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[Sanjuro]

I opened the sports radio program shitting on Kimbrel.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

RedSox gonna give Johnny Cueto $150 million.

 

[Malo]

RedSox gonna give Johnny Cueto $150 million.

That would be ideal.

 

[chicagocubsfan]

I kinda wish Scherzer was a FA this offseason.

I know his stuff won't age well, but he was a monster at points last season.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

I kinda wish Scherzer was a FA this offseason.

I know his stuff won't age well, but he was a monster at points last season.

Probably would have gotten a bigger deal this year after throwing two no-hitters in one season.

 

[BFIB]

RedSox gonna give Johnny Cueto $150 million.

I think they are a lot more careful. I see them chasing Heyward hard though.

 

[Grover Cleveland]

RedSox gonna give Johnny Cueto $150 million.

You're the worst

 

[newjeruse]

I think they are a lot more careful. I see them chasing Heyward hard though.

Outfielders are the one position they won't sign.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I get confused whenever I see a poster from MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA GAF root for teams from different cities.

Like Doyers/Broncos fans.

Or Doyers/Titans.

Or Doyers anything really.

Oh wait, they haven't had a NFL team for a long while.

lolz

 

[sf2fanatic]

So Doyers narrowed it down to 3 candidates but didn't say who. But one of them ain't Erstad..



Sorry if posted. But I do like to know the 3 are.


Xia- that list you mention includes you. You root for the Warriors. They ain't San Fran..

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

If the Padres got all that for Kimbrel I want to see what the Yankees can get for miller.

 

[Malo]

If the Padres got all that for Kimbrel I want to see what the Yankees can get for miller.

Shit. I want to see what Betances can get.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Jim Bowden is reporting the Dodgers managerial search has been narrowed down to Bud Black, Darrin Erstad, Gabe Kapler, and Dave Roberts. Kapler is considered the favorite.

 

[Sanjuro]

Probably would have gotten a bigger deal this year after throwing two no-hitters in one season.

Advanced Dominono sabermetric is the future of our business.

 

[brianjones]

I'm kind of rooting for kapler or erstad

I don't know bud black and Dave Roberts seem like really boring choices

also the dodgers need a right handed starter.. their rotation is all lefties at this point.. Kershaw Ryu Anderson Wood.. even Urias is left

 

[Beckx]

Nakata and Matsuda just destroyed the USA team this morning. 10-2 Japan. Of course MLB doesn't care about world baseball (other than as a talent source) so they don't care about that either.

Nakata has owned this tournament, I love it.

 

[Corran Horn]

Xia- that list you mention includes you. You root for the Warriors. They ain't San Fran..

Warrior fans are the worse.

 

[RBH]

Two days later, and I'm still pissed off about the Andrelton Simmons trade.

Honestly never felt this way about a trade before, for any of my teams.

 

[Beckx]

I've never met a Mets fan who wasnt from NY. Yet I'm from Texas. Fandom is weird.

Growing up in Tennessee when it didn't have any pro teams, everyone tended to follow popular teams. (The thing where Nashville people loved the Braves didn't really come about til the 90s.) My elementary school library was full of books about the Steelers and Pirates so there you go, Pittsburgh fan ever since.

Don't really care about football any more for a bunch of reasons, though.

 

[sf2fanatic]

Mr E, Erstad decided to stay at Nebraska. Local sports news channel reported it last night.

 

[3N16MA]

I've never met a Mets fan who wasnt from NY. Yet I'm from Texas. Fandom is weird.

We need to sell high on Familia if this is the going rate, holy crap did the sox get hosed.

I'm from Canada and I'm a Yankees, Knicks, Steelers, Penguins fan.

I win.

Where is my prize?

 

[Tragicomedy]

Royals, Chiefs, and Sonics

Spoiler

fan. Never had a local NBA team, and loved watching Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp in the 90s. I'm a dirty traitor and cheer for OKC until the Sonics rise again. Durant and Collison are the last two Sonics on the team.

Currently live in Colorado...fuck the Broncos, Rockies, etc. Beautiful state, though.

 

[Dmncnby2k9]

NY Mets, NY Giants, UIah Jazz fan here.

 

[RBH]

Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella admitted that it was hard to trade Andrelton Simmons but that he felt the deal with the Angels was just too good to pass up.

Coppolella disagreed with a reporter who said during a post-trade conference call that some fans would look at this again as the Braves dumping salary and moving a popular player for nothing more than additional pitching prospects, albeit high-level prospects.

