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Yankees in Talks for Alex RodriguezBy RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - Now it's the New York Yankees who are trying to trade for Alex Rodriguez. The American League champions began preliminary discussions with the Texas Rangers this week on a deal that would bring A-Rod to the Bronx for second baseman Alfonso Soriano, a high-ranking baseball official said Saturday. While the talks began Wednesday night, it's still too early to tell whether they will lead to a deal, the official said, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Rodriguez has a no-trade clause but has said he would be amenable to a deal to the Yankees, the official said. Rodriguez, the AL MVP, would be moved from shortstop to third base by New York, seeking to fill the hole created when Aaron Boone hurt a knee last month in a pickup basketball game, an injury that will require surgery. Derek Jeter, the Yankees' captain, would remain at shortstop. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman wouldn't discuss Rodriguez but said New York always is exploring opportunities. "I won't comment on specific trade rumors or rumblings," he said. "It's my job to float ideas, weather balloons, out to my counterparts. Ninety-nine percent of them fall to the ground helplessly." Texas officials did not immediately return telephone calls. "I can't comment on the situation," said Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras. The talks were first reported Saturday by The New York Post and Newsday. Boston, the Yankees' perennial rival, nearly acquired Rodriguez in December, but a proposed deal that would have sent outfielder Manny Ramirez to the Rangers fell through because the players' association blocked Boston's attempt to restructure Rodriguez's record $252 million, 10-year contract. The union said the proposal by the Red Sox would have lowered the deal's value by $30 million to $32 million. Boston then rejected the union's plan to lower the contract by $12 million to $13 million in exchange for Rodriguez gaining the right to use Boston's logos in merchandise deals. After the deal collapsed, Texas owner Tom Hicks said Rodriguez would remain with the Rangers, and the team announced Jan. 25 that it was making the seven-time All-Star its captain. Rodriguez, 28, is owed $179 million in salary over the remaining seven seasons of his contract, $4 million from his signing bonus and $12 million deferred at 3 percent annual interest from salaries during his first three years with Texas. Soriano, 26, will make $5.4 million this year and has two more years of salary arbitration eligibility remaining. The two-time All-Star can become a free agent after the 2006 season. New York wants Texas to pick up part of the money Rodriguez is owed and wants A-Rod to make concessions, one of the sources said. New York's payroll currently is at $170.3 million, not including left-hander Gabe White, who remains in arbitration and will earn at least $1,825,000. A swap of Soriano for Rodriguez would leave New York's payroll at about $190 million. Rodriguez, who was born in New York, lives in Florida. He was disappointed when the New York Mets (news) failed to pursue him when he became a free agent after the 2000 season. He was frustrated following three last-place finishes in Texas, but has said in recent weeks that he was content to remain with the Rangers. "I feel like we have a great plan in hand," he said Feb. 6. "I feel very comfortable about where the Texas Rangers are going." Rodriguez hit .298 last season with 47 homers, 118 RBIs and 17 stolen bases, and Soriano batted .290 with 38 homers, 91 RBIs and 35 steals. If the deal is made, Enrique Wilson, Miguel Cairo and Erick Almonte would be among the candidates to play second base for the Yankees. New York opens spring training Tuesday, and Texas starts two days later.
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what. the. fuck.
that is retarded.
1) i know all this talk'll just be more "evil yankee empire" stuff (despite boston getting off without similar shame)....
2) i hate this whole fucking deal. a-rod is great, best offensive player in bball, great defensive guy... but i dont want'em. i just don't see him as a guy with chemistry. i don't see him as a leader (despite the recent captain nod). i think he causes stirs and anger in other players -- probably thru no fault of his own, and just in jealousy. but im sure it happens.
3) i really like soriano!! he's my favorite yankee!! he's frickin amazing, young, filled with potential, and a yankee born-and-raised. losing hm would be a huge blow, even when picking up a guy like arod.
Last edited by Rob Kamphausen; 2004-02-14 6:32 PM.
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Who, why, how, where and what the fuck?!?!?
Holy cockin frickin jebus blappin smiggity smappin plutarch shitballs!
