Monday, December 04, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Chuck Corgan BRO b. 1902, played 1925, 1927, d. 1928-06-13
Lee Smith CAL b. 1957, played 1995-1996, All-Star: 1983, 1987, 1991-1995. I was kind of surprised to see he hadn't made the top 100 Angels list, but he was only briefly (a year and change) in an Angels uniform. During that time, he was used as the Angels' closer, with Troy Percival getting setup duties. Smith is currently seventh on the franchise single-season saves list with 37 in 1995, a mark eclipsed by his wingman three years later, in 1998, when Percival saved 42 games. Trevor Hoffman this year broke Smith's major league career saves mark, though Smith still owns the record for games finished.
Not Thinking Clearly, Trade Department
Untenable ideas wash over Tampa sportswriters:With free agents getting multiyear deals for multimillions more than expected, 25-year-old outfielders Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford, whom the Rays have signed to long-term deals at relatively bargain terms, are becoming increasingly attractive to teams as alternatives via trades.Let's review this set of propositions.And even more attractive for the Rays to keep.
"An odd dynamic of the market," Rays president Matt Silverman said, "is that as free-agent salaries escalate, our players under control become both more valuable to us and to other teams in the industry trying to fill their needs."
...
An interested team likely would have to give up at least two young, frontline major-league-ready players who are three or more years from free agency. It would have to have the type of potential impact players the Rays are seeking, especially frontline starting pitchers. And it would have to share the Rays' view that there is compensatory value not only in Baldelli and Crawford's talent, but in their contracts — Crawford tops out at a $10-million salary in 2010, Baldelli at $9-million in 2011.
- The free agency market is thin.
- This drives up salaries of free agents.
- Thus are young major leaguers on cheap salaries even more valuable.
- Therefore, teams will be willing to give up even more unproven impact talent in order to get proven, cheap players.
Bullety Stuff
- Robothal has the Dodgers and Red Sox talking about a Manny deal, again.
- The Padres offered arbitration to six players, including Dave Roberts, Todd Walker, Chan Ho Park, Ryan Klesko, and Woody Williams — according to Robothal, with the sub rosa condition that they decline it. Rotoworld editorializes:
MLB needs to do something about this, if not now then at least before next year. Since the signing teams no longer surrender compensation for Type B free agents, the player has nothing to lose and the team everything to gain by making a side deal like this. However, it's unfair to every other team in baseball. A situation has been created in which Type B free agents can be more valuable to the team that loses them and more attractive to other teams than Type A free agents, and the ridiculous Elias system that determines where a free agent falls is still as broken as ever.
The Padres did not offer Mike Piazza arbitration, and signed Geoff Blum to a one-year/$800,000 deal. - The Cubs are trying to sign Kenny Lofton.
- Mark Mulder should make between 20-25 starts next year, according to his agent; the Padres have an offer outstanding to him.
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