Offseason Transactions

[CyHawk_Cub]

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[cwood218]

 

 

looks like most of those were balls with the few strikes being right down the middle ... perhaps he needs some time with Crash Davis and Annie Savoy:

[Post Count Padder]

#YouWereGood

 

The Nationals have signed veteran catcher Miguel Montero to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training, tweets Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Damn. Can't help but feel bad for the guy.

 

He was having the worst season of his life—in a league of 20- and 21-year-olds. Ten starts in, on his 23rd birthday, Appel hit the mental reset button. He was scheduled to pitch the next day against the Visalia Rawhide, a chance to move past the 9.57 ERA he had posted as a 22-year-old.

 

Instead, he had the worst start of his life. Appel went 1.2 innings and allowed seven hits and seven runs while striking out two and walking one. He walked off the mound and watched the next inning before returning to the locker room, tears streaming down his face. He shut the door and screamed until his voice went hoarse. Across the locker room, about the distance from the pitching mound to home plate, he noticed a particle-board panel and a baseball lying on the ground next to him. He picked it up and threw it across the locker room as hard as he could, 100 mph, aiming for the wood.

 

The ball broke through and hit the drywall and sheetrock behind it.

 

"That felt good," Appel thought. "I need to do more of that."

 

He grabbed a box of balls sitting above a locker. For 30 minutes, Appel threw 80 baseballs at the wall, cracking through the board and hitting the wall with a thud. When he was finished, he sat down, breathing heavily, grunting. Ten minutes after the noise ended, Appel's teammate, Josh Hader, walked out of the bathroom. He had heard the entire ordeal and was too scared to leave the stall. The pair laughed before Hader returned to the field and silence filled the room. Appel heard the crowd cheering outside, the air conditioner purring in the background.

 

 

 

Yeah. I can be jealous of guys who get drafted, make millions, but its so hard to see them when they fail that big

[Cubswin11]

I'm all for players trying to get the most money but it's hard to buy in to collusion or teams holding prices down when you hear this, from Rosenthal's article he just posted...

 

The industry-wide assumption remains that free-agent outfielder J.D. Martinez will land in Boston, but the Red Sox cannot be sure.

 

Martinez, 30, has yet to accept Boston’s reported five-year, $125 million offer. He is telling people in Miami that he is willing to hold out until he gets his price, as first reported by FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. He also is telling people that he is fed up with the Red Sox’s inflexibility and would rather sign with another club, sources say.

 

I'm sure he wants more and thought he'd get more but 5/125 seems quite reasonably fair for a player like Martinez all things considered (age, DH only, power not being as premium with juiced balls/swing changes/whatever, etc.).

[Splendid Splinter]

He also played more than 123 games once in 7 seasons.

[Cubswin11]

Another thing in all this that amazes me, and it's not just MLB it's all the major sports, is that I don't get why former players lead the union (in more than a figurehead role). They are negotiating against billionaire owners and leagues who have guys with Ivy League MBA and Law degrees going up against them, it's a unbalanced negotiating table form the start just from a pure intellectual perspective. I'm sure it's not just Tony Clark up against a boardroom full of Owner and League lawyers and I'm sure he has assistance from people with the requisite skill sets but in all league it seems like the main player repping them has major say in the negotiations (obviously the players need a voice at the table and they can handle some things) but it really seems like they should have a former agent/someone with a MBA/Law Degree being their leader and head of things and not a former player.

 

I remember when the NBA had their lockout a few years ago Simmons wrote about this how it was ridiculous Derek Fisher (head of the union at the time) was the main guy negotiating for the players against a bunch of guys who's job it is full time to negotiate deals for the owners/league.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Another thing in all this that amazes me, and it's not just MLB it's all the major sports, is that I don't get why former players lead the union (in more than a figurehead role). They are negotiating against billionaire owners and leagues who have guys with Ivy League MBA and Law degrees going up against them, it's a unbalanced negotiating table form the start just from a pure intellectual perspective. I'm sure it's not just Tony Clark up against a boardroom full of Owner and League lawyers and I'm sure he has assistance from people with the requisite skill sets but in all league it seems like the main player repping them has major say in the negotiations (obviously the players need a voice at the table and they can handle some things) but it really seems like they should have a former agent/someone with a MBA/Law Degree being their leader and head of things and not a former player.

 

I remember when the NBA had their lockout a few years ago Simmons wrote about this how it was ridiculous Derek Fisher (head of the union at the time) was the main guy negotiating for the players against a bunch of guys who's job it is full time to negotiate deals for the owners/league.

 

Depending on your definition, Clark is the first former player to head the MLBPA, the only other possibility is when Bob Feller was President of The American Baseball Guild, which was pre-unionization. It's been labor lawyers running the show for the 55 years between Feller and Clark.

[Cubswin11]

Another thing in all this that amazes me, and it's not just MLB it's all the major sports, is that I don't get why former players lead the union (in more than a figurehead role). They are negotiating against billionaire owners and leagues who have guys with Ivy League MBA and Law degrees going up against them, it's a unbalanced negotiating table form the start just from a pure intellectual perspective. I'm sure it's not just Tony Clark up against a boardroom full of Owner and League lawyers and I'm sure he has assistance from people with the requisite skill sets but in all league it seems like the main player repping them has major say in the negotiations (obviously the players need a voice at the table and they can handle some things) but it really seems like they should have a former agent/someone with a MBA/Law Degree being their leader and head of things and not a former player.