...I'm stunned.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
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A part of me says this is probably like the Boston debacle, something that the east coast media is making sound like a done deal when it really isn't that close.
Another part of me says....but this is George Steinbrenner. If anybody is crazy enoguh to do this, it's him.
At first, when the Manny/Arod thing first surfaced, I was adamantly opposed to the notion of Alex leaving. Now, after weeks of hearing trade rumors nonstop, I think I'd just like it to happen so people will shut the fuck up about it. This proposed deal is certainly better than most of the Boston ones(with the exception of the unsubstantiated rumor that Greg Miller would be sent here and Nomar to LA), so that's a positive. I heard both parties were briefly considering sending Soriano, Contreras and Dioneer Navarro here, for which I'd shit myself in glee....but life couldn't be that good.
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CNN.com is reporting that the deal is sealed. This is a sad, sad day for baseball. This is worse that the Lakers signing Payton and Malone, because they got a player at his prime coming off an MVP season. I just want football to start....
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
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"The player to be named will be a second-tier minor leaguer whom the Rangers will pick sometime during spring training, said Verducci."
Second tier minor leaguer. Oh boy. I know that in doing this the Yankees are taking a huge contract on, but I don't see why they couldn't have made the disparity in quality slightly less ridiculous than it currently is(as good as Soriano is, he's simply not the all around player ARod is). Even a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick would be better than a "second tier minor leaguer" in the Yankee system.
Hopefully Soriano can cover the Ballpark in Arlington's center field. He's got a strong arm, but defensively he hasn't progressed much at all in the infield. This may pave the way for Drew Meyer to take over at short, unless management decides to have Ramon Nivar switch positions yet again.
What puzzles me is the fact that, if it does actually happen, this is the second Rangers/Yankees trade in the last week and a half. Texas had just sent 3rd baseman Mike Lamb their way for Jose Garcia. What was the point? New York essentially just gave away one of their few decent pitching prospects(probably their 3rd best behind Jorge De Paula and Tyler Clippard) for no reason at all. Mike Lamb, while a solid hitter and a guy I like, is completely irrelevant to the Yankees now.
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Ok, Rob, while you may not like this deal, PLEASE stop trying to convince us that this isn't another "the rich get richer" move. SPORTS REPORTERS today said that this now puts the Yankees' payroll at $200MM.
A big payroll may not guarantee a championship (and yes, getting A-Rod does not make up for the losses of Clemens and Pettite), but goddamn, it sure keeps a team in contention for one, lest we forget that the Yankees have made the posteason every year since 1995. My team, the Cincinnati Reds, haven't even been to the postseason since 1995.
MLB is out of control. This is probably a move that a real commissioner would nullify on the basis of it "not being good for the game," but we know that Bud won't step in.
<shrug>
Jim
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Quote:
Jim Jackson said:
A big payroll may not guarantee a championship (and yes, getting A-Rod does not make up for the losses of Clemens and Pettite)
No, but getting A-Rod, Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez does.
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This is probably a move that a real commissioner would nullify on the basis of it "not being good for the game," but we know that Bud won't step in.
Well, it's arguably the game's best player going to the world's biggest sports market. I don't know how many commissioners would really see that as a "bad thing".
The deal was officially cleared by the Player's Union, so now all that stands in the way of it is Selig. Considering he was one of the main parties pushing for the last A-Rod deal, it would seem it's as good as done now.
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i thionk its good for baseball fro the fact that NY was always going to contend, now Texas will have the manuverability to possibly bring in some players and start contending next year...
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I think Cashman should focus more on his pitching moreso than replacing Boone. Brown and Lieber have injury history, and Vasquez could always struggle since he's coming over from the NL. After Soriano and Gordon (another pitcher with a history of injuries) the bullpen drops off.
This is their lineup now.
1) Lofton CF
2) Jeter SS
3) Arod 3B
4) Giambi 1B
5) Sheffield RF
6) Williams DH
7) Posada C
8) Matsui LF
9) Cairo 2B
Not a lot of defense in this lineup though. Your goal should be to have strong defense up the middle. Posada is fine, as is Jeter. But Lofton isn't what he used to be and Cairo isn't much, but he might be better than Soriano. I don't know. Rob could comment on that one.
