Will Cliff Lee sell his soul to this Logo?
This is not a plea for Met ownership to acquire Cliff Lee: Repeat, this is not a plea for Met Ownership to pick up Cliff Lee.
I know that Lee might not fit into the plans of Sandy Alderson and to tell you the truth, I am completely fine with that. With the Brain Trust that is now the Mets Front Office in place, I am willing to watch and wait for the future-I now have confidence and optimism.
However, according to all reports, the Yankees are going all out for Lee.
But does Cliff Lee have to go the Yankees?
Yea, they could offer him the most money and a shot at winning the Fall Classic year after year. But once, just once, wouldn’t you like to see a player like Lee go to the Rangers instead or any other team for that matter? I would love to see a pitcher of this caliber refuse to sell his soul to the Yankees.
Is it sour grapes?
No.
I would just like the Yankees to not buy their way into the heart of another player. And let’s face it, that’s what their really doing, isn’t it?
If Cliff Lee were to spurn them, it would just go to show that the Ranger money is just as green as the money from the Yankees.
Nolan Ryan should throw every kitchen sink he could find to land Lee. Hell, he should mortgage half the stadium to keep him pitching with a T on his chest. I hope he can do it.
It would be great for the Rangers and equally good for baseball.
I’m sure the Yankees could survive.
81 comments
CaseStreet
11/9/2010-9:12am at 9:12 am (UTC -4)
Money is the name of the game. Until there’s some type of cap, the Yankees will continue to use the system to their advantage and buy their way into the playoffs every year. Actually, I prefer the Yankees pay top dollar for Lee and then see him hit the DL for a year (not that I wish anyone harm, but you know what I’m saying).
Prismo
11/9/2010-9:13am at 9:13 am (UTC -4)
Hey, at least they’re not in our division or even league!
Ceetar
11/9/2010-9:18am at 9:18 am (UTC -4)
Come on…did you really say this?
Ceetar
11/9/2010-9:19am at 9:19 am (UTC -4)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rodriguez#Texas_Rangers
oleosmirf
11/9/2010-9:29am at 9:29 am (UTC -4)
A-Rod took the money. I dont see how the Yankees wont have the biggest offer…
Ceetar
11/9/2010-9:32am at 9:32 am (UTC -4)
depends, they keep hinting at a budget.
I’m torn between wanting him to go somewhere real, (not the Phillies, Yankees or Braves), and wanting him to get a crazy stupid deal on the Yankees and watch him and c.C. breakdown with 50million dollars worth of wasted roster space in years to come.
saltygary
11/9/2010-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
Trying to compete with the Yankees is part of the reason the team is where it is currently at. Doesn’t make sense what so ever to grab him.
stickguy
11/9/2010-10:08am at 10:08 am (UTC -4)
was watching MLB network late last night (probably around 12:30), and whatever panel show they had on was discussing the FA market, and of course the yankees.
One of the talking heads (maybe Dan Plesac?) specifically said that the yankees “bought” the 2009 WS, with thier snagging of the top 3 (potentially 4 if you count Petite) FAs that year. He even said that if any other competitive team had signed CC, teix, Burnett they would have won the WS instead.
THen they showed the graphic of the trash that the Yankers signed before 2010. 1 year stiffs (Winn? Thames?)
So guess what they predicted fro this off season? Yup, a spending frenzy. Although that included Jeter (wildly overpaid) and maybe posada? But the discussion was, could they get Lee (a given to them) + say Crawford, and maybe someone else?
I am ambivilent about Lee. I think he is going to get way too much money, and is a breakdown waiting to happen. Just as long as it happens to a team I don’t like!
TRS86
11/9/2010-10:14am at 10:14 am (UTC -4)
I keep hearing that the Yanks are not interested in bringing in another bat. We shall see.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
They’ll find some spare part. I really don’t think their outfield is anything real special. IF and C is trending down. we’ll see.
stickguy
11/9/2010-10:30am at 10:30 am (UTC -4)
IF and C might be trending down, but the spots are taken (C there is no one to add anyway). And since they have guys like A rod and Jeter that are going to have to move at some point (OF or DH), those spots aren’t really an option.
