2011-12 Hot Stove League

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/728/958/albert-pujols-money-contract_display_image.jpg?1297877008

2011-2012 Hot Stove Thread. How Long Until We Get to Troll Morbs?

well shit

better title here

better intro pic.

i mean - it's no "yes, this is dog" - but it'll do.

so poo-holes:

nyy, bos, phil are set at first base, for better or worse. dodgers and mets are in financial disarray. angels and cubs have enough money tied up in other terrible contracts.

can the cardinals afford (to lose) him? would the giants or white sox make a go?

i'm told that due to their regional tv deal the rangers are the next mlb financial superpower? kinda seems like they'd focus on pitching, but albert (or prince) would be a nice upgrade from mitch moreland, and they play in an enticing park . . .

Rangers want CC, so I think that will be their focus at first.

mark teixiera kinda sucks, could potentially see the yanks making a run at albert if he puts his name out there

yankees *need* cc, tho

teixeira hit 39 homers, plays a good 1b and is signed for five more years. the yankees are rich, but how many of these enormo contracts for fading stars can even they take on?

(maybe someone would take tex in a deal, but still)

i'm p sure the yankees could afford just about anything

but yeah they won't go after CC and pujols

i wonder if they'll go after cj wilson... they have enough young pitching talent that they don't NEED to sign a major starter after CC, but y'know

tex is gonna be one of the top 3 highest paid first basemen prob for the entirety of his contract but he's gonna be p average for the position if not next season than the one after

The Giants have the money and they have their own TV deal as well. problem is they have like 30 owners and they are looking to make money plus they still owe on their stadium. they will go after Carlos Beltran but won't go after the bigger names this off season. most pressing need for them is to lock up Matt Cain.

tex's WAR last year was closer to gaby sanchez than it was to prince fielder

i would love to see SF go after prince

tex has a ntc iirc

i'm really interested to see what happens w/ javy vazquez.

he was just about the best starter in all of baseball for the second half this year but reports kept saying that he was intent on retiring.

yeah tex won't get traded

i was gonna say that they could play him at DH or w/e but i forgot they have a rod locked up for six more years or w/e LOL

Pujols is likely to stay in St. Louis, but IMO that money would be better spent on Reyes and maybe an SP to upgrade over Westbrook. They've already got a big slugging 1B in Berkman.

the first part of your sentence is correct, but berkman ain't hanging on much longer

i should say, MIGHT be correct

can the brewers afford to do anything?

also: will the royals sign melky to a multi-year deal just because

how does pac-bell or whatever it is now play for righties?

from a friend of mine in san francisco:

The Giants are fucking idiots. They will sign Jimmy Rollins book it.

Rollins to the Giants makes a lot of sense given Sabean's history.

honestly it prob wouldn't be that terrible depending on length of the contract

he's still a top 5 SS in the NL, and the giants have almost literally nobody there

idk what he's asking... he made 8.5m this year, if they gave him something like 4 yr / 35 m i don't think it would be a travesty or anything. they'd prob be paying for some down years, but that would be a good pick up for them for the next two years

i could see him hitting a lot of doubles & triples in that park

Plus he's from here.

well whatever

i mean, if they get close to full years from posey & panda and let belt play all year, they still gotta be the favorites in that division

he'll be 33 and has been average for several years -- at $8m then sure, but it's not like he's a step towards salvation or anything

same thing with beltran

loved that ad with him asking to be hit in the belly tho

well he's not average for his position

also he'd be such a huge upgrade over the in house candidates

mark teixiera kinda sucks

cmon J0rdan, you're smarter than this.

Even if the Wilpons hadn't broke the Mets' finances, after the Bay and Johan deals they'd be inclined to pay for the decline of Pujols? Nertz.

well i was exaggerating slightly by the point that he's a declining power hitting first basemen getting paid like he's one of the best players in baseball still stands.

here's the ether from joe po

10. Mark Teixeira, five years, $112.5 million
-- A lot of Yankees fans were focusing on the decline of A-Rod because, well, that's an easy one to wrap the mind around. But, honestly, I'd be nervous about Teixeira. Sure, it was only five games, but he really looked old during the playoff series with Detroit. He will turn 32 years old in April, he's got five years left on his contract, and he too seems to be in clear and present decline. The last two years, Teixeira has hit .239/.326/.452 on the road. Overall, he's hit .252 the last two years, and his .487 slugging percentage is about 50 points off his career numbers, and ranks eighth among first baseman.

He's still a good player. Hey, he hit 39 homers in 2011. He's a fine fielder. If he stays right here, plays like this, it will be disappointing but not unmanageable for the Yankees. But, yeah, there's a reason they call it regression. in an era where many of the best teams load up with a truly great hitter at first base -- Detroit with Miggy; St. Louis (for now) with Pujols; Milwaukee (for now) with Fielder; Boston with Gonzalez and so on -- the Yankees have Teixeira for a long time. It's become a familiar Yankees story: They'll be hoping for someone to fight off the years. Five more of those years.

but it's the Yankees, burning $$$ is not a big deal.

right, except they want to have the best player on the field at every position, and tex is far from that now, and the distance is only growing

I think they would be wiser to upgrade their pitching!

well this off season, yes

Giants would be awesome with Reyes.. In that wacky OF he'd hit like 40 triples.

nyy, bos, phil are set at first base,

i wish. is howard even going to be able to play next season?

probably not, but the mere fact of his existence presumably rules them out of the running for pujols

do teams take out insurance against things like howard's injury?

did the phillies take out insurance against ruben amaro?

