2006-2007 Hot Stove Thread

[Big Al]

Don't give 'em any ideas.

Just the thought that one of the best closers we've ever had may be traded away makes my blood boil. You'd think that as a lifelong Ranger fan, I'd be used to this kind of stupidity.

[Soulstation1]

Big Al

Who is your all time fav rangers' player?

[Big Al]

Al Oliver, the Big O!

He's always at the top, but others have been:

Jim Sundberg

Jeff Burroughs

Toby Harrah

Mike Hargrove

Buddy Bell

Ivan Rodriguez (shoulda NEVER let him get away)

Rusty Greer

Plenty others, I'm sure, but those're the ones that immediately spring to mind!

[Quincy]

Jennings' stats didn't impress me much, but he is the winningest Rockie ever or something, for what that's worth.

I agree on Jennings be a dandy pick up. I like the way he increased his strikeouts last year and at age 28 one would think he's entering his prime years. His one injury (at least of note) was a broken middle finger, so it's not like his career is hanging on a suspect elbow ligament. I'd rather have Jennings than Garland or Wang, as guys with low K's and low K/BB ratios tend to fade away (or make you wish they would quit altogether.)

[Aggie87]

no Nolan Ryan?

I still remember being upset when he "jumped ship" from Houston and headed up to the Rangers.

[Dan Gould]

The Boston Globe is reporting that Matsuzaka is en route to Boston on John Henry's plane.

So either a deal is done, or they are wrapping things up en route.

Thank God.

Now, he just better be worth it!

[Quincy]

Well alright!

That'll make the '07 season more interesting!

[Dave James]

Ivan Rodriguez (shoulda NEVER let him get away)

Al - Did you know that Ivan Rodriquez's favorite musician is Yanni? Even if he was a Yankee, I don't think I could root for him.

Up over and out.

[Big Al]

no Nolan Ryan?

I still remember being upset when he "jumped ship" from Houston and headed up to the Rangers.

Oh, I liked him enough, and was grateful for what he did for the Rangers; but at some point, I think he got a little overrated in terms of what he accomplished besides his milestones (which are monumental, don't get me wrong).

As far as Pudge's musical tastes, I'll justify that by saying just because your kid has different tastes than you doesn't mean you abandon him; just hope that evetually he sees the light.

[Chalupa]

SI is reporting 6 years, $52Million for Dice.

[Dan Gould]

SI is reporting 6 years, $52Million for Dice.

with no attribution, but apparently another Boston outlet is saying the same thing, so presumably its accurate. Interesting that they didn't even split the difference between the reported 8 vs 11 million a year loggerhead they were at last night.

Clearly Dice decided he wants to play, now. And I bet Boras sat there like a whipped puppy.

[Dan Gould]

With Dice-K on board, the $64,000 questions are:

Where will Clemens sign?

Its been reported that the Red Sox interest in Clemens is independent of their pursuit of Matsuzaka, so potentially they should still be all over him, trying to get him to return for old time's sake. It would push Wakefield to the bullpen, but I bet he'd agree to it if it meant a rotation of Schilling/Clemens/Matz/Beckett/Papelbon, which could probably win 115 games. The likelihood of that staff pitching deep into October also has to be better than the Yankees, even with Pettite.

On the other hand, I suspect the Yanks will respond to this move by going all out for Roger, with a full court press of his former teammates calling him. It obviously doesn't help that the Sox let Nipper go.

My best bet is that he shows he is a mercenary at heart and the Yankees will offer north of 25 million and get him.

What will the Sox do for a closer?

I have to wonder whether the Sox will consider parting with a young pitcher in order to get a decent closer. Maybe Hansen and Coco for the Texas guy? That would give them three Japanese pitchers.

Or Coco and one of the guys in the minors for Chad Cordero? Signing a 26 year old potential ace probably makes it easier to package a pitching prospect to get that last piece, although I'd really prefer to do that after Dice-K proves he can dominate the league.

[BERIGAN]

Dan, if he hadn't signed, were you forevermore going to refer to him as DaisyDuke???

[Dan Gould]

Dan, if he hadn't signed, were you forevermore going to refer to him as DaisyDuke???

I'm glad it didn't reach that point, Conrad!

But now that I understand how to pronounce his name, I like "Dice-K". Its a phonetic spelling, it incorporates the symbol for strikeouts, and if they make up signs to hang for each of his strikeouts, it will remind folks of that old game show, Concentration.