Maybe a DH guy for 1 year? But probably not if they resign Posada?
WHo cares actually. Screw the yankees. Let them get so clogged down with old broken down guys that they can’t hide them all on the field!
stickguy
11/9/2010-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
LIke 2 years ago they weren’t bringing in Teix?
Their OF is not that bad, but they may not be able to resist going after crawford or Werth. Werth might make mroe sense. Fits their profile, and plays RF (since Swicher is the logical odd man out). And Gardner is not really worse (overall) than Crawford potentially.
and they have a full IF, which means any bat has to be an OF.
so I predict they get Werth and Lee.
metsfan4decades
11/9/2010-10:35am at 10:35 am (UTC -4)
I saw some debate on SNY show last night (can’t remember which one) where they thought the Yankees were going all in for Lee first. They didn’t see either Werth or Crawford as a Yankee next year unless the Yankees lose out on Lee.
CaseStreet
11/9/2010-10:30am at 10:30 am (UTC -4)
You know, the Yanks could trade Swish and sign Lee, Werth and Crawford. They’d have an OF of Crawford-Granderson-Werth and a rotation of CC-Lee-Pettitte-Hughes-Burnett. Why shouldn’t they? As long as they can but their way into the playoffs every year, they’re going to be raking in the dough.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-10:35am at 10:35 am (UTC -4)
1. Why are we talking about the Yanks?
2. to what Case said, if they can do these crazy moves, why shouldn’t they?
3. I hope they are afflicted with Kevin Brown-itis and Lee’s arm falls off about 5 starts into next year.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-10:42am at 10:42 am (UTC -4)
1. because i’m tired of debating managers.
C.C. having surgery in the offseason. knee or leg or something if I recall. Burnett sucks. Pettitte’s old and doesn’t actually have a contract. The Mets need to jump on the middling free agents they want, because the Yankees are likely going to need to sign 2 guys as well.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-10:54am at 10:54 am (UTC -4)
And they should, as you said. They have the resources and the need.
I am really starting to narrow down the “NJstuckinTX wants” (patent pending) for the offseason. I’ll take either of these 2 for the SP. Garza/Garland or Shields/Garland. The BP wants are still to be determined.
Also, with news that the A’s won the bidding on that Japanese pitcher and reports that they have a surplus of pitchers now and the the history between Alderson and Billie B… You think that there could be a match there?
Ceetar
11/9/2010-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
I’m tired of Oakland. Seems like they’re always dangling guys and ultimately don’t actually trade them.
kistics
11/9/2010-11:24am at 11:24 am (UTC -4)
Garland probably wants a multi year deal. I’m not sure if Sandy is willing to give any pitcher a multi year deal this offseason. Garland declined $6.5M option. Looks like he’ll want something like 2/$15 or higher.
Garza will take a lot to get him. I would not be surprised either Ike or Mejia or both are involved in a trade. Pagan is probably unlikely since he’ll be hitting FA soon.
Shields might be a good candidate at cheaper price. But he did struggle last season.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
I don’t really consider a 2 year deal a multi-year deal. Multi is 3+, so I’d give him 2/$15 if that’s what it takes. He’s good, not that old, puts up innings and last i checked the Mets need all 3 of those things.
I’d flip Mejia for Garza for sure. Not sure on Shields, but either of those fit into the above for Garland. Good, not old, etc. etc.
And, while not cheap, they aren’t completely expensive. Even if Livan was 1 year, 3.5 million, I’d have no problem paying the extra 3.5 to upgrade to Garland.
stickguy
11/9/2010-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
I agree that 2 years for a guy without baggage (old, injury history) is not a big deal, if the $$ are reasonable. And you could see why someone in his situation might like to not be going year to year now.
although he did have effectively a 2 year deal with SD, since it was a player option that he declined!
