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OT: MLB Thread

WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
Sternberg is firing a shot across the bow of the civic leadership in Tampa: new ballpark or I sell and the team moves away.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/rays-sternberg-opens-up-about-future-in-tampa-bay/

I'm not sure anyone in Tampa really gives a damn whether the Rays stay or go. They've put a playoff caliber team on the field for the past few seasons and there's still no sign of baseball fever taking hold.
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I listened to an interview on the Fan 590 , some sports writer from Tampa. He said the TV numbers for the Rays are very good, fans just do not like driving to that stadium to view a game. He doesn't think Tampa will move anytime soon, the current owner will take his time to see if there is any support to build a new stadium in a better location in the Tampa area.
 
CaptainBolduke said:
Could Vancouver support a team?
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No.

Vancouverites are right down there with Ottawa when it comes to bad sports towns. They support the Canucks if they're winning. If they aren't they forget they even have a team. Ditto for the BC Lions. The soccer team does fair to middling but it's not all that impressive when you consider that Vancouver (according to the soccer team's propaganda) is a "soccer town" (I guess because the old Whitecaps once won the NASL championship in 1979) Seattle's MLS team nearly fills Century Link Field. THAT's a good sports town. Vancouver, as always, is a wanna-be town that can't keep people interested for more than 5 minutes.

The only sports here which draw really well are junior hockey (which in it's best years drew just under 9000 per game and in an average year will draw between 5000-6000) and the single A baseball team which only plays from June to August and plays in a ballpark with a capacity of about 5000. These teams draw well because tickets are dirt cheap in comparison to NHL/NBA/MLB prices. It's a completely different target demographic.

Vancouver would only keep an MLB team afloat if it was a consistent winner and even then it's a gamble.
 
Jeff Passan ‏
Melky Cabrera is indeed expected to sign with the White Sox, as @MLBBruceLevine reported. Source said deal is three years and $43.5 million
 
Matthew Ross ‏
The #Jays have now officially lost Melky Cabrera. Combined with no pitching upgrades, I expect them to be no better in 2015.
 
XPOFAN said:
Jeff Passan ‏
Melky Cabrera is indeed expected to sign with the White Sox, as @MLBBruceLevine reported. Source said deal is three years and $43.5 million
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It's a slight overpayment on a reasonable 3 year contract. Dont know why the Jays could have done the same.
 
wiseguy1 said:
It's a slight overpayment on a reasonable 3 year contract. Dont know why the Jays could have done the same.
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Not signing Cabrera though = sandwich pick
Blue Jays lost the 17th overall pick for Martin

I don't agree with their strategy, I personally would have kept the 17th overall pick + resigned Cabrera and looked at upgrading 2b + SP + signed Gregerson. I would have dumped Lind for a reliever or pure salary dump, Happ is going to put up really good numbers in SEA and I think he's a lot better than Estrada. They must be near some payroll constraint because they absolutely needed a guy like Gregerson in their pen. I like the Donaldson trade, but with what they gave up, I would have added a little bit more to grab Shark too for the rotation. Now maybe they will just blow me away and sign Scherzer or Shields, but, I think they blew their load on Martin and can't keep up with the Red Sox now. Anyways, they have plenty of holes to fill still, and who knows how much $ left for a 2b, closer, another reliever, and a #1 pitcher.

Boston's management has said they still plan on upgrading their rotation, and they still might be able to land a guy like Hamels. So, Toronto better start to make some counter moves because New York looks to be taking this year to reorganize, that doesn't happen too often.
 
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xposbrad said:
Not signing Cabrera though = sandwich pick
Blue Jays lost the 17th overall pick for Martin

I don't agree with their strategy, I personally would have kept the 17th overall pick + resigned Cabrera and looked at upgrading 2b + SP + signed Gregerson. I'd have used Happ to get another bullpen arm/closer. I think they are near some payroll constraint because they absolutely needed a guy like Gregerson in their pen. I like the Donaldson trade, but with what they gave up, I would have added a little bit more to grab Shark too for the rotation. Now maybe they will just blow me away and sign Scherzer or Shields, but, I think they blew their load on Martin and can't keep up with the Red Sox now. Anyways, they have plenty of holes to fill still, and who knows how much $ left for a 2b, closer, another reliever, and a #1 pitcher.