“No. I would just say this: You can make an argument that we are actually a team that can win more games with Aybar,” Coppolella said. “Aybar is a career .276 hitter; Simmons has never hit .276 in a full season. Aybar’s a switch-hitter, 18 months back an All-Star, he can hit (first or second in the order) for you. I mean, Aybar’s a really good player. I think we traded defense for offense in this trade. The fact that we got two huge-upside arms is great, but as far as for 2016, I don’t think that’s a big step back for this Braves team.

“I think where it will hurt is more in 2017, 2018, if Aybar ends up as a free-agent player. Maybe we can sign him long term; I think we need to find out more about him, he needs to find out more about us. But at the end of it, he’s a really good player. He was a huge part of this deal. This wasn’t just some kind of prospect trade. This was a value-for-value trade that had some really good prospects in it.”

Coppy continued, “We can’t have a year like we had last year. That’s why we had to get back major league value. Since we made the trade two or three hours ago, we have gotten three calls on Aybar already, from teams that want to trade for him. He’s a really good hitter, somebody that can play short. Somebody that our staff really liked and our scouts really liked. He’s a good player. So we’re very happy to have Aybar.”

"The focus for me is to get really good talent," Coppolella said. "I'd be happy if we got arms in every deal. We're built around pitching and defense. The more arms we can get, the better off we're going to be."

"It would have been easy to not make this trade," Coppolella said. "It would have been easy to just say, 'Let me hold Simmons, because he's a fan favorite and he makes great plays.' But I want us to get better. I want us to have good young players filling our talent pipeline year in and year out.

"I'm not afraid. Fans won't like this trade because they all love Simmons. I love Simmons, too. He's fun to watch play. We need more talent and we need to get better. This trade helps that happen."

 

[Choomp]

I've gone through phases where I'd support some NBA/NFL teams, probably more when I was younger, but I only really care about the Mets. I was born into the fandom and been a huge fan my whole life.

 

[CygnusXS]

I'll be surprised if Aybar is still on the team by April.

 

[shinboy630]

Yeah, fandom is strange. I am a Yankees/Sharks/Lions (cries everywhere)/Timbers fan for MLB/NHL/NFL/MLS respectively.

I live in New Jersey.

 

[Grover Cleveland]

If North Carolina had a major league team I'd root for them.

But they don't and superfuck the Braves, so here we are.

 

[jbug617]

I still can't believe we traded all of that for Kimbrel. I like Kimbrel and happy he is on the team but man that was a lot.

 

[Doogdogg]

I still can't believe we traded all of that for Kimbrel. I like Kimbrel and happy he is on the team but man that was a lot.

Look at it this way, an elite reliever for prospects, who may not panned out. The team needs to win now. Kimbrel/Koji is going to strike out about 200 guys themselves, an elite combo.

If Dombrowski wants a top rotation arm, he would have to trade one of Betts or Bogaerts. Or he could sign a free agent. Would you want him to trade Betts for a starter?

After a while, I'm okay with it. The package could get a number 3 starter, which this team has a bunch of, opting for an elite reliever is the correct move.

And the system is still pretty much intact, Benintendi, Espinoza, Moncada, Devers could be a #1 prospect on 15+ teams.

 

[jman2050]

Wait they traded Simmons because they WANTED Erick Aybar?

The hell is this?

EDIT: How many seasons is Boston going to eventually waste trying to chase recreate their fluky 2013 season again?

 

[Mr. Enigma]

I'll be surprised if Aybar is still on the team by April.

Aybar has always been a solid player.

This isn't his brother Willy Aybar, you know, who made that disastrous Braves cameo in 2006 then went MIA on a drug bender in 2007.

 

[CygnusXS]

Aybar has always been a solid player.

This isn't his brother Willy Aybar, you know, who made that disastrous Braves cameo in 2006 then went MIA on a drug bender in 2007.

Hey, Willy had that 6 hit game that one time.

 

[Malo]

I still can't believe we traded all of that for Kimbrel. I like Kimbrel and happy he is on the team but man that was a lot.

You guys gave up two potential top 50 prospects for a reliever (an elite one), but that's too much. The Yankee equivalent probably would have been Judge, Mateo plus others for Kimbrel. I was mad when the Yankees reportedly offered Mateo for Kimbrel during the trade deadline, I can only imagine if we would have given up Judge in addition to Mateo.

Also, most of sosh agrees it was an overpay. I feel like that package you guys gave up could have landed you something better.