ESPN.com is reporting that the players union has approved it. Doomsday is around the corner.
Last edited by jafabian; 2004-02-16 2:06 AM.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
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im sure if there was pitching available they would have it, pitching is alot harder to come by than position players....
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Well, Maddux is still available...
And that's terrible.
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i think tho he was talking as upgrades and Maddux isnt much different from Brown or the other guy....
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I'm very excited.........I smell a championship.......As far as I'm concerned Soriano was the most useless piece of shit on the team during the postseason and along with David Wells cost them the World Series.......so good riddance to both. 
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Maddux wants to go to the West Coast(though he could end up back in Chi-town) and remain in the NL, so I doubt the Yankees would rank high on his list. Besides, he hardly ever makes it past 6 innings anymore. At this point in his career, Kevin Brown is far superior(and finally healthy again).
I was sure the Yanks would go after Bartolo Colon, but I didn't hear much of anything in terms of an offer. I know Anaheim (over)paid a lot for him, but that's rarely stopped Steinbrenner in the past.
How sad is it that you can have a rotation of Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras and Joe Lieber(a former 20 game winner), and the greatest postseason(if not overall) closer of all time, and still "need help" with pitching?
Yes, the Red Sox have a better 1-2 combo(the best 1-2 combo) at the top of their rotation, but the Yanks staff is still the best in the division, and one of the best in baseball.
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Selig OKs Trade of A-Rod to YankeesBy RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - It's a done deal: Alex Rodriguez is a Yankee. Commissioner Bud Selig approved the record-setting swap Monday, allowing the reigning American League MVP to be traded to New York by the Texas Rangers. "I'm pretty excited. This is a big, big one," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. "It ranks with when we signed Reggie," he said, a reference to when slugger Reggie Jackson joined the Yankees before the 1977 season. Texas will pay $67 million of the $179 million left on Rodriguez's $252 million, 10-year contract, the most cash included in a trade in major league history. The Rangers get All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named — but they also will pay Rodriguez through 2025. "I am very concerned about the large amount of cash consideration involved in the transaction, and the length of time over which the cash is being paid," Selig said. "I want to make it abundantly clear to all clubs that I will not allow cash transfers of this magnitude to become the norm. However, given the unique circumstances, including the size, length and complexity of Mr. Rodriguez's contract and the quality of the talent moving in both directions, I have decided to approve the transaction." Rodriguez will move from shortstop, a position at which he's been an All-Star seven times, to third base, where he will replace injured Aaron Boone. The Yankees will keep Derek Jeter at shortstop. "Jeter is the captain. He is the leader," Steinbrenner said at the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. Jeter didn't comment on the deal after his workout, with the team saying Steinbrenner would be the only one to speak to reporters in Tampa. Both Jeter and Yankees manager Joe Torre were expected to attend Tuesday's news conference at Yankee Stadium to introduce Rodriguez. Torre will miss the first day of spring training. Steinbrenner praised Rodriguez's decision to move to third. "I was very impressed. He's an outstanding young fellow. He'll be very big in New York," Steinbrenner said. Rodriguez, who waived his no-trade clause, was desperate to play for a winner. "I don't think he ever thought about playing another position until the concept came up," Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, said Sunday. "He decided it didn't make a difference — shortstop, third base, center field. He wanted the opportunity to play on a competitive team." The Rangers will wind up paying $140 million for three seasons with Rodriguez, an average of $46.7 million annually for three last-place finishes in the AL West. The Yankees will owe him $112 million over seven years. "Since the end of last season we said we would not trade Alex unless it made sense for our organization," Texas Rangers general manager John Hart said. "This deal is a win-win-win situation for the Rangers, the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez. This trade is about flexibility. We've traded the best player in the game, and we're getting tremendous financial flexibility." Baseball's biggest spenders will raise their payroll to about $190 million. "The disparity is not healthy for the sport," Arizona Diamondbacks (news) owner Jerry Colangelo