TRS86
11/9/2010-12:52pm at 12:52 pm (UTC -4)
Not sure he gets more than the 1/option or not. He is going to be benefited by a terrible FA class. According to Davidoff De La Rosa will be 2/14 class as well. I would love to see the Mets go with Garland and De La Rosa and invest that 15M in the pitching staff. Fill the pen with bargains, go with what we have on offense and let the chips fall where they may until July.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:00pm at 1:00 pm (UTC -4)
I heard De La Rosa is looking for like 4-5 year deal which isn’t going to happen.
I would be pretty content with Garland and Shields. Not sure what it would take to get Shields, but I would give a package like Duda and FMart for Shields.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:12pm at 1:12 pm (UTC -4)
Don’t let Stick read that. If Duda gets traded, what is he going to do with the Duda Fat-Head he has on order?
kistics
11/9/2010-1:16pm at 1:16 pm (UTC -4)
Ship it to some dude in Tampa. Or you can always take the head off and put Shields’ head.
stickguy
11/9/2010-1:22pm at 1:22 pm (UTC -4)
you guys are quite the funny bunch, aren’t you?
Just remember that when he is winning ROY next year hitting bombs out over the Utley zone, you heard it here first.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:26pm at 1:26 pm (UTC -4)
I certainly hope so Stick.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:02pm at 1:02 pm (UTC -4)
Good point. But do the Mets have flexibility to commit $7.5M this offseason? I’m not sure. If they move a player like Castillo or Ollie, it’s possible. But if they can’t I don’t see the Mets spending that much on a SP while BP still needs couple more pieces.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-11:35am at 11:35 am (UTC -4)
My initial thought is Beane and Alderson know each other too well to make a trade but then I’m reminded that JP Ricciardi’s first trade after he left the A’s to become Toronto’s GM was with Oakland so I suppose it’s possible.
For giggles that trade was Billy Koch to OAK for Eric Hinske and Justin Miller in Dec. 2001. Koch was awesome as closer for OAK in ’02 was then traded by Beane at high value and 2 years later was out of baseball at age 29.
Hinske won ROY for TOR in ’02 and is still plugging away but has never duplicated his fine rookie season. Miller is still bouncing around various MLB bullpens.
What that means I don’t know. Maybe since Alderson was last employed in SD he’ll make some deal with the Padres.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:15pm at 1:15 pm (UTC -4)
How much do you think the Mets can spend this offseason? From what Sandy have said, the Mets have about $140M tied up including all the raises and arbs. From what I’ve calculated they are looking at around $131-132 committed with BP and bench not set.
I would assume they would not want to go over $140-$145M which means they have about $10m flexibility.
Does this sound reasonable?
stickguy
11/9/2010-1:18pm at 1:18 pm (UTC -4)
certainly reasonable, but added to that any non-tenders included in the 140 number, and not counting any salary they move in trades.
also, given how “all in” the owners went with the new FO, it is possible they get sold on a 1 year bump (basically spending the money coming off the books at year end a little early), if Alderson can convince them that it will net a positive return, via more wins + more tickets sold.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:23pm at 1:23 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t think that’s Alderson’s plan though. He did say that the Mets are not going to be too active in FA market. So I can’t see them spending more than $10M on FA.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:27pm at 1:27 pm (UTC -4)
he said “big players” but lets not read too much into what was said in an initial press conference before free agency. we don’t even know what type of spin Alderson tosses our way. I doubt they get involved in 6 years 25 million for Lee like F rancessa’s reporting the Yankees will pay. He’s spending a lot of their money. 3-4 at $20 for Jeter, Mariano for 17 (who’s apparently “too nice” to walk away with a contract on the table so he won’t make them commit two years?)
kistics
11/9/2010-1:39pm at 1:39 pm (UTC -4)
Yankees are going to have some serious payroll issues couple years down the road.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:20pm at 1:20 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t think they have a hard and fast rule. I’ve heard Sandy say things like “we have the money”. I think it’s more about flexibility, and not committing money for years after this year for players who’s greatest contribution will be this year.
