The Winter Meetings Thread

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Guys with that skillset are the *most* likely to collapse. Poor athlete who has trouble making contact? That skillset exists of a knife-edge between usefulness and terribleness.

[Clem Fandango]

Guys with that skillset are the *most* likely to collapse. Poor athlete who has trouble making contact? That skillset exists of a knife-edge between usefulness and terribleness.

 

Most likely to go from a .260 AVG with 40 homer power to a guy who hits 128 points less than his weight with less than 15 homers in a hitter friendly park though? Like I said, gradual collapse, sure.

 

But from a 3.5 win guy to a -2.9 win guy? Maybe if it went 3.5, 1.9, 0.6, etc... I can see that happening. But dropping 6.4 wins in one offseason? That doesn't add up to me

 

If his bat speed is gone it totally can. He can still walk because his eyes are good but if he can't catch up with fastball on a regular basis he's done.

 

It's not like he's i his golden years, he was 31 and was coming off a 38 home run season. Can one man's bat speed and strength really dissipate THAT badly over the course of 7-8 months?

[Rob]

Guys with that skillset are the *most* likely to collapse. Poor athlete who has trouble making contact? That skillset exists of a knife-edge between usefulness and terribleness.

 

Most likely to go from a .260 AVG with 40 homer power to a guy who hits 128 points less than his weight with less than 15 homers in a hitter friendly park though? Like I said, gradual collapse, sure.

 

But from a 3.5 win guy to a -2.9 win guy? Maybe if it went 3.5, 1.9, 0.6, etc... I can see that happening. But dropping 6.4 wins in one offseason? That doesn't add up to me

 

If his bat speed is gone it totally can. He can still walk because his eyes are good but if he can't catch up with fastball on a regular basis he's done.

 

It's not like he's i his golden years, he was 31 and was coming off a 38 home run season. Can one man's bat speed and strength really dissipate THAT badly over the course of 7-8 months?

 

The collapse from guys like Dunn is almost never gradual. Most of these sluggers end up hurting their back or knees which slows down the bat speed enough they just can't catch up to a decent fastball. It's much more "fell off a cliff" than "slow and gentle decline into mediocrity."

 

That said, Dunn almost has to experience a dead cat bounce. Unless the White Sox are picking up the whole contract though, I don't want him anywhere near the Cubs.

[Guest]

There's lots of buzz that Ryan Madson and Francisco Rodriguez could accept arbitration with the Phillies and Brewers, respectively, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. I still think Scott Boras will advise both to decline tomorrow night.

 

 

lol at the Phillies if that were to happen.

[Old Style]

How long do the meetings last? I work not too far away and may go hang out at the hotel bar tomorrow night if everyone is still going to be there.

[davell]

How long do the meetings last? I work not too far away and may go hang out at the hotel bar tomorrow night if everyone is still going to be there.

I'm pretty sure GM's talk well into the AM, if a situation dictates it to. Jonah Keri wrote a piece though, basically saying not to expect to see any GM's. You may see some writers though. Pretty sure Kevin Goldstein was tweeting from the bar late last night.

[Schwarber Fan]

RT @Haudricourt: Aramis Ramirez's agent, Paul Kinzer, considers #Brewers "a favorite" for the 3B.

 

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, THAT would [expletive] suck.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Good. Let them waste their money.

[Guest]

I've seen the Brewers mentioned for a couple free agents that stand to make 8 figures, and I still can't figure out how they're going to pull that off without paying them in team store gift cards or something. Are they really going to up their payroll 15 million? Is that going to be their shot before Greinke and Marcum leave and they don't have any farm system left?

[Butterscup1679666578]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

[Sammy Sofa]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

 

Starlin Castro, 2B awaits.

[RynoRules]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

 

Holy _______. If we could trade for Hanley and add Pujols or Fielder....

 

(Hanley might come a little cheaper coming off a down year)

[kujay]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

 

Holy _______. If we could trade for Hanley and add Pujols or Fielder....

 

(Hanley might come a little cheaper coming off a down year)

 

What would a realistic package look like to send for Hanley?

[davell]

The Marlins are certainly "going for it". Ozzie will try everything in his power to make things work with him. It's not like they'll just go out and trade him. But IF things got to that point, they'd be wanting major league talent to replace him. I can't imagine them trading for prospects. My guess is they'd try to get a top of the rotation pitcher for him. One bad year isn't going to deter the asking price on a guy like that. Garza for Hanley? May would be our only shot.

