Transmogrified Tiger

You think they're serious? The vast majority of people who say that sort of thing are blowing off steam. You'r probably right but it gets tiresome, day after day. I agree it's overused, to the point when that sort of thing should be effective(like when we're about to give away Prior) it comes off like it does.

Actually not a bad trade IF Guzman is truly over his injury problems. We get to keep Cedeno and Pie as well. If Guzman is not healthy, the deal ain't so great. Whether Guzman is healthy or not doesn't change the fact that we get absolutely fleeced. Hill and Bedard really aren't that different, Prior has a word I can't think of more value than Tejada, and we're throwing in Patterson. It's highway robbery.

You think they're serious? The vast majority of people who say that sort of thing are blowing off steam.

The TEAM, not Dee himself.

He's not as bad as some(the Score), but he's no Bruce Miles.

All those guys are or have the potential to be very good players, but Rickie Weeks? Sizemore, Utley, and Young all have had about one good season(Young one good at home and elsewhere). For all of Prior's "problems", he's still 25, and he's one of the most valuable commodities in baseball when healthy. If you trade him with the impression that he may not be healthy or value him such, you're better off keeping him since you won't get equal value.

You know Walt, if you're going to get an outfielder and hope they get hit with the magic BABIP stick, you may want to avoid the one that just put up his best BABIP season since he was in AA in 1997.

If Tejada is a superstar, then Prior is. Their numbers compared to the league are similar, and if anything favor Prior. OPS+ for Tejada Career: 112 Last 3 years: 125 ERA+ for Prior Career: 132 Last 3 years: 134 And Bedard, of the 103 ERA+ and career 1.50 WHIP, is average at best as a Major Leaguer to date.

Tejada is well below average in fielding percentage and Zone Rating, and slightly below average in Rate, Rate2, and FRAA. That second report is also dated by a minimum of 2+ years, possibly as many as 4+.

Tejada is not one of the best defensive SS in baseball. There's a pretty good argument that he's pretty average defensively.

I say we do it based on our own standards, it'll be much more fun that way.

Are there any career closers that you'd consider HOFers? I haven't researched it, but they'd have to be really dominant. There are very few planned relievers(especially HOF eligible ones), so the vast majority failed at starting. I think it's unfair to those who were able to be good enough to start but didn't put up HOF starting careers, when it's possible or even likely they could have done a similar job as a reliever.

Nay. 1042 Career IP. 5 full seasons of 136 ERA+ pitching doesn't do it for me.

Neither. If you trade Prior, the best player you get back has to be before or entering his prime.* *There are exceptions of course, but they are very rare and very very infeasible.

I used this site. Thanks. I don't know if that signing bonus is entirely paid up front. It wouldn't be stunning if it was, but typically players don't go up-down-up in salary over a 3 year deal, or up-down before the option.

Where did you get the breakdown for Eyre's contract? I don't doubt you necessarily, but I haven't been able to find anything except from the sourceless Transaction Guy, who is normally pretty good and a Cubs fan to boot.

Prior can't go anywhere for 3 years unless we send him somewhere. And the only thing stating that Prior is unhappy was JeffH's source, who he himself said to take with a grain of salt.

Yay Cavs. Yay LeBron.

im much more amenable to trade guys like pie for tejada now that prior's name has been thrown around Begin Rant: Now that you bring that up I'm thinking that Hendry does have a plan this offseason. When he signed Eyre I thought it was a bad idea. When he traded Pinto, Nolasco, and Mitre for Pierre I thought to myself "dang, the Eyre signing doesn't look so bad now." Then he goes out and proclaims he's excited that Jacque Jones is going to be our starting RF for the next three years. At this point I'm saying to myself "Gee, I'm actually kind of glad we have Pierre now and that Eyre signing looks like a bargain." Just a few days later Hendry "leaks" news that he's using Prior as trade bait to try and get Tejada. By now a kick in the craw and a can of Natty Light sound pretty good. If we only end up losing Pie, Hill, Williams, and Guzman for Tejada we'll think it's the biggest steal since D.B. Cooper's heist. It's pure genius. Just keep making progressively worse and worse deals and your previous transactions look better and better. Eventually Cubs fans will be dancing in the street because we have Neifi Perez locked up for a few million a year. End Rant. Good point. I just mentioned in another thread that the Hedry Propaganda machine may also be adding the Prior doesn't want to be here thought in case Mark is traded. But this isn't some public report, it's JeffH's "source".

As silly as this seems to us, it's possible that the Orioles value Zito higher than Prior. Imagine the silliness of valuing a Cy Young winner over a guy who's never pitched a full season. The audacity! The unmitigated gall!

last time i checked, dee was still the reigning B10 poy. C'mon, you're smart enough to know awards like that don't mean anything, especially when they are playing the year after. Would Brown win that award right now for the year to date? Would he be in the top 5? the big 10 season hasn't even started yet. So is Brown going to up his play because it's the B10 season? I'm not going to claim a clear memory of last season, but Brown was much better last year before the B10 season. The losses they sustained are real, and it's a very real possibility that because of the lack of Williams and Head around him he won't be able to produce at the same level. Obviously, like I said before, that doesn't doom the Illini at all, but it's worth pointing out that they may struggle with the best players in the conference.

Raise your hand if you agree with Mark Prior.

last time i checked, dee was still the reigning B10 poy. C'mon, you're smart enough to know awards like that don't mean anything, especially when they are playing the year after. Would Brown win that award right now for the year to date? Would he be in the top 5?

Hairston's only averaging 15 a game.

They're enormously dependent on their outside shooting, which has been great so far, and partly a function of them playing a pretty weak schedule. Teams like MSU, IU, and Illinois that have big men to contain Dials won't have to collapse as much on him and give them the threes. They're a step down in the conference IMO, with Wisconsin and maybe UM. IU is similar with their hot outside shooting helping to carry them, but they have more depth on the interior, and more talent overall. FWIW, I think MSU is the best team in the B10 this year, but they probably won't win it because their conference schedule is insane compared to some of the other contenders. i think illinois will win it again, bruce doesn't lose many B10 games. I'm anxious to see how U of I does against teams that have some dynamite players. They've played some teams that are pretty good like UNC, Oregon, and to a lesser extent Georgetown and Xavier. But they haven't faced anyone that has a player or players that are the same caliber of the Davises, the Agers, the Killingsworths, the Dialses of the B10. They may be up to the challenge, they're well coached and have talent, but if I had to bet I'd say that they struggle in those games against the best players in the league. Still doesn't mean they won't win the B10 though, because they're going to handle Wisconsin, Minnesota, UM and the like very well, while those are trap games for other top flight B10 schools. you're forgetting that illinois has some pretty talented players as well. Eh? They have some talented players no doubt. But with the way Brown's performed to date, they don't have anyone playing at the level that Davis or Killingsworth or Ager have.