 

[jbug617]

Erstad withdrew his name from the Dodgers job. The final 3 are Kapler, Black and Roberts.
https://twitter.com/JimBowden_ESPN/status/665616793549996032

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Erstad withdrew his name from the Dodgers job. The final 3 are Kapler, Black and Roberts.
https://twitter.com/JimBowden_ESPN/status/665616793549996032

Push up contest to determine the winner.

 

[RBH]

Investors — and baseball fans — will be able to buy and sell shares of stock in the Atlanta Braves next year under an unusual plan unveiled Thursday by team owner Liberty Media.

Liberty, a publicly traded company with a range of media and entertainment assets, said it will create a tracking stock that will provide a way to invest in the Braves’ financial performance separate from the rest of the conglomerate.

The Colorado-based company will continue to control the Braves under the plan, but the new stock — expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange in the first half of next year — will make the Braves one of the few sports franchises with publicly listed shares allowing for direct investment.

“It’s a Brave new world,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in announcing the plan to investors.

The tracking stock, designated as the “Liberty Braves Group,” will include the Braves and the team’s interests in the new SunTrust Park and adjacent mixed-use development in Cobb County.

J.C. Bradbury, a sports economist at Kennesaw State University, said some investors could view the stock as a play on the real-estate project and others could see it as an extension of being a fan.

“Fans could say, ‘Hey, I own a piece of the Braves,’” Bradbury said.

Liberty said its current shareholders will get corresponding shares in the new Braves stock and two other tracking stocks also announced Thursday.

Liberty said it also plans to raise $200 million from a rights offering of additional Braves shares. That money will be used in large part to repay approximately $165 million borrowed by the Braves from Liberty for the stadium project, the company said.

Initial share prices haven’t been determined.

The Braves have been part of publicly traded companies for decades — first Turner Broadcasting, then Time Warner and since 2007 Liberty Media. But this will be the first time the Braves have been a stand-alone stock, meaning more extensive financial disclosures about the team will be made to Wall Street and the public.

Among the few publicly traded sports franchises are basketball’s New York Knicks and hockey’s New York Rangers, both part of Madison Square Garden Co., and English soccer powerhouse Manchester United. Shares of the Green Bay Packers have long been publicly owned, but those are not tradeable and fall more in the category of fan support than investment.

Shares in baseball’s Cleveland Indians, basketball’s Boston Celtics and hockey’s Florida Panthers have been publicly traded in the past, but no longer are.

Long-time Braves season-ticket holder John Shafer said he would be interested in buying shares in the team.

“This would really give me and others an opportunity to be a part of the Braves organization,” Shafer said. “You’re not going to have a voice or anything like that, but it would be fun more than anything else. My investment would probably be minimal, but I would welcome the opportunity.”

Liberty Media, controlled by legendary dealmaker John Malone, is well known in the investment world for its complex financial maneuvers.

In addition to the Braves stock, the company plans a tracking stock tied to its 60-percent ownership stake in satellite radio provider Sirius XM and another tied to its stakes in Live Nation Entertainment and other assets.

The plans are subject to approval by Liberty Media shareholders and other conditions.

The Braves declined to comment on its owner’s plans.

David Damiani, a partner at Atlanta-based independent investment advisory firm Balentine, said tracking stocks are relatively rare, but allow companies to try to “unlock unrecognized value within the organization.”

“This is a classic example of the parts being greater than a whole,” he said.

Damiani said his firm doesn’t recommend specific stocks, but as a sports fan he’s intrigued by Liberty Media’s move.

“This is probably more a novelty than a pure long-term investment,” he said.

But Malone, Liberty’s chairman, said the financial potential of the Braves’ stadium and mixed-use development project shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Let’s don’t underestimate that this is a pretty material real-estate asset that is attached, which could get larger,” Malone said.

Liberty suggested the Braves are worth more than the $1.15 billion recently estimated by Forbes.

“Valuing teams is not a simple process,” Maffei said. “The numbers have gone up substantially recently. … Traditionally they have been valued at certain multiples of revenue … and with our new stadium we’re going to substantially expand, we believe, the revenues we have as a team.”

Maffei said Liberty’s goal is to reduce the discount at which it believes its stock currently trades in relation to the value of underlying assets, as well as to provide greater investor choice and to raise capital in a targeted way.

A tracking stock isn’t quite a spinoff where a new publicly traded company is created, experts said. The stock is still joined with that of the parent company, which maintains operational control it wouldn’t have if it created a completely new public firm. But it allows investors to more closely follow the performance of the business unit separate from the overarching corporation.