Look at Taka negotiation. I have no idea if they raised the initial value of it, but it seemed like they were stuck on the option year for next year versus guarenteed.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:25pm at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
So does that mean that they are only looking for 1 year deals? It’s definite that they are trying to shed some salary for more flexibility for 2012. So are the 2 year deals out of the picture here?
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:33pm at 1:33 pm (UTC -4)
I should hope not. 2 year deals are almost optimal, as it’s easy to jettison a person in their walk year, if needed.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-1:20pm at 1:20 pm (UTC -4)
Sounds reasonable to me. I think the Mets won’t be making any splashy or sexy player moves this offseason, at least in the context of dollars spent.
For the sake of discussion I’ll agree they have $10 mil to spend. How that gets broken down, who knows? One $7 mil guy and 3 guys who total $3, or 4 of $2.5 mil guys?
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:31pm at 1:31 pm (UTC -4)
This is where a Garland for 7 Mil, a few BP guys (1 mil or so each) and trading for another pitcher. might be the way to go. Even though my plans are thwarted when you factor in taking the salary of the guy you’d be trading for, but if they are planning for the future, I’d consider a Garza type in that future mold. IE, he’d become part of that core, no?
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-1:36pm at 1:36 pm (UTC -4)
Sounds reasonable. Pretty much every possibility anyone’s suggested sounds reasonable to me which is one of the great pleasures I take in the Mets having this new FO.
It’s no longer just “sign one of the big FAs, a bunch of scrap heap guys and make no significant mid-season trades” annual prediction for player moves.
Into the great wide open.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:37pm at 1:37 pm (UTC -4)
Rebel without a clue… Only this one actually has a clue, a plan, a firm grasp of his oratory skills, etc. etc.
kistics
11/9/2010-1:35pm at 1:35 pm (UTC -4)
I guess that’s where we’d have to fill the blanks with our wild imaginations. But a guy like Garland or De La Rosa would eat up most of the available $10M. Which leaves something like $2.5M or $3M for BP and/or another SP.
Shields will make $4.5M next season. So that already will put them over the budget.
Should be very interesting what Sandy does here. But I would like to see someone like Webb/Duscherer/Harden/Francis signed for heavy incentive-laden contracts along with a steady proven SP like Garland.
Duscherer (whatever the spelling is) sounds interesting. Sounds like he’s been struggling with depression and elbow injury. But if he gets a crack at a SP position w/$1.75M guaranteed he could be had.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-1:41pm at 1:41 pm (UTC -4)
I’m very intrigued by Duch, perhaps biased because I had him on a fantasy team when he did wonders for my WHIP and ERA, but even that year he made only 22 starts and otherwise has never made more than 5! and he’s 32 years old.
If he’s a cheap fallback option great but I’m not prepared to count on him for anything at all or pay him as if I am counting on him.
If he ever stays healthy for a full season I would expect it to be a very good season but he just never does.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:46pm at 1:46 pm (UTC -4)
I agree about Duch, mostly for the same reasons
kistics
11/9/2010-1:55pm at 1:55 pm (UTC -4)
How about you give him the same deal the Mets gave to Escobar?
But then that was Omar’s deal… I really wonder what Sandy’s take is on incentive laden contracts.
stickguy
11/9/2010-2:06pm at 2:06 pm (UTC -4)
incentive deals on injury risk guys makes a ton of sense. As long as you budget for worst case scenerio (budget wise, which is actually best cse for the team).
I just don’t like backloading all the contracts, and putting inflated vesting options that are relatively easy to hit.
fongy2
11/9/2010-1:24pm at 1:24 pm (UTC -4)
I’d be careful with DeLaRosa. Lefty, pushing 30 who’s never been
great and has bounced from team to team. I
don’t think we’ll have to worry about it though since with the dirth of
pitching available, he will likely get 3 or 4 yrs and mes think mr.Alderson is too smart for that. Garland is a quality innings eater
but wants to play on the left coast and will also likely get 3yrs from someone. So?????…….. I’m not so worried about how much we’ll
spend but rather what “prospects” Alderson might more.