said Sunday. "But everyone runs their team the way they see fit, and they did it by the rules." Boras said the possibility of a trade first came up last Monday while he was talking to the Yankees about another player. Boras then called Rodriguez. "I said, 'There may be an opportunity. We have to talk about your goals, about winning,'" Boras recalled telling his client. "He called me back Tuesday and discussed it further and said, 'Why don't you call (Texas owner) Tom Hicks and let him know we're ready to do that,'" Boras said. Trade talks began the following day, and the sides reached the agreement Sunday. The Yankees will pay Rodriguez $15 million in each of the next three seasons, $16 million each in 2007 and 2008, $17 million in 2009 and $18 million in 2010, according to contract information obtained by the AP from player and management sources. In each of the first four years, $1 million would be deferred without interest, to be paid in 2011. The trade calls for Texas to pay $43 million of Rodriguez's salary over the remaining seven years. In addition, the Rangers will pay the $24 million remaining in deferred money from the original contract, with the interest rate lowered from 3 percent to 1.75 percent. All the deferred money owed by Texas — $36 million, including salaries from 2001-03 — will be converted to an assignment bonus, which makes the money guaranteed against a strike or lockout. The payout schedule will be pushed back to 2016-25 from 2011-20. In exchange for the alterations, which devalue the present-day value of the contract by $5 million, Rodriguez will receive a hotel suite on road trips, have the right to link his Web site to the Yankees' site and get a guarantee that the deferred money won't be wiped out by a work stoppage.
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Quote:
Jim Jackson said:
Ok, Rob, while you may not like this deal, PLEASE stop trying to convince us that this isn't another "the rich get richer" move.
no, i'm not the biggest fan of this move, but... lets emphasize some points here:
texas gave arod the big contract, not the yankees. the rangers are (were) looking to force a deal here, not the yankees. boston tried for nearly 3 months to get arod, and the deal ultimately collapsed.
most importantly, the yankees are giving up only one (good) player to get, as annie said, the game's best. texas is even fitting a large portion of the bill, roughly 70 million (meaning the yanks are "only" payin arod 16 mil a season). what would you do, if you were steinbrenner? pass up a sweet deal, in the interest of reds' fans?
Quote:
Jim Jackson said:My team, the Cincinnati Reds, haven't even been to the postseason since 1995.
once again, teams that have spent far less than the reds have not only been to the post season, but walked away with trophies. stop trying to blame your team's problems on every other team.
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britneyspearsatemyshorts said:
i thionk its good for baseball fro the fact that NY was always going to contend, now Texas will have the manuverability to possibly bring in some players and start contending next year...
exactly. in this deal, even texas "wins" because they get an opportunity to start building a ball club, and travel the path that the d-backs, angels, and marlins have forged.
and bsams is from yer area, jim!
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jafabian said:
I think Cashman should focus more on his pitching moreso than replacing Boone. Not a lot of defense in this lineup though. Your goal should be to have strong defense up the middle. Posada is fine, as is Jeter. But Lofton isn't what he used to be and Cairo isn't much, but he might be better than Soriano. I don't know. Rob could comment on that one.
probably a toss up. but, i think its fair to say the yankees have all but given up on the philosophies that made them succesful 8 years ago.
buck showalter, and later joe torre, were guys that emphasized "little ball" -- tight pitching, great defense, stealing bases, hit and run, bunting, etc. expert skills.
steinbrenner relented his control during that phase, for whatever reason (and/or investigation). both before that time, and now after, steinbrenner is taking a larger control of the team -- and his goal has always been big spending for big names (and yes, jim, in the 80s when the yanks sucked, they were the big spenders then, too).
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Rodriguez to the Evil Empire. Mother. Fucker.
Well, I guess at this point it's safe to say that the AL East is a two-team race. One gets the division, the other gets the wild-card. I can't say that I'm happy that the Yanks get A-Rod in the end, but I do like how this season is shaping up in terms of excitement. The Rivalry has never been this much fun. Two offensive powerhouses. Two cringe-worthy defenses. I guess it's gonna all come down to pitching, and I like our chances there.
One question: Who is Texas getting besides Soriano? I heard a minor leaguer (whose name is lost to me), but I also heard that Contreras might be going as well. Which is interesting to me because I didn't think the Yankees would give up on him so quickly.