[Tyrant]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

 

Holy _______. If we could trade for Hanley and add Pujols or Fielder....

 

(Hanley might come a little cheaper coming off a down year)

 

What would a realistic package look like to send for Hanley?

 

Garza, Jackson, more stuff.

[Guest]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Hanley Ramirez does not want to play third base and wants to be traded if he can't play shortstop.

 

Holy _______. If we could trade for Hanley and add Pujols or Fielder....

 

(Hanley might come a little cheaper coming off a down year)

 

What would a realistic package look like to send for Hanley?

 

Garza, Jackson, more stuff.

 

More stuff better be code for Logan Morrison.

 

 

The best way to benefit from this is to insert yourselves into a Hanley deal and get a starter and/or an outfielder.

[Old Style]

How long do the meetings last? I work not too far away and may go hang out at the hotel bar tomorrow night if everyone is still going to be there.

I'm pretty sure GM's talk well into the AM, if a situation dictates it to. Jonah Keri wrote a piece though, basically saying not to expect to see any GM's. You may see some writers though. Pretty sure Kevin Goldstein was tweeting from the bar late last night.

I meant what day of the week, not time of the day. Co-worker was there last night. Said he saw Theo, Ozzie Guillen, Cashman, Mariners GM, Heath Bell, and a slew of writers.

[UMFan83]

If you showed that last bit of convo about Dunn to NSBB circa 2006-2007, Tim would have probably taken the board offline for a perminant hiatus.

[davell]

How long do the meetings last? I work not too far away and may go hang out at the hotel bar tomorrow night if everyone is still going to be there.

I'm pretty sure GM's talk well into the AM, if a situation dictates it to. Jonah Keri wrote a piece though, basically saying not to expect to see any GM's. You may see some writers though. Pretty sure Kevin Goldstein was tweeting from the bar late last night.

I meant what day of the week, not time of the day. Co-worker was there last night. Said he saw Theo, Ozzie Guillen, Cashman, Mariners GM, Heath Bell, and a slew of writers.

Pretty sure they'll be leaving mid day or so on Thursday. Unless they've got something working and have to stay. Tomorrow night should be really cool, probably lots of stuff going on, since yesterday and today have both been very tame.

[hardcorecubfan]

Ok, what, if anything, has anyone heard about what the Cubs offered albert? According to the ESPN ticker the Cubs made an offer

[Cubs Fan Dan]

I trust Theo/Jed but man I just wanted something of decent relevance to happen during these meetings.

 

Anyone else thinking we will wake up to a surprise tomorrow?

[Clem Fandango]

Didn't see this anywhere...

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7322611/minnesota-twins-trade-right-hander-kevin-slowey-colorado-rockies

 

The Minnesota Twins have traded winless pitcher Kevin Slowey to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named.

 

The deal was announced Tuesday during baseball's winter meetings.

 

Slowey went 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA this year and was out from May to August because of an abdominal strain. He made eight starts and six relief appearances and the Twins went 0-14 in those games.

 

Slowey became the first major league pitcher to make at least eight starts and lose them all since Lou Sleater of the St. Louis Browns in 1951, STATS LLC said.

 

The 27-year-old Slowey is 39-29 with a 4.66 ERA in five seasons with the Twins. He's been one of the best control pitchers in the majors over that span.

 

Slowey has averaged just 1.42 walks per nine innings, the second-lowest rate in the majors since 2007. Roy Halladay is the only pitcher with a better mark at 1.41.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Pirates Close To Deals With Betemit, McLouth

By Luke Adams [December 6 at 4:41pm CST]

4:41pm: The Pirates are closing in on a one-year deal with McLouth, says MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. She adds that the agreement isn't expected to be finalized until Wednesday.

 

4:14pm: The Pirates are moving closer to deals with Wilson Betemit and Nate McLouth, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

 

 

Good luck with that Pirates.

[davell]

Hell, I was thinking we'd make 3 or 4 moves. I'm disappointed for sure. Not even at the Cubs, all of baseball. This hasn't been worth the buildup this year on any level. At this point, I could see us announcing Wood's contract, or maybe a trade for Stewart. Other than that, the Rule 5 Draft looks like it may be the most interesting thing for us to pay attention to. I'm just wanting something to get done, maybe tonight? But I doubt it, I figure whatever we do, if anything happens tomorrow night. Everything seems tied to Pujols. Or to Wilson. And since they haven't signed, it's at a standstill.