I’m sure he’ll come in and realize many of Omar’s kids arent ever gonna
have any more value than they might now and THAT may be the key to
retooling the team.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-1:31pm at 1:31 pm (UTC -4)
That last bit about Omar’s kids is interesting.
Alderson did speak about keeping prospects/young players even if maybe they’re not “great” but because they’re good enough and fans like homegrown players, but that doesn’t preclude trading away the ones that just aren’t good enough in the estimation of this new FO.
Will be interesting to see if some players we consider household names, just hypothetically Capt. Kirk as an example, are still around in April.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:36pm at 1:36 pm (UTC -4)
I wonder how aggressive they are going to be in “cleaning house” to make the minors into what they want. That’s where I get the feeling that Sandy will be doing some wheeling & Dealing. He’ll look to move one’s he has no interest in for the long haul to fill holes. So it’s a win win for him.
stickguy
11/9/2010-2:00pm at 2:00 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t think they will clean house, at least not as that implys to me (getting rid of what you inherited mostly because it isn’t yours).
But I do think they will evaluate every player in the system, and decide how to keep/trade based on that, without considering the history (such as the perception that F Mart is Omar’s special baby).
I am also wondering if they are going to lay low this off season, or come out trades flying.
COuld be fun!
fongy2
11/9/2010-2:36pm at 2:36 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah , I was thinking more like FMart.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-2:41pm at 2:41 pm (UTC -4)
That’s fair. For no particular reason I was limiting my thoughts to players that had not yet tasted the major leagues, so I eliminated from consideration guys like FMart, Duda, Mejia, Gee & Tejada, and was thinking more about the “next generation” of household names like Kirk or Flores or Ceciliani or guys of their ilk in that most of us have heard of them and maybe have some hopes for them.
I consider the latter group “less tainted” which is not exactly what I mean but is the best way I can think to put it.
Prismo
11/9/2010-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
*gasp* pushing 30!?
He should retire and go live in a “home”
stickguy
11/9/2010-1:52pm at 1:52 pm (UTC -4)
you are young, aren’t you?
But in BB terms, 30 is getting to be seriously middle aged. and that is for an established guy.
and I have read a number of times that if a prospect hasn’t made it by a certain time (and 30 is certainly in that range), then the odds are extremly long that they ever will become good.
TRS86
11/9/2010-2:39pm at 2:39 pm (UTC -4)
The guy has been on 3 teams and the same one for the last 3. Not sure how that damages his resume. To me much more damaging is that he has not pitched 200 innings in a season yet.
Again, I was basing the 2/14 off of Davidoff’s predictions which may be way off.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:38pm at 1:38 pm (UTC -4)
The best part about the Murphy post at Metsblog is seeing sylow throw out ignorant stats trying to make sure everyone believe Murphy can never be and was better than a minor leaguer.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:39pm at 1:39 pm (UTC -4)
I hope Murph proves Sylow oh so wrong.
Go Big Murph!
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:45pm at 1:45 pm (UTC -4)
If Murphy can stick, we’re really set offensively except for cheap bench guys. Leaves all our flexibility for pitching.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-1:51pm at 1:51 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed and where they _need_ to put their focus.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-1:51pm at 1:51 pm (UTC -4)
And in a “why you have to be careful with stats and how they can be abused..” angle, metsmerized’s latest post makes up stats and reasoning to justify the opinion that Garza is better than Pelfrey. It actually looks like they have very similar years, and I’d give the edge to Pelfrey, not Garza due to Ground Ball rate and HR%.
stickguy
11/9/2010-1:55pm at 1:55 pm (UTC -4)
I actually liked his new stat (extreme fly ball). Not that I ever spent much time thinking about it, but it honestly never occured to me that IF pop ups counted as fly balls.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-2:00pm at 2:00 pm (UTC -4)
I think there’s a philosophy that a pitcher can get groundballs, but infield popups are largely the result of the hitter missing. i.e. luck on the pitcher’s part. I could be wrong on that.