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Quote:
Rob Kamphausen said:
the rangers are (were) looking to force a deal here, not the yankees.
Ehh, I dunno about that. The deal was dead as far as the Rangers were concerned. The Yankees desperately wanted a replacement at 3rd base, and this dela gave them the chance to stick it to Boston in the process.
I'm sure Texas was pushing for it to, but I'm thinking the Yankees started and were the biggest factor in the trade talks.
Quote:
texas is even fitting a large portion of the bill, roughly 70 million (meaning the yanks are "only" payin arod 16 mil a season).
That's what disturbs me the most. If it was all about financial flexability, wouldn't Hicks have asked the Yanks to take on all of the contract?
That seems to be the main sign that this deal wasn't entirely New York's doing.
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Joe Mama said:
Well, I guess at this point it's safe to say that the AL East is a two-team race. One gets the division, the other gets the wild-card.
I wouldn't be so sure. The O's made some big moves, too, and while they might not have quite the offensive firepower on paper, I wouldn't rule them out already.
As for the wildcard, you've still got Oakland, Seattle and Anaheim(who, prior to the Arod deal, made the biggest splash this offseason). The wildcard could come from the AL West.
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One question: Who is Texas getting besides Soriano? I heard a minor leaguer (whose name is lost to me)
They haven't decided on the minor leaguer yet. Probably won't be until some time during spring training.
Sadly(for me), the Yankees have one of the, if not the worst minor league system in all of baseball, and they've already ruled out the only player in the minors that would excite me, Dioneer Navarro. Now all I can hope for is Jorge De Paula or Tyler Clippar(both are unlikely).
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but I also heard that Contreras might be going as well. Which is interesting to me because I didn't think the Yankees would give up on him so quickly.
That was, according to rumor, part of the originally proposed deal, but didn't make the final cut, so Contreras will be staying(for now).
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Quote:
Boras said the possibility of a trade first came up last Monday while he was talking to the Yankees about another player. Boras then called Rodriguez.
``I said, 'There may be an opportunity. We have to talk about your goals, about winning,''' Boras recalled telling his client.
``He called me back Tuesday and discussed it further and said, 'Why don't you call (Texas owner) Tom Hicks and let him know we're ready to do that,''' Boras said.
Trade talks began the following day, and the sides reached the agreement Sunday.
It's funny this part didn't start any controversy. Isn't it tampering for the Yankees to discuss any sort of deal with a players agent who is under contract by another team? Boston wasn't allowed to do any discussion until MLB gave the green light.
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Quote:
Animalman said:
Quote:
Joe Mama said:
Well, I guess at this point it's safe to say that the AL East is a two-team race. One gets the division, the other gets the wild-card.
I wouldn't be so sure. The O's made some big moves, too, and while they might not have quite the offensive firepower on paper, I wouldn't rule them out already.
As for the wildcard, you've still got Oakland, Seattle and Anaheim(who, prior to the Arod deal, made the biggest splash this offseason). The wildcard could come from the AL West.
True. The Orioles did make a bunch of great moves that improved their offense and defense, but their pitching is still suspect. Sidney Ponson, as an ace, doesn't match up against the top two-or-three pitchers that the Yanks or the Sox would send out. The rest of the starting staff is a bunch of question marks and I haven't heard anything about their bullpen that would give NY or Boston the cold sweats. The Orioles will make a solid run at third, but that's about it.
As for the wild card coming out of the west, let me say this: I take NOTHING away from those teams. Oakland has a starting staff that any sane baseball fan outside of Wrigley Field would covet (I'd LOVE to get any of their top three in a Bosox uniform!). Anaheim is arguable the most improved AL team this year. And Seattle is one of those teams that'll sneak up on ya and just-plain-win. Any of those three teams (sorry, Ranger fans, but you're gonna get worse before you get better) could battle for for a World Series berth, no question. However, I'm skeptical that the wild card will come from the AL West for two reasons:
1) Each of these teams has glaring holes that can and will be exploited by superior teams. Oakland's offense. Seattle's age and health. Anaheim's question-marks (health, Colon's weight, etc).