[Dave James]

There is going to be an ungodly amount of pressure on this kid. Nothing like he's ever seen before...not even close. Most Boston fans probably think he can walk on water. If he can, the Sox have scored a major coup. If he can't, man, I don't even want to think about it. This will clearly be one of the biggest and most fun stories of the 2007 season.

With regard to Clemens, I don't see how the Sox can generate the kind of revenue they're going to need to justify pursuing him. Playing in that bandbox ballpark with all its inherent limitations has got to be limiting in some fashion. Wonder where the ticket prices are going to go next year?

Up over and out.

[Chalupa]

With regard to Clemens, I don't see how the Sox can generate the kind of revenue they're going to need to justify pursuing him. Playing in that bandbox ballpark with all its inherent limitations has got to be limiting in some fashion. Wonder where the ticket prices are going to go next year?

NESN cable bills will be rising.

[Dan Gould]

The justification for Clemens isn't added revenue. Ticket prices are set already and the stadium sells out. The justification is becoming overwhelming favorites (assuming they find a closer and people like Drew don't wilt under the pressure or get injured) for the World Series. As far as tickets go this year, they've already announced that something like 85% of seats will not increase this year. Part of that is the fact that the largest and most expensive renovations to Fenway have been done now and nothing significant is planned.

As far as the pressure goes on the kid, everyone seems to agree that he has outstanding makeup, with a great competitive drive and no fear of failure. I'm not concerned about him handling the pressure (though you also didn't mention the 50 or so members of the Japanese media who will follow him every single day) but I am a little concerned about him dealing with deeper, more powerful lineups. Certainly, when he makes mistakes, they'll be hit a long way. But it looks like he has the stuff to succeed, and he seems to understand the art of pitching, and using all of his pitches to get batters out, unlike, say, Josh Beckett.

I suspect he will dominate for a period of time, just as Nomo did. The difference is that Nomo had one pitch and once batters realized the screwball didn't always stay in the zone, he became an average to an above-average pitcher, instead of a true ace. He could be dominant still, but if the screwball didn't get swings and misses, he could be gone in four innings. Dice-K has up to five pitches he can use to get batters out. In other words, I think that batters will adjust to him while at the same time he has the weapons to adjust himself and continue to succeed.

I do believe that's the difference betwen him, Nomo and the "fat pussy toad".

[Quincy]

Not trade related, and not always about baseball, but some of you might find Uniwatchblog interesting.

The Dec. 14 entry has a lot of links to older uniforms along with commentary. If things like seeing the late '30s Cubs road jerseys with underlined insignia interest you, this is the site for you. During the World Series the author went into detail about how the "D" in Detroit's hat didn't match the one on the jersey, and gave examples of the changes throughout the years.

Just something else to get through the offseason.

[Dan Gould]

Red Sox acquire Brendon Donnelly from Angels

Well, maybe we found ourselves a closer - at minimum, we got one of the very best setup men in the league, though I have to admit his ERA rose quite a bit to 3.94 last year. They gave up Phil Seibel, who had a decent season in A/AA/AAA on the way back from elbow reconstruction surgery. He's a decent prospect but I don't think he was considered to be in the top 5, so I think its a good move.

Come to think of it, I don't think Donnelly will close - he's hardly ever been called upon to do it, but I still think its a good step forward for the pen.

Edit:

Seibel is 28 which I'd say makes him far less likely to be an impact pitcher in the majors, and that makes this trade even better.

Edited December 15, 2006 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

Hey Dave and other Yank fans:

What say you about this reported three-way trade with Melky headed to Atlanta and the Yanks getting this Gonzales guy from the Pirates? I say go for it. Give away your best defensive outfielder, a guy who is in his early 20s and played excellent ball last year, just to be able to bring back Bernie and make him your primary back up outfielder. Discover that he really is old and washed up and last year was a fluke. Doesn't even bother me if this relief pitcher is lights out; it will hurt at least as much as it will help.

Meanwhile, the Sox also signed JC Romero, whose best years were definitely long ago in Minnesota but might bounce back this year. He's still death to lefties (.211 average) and since they plan to use the lefty from Japan in a more general role, I guess this helps to have a true "LOOGY". And there are indications that the reason Drew hasn't been formally introduced isn't some "language issues" that haven't been worked out because Theo and Boras were working on Dice-K, but in fact some problem in Drew's physical has popped up. If no announcement is made by sometime next week, you can bet that they are trying to walk away from the deal; I'd still be happy if they extract major concessions on $ and length.

[BERIGAN]

Dan, you may get out of Drew yet....

