Arena The Major League Baseball Thread

So which part of that method involves the owner bragging about being prepared to spend a stupid amount of money? Well his last name isn't Steinbrenner so he'll get a pass.

 

Honestly, any money (big time money, at least) that you spend on players who have gone through the entirety of their arbitration eligible years and are no longer under team control is going to end up being "stupid". You pay much more for past performance than for future production when you sign these free agents like Harper and Machado. It's much more likely that you'll sit there with an albatross of a contract on your hands than you'll sit there gleefully happy about the money you've spend on free agents. Baseball, more than any other sport, is tilted towards giving teams control at reasonable prices for the best years of a player's career. Why do you think three of the five richest contracts in the history of the sport have seen the player signed to that contract traded to a New York team?

 

Just because some of the largest contracted players in the sport went to a NY team; it doesn't mean that NY holds the monopoly on big money spending. The Dodgers essentially do it on an annual basis. Boston's certainly been doing it the past several years; their homegrown impact players are few and far between (and with Bogaerts on the potential trade block the number could dwindle down even more). But it's not just the big market teams anyway. Who could've predicted Puljols would wind up in near obscurity with Anaheim after so many spectacular years with the Cards? Over the last decade (or sooner), Houston and the Nats have certainly gone after the big money players. Lest we should forget that the Nats were once the Montreal Expos? After the strike in '94, Montreal permanently liquidated their player assets to the rest of baseball. They were the team that the rest of baseball would circle on their calendars as an automatic win.

You're not likely going to see the extensive long-term contracts anymore (like 10 years); at least without clauses and/or incentives. I think Michael Kay talked about it on his radio show yesterday at the Winter Meetings. Teams would be willing to spend a little more on a player for a lesser term; or else that player would have to settle with going to a last resort team like San Diego for the term he was looking for initially.

 

Many, many, many teams who use advanced stats and projections. stat geeks were panning the contract before the ink was dry and the only question was how soon Anaheim would regret it.

It's not that NY teams are handing out these contracts. It's that other teams are handing them out, and then when they grow to quickly regret them, trading them to a NY team. Arod to the Yankees in the third year of his deal. Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees in the third year of his deal. Robinson Cano to the Mets in the ... you guessed it ... third year of his deal. NY doesn't own a monopoly on bad contracts and big spending, but they do have better resources to absorb knowingly bad contracts.

So, don't worry, Yankee fans, if you don't sign Machado or Harper this off-season. They'll be traded to you in about two years. Unless they are that underwhelming. In which case, the Mets will trade for them. (Sorry Pointy and B)

 

Eh, I think the more likely trend will be control for years, so that if someone gets more than 7 years then they don't get a no-trade clause beyond the 10/5 rules guaranteed by the CBA.

 

Arod was only traded to the Yankees after a deal with another team fell through. @Chromide wanna shake on it?

 

Because Boston (who is flush with cash) was only willing to do a trade for him if money was taken off of his deal. Thank you for providing yet more proof to back up my claim that New York teams are uniquely suited to absorb bad, expensive contracts.

 

Yeah, about that...

https://deadspin.com/its-pretty-messed-up-that-the-red-sox-might-be-shedding-1831038381

what a joke...

 

The Lesson, as always: **** Boston

 

I don't know if I I'd say I liked Happ better than Tanaka; but I am glad they re-signed him.

 

Also "Blame dp4m" or "dp4m is an idiot"...

 

Actual quote from Scott Boras: “This is a submarine race, not a regatta,” he says. “You do not want other teams knowing you’re interested in a generation [sic] player. No one wants to be known as a loser in this.”

 

I've long maintained that the Yankees' (and Dodgers and other real big market teams) true competitive advantage isn't their ability to sign everyone under the sun, but that when they miss on a big contract, it doesn't cripple them for years like a smaller market.

Amazing.

 

Define "years"; as in how long? The Mets themselves have missed out on a big contract here and there over the past several years, but that hasn't kept them from being competitive in the NL East as much as their own injuries have - and that plagues every team both big and small markets.

 

Cleveland makes a trade at the Winter Meetings involving Bauers.

No. not Trevor Bauer. Jake Bauers.

But the Smoothest and most important thing, is this guy coming home:

 

it sure was fun having him on the mariners!

 

The most disturbing investigative reporting of the year after the Larry Nassar stuff...

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...ions-nfl-nhl-nba-mlb-stadiums-2018-espn-lines

@anakinfansince1983 -- your team sucks...

 

I hate you people though...

 

#yeswecanseco

Brilliant