• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

MLB 2014 Season |OT2| - Derek Jeter Appreciation Thread

BFIB

BFIB

Member
RGVNOE said:
Yea he is, still don't know why FO though he'd be a good pick up, Hopefully Wacha comes back strong and can replace him
Click to expand...
My guess is he's moved to the pen after today. Cleveland has to be doing backflips every day after refusing that extension.
 
C

Carpe Libertatem

Member
RGVNOE said:
Yea he is, still don't know why FO though he'd be a good pick up, Hopefully Wacha comes back strong and can replace him
Click to expand...

Because they thought his problems were mostly mechanical and fixable. And he has had really good splits vs. RHB in his career, which would be incredibly useful vs. the Brewers and the Pirates. And would be going from one of the worst infield defenses in the majors to one of the best.

It's incredibly easy to see why the front office thought he'd be a good fit. It just didn't work out. You win some you lose some.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
Carpe Libertatem said:
Because they thought his problems were mostly mechanical and fixable. And he has had really good splits vs. RHB in his career, which would be incredibly useful vs. the Brewers and the Pirates. And would be going from one of the worst infield defenses in the majors to one of the best.

It's incredibly easy to see why the front office thought he'd be a good fit. It just didn't work out. You win some you lose some.
Click to expand...

I just still don't understand why they didn't look for hitting though, they can't win if they can't score, at least they could've looked for some bench bats that could help. Still can't figure out why they went for pitching when they've been struggling offensively all year
 
C

Carpe Libertatem

Member
RGVNOE said:
I just still don't understand why they didn't look for hitting though, they can't win if they can't score, at least they could've looked for some bench bats that could help. Still can't figure out why they went for pitching when they've been struggling offensively all year
Click to expand...

They went for pitching because at the time the only starters giving them innings were Wainwright and Lynn. Martinez, Shelby, and Kelly struggled to give them 5 in a game. That wasn't going to be sustainable.

And considering Yoenis Cespedes cost Jon Lester, I'm not sure exactly what bats you think the Cardinals should have traded for and what they should have given up to get them.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
Carpe Libertatem said:
They went for pitching because at the time the only starters giving them innings were Wainwright and Lynn. Martinez, Shelby, and Kelly struggled to give them 5 in a game. That wasn't going to be sustainable.

And considering Yoenis Cespedes cost Jon Lester, I'm not sure exactly what bats you think the Cardinals should have traded for and what they should have given up to get them.
Click to expand...

I'm not asking for Cespedes type bats, I'm saying they needed to upgrade at least the bench and have better bats there, getting rid of Descalso and Cruz would be a great place to start as they're not good bats that you can rely on


So frustrating to see then get hit's with no one on, but as soon as someone is on the bases they can't hit shit
 
C

Carpe Libertatem

Member
RGVNOE said:
I'm not asking for Cespedes type bats, I'm saying they needed to upgrade at least the bench and have better bats there, getting rid of Descalso and Cruz would be a great place to start as they're not good bats that you can rely on


So frustrating to see then get hit's with no one on, but as soon as someone is on the bases they can't hit shit
Click to expand...

Again, who do you go after that is available and what do you think they cost? (Answer: no one particularly good and too much)

Cruz was already basically replaced by A.J. anyway.

The reality is that most MLB benches pretty much suck. Maybe the Cardinals's bench sucks more, but I don't think it's that much worse. There's a reason bench players are on the bench and aren't starting.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
chicagocubsfan said:
You guys really need to go after a big bat in the offseason.

Wonder if they can make a package for Stanton around Wacha and Taveras.
Click to expand...

I don't know about trading away Wacha though, I believe he will be taking over as the ace like Waino did when Carp was there

I do agree we need to go after a good bat though.


Carpe Libertatem said:
Again, who do you go after that is available and what do you think they cost? (Answer: no one particularly good and too much)

Cruz was already basically replaced by A.J. anyway.

The reality is that most MLB benches pretty much suck. Maybe the Cardinals's bench sucks more, but I don't think it's that much worse. There's a reason bench players are on the bench and aren't starting.
Click to expand...

I don't know, but Masterson has made the team worse, as he is horrible and their biggest need was offense not pitching is all I'm saying.
 
