Random MLB News And Discussion 2012

[brettac1]

http://deadspin.com/5917235/indians-closer-chris-perez-celebrated-earning-his-20th-save-by-projectile-vomiting-all-over-the-mound

 

No description needed.

[3and2Fastball]

http://deadspin.com/5917235/indians-closer-chris-perez-celebrated-earning-his-20th-save-by-projectile-vomiting-all-over-the-mound

 

No description needed.

 

Let us hope that is not the new "trend" for closers among the next generation!

[brettac1]

Axford did it figuratively today, but he has yet to take it next level like Perez does.

[dlk9s]

The home team pitcher should always do this in the top of the 1st to psyche out the visiting pitcher.

[Thurston Fluff]

That the Pirates are in first place and it's June must be a sure sign of the Apocalypse.

[RockCoCougars]

They were in first in mid July last season before they collapsed.

[3and2Fastball]

yes, first the Pirates must makes trades at the deadline that make no sense before they collapse.

[pretendastronaut]

The Pirates are on pace for just 524 runs this year. The only team in the last 30 years that scored fewer than that in a non-strike season was the 2010 Mariners (513).

 

Those 2010 Mariners lost 101 games. The 2012 Pirates are tied for first place.

 

Full Article

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Ethier with a new deal. Boy did he get hot (and stopped acting like a jerk) at the right time. New owners want to show the community they are committed to winning, so they throw a big money deal at LA's version of Corey Hart. Money to burn...

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8040921/source-andre-ethier-agrees-principle-5-year-85-million-contract-extension-los-angeles-dodgers

[igor67]

Sure the Pirates fell apart last year, but no one is really running away this year, and some of the other pieces on that team are more in place long term this year than last. Given that their offense has been so bad, improving it would be pretty easy. Grab Youkillis and Soriano. Neither of which would be terribly difficult and they could add quite a bit of offense for the remainder of the year.

[Funketown]

That's an absurd chunk of change for Ethier. He's hardly any better than Corey Hart; Zips projects a .350 wOBA for Hart and a .348 wOBA for Ethier. Hart got $9MM and $10MM for two FA years, while Ethier gets $17MM for five seasons.

 

The Cubs scare me way more than the Dodgers as a potentially dominant NL franchise.

[monty57]

That's an absurd chunk of change for Ethier. He's hardly any better than Corey Hart; Zips projects a .350 wOBA for Hart and a .348 wOBA for Ethier. Hart got $9MM and $10MM for two FA years, while Ethier gets $17MM for five seasons.

 

The Cubs scare me way more than the Dodgers as a potentially dominant NL franchise.

 

The problem with big inflows of "new money" is that salaries go up, squeezing teams like the Brewers who don't have as much money. Now the entire expected increase in revenues from the TV deal will buy one above average (but not superstar) corner OF. There is no way Corey Hart would sign his deal today, so any future deals will be that much harder to sign. We are currently in a period of massive inflation in Major League Baseball, making pre-arby guys much more valuable.

[Funketown]

Yeah, only time will tell whether deals like Ethier's are due to a new economic environment in MLB or simply an overpay from an ownership group with too much cash on their hands. As Brewers fans, we better hope it's the latter. Looking over the list of this season's FA contracts, I think these contracts might be the new norm. A few of the bigger OF bat signings this offseason/season:

 

Michael Cuddyer 3/$31.5

Andrew Ethier 5/$85

David Dejesus 2/$10

Jason Kubel 2/$15

Josh Willingham 3/$30

 

Outside of Willingham and Dejesus those all seem pretty darn steep. Kubel has a slightly above average bat and he's a bad defensive corner outfielder. Average players really do seem to command $10 million per season these days. These all make the Aoki deal look like a great signing. Clubs like the Brewers are just going to have to be smarter going forward.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm in the minority, but I think $85 million over 5 years is about right for Ethier. Put him in Miller Park and his numbers (which aren't bad) would be pretty darn good. When you consider what Fielder got, and that Ethier currently is leading the NL in RBI with 53 he was going to get a lot in FA. His numbers are pretty close to Hart, but Ethier makes better contact, and doesn't need to leadoff to be productive. He's also won a Gold Glove and hasn't made an error in 2 years.