Boston's management has said they still plan on upgrading their rotation, and they still might be able to land a guy like Hamels. So, Toronto better start to make some counter moves because New York looks to be taking this year to reorganize, that doesn't happen too often.
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Or maybe Melky wasnt really interested resigning in Toronto anyway. I think the Jays must have offered something similar.
 
I honestly think saunders is a better defensive player and a similar hitter who is younger and makes less money.

I dont think the jays lost anything since happ was nothing special
 
Saunders is a better defender. Melky's defensive stats are below average. The reason why Melky was only a 3WAR player was because of his D.

In reality the fact that Melky was only able to land a 3-year deal likely proves that the TO media over-value him. .280-.300 outfielders that hit 15-20 homeruns are easy to find.

The fact that the Jays picked up Donaldson and Martin lowered the need for Melky's .770-.810ops bat.

Looks like the top 6 will be:

Reyes
Martin
Bautista
Encarnacion
Donaldson
Saunders

That's probably the best first 5 in the AL (perhaps even the majors). Don't get me wrong Melky looks nice on paper, but his overall WAR isn't that difficult to replace.
 
CaptainBolduke said:
Saunders is a better defender. Melky's defensive stats are below average. The reason why Melky was only a 3WAR player was because of his D.

In reality the fact that Melky was only able to land a 3-year deal likely proves that the TO media over-value him. .280-.300 outfielders that hit 15-20 homeruns are easy to find.

The fact that the Jays picked up Donaldson and Martin lowered the need for Melky's .770-.810ops bat.

Looks like the top 6 will be:

Reyes
Martin
Bautista
Encarnacion
Donaldson
Saunders

That's probably the best first 5 in the AL (perhaps even the majors). Don't get me wrong Melky looks nice on paper, but his overall WAR isn't that difficult to replace.
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The hitting is there, I think the Jays have been a decent hitting team for a couple of years now. Although, I think JB will start dropping off this year, but it will be compensated by the addition of Donaldson who is a much better hitter than Lawrie (who had bad luck with injuries). I also think Buerhle @ 35 years old is going to drop off too, and Dickey @ 40 years old is going to be slightly worse than last year. That's why, who is their #1, Stroman? On paper he's a #3 just because Dickey/Buerhle are penciled in as 1/2. They are going to need another starter, Estrada is below average and they really need a shutdown top starter.

Also, who is closing for them now? Their pen is pretty weak and missing a couple of guys. Who knows how Sanchez will perform over a full year. Romo is still available, but AA said he has no pending offers to FAs. Martin also his last go around in the AL wasn't that great hitting wise, I don't think he'll come near his hitting last year with the Pirates, he'll probably hit more like he did when he was with the yanks.
 
On paper Stroman last season pitched like most "aces" in baseball, but he's young so counting on him to be as good as last year isn't a great bet.

If the Jays have this rotation going into next season it will likely play out like this:

Dickey and Mark will both pitch over 200 inning each and provide between 10-14 wins each.

Hutchinson should continue to improve and provide 8-12 wins.

Stroman is the wildcard. He could be as low as 8 or as high as 16.

Sanchez as the current number 5 is a complete unknown. His stuff is incredible, but it's just impossible to accurately predict.

Another legit number 2 or 3 starter would be nice.

As far Martin: I think I said this before. He's OPS while a Yankee was approx. .725, which as I am sure you know is very solid for a catcher. Keep in mind those two years it was actually his OBP that was well below his career norms. His defense will always up his WAR, so - its pretty safe to say that he will be a 3-4 WAR player hitting in a very friendly ballpark.

They need bullpen arms forsure, but in baseball bullpens are a crap shoot from year to year. In 2013 the Jays had the 4th best pen in MLB. That same group of guys was 25th in 2014. Pitchers pitch in the pen for a reason, they tend to be inconsistent. With that said - the Jays will still be adding to the pen.

I feel like this convo has come full circle. These are points we've talked about already...
 
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wiseguy1 said:
This means they wont break the current lease on the exisiting stadium which lasts until 2027 I think. Anyone that buys the Rays will pay alot to break the lease.
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Ya, but I think regardless they are looking to get out before then. I'm sure they will settle on some payment to get out.
 
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