 

I remember when the NBA had their lockout a few years ago Simmons wrote about this how it was ridiculous Derek Fisher (head of the union at the time) was the main guy negotiating for the players against a bunch of guys who's job it is full time to negotiate deals for the owners/league.

 

Depending on your definition, Clark is the first former player to head the MLBPA, the only other possibility is when Bob Feller was President of The American Baseball Guild, which was pre-unionization. It's been labor lawyers running the show for the 55 years between Feller and Clark.

I didn't know that on the MLB side, put kinda reinforces the point that now that there isn't a qualified guy running it there's some major contention. I know the NBA has been doing it with a player going back to at least the late 2000s or early 2010s.

[Brian]

good news: something happened

 

bad news: it's just russell wilson being traded to the Yankees because he wanted to be a Yankee

[TarzanJoeWallis]

Another thing in all this that amazes me, and it's not just MLB it's all the major sports, is that I don't get why former players lead the union (in more than a figurehead role). They are negotiating against billionaire owners and leagues who have guys with Ivy League MBA and Law degrees going up against them, it's a unbalanced negotiating table form the start just from a pure intellectual perspective. I'm sure it's not just Tony Clark up against a boardroom full of Owner and League lawyers and I'm sure he has assistance from people with the requisite skill sets but in all league it seems like the main player repping them has major say in the negotiations (obviously the players need a voice at the table and they can handle some things) but it really seems like they should have a former agent/someone with a MBA/Law Degree being their leader and head of things and not a former player.

 

I remember when the NBA had their lockout a few years ago Simmons wrote about this how it was ridiculous Derek Fisher (head of the union at the time) was the main guy negotiating for the players against a bunch of guys who's job it is full time to negotiate deals for the owners/league.

 

Depending on your definition, Clark is the first former player to head the MLBPA, the only other possibility is when Bob Feller was President of The American Baseball Guild, which was pre-unionization. It's been labor lawyers running the show for the 55 years between Feller and Clark.

I didn't know that on the MLB side, put kinda reinforces the point that now that there isn't a qualified guy running it there's some major contention. I know the NBA has been doing it with a player going back to at least the late 2000s or early 2010s.

 

Fisher was just the player rep (it is now Chris Paul). They don’t run the union or serve as lead negotiator. That was Billy Hunter, and now Michele Roberts.

[CubinNY]

I heard a report on MLB radio from an agent who said he received nearly identical offers from two different teams. Both the offers where substandard.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[champaignchris]

So, has it been long enough to retire the theory that everyone was waiting on Darvish and that after he signed there'd be a cascade of other signings?

 

Maybe the new theory should be that everyone other than the Cubs and Brewers are colluding?

[Cubswin11]

So, has it been long enough to retire the theory that everyone was waiting on Darvish and that after he signed there'd be a cascade of other signings?

 

Maybe the new theory should be that everyone other than the Cubs and Brewers are colluding?

It's only been a day and a half since he signed, plus today was a Sunday so a lot of teams might not have had everyone around to do deals. I think we'll see a good chunk of the pitchers sign this week and Boras is doing that thing where he circumvents FO's and goes directly to owners to deal with for JD Martinez and once he goes a lot of the position guys will go soon too.

[Bull]

So, has it been long enough to retire the theory that everyone was waiting on Darvish and that after he signed there'd be a cascade of other signings?

 

Maybe the new theory should be that everyone other than the Cubs and Brewers are colluding?

No. Not long enough. I’m sure there are lots of internal meetings going on this morning where agents and owners alike are processing the Darvish signing and repositioning themselves. New offers will come out shortly after.

[Bruno7481]

The Cardinals signing Bud “too many foreign players in MLB” Norris right after the Cubs signing Darvish is just to easy to even make jokes about.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/fishguts24/status/963076507819298816[/tweet]

[Cubswin11]

[Cubswin11]

Stroman is saying some cryptic things on twitter. He’s in Arizona and the Jays spring training is in Florida..... Brewers, Dodgers and Twins or Phillies (if the latter 2 have ST in Arizona) would all seem to be fits/have the prospects. He’s going to cost a ton though, since it seems like the Jays think they can contend for a WC and aren’t in a rush to move him. He’s controlled for, 4 years.

 

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[ScrubMD]

I saw someone say he’s there for his arbitration hearing.

[Cubswin11]

I saw someone say he’s there for his arbitration hearing.

That appears to be the case along with him doing some appearance thing for an apparel line.

[CubinNY]

The Cardinals signing Bud “too many foreign players in MLB” Norris right after the Cubs signing Darvish is just to easy to even make jokes about.

No it’s not. Please make many jokes and let’s have general jocularity about the event.

[Tim]

The Cardinals signing Bud “too many foreign players in MLB” Norris right after the Cubs signing Darvish is just to easy to even make jokes about.

No it’s not. Please make many jokes and let’s have general jocularity about the event.

meh - it would work better if they didn't have Kolten Wong and Tommy Pham as starters in their lineup.

[CubinNY]

The Cardinals signing Bud “too many foreign players in MLB” Norris right after the Cubs signing Darvish is just to easy to even make jokes about.

No it’s not. Please make many jokes and let’s have general jocularity about the event.

meh - it would work better if they didn't have Kolten Wong and Tommy Pham as starters in their lineup.

See, that's what I'm talking about. That is horsefeathering funny.