Backtobanks

The fact that they have Girardi and Rothschild might be the reason they don't want Zambrano. :yahoo:

Not trying to defend Hendry, but all this speculation about him delaying a decision is just speculation. What if the Rays really wanted a boatload of top prospects (stated earlier in this topic) and/or Webb wanted more money/more years than Hendry was willing to give?

Yes, and that reason is that anybody who sticks around long enough in baseball gets a reputation for being good at what he does. I guess you're going to believe what you want to believe, but when I see coaches that are respected by players and owners throughout the majors, I tend to believe they've had an impact in helping a player maximize their natural ability.

There's a reason certain coaches (pitching and hitting) have the reputation they do, that's why guys like Rothschild, Duncan, Jaramillo, etc. are so respected. They actually get the most from a player's natural ability.

Remember when every player wanted to play for the Cubs, which coincedently ended when Hendry lost his bottomless money pit? Do we really want a player that "remains excited" about the Nationals?

Yeah, he even admitted that Garza's WAR has been half that of Haren, but still tried to compare prospects evenly between the DBacks and Cubs. That would be a horrid trade, but luckily I don't think there's any credibility to it whatsoever. I would think they can't be asking for all of those players because the rumors wouldn't have said a deal centered on Chirinos if he was the 4th best prospect in the deal. It's like saying we're making a deal centered on getting Ryan Theriot and it included Pujols, Holliday, and Wainwright.

Yankees have a 1B too, but I suppose one of them can DH.

The link for this blog(The Process Report) was on MLBTR and obviously written by a Rays fan: The Template For a Matt Garza Trade to The Chicago Cubs Posted on December 10, 2010 by R.J. Anderson Billy Beane pulled the trigger on a surprising trade during the 2007-2008 offseason by sending Dan Haren to Arizona. At the time, Haren had three seasons remaining on his contract – part of an extension that held a value of roughly $16 million. He was coming off a career best season according to FanGraphs WAR, and had win values of 4, 4, and 4.9 in the past three seasons. In exchange for Haren (and Connor Robertson) the A’s received Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith. That package appeared to include the Diamondbacks’ best and brightest; with four of the D-Backs’ top ten heading to Oakland: Gonzalez (1), Anderson (3), Cunningham (7), and Carter (8). Gonzalez (22) and Anderson (36) also earned placement on BA’s subsequent top 100 list, suggesting they were amongst the game’s 40 best prospects. Garza has three years of control remaining but lacks the locked-in salary and performance that Haren held. Garza has about eight wins over the last three years, halving Haren, but carries ostensible upside and the benefit of moving out of the game’s best division. For those reasons, though, Garza likely holds less trade value now than Haren did then. Nevertheless, the package that Bruce Levine reported about doesn’t seem too farfetched. Robinson Chirinos is the only player named, and while BA will not release their top 10 list for the Cubs until 2011, Kevin Goldstein ranked him as the system’s twelfth best prospect. The identities of the other three players are unknown, but one has to assume that the shortstop prospect might be Hak-Ju Lee (whom Goldstein ranks as the fifth best) and outfielder Brett Jackson (ranked as the system’s best prospect). The last player, again reported as a top prospect, could be one of the Cubs’ arms, like Trey McNutt (second), Chris Archer (third), Chris Carpenter (sixth), or Jay Jackson (ninth). Jackson ranked 74th on BA’s top 100 list last season and after hitting .316/.420/.517 at High-A and .276/.366/.465 at Double-A without showing a notable weakness, he figures to move up – perhaps into the top 50. The pitcher Jackson also finished in the top 100, at 98. A Garza-to-Chicago deal probably won’t top the Haren-to-Arizona in terms of mass or quality, but really it shouldn’t. Haren was the better pitcher. Don’t be surprised if Garza is dealt, nor if the trade quickly replenishes the Rays’ system alongside the upcoming draft.