2) These three teams play each other a LOT throughout the season and will play spoiler to each other as the season wears on. Comparatively, NY and BOS play each other a LOT, but also have a ton of games against teams that just aren't as competitive (Cleveland? Detroit? San Diego and LA in Interleague play?). I'd argue that AL West teams hurt their wild card chances just because they're so good but in the same division.
Frankly, I'd like to see a playoff format where the top four teams play in the post-season, unburdened by division. Why should a team from the AL Central get into the playoffs with a slightly better-than-.500 record while a better team gets snubbed just because they play in a different division?
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Quote:
Joe Mama said:
True. The Orioles did make a bunch of great moves that improved their offense and defense, but their pitching is still suspect. Sidney Ponson, as an ace, doesn't match up against the top two-or-three pitchers that the Yanks or the Sox would send out. The rest of the starting staff is a bunch of question marks and I haven't heard anything about their bullpen that would give NY or Boston the cold sweats. The Orioles will make a solid run at third, but that's about it.
They don't have anybody you'd necessarily consider a top notch pitcher yet, but they have some solid inning eaters(Ponson, Lopez, Daal), some good young talent(Ainsworth, Riley, Loewen, Maine), and best of all, they have one of the best defensive teams in the AL, with "Mr. Everything" Melvin Mora, Jerry Hairston Jr, Miguel Tejeda, 3 time Gold Glover Rafael Palmeiro, Luis Matos, and young Jose Bautista(who I think was a huge steal for Baltimore out of the Rule 5 draft) coming in to replace Tony Batista at 3rd. Offensively they'll have a vastly improved squad, thanks to the offseason signings of Tejeda and Javy Lopez. I also think Jack Cust is poised for a breakout year, he's an on-base machine with mega power.
I just really like the team Baltimore has right now. They have guys that do the little things very well, a pitcher-friendly stadium, and great fan support despite not having gone to the playoffs in years. I think they compare pretty favorably to the Anaheim Angels team that won the World Series not long ago, though clearly not in terms of their bullpen. Still, Jorge Julio has the potential to be one of the better cloers in the league, and if they can get a few other guys to step up, like Anaheim did(other than Troy Percival, the Angels pen was relatively unheralded prior to the 2002 season), who knows.
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1) Each of these teams has glaring holes that can and will be exploited by superior teams. Oakland's offense. Seattle's age and health. Anaheim's question-marks (health, Colon's weight, etc).
No team is without weakness. The Yankees will have a lot of chemistry questions with all the new faces, Boston still won't scare anyone with their pen(though Keith Foulke helps a lot), and neither team is great defensively.
And I think health is a concern for every major franchise, in any sport.
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2) These three teams play each other a LOT throughout the season and will play spoiler to each other as the season wears on. Comparatively, NY and BOS play each other a LOT, but also have a ton of games against teams that just aren't as competitive (Cleveland? Detroit? San Diego and LA in Interleague play?). I'd argue that AL West teams hurt their wild card chances just because they're so good but in the same division.
Certainly true, but I think AL East has now surpassed the AL West as the toughest division in baseball. Toronto and Baltimore aren't slouches anymore, and yeah, even those Devil Rays can steal a game here and there, thanks to that old magician Lou Pinella, and a plethora of young talent(watch for B.J Upton sometime this season). Do any of these those teams have $100 million payrolls? No. But I look at the top teams for the past few years, and, despite, the usual exceptions(Yankees...sorta Red Sox), most don't have huge budgets.
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britneyspearsatemyshorts said:
It's funny this part didn't start any controversy. Isn't it tampering for the Yankees to discuss any sort of deal with a players agent who is under contract by another team? Boston wasn't allowed to do any discussion until MLB gave the green light.
I honestly believe Boras could murder somebody and talk his way out of punishment. It's like the rules and norms of most human beings just don't apply to him. He is the god the sports agents(or the devil, depending on how you look at it).
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I think this is true. He has such power because of his clients, the rules dont apply to him. From what I read during the last labor dispute he was the driving force behind player demands, not the union.