L

Little Green Yoda

Member
RGVNOE said:
I'm not asking for Cespedes type bats, I'm saying they needed to upgrade at least the bench and have better bats there, getting rid of Descalso and Cruz would be a great place to start as they're not good bats that you can rely on
Click to expand...
Aside from Cespedes, no other bats moved this deadline would've been an upgrade over our current bunch. I'm willing to give Mozeliak the benefit of the doubt that he didn't ignore upgrading the lineup if he could've done so at a reasonable cost.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
harSon said:
Only a half game out of the last wild card now
Click to expand...

should be tied after tonight, I just don't see us beating the cubs, the team looks lifeless and all the bats look dead right now, even getting Yadi back they look flat

Little Green Yoda said:
Aside from Cespedes, no other bats moved this deadline would've been an upgrade over our current bunch. I'm willing to give Mozeliak the benefit of the doubt that he didn't ignore upgrading the lineup if he could've done so at a reasonable cost.
Click to expand...

I guess you're right there might have jot been anything available to upgrade, that being said they definitely need to see what's out there in the off season, we need to get rid of Descalso Upgrade at CF and maybe even look to move Holliday for another good bat
 
C

Carpe Libertatem

Member
RGVNOE said:
I guess you're right there might have jot been anything available to upgrade, that being said they definitely need to see what's out there in the off season, we need to get rid of Descalso Upgrade at CF and maybe even look to move Holliday for another good bat
Click to expand...

Who is there to upgrade with at CF this offseason? I don't see anyone who is better than what the Cardinals have. Cardinals have actually gotten very good production from the position this year. The only players who would be an upgrade likely aren't available.

Holliday also has a no-trade clause and is with us until the end of his contract.

Descalso is probably gone though. I doubt Greg Garcia is that much better, though. Defensively, for sure, but probably not too much offensively.
 
C

chicagocubsfan

Member
Carpe Libertatem said:
Who is there to upgrade with at CF this offseason? I don't see anyone who is better than what the Cardinals have. Cardinals have actually gotten very good production from the position this year. The only players who would be an upgrade likely aren't available.

Holliday also has a no-trade clause and is with us until the end of his contract.

Descalso is probably gone though. I doubt Greg Garcia is that much better, though. Defensively, for sure, but probably not too much offensively.
Click to expand...
Melky Cabrera is going to be a big OF name in FA.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
Carpe Libertatem said:
Who is there to upgrade with at CF this offseason? I don't see anyone who is better than what the Cardinals have. Cardinals have actually gotten very good production from the position this year. The only players who would be an upgrade likely aren't available.

Holliday also has a no-trade clause and is with us until the end of his contract.

Descalso is probably gone though. I doubt Greg Garcia is that much better, though. Defensively, for sure, but probably not too much offensively.
Click to expand...

I don't know who is available, but they definitely need to upgrade, and they have gotten good numbers average wise, but not necessarily very productive from jay, he's really not driving in many runs, and his avg. actually goes down with RISP. You don't necessarily need someone hitting .300 as long as he's producing (look at Peralta). Like I said I don't know who would be available, but they should definitely see if the possibility is there to upgrade. As for Descalso I hope you're right, I was thinking he'd be gone by now and then Mo goes and gives him a 1 year contract and bumps up his salary so we'll see.
 
C

chicagocubsfan

Member
Here's mlbtraderumors FA Power Rankings to give a sense of who's gonna be available.
1. Max Scherzer. Scherzer overcame a midseason hiccup by posting a 1.87 ERA over his last five starts, bringing him back down to 3.34 on the season. He even picked up the win for the American League in the All-Star Game. It’s been a long time since agent Scott Boras has had a starting pitcher of this caliber as a free agent.

2. Jon Lester. Lester isn’t far behind Scherzer, having allowed three earned runs in 38 2/3 innings since our last set of rankings. Lester owns a 2.50 ERA as well as superb timing, and he’s been better than Scherzer this year. Lester hasn’t whiffed this many batters since 2010, and he’s never shown this level of control. Accounting for performance prior to this year, I still give Scherzer the overall edge. Around late June the Red Sox looked to reignite extension talks with Lester, but the pitcher did not receive a new offer and continues to prefer to table discussions until after the season. With the Red Sox slipping in the standings of late, Lester could be traded by the July 31st deadline and freed of a qualifying offer.

3. Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez’s shoulder and calf have been bothering him, and he’s been hit by pitches three times this month. The 30-year-old avoided the DL and continues to hit well. On the other hand, he’s giving back some runs in the field, and defensive question marks are enough to push him down a few spots in the rankings.

4. James Shields. With a 4.39 ERA since May, Shields has failed to keep pace with Lester. Still, Shields’ 2014 peripheral stats are mostly better than last year’s, which led to a 3.15 ERA. The Royals also seem to be hanging around contention enough that they won’t give serious consideration to trading the big righty. With a new contract that will begin with his age-33 season, Shields will be difficult to price in free agency.

5. Pablo Sandoval. As of May 13th, Sandoval’s OPS was down to .554. He’s at .903 since then, with a .335/.370/.533 line in 230 plate appearances. Just 28 in August, Sandoval has age on his side relative to most free agents.

6. Nelson Cruz. Cruz has stumbled since our last set of rankings, hitting .229/.282/.422 in 117 plate appearances. He still ranks second in all of baseball in home runs and RBI, and could top his career-high of 33 longballs at some point in August. Cruz is another tough free agent to price, as teams will be buying into his age 34-36 seasons (and perhaps age 37, if things go well for the slugger).

7. Victor Martinez. V-Mart’s resurgent contract year has continued unabated. Though he’ll be 36 in December, Martinez’s goal might be a three-year pact. On June 29th, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that while there have been no extension discussions, Martinez would love to remain in Detroit. One complication for the Tigers is that Miguel Cabrera is signed through 2023 and will probably need to move to DH at some point.

8. Yasmani Tomas. A new entrant to this list, Tomas is a different kind of potential free agent. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explained on June 20th, Tomas left Cuba to pursue an MLB contract but still has to clear the usual hurdles before he’s free to sign. A 23-year-old corner outfielder, Badler pegs Tomas’ raw power as a 70. It seems possible Tomas’ actual free agency will coincide with the MLB offseason. Jose Abreu‘s dazzling debut has made his $68MM contract look like a bargain, which should help Tomas score big. It’s worth noting that Tomas isn’t said to be as polished as Abreu and likely doesn’t have the same ceiling. He is younger, however, which helps his cause.

9. Melky Cabrera. Cabrera, 29, is hitting .305/.352/.463 on the season. His ties to Biogenesis cloud the picture, but his injury-shortened 2013 might end up being Cabrera’s only poor season in his last four.

10. Russell Martin. Perhaps Martin can’t maintain his .271 batting average, but he’s in the midst of another solid campaign and doesn’t turn 32 until February. Teams are also placing more and more emphasis on catching defense, and Martin has gunned down 37 percent of attempted base-stealers while ranking sixth in extra strikes added via pitch framing, per Baseball Prospectus.

This month’s Kenta Maeda watch: the 26-year-old Japanese righty is down to a 2.08 ERA in 15 starts. Ervin Santana has been decent of late. Jason Hammel was traded to Oakland and has seen his ERA rise from 2.98 to 3.35 after two starts. Josh Beckett returns from a DL stint for a hip injury tonight.

You likely won’t find a reliever cracking the top 10, but closers David Robertson, Francisco Rodriguez, Casey Janssen and Rafael Soriano have been excellent, while Luke Gregerson and Andrew Miller have been lights out in a setup capacity.

Among position players, Chase Headley, who earlier today was traded to the Yankees, is still not showing any power (though perhaps a move to the hitter-friendly parks of the AL East can change that). Colby Rasmus was placed in something of a platoon role earlier this month. Nick Markakis leads MLB in plate appearances and has been useful this year. Aramis Ramirez, who like Markakis has a mutual option on his deal, is having a nice year at the plate as well. Stephen Drew‘s bat has started to come alive this month after his late start to the season, while Kendrys Morales is hitting .295/.319/.432 over an 11-game hitting streak. Neither Boras client has very appealing overall numbers. Both Asdrubal Cabrera and Mike Morse have dropped off the list after sluggish performances since our last edition of the rankings. A strong finish could put either back onto the map.
Click to expand...