Just curious but what would be your first option? I personally prefer this over the money/years Dunn got and over the prospects given up/money/years Gonzalez got. There is nobody in the system even close to being capable of playing 1B at a decent level next year. You are just going to have to go out and overpay another guy next year. If the Texas deal goes through, you have a year to groom Davis or Colvin for the future. They are baseball players. You can't really groom them into being something they are not. Neither of those guys is a decent bet to hit well enough to justify a starting 1B gig. You can work on the defense with Colvin. As for offensively, both are young enough to possibly put up decent power numbers in the future. Neither one is a sure bet for a good solid 1B, but both show some potential.

Just curious but what would be your first option? I personally prefer this over the money/years Dunn got and over the prospects given up/money/years Gonzalez got. There is nobody in the system even close to being capable of playing 1B at a decent level next year. You are just going to have to go out and overpay another guy next year. If the Texas deal goes through, you have a year to groom Davis or Colvin for the future.

Agreed. I think people put way too much emphasis on defense at first base. IMO, in some ways yes and in some ways no. Since athletic ability is not nearly as important and skills are more important (scooping the ball, footwork, reflexes) there are bigger gaps. There are certain first basemen who are naturally skilled at those things and that can be a big help. There are certain players who can't learn those skills whatsoever and they'll be a liability there. But 96-98 percent of players are around the same ability level at first base. It's not nearly the continuum that other positions are and first base defense is largely overrated. But at the extremes the differences get larger quite quickly. If they're just looking for a plug in for 1 year LaRoche isn't bad but he's absolutely not a guy you lose any flexibility over. My point, which I probably didn't explain clearly and which you pretty much addressed in your post, is that first base defense is largely overrated. I'm mainly referring to comments (not just on here) that Castro and Ramirez will commit 40 errors each with someone like Adam Dunn at first base. With a bad fielding 1B, 40 errors each from the left side of the infield might be a point of an over/under bet.

In a roundabout way. Washington is where the money is at nowadays. Lots of cash flowing for things like luxury boxes to be picked up by lobbyists, law firms and contractors. Didn't you hear that the Republicans and Tea Partiers are cutting back on everything in Washington. That's how they got elected.

I agree, I don't get it. Gorzelanny doesn't have any real trade value and some of the prospects look promising, but unproven. It might make sense if you put him in a package to get a 1B or better starting pitcher, but trading him alone doesn't make sense.

Are the Nationals getting TARP money from congress?

Not unless its a three team deal, which is now what ESPN is report is in the works. Would the dodgers flip Fielder to the Cubs without pissing off the Brewers? Maybe we would be the third team, but getting Loney for prospects.

I thought you would realize I was being sarcastic, but apparently not. Next time I'll post it in green.

If there are GMs willing to spend that kind of money on Werth, maybe we can find a taker for Soriano instead of Fukudome for saving money.

Justin Upton... Undervalued???? :-k

Why? Sell me on it...because based on the numbers he doesn't look like a particularly good player. Decent power but no patience, he's been a negative with the glove in all 3 seasons he's been on the Rangers, and negative offensive numers 2 of the 3 years. He spent most of the year in the minors this year and didn't make the postseason roster for them this year. And now he's gonna the starting 1B for the Cubs? First, I'm not sure he will be the starting 1B. Secondly, what's not to like about trading for a player with some potential at a position of need for a player who's ceiling is 2nd-string catcher.

I shed a few tears the last two days, but reading all of these posts reminds me how old I'm getting. My favorite memories of Santo came as a player with Ernie (my favorite), Billy, and Fergie. It's a shame that he didn't get to see the Cubs in the WS or his induction into the HOF.

I don't really see the point with Baker, Dewitt, and Barney around.

The only way Dunn is worth $56 million over 4 years is with an AL team because he will be a DH for the last 2 years. As someone else posted, the WS can have him for that money and those years.

Assuming DeWitt is on the team, they ought to be able to limit his at-bats againt righties.

I understand wanting to sign Dunn, but I don't think you should use the "cheaper than others" argument. The "available" free agents next year that will cost more are Pujols and Gonzalez who are miles ahead of Dunn offensively and defensively.

I think you're exaggerating the money and the years by quite a bit.