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Just about every major baseball player either is currently represented by him or has been at one time. He's a one man mafia.
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Interestingly enough, now some New York station is reporting that Greg Maddux will sign with the Yankees this week, though all parties involved are denying any discussions currently taking place. Could be more New York media rumor-mongering.
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Schillings take: Quote:
"Have to laugh at anyone that's even remotely shocked by this ... Hell yes it makes them better. Offensively, defensively it's not even close, they get much better. You can't bitch and moan about the lack of effort on the Red Sox end. They reached for the stars on this, and it didn't fit. I'm more than OK with that. They've worked their asses off to make this team a World Series contender, and we are, period. A-Rod to the Yankees, if it happens, just makes winning this whole thing that much sweeter. It's another challenge, but after 85 years did any of you think that getting over this final hurdle and winning it all was gonna be a cake walk? No, it'll be more fun this way ... Let's focus on the fact that the best Boston Red Sox team in the last 100 years takes the field in seven days, for a ride that is guaranteed to be the most memo! ra! ble of any of our lives over the next 8 months, and enjoy the hell out of it.''
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Holy carp, predicted it when I was drunk, just trying to make fun of George.
And it HAPPENED!
WTF
Is Homer Bush coming over or no..?
And Greg Maddux?
WTF.
WTF...
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since arod's #3 is just a lil bit busy in yankee land, arod takes number 13 -- watching the press conference now. he's all suited up. its hard not to be excited over this ordeal. i mean, i frickin loved soriano, but... arod is arod! (thats math!) hard to deny how big a move this'll be. Quote:
britneyspearsatemyshorts said:
Schillings take
thats a great response. thats exactly what a ball player on another team should say. he's excited and competitive -- and more interested in promoting his own team.
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"its hard not to be excited over this ordeal."
Actually, dear Rob, it's very easy to just not give a shit. About this trade. About baseball in general. Hell, if this team doesn't win, George should fire the goddamn lot of his general and field management staffs.
Guess I'll spend another summer finding baseball irrelevant.
How soon is football season?
Jim
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Uh oh, Jim, you're running out of sports to hate. Tennis maybe? Surely hockey is already on your list, right?
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ubb code, jim. quoting! surely those haven't been too steinbrenner-tainted for you. yet. Quote:
Jim Jackson said:
"its hard not to be excited over this ordeal." Actually, dear Rob, it's very easy to just not give a shit. About this trade.
i meant from a personal standpoint.
as big a fan of soriano that i was... its hard not to be excited about aquiring the sports' best player.
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Jim Jackson said:
About baseball in general. Hell, if this team doesn't win, George should fire the goddamn lot of his general and field management staffs.
which, in case you haven't noticed, is an incredibly feasible situation, and one aspect the yankees constantly face the downfalls from -- downfalls your reds and nearly every other team can't equally claim;
pressure.
the fact that the yankees are in new york, worth boatloads, and owned my darth steinbrenner is, in itself, a series of complex and difficult issues that they have to face.
don't think its a serious problem? lookit the fallout this has already brought about:
pettite has listed pressures as one of the reasons he wanted to escape to houston. joe torre is constantly under the thread of being fired, and he has publically expressed his retaliatory quitting option. don zimmer has up and left. 9 (9!) national papers are centrally located, and consistantly beat down on the team. david wells bounces in an effort to "stick it to" steinbrenner.
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Jim Jackson said:
Guess I'll spend another summer finding baseball irrelevant.
sad commentary.
you claim the yankees are too interested in winning, and buying their wins, and yet you find your reds games irrelevant because they don't win?
shouldn't you, of all people, be supporting your team, because thats "true" baseball, and you're a "true" fan?
are they only appealing if they win it all?
i mean, the yankees, at most, play the reds 6 times (?) in a 162 game season. they're not in the same league, not even in the same division -- not in direct competition. they simply do not affect each other. things the yankees do are not impacting things the reds do.
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Jim Jackson said:
How soon is football season?
half a year or so. i should know, im a jets fan, the nfl's #1 spender, clearly reflected in the win loss column... right?