Jerry DiPoto to be Angels GM

my dream of a minaya run angels team is crushed..

DiPoto has his work cut out for him.. I feel like his first move should be to break the back of Scioscia's influence on personnel decisions. if he cant do that hes fucked.

how excited should i be about epstein moving to the cubs? can he actually improve things?

yeah i don't see why he couldn't turn them into the best org in that division, he's already got a bunch of smart people on board with him

because they're the cubs?

beat me to it

oh, nev mind...

past a rolling fielder

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/files/2009/05/johnny-carson12.jpg

May 2013, Prince's career ends in an attempt to stretch a double to a triple

Fielder and Cabrera could very well be swapping 1B/DH duties by mid-May 2012.

Jaffe:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15914

just put Prince at 3B, duh

goddamn this dudes knee is completely destroyed

Victor Martinez underwent microfracture surgery Friday on his left knee. V-Mart also needs ACL reconstructive surgery, and won't undergo that for another 6-8 weeks. He has been ruled out for the 2012 season and might not be ready to begin his long road of rehab until the middle or end of this summer

aww, don't want to see that happen to anybody but especially vmart, he was the nicest dude.

Can't recall if that was the same knee that made him close to immobile (I know) during the playoffs.

Really don't expect the Tigers to score that many more runs this year than they did in 2011. Martinez was a monster.

plus, we all know that Prince sucks on even-numbered years

does anyone know what he was doing when he injured his knee?

that's mcgahee in the fiesta bowl status

i think he was working out iirc.

right

Pat Burrell is retiring

thanks for everything Pat, it was a great ride

12 seasons, $70m, 18+ war

hai jordan http://stupiddope.com/2012/01/31/new-music-wale-albert-pujols-ft-rick-ross-fabolous/2/

he's not on it though, doesn't haev the silver pipes of a darryl strawberry.

Heyman's "no shit" tweet of the week:

@lonestarball
Josh Hamilton reportedly relapses http://sbn.to/xPMZRo

@JonHeymanCBS
Hamilton may be the best positional talent in baseball but the #rangers should think hard before doing long deal with him.

that's what happens when God trolls you with the promise of a World Series go ahead home run and delivers.

I feel bad because the first thing I thought was YESSSSSS

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyf9fdnvXO1qz6a9mo1_400.png

btw dallas braden got a tattoo of rollie fingers riding a dolphin beneath a rainbow

Looks like Doug Henning from here.

too bad it's only for a temp for a spot :(

A's extend Beane through 2019

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/2/9/2788074/yankees-pirates-aj-burnett-trade-rumors

Cespedes to the loving, extended arms of Billy Beane.

wasn't expecting that

Jayson Stark
Katz said Cespedes' decision about more than $. "Basically, this was a player who felt like this club wanted him more than anybody else."

it was about the club that wanted him more than anybody else... by offering him the most money

Apparently they might pick up Manny as well?

I keep reading his suspension is for 50 games. He did one of those already. Isn't his next suspension 100 games? idgi

i don't think he served it - he decided to "retire" instead of serving the 50 game suspension, iirc.

Burnett

The biggest move any team can make to win the World Series, is to ensure that AJ Burnett stays a Yankee.

by webjr on Feb 10, 2012 9:32 AM EST reply

This comment made me chuckle.

as a pirate fan, i've been asked what i think about acquiring aj burnett, to which my answer is, if he's more or less free, why not? i feel that he could thrive in games that don't matter.

otoh, nothing he did for the pirates would likely give me as much pleasure as watching him drag the yankees down, so

as a J's fan - this has been highly amusing to me.

he looks kind of like mark mckinney

or Calista Gingrich?

http://clatl.com/imager/separated-at-birth-calista-gingrich-and-the-chicken-lady/b/original/3226177/a0c1/1305820490-lookalike.jpg

damn

http://clatl.com/imager/separated-at-birth-calista-gingrich-and-the-chicken-lady/b/original/3226177/a0c1/1305820490-lookalike.jpg

bam!

fukudome back to Chicago, but on the south side this time

Doctors are diving back in to Tony Gwynn's face, to get all of the tumor this time, nerve or no nerve. I'd like to think this will help a few players quit dipping, but nicotine's a bitch.

A. Josh Hamilton does first mea culpa interview with Glenn Beck?
Q. HOW I STOPPED ROOTING FOR THE GUY

ugggghhhhh

lolrioles

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/2/15/2801088/baltimore-orioles-korea-contract-seong-min-kim

lolrioles

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/2/15/2801088/baltimore-orioles-korea-contract-seong-min-kim
--Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius)

Supposedly the kid was fringy at best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO3LxJdnqa0

HAHA i remember him from Highschool pretty sure they called him "wingnut"
brooklynjames45 15 hours ago

David Lennon of New York Newsday reports that the Mets have no interest in Scott Kazmir "at this time."
Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports that Kazmir averaged 86-89 mph and topped out at 91 mph while throwing for approximately 10 teams Friday in Houston.

It would be cooler if Kazmir and O. Perez formed a crime fighting duo.

Tim Wakefield retired yesterday.

damn, pirates locked up mccutchen for 6 years and 51 m!!