The Wilpons are in discussions to sell their controlling majority share to a hedge fund manager, Steve Cohen.
only in New York, with James Dolan, are the Wilpons not the worst team owners in the city.
Here's the thread for MLB discussions during the "off-season". We'll kick off a new thread when Spring Training starts.
JBDuke
Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”
The Wilpons are in discussions to sell their controlling majority share to a hedge fund manager, Steve Cohen.
only in New York, with James Dolan, are the Wilpons not the worst team owners in the city.
Speaking of the Mets, Zack Wheeler to the Phils for 5yrs / $118MM.
Hamels to the Braves for 1 year / $18MM. (I think this is a really nice pickup).
Demented and sad, but social, right?
"The future ain't what it used to be."
According to the Hall website, Marvin Miller and Ted Simmons have been selected by the Modern Era committee.
(I think somebody put the names up before any announcements.)
Miller obviously belongs in. I really can't understand how Lou Whitaker keeps coming up short - more deserving than his teammates this committee previously selected, and the most deserving of the players on this ballot, and he wasn't even near the top of the voting. I just don't get it.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
A better understanding of offense and defense. A good/great hitter isn’t based on things like RBIs, which are very situational. On-base percentage is more important than batting average. It’s why, for instance, Dwight Evans, in many eyes, is now considered a better player than His teammate Jim Rice. Wasn’t as flashy or have the counting stats that Rice did, but he did more to help his team win.
That, and the writers don’t know everything, and make mistakes.
I could make an argument for each one of the nominees although I wouldn’t have voted for all of them. Each one was a better player than others already in. That’s not a specific reason to vote someone in, but it’s a starting criteria. Simmons doesn’t lower the general standards. (He isn’t well outside those standards as Harold Baines was last year.)
Strasburg back to the Nats for 7 years and $245 million. That is not a typo. He is 31 years old and has been prone to injury at times. I think they way overpayed, especially when you consider they effectively ended any chance of resigning Rendon with this move.
I think they can still afford Rendon. According to this site they are $35 M away from the $208m competitive balance tax threshold. They could use that for Rendon and then would need to go cheap at 2B (likely call up Carter Keiboom) and also cheap on the bullpen (like they always do) but it can be done. They also were below the tax level this year, so if they want to go over a bit to pay Zim and Hudson the penalties on that won’t be too harsh. The Lerners are one of the wealthiest ownership groups in MLB, have just won a $100m settlement (though being appealed) with their TV deal, and could also sell the naming rights to the stadium. It’s always easy for fans to spend the owner’s money but I see a path here.
Probably. But their window is now. They have 2 years left on Max’s deal, 5 years left on Corbyn, and don’t have to pay Turner FA $ for 3 more years, and Soto and Robles for 5 years. If they have to overpay in 2024-2027 to give themselves more chances to win the WS with this core I think that’s the right bet to make. Plus, Stras has plus command of 4 pitches - he’s not as power dominant as he once was, so there is a chance he could age well provided he stays healthy (which is a huge IF with him admittedly). As you can see I’ve already talked myself into this. Bring on more kool aid!
The Ranger has buckets of cash that they are aiming at Rendon, plus a groovy new stadium and the family proximity.
The Yankee wants Cole, right? SS is a very nice man and was the hero of the WS but Cole any day, all day.
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Maybe not, according to Fangraphs. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-nati...rasburg-leave/
While I wish the Nats could also get Rendon, and agree that in some sense he is less of a risk than a pitcher, Strasburg would be harder to replace.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Gerritt Cole didn't get a ring, but he sure got paid - 9 yrs / $324MM to put on the pinstripes.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...year-324m-deal
Scott Boras (Strasburg, Cole, Moustakas) isn't doing too poorly this fall.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
I'm a lifelong Yankees fan going back to the Steinbrenner years and I am not happy about this either. I am glad to have him on the team but this salaries are ridiculous. I am guessing they paid a 10-15% premium (which in this case is a lot of money) because they were bidding against themselves and got snookered by Boras. It sounds like they had to pay a bit extra because his natural inclination was to go to CA and those teams were also willing to pay up, but this is craziness. Nine years for a pitcher is way too much.