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Amen, Rob. As much as I may hate the Yankees, I'm tired of baseball fans bitchin' and moanin' about how "small market teams" can't compete with "large market teams". These teams can't land the top free agents because they don't have the revenue to offer competitive contracts? Tough. Develop your talent. Draft wisely. Go for players that are "diamonds in the rough" (Wakefield, Millar, Ortiz, Mueller, and most of Boston's bullpen for example). Or find a way to get asses in your stadium's seats, creating the revenue needed. But stop whining when A-Rod gets traded to the Yankees, Schilling goes to the Red Sox, and your team's chances of making the playoffs diminish. The Reds and Brewers are great at moaning about the situation, but how do you explain the Twins, Royals, and A's putting together competitive teams? The Devil Rays' improvement? The last three World Series champs?
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I don't hate baseball. I bemoan the state of MLB when so many teams could not have thought about jumping into the fray to obtain A-Rod to better their team. I am not blaming the Yankees, or any other team, for the Reds' mismanagements. I do see that small market teams can make a brief impact on the postseason. But one stat that you can't deny is that in the last 15 or so years, the teams that spend more do indeed win more.
I don't really hate any sport. The NFL is great, college football is great, provided you can't put your blinders on to its many off-the-field imperfections and the morally bankrupt NCAA. Tennis has no personalities anymore. Racing...too dangerous. Hockey? I'm getting into it, but I still don't know what icing is.
Jim
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Jim Jackson said:
But one stat that you can't deny is that in the last 15 or so years, the teams that spend more do indeed win more.
Well, again, I'm not sure if that's necessarily true. The Yankees weren't even winning much 10 years ago.
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The NFL is great, college football is great, provided you can't put your blinders on to its many off-the-field imperfections and the morally bankrupt NCAA.
Or provided the primary team in your area is The Ohio State University, rather than the Cleveland Cavs, or the Cleveland Indians?
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For the record, I think both baseball and football suck.
And that's terrible.
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I feel for any fan of Baltimore or Tampa. They may as well phone in their seasons and start preparing for the 2005 season. Even if either one is close to second you know the BoSox and Yanks will pull off a deal to pull them away from them come the trading deadline. Maddux has to be interested at this point. He would have a lineup that could rack up runs and the best closer in the league behind him along with a good starting rotation to take the heat off of him. He's coming to the end of his career and he'll be in NYC. Who wouldn't want to say they ended their playing career as a Yankee? MLB must be thrilled at this. ARod being in Texas wasn't doing anything for the league. He'd rack up numbers and sit in October. All he was doing was helping fantasy baseball playing for the Rangers, as well as stymieing them in trying to build a winner. (That's Hicks fault though) But now the best player in the league is in the biggest media market in the world. He's only 28 and in his prime. Pisses me off he left Seattle for more money when he said he wouldn't, but I have to say this is very good for baseball. Check this out. ESPN continues to rub salt in the wound: 
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
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jafabian said:
I feel for any fan of Baltimore or Tampa.
I don't. I think Baltimore has a chance, and Tampa's going to have one of the best young outfields in baseball coming of age right before their eyes(as well as the debuts of various other young talents).
I actually really enjoyed Ranger baseball last year, because we got to see Hank Blalock break out, Mark Teixeira compete for Roty, and Laynce Nix, Juan Dominguez and Ramon Nivar all getting their callups. We saw more lineups, rotations, players period than any other team. I got to see something new every game. I loved that.
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Maddux has to be interested at this point. He would have a lineup that could rack up runs and the best closer in the league behind him along with a good starting rotation to take the heat off of him. He's coming to the end of his career and he'll be in NYC. Who wouldn't want to say they ended their playing career as a Yankee?
Well, Maddux already has a ring, so it wouldn't be a Clemens/Arod "I gotta win one" kind of signing. Some guys just aren't into the whole fanfare with New York. That's partly why Vlad didn't go there.
He should go to Houston. He's a Texas boy, too. What a rotation that would be....
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1737634"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports in Wednesday's editions that, according to a source, the free-agent pitcher is close to an agreement with the Chicago Cubs. In fact, Maddux is expected to be on hand when pitchers and catchers report to the Cubs' spring training practice facility in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday."
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