid themselves of the star player, Brandon Phillips. Reds fans are hearing nothing but crickets in this off season.

 

And the Price trade rumors can begin anew starting next week.

 

This surprises me, given their history of making shrewd deals when it's apparent they can't afford (save for Longoria) top shelf talent.



http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10305223/mlb-owners-ok-expanded-replay-2014]Instant[/url] replay approved for 2014





Good.

Having Tanaka would be nice, and even with a rotation that's already strong, you can never have enough starting pitching... however, I'd rather (even with his injury issues) the money be spent to give Hanley an extension. In theory the Bums could likely do both, but if a choice has to be made, then they should go with Hanley.

 

I really don't like the challenge system. I'm glad they're expanding replay, so it's better than nothing. But the whole point of replay is to get the calls right. Joe Torre said this would add to the strategy the manager has to consider. That is, in no way, the right reason to expand replay. Get the calls right. I don't want to watch Terry Collins struggle with trying to decide to challenge a play. And why are calls after the 7th inning granted more importance? A play in the first inning can decide a game just as much as one late in the game. And can managers still argue? Can they run out there, get their five minutes of arguing in and then not challenge? One of the most important parts of replay is not hindering the pace of play and I feel like a challenge system is going to hurt more than help. Probably. In my more rational moments I realize the number of plays that will actually be challenged is probably pretty small. But that doesn't mean this is a good system.

Amazing.

 

I agree - not a fan of a challenge system.

 

The first $30 million man. It was inevitable, I suppose.

 

I'm willing to wait to see how this goes in the first few weeks of the season before rendering a final opinion.

 

A very good risk for the Yankees to take, especially with how "old" so much of the team is. Depending on several things, Tanaka could end up being their #1 starter someday.


http://dodgersdigest.com/2014/01/22/finally-dodgers-announce-snla-launch-date-team/]The[/url] new Dodger network, SNLA, to launch February 25th; Hershiser to join Steiner for non-Scully games on television, Garciaparra to be a part of the studio crew






Yessssssssssssssssss sir!

 

Insane amount of money for a player who hasn't thrown a pitch in the Majors yet. I mean, at least bring him over and have him prove himself a little bit. I always get amused when teams will throw these huge amounts of money in posting fees (dumb in the first place) and contracts to players who....dominated in Japan? Good for them, come over here and play in the big leagues and see if you're as good before asking for that kind of money. Really other then Ichiro and Hideki Matsui, what other Japanese players have had sustained success over here? Darvish looks good so far, I'll give him that. And Kuroda has been solid in his career, but not spectacular. But other then that, there have been dozens of Kaz Matsui's and Hideki Irabu's. Even Hideo Nomo, as great as he was in his rookie year, was never the same once hitters figured him out. It's all these unorthodox swings, deliveries, and high leg kicks that don't transfer to the game over here. But GM's are willing to throw all this cash at them. I don't get it.
Okay, rant over! LOL!

 

Blame the Japanese leagues for forcing them to either put up the insane amounts of posting fees to even talk to the players or else they won't let the players test the American market in the first place.

 

I don't see how you can blame the Japanese Leagues for the posting fees. They're trying to maintain their own league and keep their stars there, there should be some compensation to them. And the posting fee this year was capped at $20 million which is pretty low. In terms of what he's getting paid, it's pretty clear that's where the market was set, given how many teams went over $100 million for him. He's really just bypassing the team control/arbitration process. Imagine what types of contracts would be given if players in the minors were free to sign with any team for any amount to be called up to the majors, that's all this was. And just think how many players wouldn't pan out if that was the process?

I think if you did a thorough analysis, the only true busts in the group are Kaz Matsui and Kei Igawa. Irabu is seen as a bust, but the Yankees only paid him about $8.5 million for the three years he played for them. That's less than the Mets were paying Bobby Jones at the same time, and he was hardly a star. And Irabu was decent enough in 1998 and 1999. Matsuzaka can be considered a bust if you count the posting fee, but that's a separate consideration from the salary he's paid.

The biggest concern with the contract is the Yankees are giving him a 7 year deal and 7 year deals never work out for pitchers.

Amazing.