cheapseats

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/2007_zips_projections_st_louis_cardinals/

In other news, Jeff Garcia remains with Carmella DeCesare. But TO said he was gay. :?:

Matt's wife can't be happy about that.

Wow! The Bears should own the Seahawks.

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/gonfalon_cubs/discussion/stretching_reality/ Good argument for Howry as closer and Dempster as ROOGY.

And Steve Finley put up a .900 OPS in 2000. Doesn't much change the fact that he's washed up now, though. http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/cubs_signed_derosa/ http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/2007_zips_projections_boston_red_sox/ Again, we're paying Derosa more per year for three years when it's likely that Loretta will provide as much, if not more, value next year.

Mark Derosa, in the best year of his career last year, didn't even meet Loretta's career OBP mark. I'd much rather have one year of Loretta than three years of Derosa. For everything that Ned Colletti gets wrong, and he gets almost everything wrong, he's done well with the length of contracts to guys like Schmidt and Furcal.

Why does Kenny Williams need a theme song? And if Kenny gets one, won't Hendry want one, too?

I dunno. I used to want to hear "Patience." Especially the whistling in the intro.

I was waiting for someone to post about this. Does anyone else think we should go get Peavy on the cheap right now? Izturis and Rusch for Peavy? :twisted:

First Beltran and now Newhan. I hate the Mets.

This is one of the best mental images of baseball I've had all offseason. Wrigley during this would rival Dodger Stadium in Gagné's heyday. No Metallica/AC-DC theme song needed, just the place going nuts. I believe Kerry is on record as being a big metalhead. So his theme music should be....?? "Balls to the Wall". I'm thinking "Harvester of Sorrow." That, or "Respect" "Night Goat." It gives me shivers just thinking about it. :D

No, but when he's really expensive, counts double because of the luxury tax, is very old and brittle and coming off two down years (no matter how unlucky they may have been) - including poor postseasons, hearing that he's not 100% committed to your team could easily be justification for getting rid of a guy. Oh sure. And the fans don't like him either. It'll actually be a popular move when he is traded. I'm not sure how much luxury tax relief NY will get, though, as the rumor is Arizona will demand NY pay a big chunk of Johnson's salary this year if they give up two prospects. Does anyone know whether NY would have to pay the tax on that amount?

Short-sighted was going for all the old guys in the first place. This might not turn out great, but it's definitely not short-sighted. Myopia isn't confined to the near future; it's possible to be short-sighted about the past as well. The Yankees are looking at one bad year and trading away a guy who could put up a 4ish ERA in the AL East for a couple of prospects, neither of which is rated higher than a B. If the Yanks were rebuilding, I'd be all for it, but they should be in a position to win it all in 2007. We'll see how he does next year. You're right that his age makes him risky to project because there are so few comparables, but he should be at least Arizona's #2 in 2007. I don't disagree with you, but it is my understanding that Johnosn didn't much care for NY and the media attention. He's been hounded since his first day in NY when he swore at a news reporter and camera man. When the NY media turns on you NY can be a very unfriendly place for a high profile athlete. Maybe Johnson asked to be dealt? The story in NY is that Cashman called Johnson to give his condolesences about somebody who died, and in that conversation Randy mentioned he wouldn't mind being traded. Also, he isn't being dealt solely because of last year. NY soured on him almost from the start. And George felt letdown by Randy in 2005, including his 6+ ERA. Basically, he wasn't nearly as dominant as they expected him to be. Last, but not least, I'm disgusted in cheapseats concerns about NY not making smart moves. I do feel a little dirty in wishing NY well. Johnson's primary agent lives in the Chicago area and is a friend of a friend. Since I moved away from Chicago, I don't talk to my friend often, but I'm sure he could tell me if Johnson asked for a trade. I don't doubt that Johnson asked to be traded, but just because a guy asks for a trade doesn't mean that it's always in the team's best interest to do so.

You can get them on eBay or Stubhub, but they've been sold out for a long time.

Short-sighted was going for all the old guys in the first place. This might not turn out great, but it's definitely not short-sighted. Myopia isn't confined to the near future; it's possible to be short-sighted about the past as well. The Yankees are looking at one bad year and trading away a guy who could put up a 4ish ERA in the AL East for a couple of prospects, neither of which is rated higher than a B. If the Yanks were rebuilding, I'd be all for it, but they should be in a position to win it all in 2007. We'll see how he does next year. You're right that his age makes him risky to project because there are so few comparables, but he should be at least Arizona's #2 in 2007.

But it's very likely he will be. The Yankees are giving up a guy who projects to be their #1 pitcher next year. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=119 At his age, and with his health history, I really can't believe anybody could have any faith that Johnson will be an ace next year. There are far two many variables that can bring him crashing down. Plus, for every dollar the Yankees don't have to spend on him, there's extra luxury tax dollars they don't have to spend. We'll see. I'm not sure that Arizona should have negotiated an extra year, but I expect him to do well in 2007. It's not just writers at BP picking out Johnson to have a good year next year. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/dips-lips-and-hips/ Randy Johnson was the unluckiest pitcher in baseball last year, and Wang was the luckiest. I'm a Cubs fan, but I also have Yankees season tickets for work, and I hate to see them doing something this short-sighted.

Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine then. And the autograph lines aren't a total waste of time, but if you're counting on them for the bulk of your signatures - or as a way to get tough autographs - you'll be disappointed.

But it's very likely he will be. The Yankees are giving up a guy who projects to be their #1 pitcher next year. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=119

I'll probably spend all my time in the autograph lines...but if I get any good info, I'll post. I'm not into autographs. At all. But if you want to get signatures, your best bet is to hang out in the hotel and catch players as they leave restaurants, bars, etc. The first night of the convention is especially good for that sort of thing. Thanks for the tip. If I still lived in Chicago, I'd introduce you to a group of autograph enthusiasts that attends every Cubs Convention. They know where to wait for players, when to approach them, and when to leave them alone. One of those guys is a friend of mine who's probably in his 60's now and has been collecting autographs for years. He has two or three rooms full of autographed stuff at his house. He's a big Cubs fan, but he gets autographs of opposing teams when they're in town, too. For example, he's got a bat that's autographed by Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Ted Williams, and just about every other great Red Sox player you could think of. And he gets all the signatures himself. I'd guess if he ever sells all of his stuff, it'll be worth millions. Sometimes when he went out of town, he'd take his 20 or so most valuable bats and ask me to keep them at my house while he was gone. I let that guy talk me into going to the Cubs Convention with him one year, and I helped him get a lot of signatures, but it's not my thing at all. I like what Greg Maddux, for example, can do on the baseball field, but I don't care about how he signs his name.

Unless the Yankees sign Clemens, this is a dumb short-term move.

I'll probably spend all my time in the autograph lines...but if I get any good info, I'll post. I'm not into autographs. At all. But if you want to get signatures, your best bet is to hang out in the hotel and catch players as they leave restaurants, bars, etc. The first night of the convention is especially good for that sort of thing.

I'm not sure. I'm an officer at an NCAA university, and my job sometimes involves travel, but I usually have the freedom to set my own schedule. I'd like to see the spring training game, but if it turns out I can't go, there should be no problem finding a taker for the tickets.

Strangely, there was no VWR today.

Thanks, Vance. I picked up some Cubs/White Sox tickets.