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Oh, and many folks here will kill our GM if we trade away a young, cheap power hitter for an even younger, cheaper outfielder. We need pitching! We need "Gonzo" screw you AL east teams!

[Dan Gould]

Dan, you may get out of Drew yet....

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Thanks for that tip, Conrad. I was dreaming that we could scuttle the deal, but I'll at least be happier if it becomes a helluva lot shorter than 5 years and cheaper than 14 million per. If you're getting an injury prone guy with no power, why not re-sign Trot for the short term? Even with no home runs, he gave enough protection to Manny with his strong batting eye.

Oh please please please please please ...

[Noj]

Anyone speak German?

[Dan Gould]

According to reports out of Pittsburg, the Yankees are giving up Melky to get this Gonzales guy. So Yank fans get a terrific reliever just in time for Christmas, and clear up space for Bernie. I still say that's a bad deal, because Melky is young, your best defensive outfielder, and sure to continue to improve, while the chance that Bernie regresses dramatically has to be at least even, right? I'd much rather have Bernie filling in than Melky, and if another injury hits the outfield, having Bernie as the number one replacement isn't going to work.

Snatching Gonzales definitely bothers me, if only because he's one of the few closers available in a trade and the Sox may have to overpay for Lidge now. At the same time, I'd be leery of his injury history (supposedly he was taking a physical yesterday). Are the Yanks trying to stock up on setup guys or will this mean that Farnsworth will be shopped? He had such an up and down season, didn't seem to adjust to New York and would suddenly tell Torre he was unavailable with back issues, I think the Yanks should cut ties.

One other good thing this does for the Yankees: It puts Mike Myers back in the position he's supposed to be in: Lefthanded situational relief. The Sox didn't want him back because his inability to get righties out put more pressure on the pen than they wanted. So the Yanks signed him for big bucks and used him against righties and lefties. He had a better season than I thought he would though his ERA still rose over the last couple of months. Now the Yanks should just use him as their LOOGY only. So what if he makes 60 appearances to face 80 batters and makes 2.5 million doing it? Its only money, and the Yanks have plenty of it.

[Dan Gould]

What a Christmas present, Big Al! And a big old lump of coal for JazzyPaul

Texas sends top '03 pick to Chicago for McCarthy

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas acquired right-hander Brandon McCarthy from the Chicago White Sox in a five-player deal Saturday in which the Rangers gave up their 2003 first-round pick.

John Danks, the ninth overall pick three years ago, and fellow right-handers Nick Masset and Jacob Rasner were sent to Chicago for McCarthy and outfielder David Paisano.

The 23-year-old McCarthy already has 65 major league appearances (12 starts), and is 7-9 with a 4.39 ERA. He has 117 career strikeouts while walking only 50 batters in 151 2/3 innings.

McCarthy worked primarily out of the bullpen for the first time last season, and was 10th in the AL with 75 1/3 innings worked in relief. The Rangers plan to use him as a starter.

"We're thrilled to add Brandon McCarthy to our rotation and expect he'll be there for many years to come," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "It's never easy to deal young players you're fond of, but Brandon's age, makeup, and ability is a rare combination we could not pass on."

Danks split last season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma, where he combined to go 9-9 with a 4.24 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). He has a career minor league record of 21-30 with a 4.20 ERA in 92 games (82 starts).

Masset made his major league debut last year with Texas, with no record and a 4.15 ERA in eight relief appearances. Rasner spent the entire 2006 season at Class-A Clinton, going 6-16 with a 5.41 ERA in 27 starts.

The 18-year-old Paisano appeared in 52 games for the White Sox Venezuelan Summer League team in 2006 and batted .338 with no home runs and 17 RBI.

What the hell is the White Sox GM thinking? Wasn't the whole idea of shopping the veteran/pricey pitchers to clear up a spot for McCarthy? Now you give him away for a number one pick from three years ago? The whole idea is to get younger but have proven talent. McCarthy is on the cusp of stardom and you give him away for a few prospects, and no one who looks like he will be as good.

This trade is staggering and utterly stupefying.

Congrats, Al, you got a potential ace for your staff, and now a solid if not spectacular 1-3. With the A's losing Zito and the Angels not doing big things in terms of the bat they need, I think that the Rangers can actually contend next year. Paul, you've got my sympathies. This may go down as a worse trade than Arroyo for Wily Mo. It might even become Sparky Lyle for the crap the Red Sox took back in '74 (?).

Edited December 23, 2006 by Dan Gould