 

I could easily see Hart getting $70 million over 5 years if he were a FA.

[3and2Fastball]

Ethier is better than Corey Hart. His 124 career OPS+ vs Hart's 115 career OPS+ supports that

[Baldkin]

They are darn close. Hart had a couple really bad years, but he's also put up 3 seasons better than Ethier ever has.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?players=1945,6265

[monty57]

I'm in the minority, but I think $85 million over 5 years is about right for Ethier.

 

No, I'm with you. Due to recent salary escalation, players like Eithier are now getting $17MM / year, while superstars are getting well over $20MM/year. That means if the Brewers want to continue to build like they have the past few seasons, they will need a much bigger payroll then they can probably sustain. We need to get back to growing our talent on the farm and start trading some guys away when they still have some team control to continue to have a lot of pre-arby/arby guys playing key roles.

 

I guess a good thing about it is that the $30MM we'll still owe Ramirez after this season may seem reasonable enough that someone might trade for him.

[dlk9s]

Guys, it's not an overpay. He gets a lot of RBI.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ethier's a better defender than Hart, and like Briggs & 3and2 note, has his stats suppressed by playing in Chavez Ravine & the NL West in general. I think he's definitely a better hitter than Hart, but probably not like $40M better

[3and2Fastball]

Not to overstate the obvious but I think the Dodgers are going to spend a ton of money in the off-season and will go after Cole Hamels, Greinke, Josh Hamilton, Michael Bourn etc

[bullox]

Bryce Harper just hit a HUGE bomb to center in Toronto, easily 30-40 feet above the 400 ft mark (off the Blackberry sign). If this guy isn't the best player in baseball in three years, I'll be shocked.

[brettac1]

Bryce Harper just hit a HUGE bomb to center in Toronto, easily 30-40 feet above the 400 ft mark (off the Blackberry sign). If this guy isn't the best player in baseball in three years, I'll be shocked.

Mike Trout is going to be stiff competition. He's absolutely amazing.

[3and2Fastball]

Bryce Harper just hit a HUGE bomb to center in Toronto, easily 30-40 feet above the 400 ft mark (off the Blackberry sign). If this guy isn't the best player in baseball in three years, I'll be shocked.

 

He's gone 3 for 4 tonight and now has his batting average up to .307 with a .390 OBP and a .943 OPS. As a 19 year old. Wow! The guy is still 8-9 years away from his peak....

[Tedaldtada]

I have never seen a more explosive swing than Harpers. It's like a mix of Ryan Braun's and Fred McGriff's swings. His bat must have incredible momentum when it impacts the ball.

 

Baseball is in good hands between Harper, Trout and Giancarlo Stanton.

 

*******

 

Speaking of Stanton, he really has taken his game to the next level in the first half of 2012. He is walking more than Ryan Braun while keeping his K's manageable. The power is of course still present, but accompanied by a .290-ish batting average.

 

*******

 

Speaking of young players in general, I think we are in a truly special time period. These kids have never been better, I don't care what anyone says.

 

Youngsters like Chapman, Strasburg, Bundy, Profar and Sano look to be right on par with Stanton, Harper and Trout.

 

Just incredible.

 

Edit: wanted to add Billy Hamilton to the list above. The kids are all right as they say.

[TooLiveBrew]

Bryce Harper just hit a HUGE bomb to center in Toronto, easily 30-40 feet above the 400 ft mark (off the Blackberry sign). If this guy isn't the best player in baseball in three years, I'll be shocked.

 

He's gone 3 for 4 tonight and now has his batting average up to .307 with a .390 OBP and a .943 OPS. As a 19 year old. Wow! The guy is still 8-9 years away from his peak....

So yeah, it's looking like the Nats absolutely made the right call in promoting & challenging him. He's an absolutely sensational hitter.