However, whatever %s you want to throw out there, the fact of the matter is a ton more flyballs on Garza’s part went _out_ of the park.
stickguy
11/9/2010-2:12pm at 2:12 pm (UTC -4)
not sure it was that big of a difference. Plus, I would always expect an AL pitcher to give up more HRs, since they face the DH and not a pitcher.
and also not sure what impact the division he is in, and parks pitched in, make.
but bottom line, he has been more consistant over the last 3 years, and has given up fewer base runners.
one thing for sur ethough about Pelf. 2009 really skews his average when you look at that time period.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-2:25pm at 2:25 pm (UTC -4)
I was really only looking at least year. I’ll negate the ERA differences for facing more batters, but not all the HRs. 12 to 28 is a big difference. And almost all of those came during Pelfrey’s bad period. He had 3 going into July. (not that that excuses them, but what we’re looking for in Pelf is to minimize the extreme month stretch that he was horrendous to merely not very good.)
Pelf lets up more base runners, but those are mostly cheap hits and he gets more DPs to erase them. The walk rate is about the same. Ground balls are just less damaging. 2.5 WAR for Pelfrey, 107 ERA+, to 2 WAR and 101 ERA+. Pelfrey is more controlled, only 1 wild pitch to nearly 10 for Garza.
stickguy
11/9/2010-2:41pm at 2:41 pm (UTC -4)
so on average, a little less than 1 HR every other game. And honestly, I don’t know how to factor in HRs (if at all) vs. the overall numbers.
so, since you are making the case (as others have) that pelf and garza are roughly equivilant overall, what do you think Pelf would be worth in a trade vs. Garza?
Some people are assuming it will take a huge haul to land garza. So does that mean Pelf would generate a similar return?
personally, I would like both of them. Pelf, Garza, Neise and Dickey is solid in my book. 5th SP filler unitl (if?) santana comes back. And hope to develop an ace somehow in the not too distant future.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-2:51pm at 2:51 pm (UTC -4)
yeah, I think Pelfrey should garner what Garza does, if they were to look to trade him, which they shouldn’t.
If you’re really desperate for trades high get some stuff back guys, really it’s gotta be Pagan. He’s good, and very valuable in my opinion, but hardly irreplaceable. I’m comfortable with Beltran in CF, and corner outfielders are one of he easier things to find. Or at least, they usually are. Mets haven’t had a ton of luck in that regard and duda or F-Mart have not shown anything to be confident in them holding it down in 2011.
stickguy
11/9/2010-3:30pm at 3:30 pm (UTC -4)
I agree that Pagan should get shopped to see if they can get a good return
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-2:49pm at 2:49 pm (UTC -4)
Just putting aside Pelfrey for a moment one thing I can’t escape when thinking about Rays starters, specifically Shields and Garza, is the idea that the Rays are an astute organization and if they’re inclined to trade Garza as opposed to Shields it’s in part because they aren’t entirely excited about his future prospects with them (as well as wanting to sell while value exists).
I didn’t read the MMO post so I apologize if they covered this but what leaps out at me about Garza in 2010 is his O-Swing% (Pitches outside the K zone that hitters swing at) as well as his regular old Swing% (any pitches swung at) went way up, way up. His percentage of swinging strikes was a career low too.
The percentage of contact made with any of his pitches also went way up, while his overall percentage of pitches that were strikes went down.
So he was more wild than he had been in terms of balls/strikes percentage yet despite that batters hit his pitches more often. That scares me. Hopefully it was related to health or something else that is no longer a problem. Otherwise he may have peaked and be on his way down, but to be fair the one season sample is too small to make any firm judgment IMO.
Ceetar
11/9/2010-2:54pm at 2:54 pm (UTC -4)
Seems reasonable. the post only covered fly balls, and tried to excuse Garza’s FB% as a lot of infield flies.