A company also would take a tax hit in spinning off a company that it wouldn’t incur by creating a tracking stock.

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/baseball/liberty-medias-game-plan-sell-stock-in-braves/npMHp/

“It’s a Brave new world,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in announcing the plan to investors.

 

[jbug617]

Phillies trading for Jeremy Hellickson ‏

@JSalisburyCSN: Phillies are working on trade to acquire RHP Jeremy Hellickson from Az, according to sources

 

[chicagocubsfan]

Well Braves stock has to be at an all time low now. Time to buy.

 

[graffix13]

Royals, Chiefs, and Sonics

Spoiler

fan. Never had a local NBA team, and loved watching Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp in the 90s. I'm a dirty traitor and cheer for OKC until the Sonics rise again. Durant and Collison are the last two Sonics on the team.

Currently live in Colorado...fuck the Broncos, Rockies, etc. Beautiful state, though.

I thought you lived out here in KC, Tragic. Well nice to see you're representing in Bronco country! Speaking of, I hope we win there tomorrow.

Royals and Chiefs for me of course. Since no NBA team, I root for whoever. Hockey I root for NJ Devils since they were formally the KC Scouts waaaaay back in the day.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Somebody mentioned in a fangraphs chat yesterday that so far through the first 4 years and $100 million of Ryan Howard's contract he had been worth a total of negative .4 WAR.

 

[jbug617]

Look at it this way, an elite reliever for prospects, who may not panned out. The team needs to win now. Kimbrel/Koji is going to strike out about 200 guys themselves, an elite combo.

If Dombrowski wants a top rotation arm, he would have to trade one of Betts or Bogaerts. Or he could sign a free agent. Would you want him to trade Betts for a starter?

After a while, I'm okay with it. The package could get a number 3 starter, which this team has a bunch of, opting for an elite reliever is the correct move.

And the system is still pretty much intact, Benintendi, Espinoza, Moncada, Devers could be a #1 prospect on 15+ teams.

McAdam got a nice quote about the trade. Margot and Guerra are now 1 and 2 in the Padres system.

@Sean_McAdam: Interesting take from NL eval.: Red Sox being criticized for giving up too much because their 5-thru-8 prospects might be No 1's for others.

https://twitter.com/Sean_McAdam/status/665623137283932160

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Hey, Willy had that 6 hit game that one time.

That was Willie Harris, not Willy Aybar.

 

[cashman]

Somebody mentioned in a fangraphs chat yesterday that so far through the first 4 years and $100 million of Ryan Howard's contract he had been worth a total of negative .4 WAR.

but how many rbis has he gotten

 

[CygnusXS]

That was Willie Harris, not Willy Aybar.

Well

/throws smoke bomb
/runs away

 

[Frozenprince]

Phillies trading for Jeremy Hellickson ‏

@Gambo987: Sam McWilliams is prospect coming back to Arizona

McWilliams is a 6'7' pitcher who throws 95 with movement.

Gonna be good if he harnesses it.

 

[Tragicomedy]

I thought you lived out here in KC, Tragic. Well nice to see you're representing in Bronco country! Speaking of, I hope we win there tomorrow.

Royals and Chiefs for me of course. Since no NBA team, I root for whoever. Hockey I root for NJ Devils since they were formally the KC Scouts waaaaay back in the day.

Whole family is there, but I'm career military so I end up all over the place. Virginia and Texas most recently. I went to college at Missouri State and lived there for years. Parents, brothers, and extended family all still live there. I'm headed back to KC for thanksgiving.

No matter where I live, KC sports forever. I LOVE wearing a Chiefs hoodie when we're playing the Broncos. This is the most fair weather fan base I've ever encountered. Headed up to that garbage stadium in Denver tomorrow. We've got to end their winning streak at some point...might as well be now.

Fuck Peyton, I'm out!

 

[tiggerkiddo]

lol if you think Broncos fans are fair weather fans

 

[Tragicomedy]

lol if you think Broncos fans are fair weather fans

Do you live here? They are. I'm not talking about selling out a stadium. I'm talking about observing actual, you know, residents. My coworkers, for starters.

I'll order some Papa John's in their honor!

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Do you live here? They are. I'm not talking about selling out a stadium. I'm talking about observing actual, you know, residents. My coworkers, for starters.

I'll order some Papa John's in their honor!

I've lived in Denver my entire life, fair weather fans they are not.