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/2015-free-agent-power-rankings-4.html
 
L

Little Green Yoda

Member
RGVNOE said:
I don't know who is available, but they definitely need to upgrade, and they have gotten good numbers average wise, but not necessarily very productive from jay, he's really not driving in many runs, and his avg. actually goes down with RISP. You don't necessarily need someone hitting .300 as long as he's producing (look at Peralta). Like I said I don't know who would be available, but they should definitely see if the possibility is there to upgrade. As for Descalso I hope you're right, I was thinking he'd be gone by now and then Mo goes and gives him a 1 year contract and bumps up his salary so we'll see.
Click to expand...
Center field is far down on the list of problems for this team. PB&J platoon is more than adequate.

They need production from RF (which means Oscar needs to hit well next season with some seasoning under his belt). They need guys to hit for more power (good luck finding an available CF with power unless you want to give Rasmus another shot). Lastly, they've been unlucky at situational hitting (we've seen how drastic a difference one season can make).
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
Little Green Yoda said:
Center field is far down on the list of problems for this team. PB&J platoon is more than adequate.

They need production from RF (which means Oscar needs to hit well next season with some seasoning under his belt). They need guys to hit for more power (good luck finding an available CF with power unless you want to give Rasmus another shot). Lastly, they've been unlucky at situational hitting (we've seen how drastic a difference one season can make).
Click to expand...

yea you're definitely right Oscar needs to hit more, and I'm not saying that Jay and Bourjos aren't doing a good job, they are, I just feel they should keep their eyes and ears open and find a way to get better with someone who drives the ball more. I doubt any change will be made there though I see Mo more inclined to look for someone to replace Wong in the lineup. Hopefully one of the young guys from the September call ups can stand out and step up though, this team definitely needs help right now.
 
L

Little Green Yoda

Member
RGVNOE said:
yea you're definitely right Oscar needs to hit more, and I'm not saying that Jay and Bourjos aren't doing a good job, they are, I just feel they should keep their eyes and ears open and find a way to get better with someone who drives the ball more. I doubt any change will be made there though I see Mo more inclined to look for someone to replace Wong in the lineup. Hopefully one of the young guys from the September call ups can stand out and step up though, this team definitely needs help right now.
Click to expand...
Don't let Kolten's overall numbers scare you. He was absymal early on and got even worse after the shoulder injury. Since coming off the DL, his numbers aren't too bad. Remains to be seen if it's just a hot streak but either way, we need the young guys take a step forward next season.
 
R

RGVNOE

Member
Little Green Yoda said:
Don't let Kolten's overall numbers scare you. He was absymal early on and got even worse after the shoulder injury. Since coming off the DL, his numbers aren't too bad. Remains to be seen if it's just a hot streak but either way, we need the young guys take a step forward next season.
Click to expand...

I actually like Wong very good fielder, and yes I has seen improvement from him since his dl stint, but earlier in the season Mo had said they were looking for a good offensive 2nd basemen or 3rd basemen and Marp would play the position they didn't get( if they got a 2nd basemen Marp stays at 3rd, if they got a 3rd basemen Marp would move to 2nd), that's why I was saying I see more of a possibility for Mo to make a move for an IF than make an attempt for an OF
 
M

Mr. Enigma

Member
Orioles making some moves.

The Orioles have acquired Alejandro De Aza from the White Sox in exchange for minor league pitchers Miguel Chalas and Mark Blackmar.

The Orioles have also acquired Kelly Johnson and Michael Almanzar from the Red Sox in exchange for Jemille Weeks and Ivan DeJesus Jr.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MLB suspends Trevor Bauer for 2 seasons for domestic violence
2
50
4K
DeepEnigma replied
Ara: History Untold | Review Thread
Analysis Review
21
1K
Jaybe replied
XDefiant | Review Thread
Analysis Review
5
1K
havoc00 replied
SCHiM | Review Thread
Analysis Review
7
808
Eiknarf replied
Where is Next Gen Gameplay?
2 3 4
181
10K
ProtoByte replied
Top Bottom