But most recent year has to be the most telling in terms of evaluation. I mean, does what Garza did in 2009 supposed to convince anyone?
If the Mets are thinking Tejada (which i hope they’re not) and his better range than Castillo and probably Murphy, Pelfrey’s biggest negative, hits, will be reduced.
Obviously it’d still be nice to have Garza.
stickguy
11/9/2010-3:29pm at 3:29 pm (UTC -4)
in that light, from the comments section of that post.
XtreemIcon says:
November 9, 2010 at 3:15 pm Joe, I’m thrilled you’re starting to come around on advanced metrics. If you’ll allow me add to your findings:
Garza’s HR/FB% (how many fly balls hit make it over the fence) is under 10% for his career, but above his career average the last two seasons. His fly ball percentage in general has gone up the last two seasons, his LD% last season was a career high and his GB% was a career low. Simply put, he has regressed recently and has been very succeptible.
His pitch selection has been relatively consistent, with a slight increase in his slider and a decrease in his curve, which is no big deal, as his slider is terrific and his curve is his fourth pitch. You’d think increasing the use of your best pitch and staying from your worst pitch should bode well, but for him, it hasn’t.
I think his issue has been his control. He’s throwing a higher percentage of balls and he’s not missing bats at the rate he used to. I think a change of scenery will do him some good because it seems the AL East has a book on him and is wise to his tricks. My guess is if he pitched 2011 on the Rays, his stats will decline even further, but a move to another division, and especially another league, would do wonders for him.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-2:50pm at 2:50 pm (UTC -4)
Do we know who is interviewing this week? What days, etc?
Ceetar
11/9/2010-2:55pm at 2:55 pm (UTC -4)
Still tryign to figure out when Bobby Valentine’s interview is.
njstuckintx
11/9/2010-2:59pm at 2:59 pm (UTC -4)
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/2011-top-50-free-agents.html
Read this and the lone Mets signing he has is # 49. Koji Uehara – Mets.
kistics
11/9/2010-3:13pm at 3:13 pm (UTC -4)
I saw that too. Interesting name I saw was Kuroda. He’s 36 now and should be able to sign him to 1-2 year deal. But I wonder how much he’ll want. He was paid something like $15.4M last season, but he won’t get anywhere close to it. But his numbers do look good.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-3:14pm at 3:14 pm (UTC -4)
I like Uehara. IMO he would help solidify the late innings in the bullpen. I’d feel more comfortable with him in the 8th (and as a potential closer if Mets go ballistic and deal KRod) than Parnell.
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-4:09pm at 4:09 pm (UTC -4)
Wow. I don’t know how to do one of those “screen grabs” to prove it but right now Baseball Reference has “we can’t believe it either” next to Derek Jeter’s name on their gold glove winners list.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
GravediggerHebner
11/9/2010-4:11pm at 4:11 pm (UTC -4)
If you click on their phrase “we can’t believe it either” it links to a chart that suggests in at least one context Jeter was the worst SS in the league. Scroll down
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2010-specialpos_ss-fielding.shtml#players_standard_fielding
kistics
11/9/2010-4:39pm at 4:39 pm (UTC -4)
I wonder if Gonzo Will is surprised now….
So what’s next.. Rollins winning the GG?
saltygary
11/9/2010-4:48pm at 4:48 pm (UTC -4)
“we can’t believe it either” That’s really funny. Based on that stat the guy they had at #1 (Josh Wilson) had 20 errors and in a game where advanced stats are still over the head of voters, Wilson would not even be close.
Looking at a mix of numbers it looks like Izturis probably would of been the better choice.
saltygary
11/9/2010-4:51pm at 4:51 pm (UTC -4)
Also based on that stat Reyes is close to the bottom as well.
saltygary
11/9/2010-4:55pm at 4:55 pm (UTC -4)
Frenchy top Five, Wright at the bottom, Ike #4, Castillo in the middle, Beltran #6, Bay at the bottom…