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Hot Stove Thread 2011-2012


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Kemp is one of the best players in baseball, I'm glad he chose to stay. The Dodgers need to build around him and Kershaw.

True dat.

I wish my Giants had both those guys.

Marlins have reportedly made Reyes an offer of $90 mill for six years, something I'm sure the Mets won't try to match.

Are the Marlins that well healed?

I mean, they haven't dropped a dime on that team for years.

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The Marlins owner Loria is a pretty shrewd guy - if one is using a kinder definition of shrewd. He's the one who sold the Expos to MLB and then used that money to buy the Marlins from John Henry, who then bought the Red Sox. The Marlins have a (barely) winning record since he's been owner and one title. And now he's gotten a ballpark. It's a typical strategy to spend some money on a high end free agent or 2 when a new ballpark is built and with the money he saved in previous years by seemingly intentionally fielding a team built to lose (as in the city as well), I think they'll "go for it." Also note the owner is 70 and grew up a Yankee fan, so perhaps he might be more willing to fund a championship run. With Ozzie as manager they'll be in the press more. Maybe he'll take some heat off of Hanley.

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I don't know if this is the answer but the ballpark the Marlins have played in (formerly Joe Robbie but no idea what it's called now) is atrocious. It's a football stadium and because of that and the weather, a lot of fans didn't show. They look like they have a great stadium now and they can use the roof. That should help. It's also in the middle of Little Havana. That could be a smart move, trying to lure Cuban Americans into the ballpark.

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The Astros are moving to the American League.

The new owner agreed only if the sale price was dropped. $680 million is much more than I thought they were worth. Maybe the value of most of these teams depends on their deals with the ballparks.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/sale-of-astros-hinged-on-switching-leagues/article2238380/

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The article says there will be more inter-league play, which is something I think MLB should be getting rid of, not adding more.

I rooted for the Astros since they were Colt 45s until 2005 when baseball came back to DC and I switched allegiance to the Nationals. It was the only year Houston went to the World Series! Now I will have to root for the Orioles over the Astros as my American League favorite, but I don't see the Orioles or the Astros going to the World Series for the AL any time soon.

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With the Astros move, there would interleague play every day, which is unavoidable when you have 15 teams in each league. I wouldn't be surprised if the long term goal of the "minds that be" in baseball is to have somethin like the NFL where inter-conference games are part of the landscape.

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Boy, even moving into a shiny new ballpark and repurposing your brand didn't do a thing for their sense of style. I'm especially enamored by the look of the guy second from the left.

It's kind of sad as I thought they had one of the more classic styles of the expansion teams. The new uniforms are blocky, and I don't think the rainbow thing works well, especially when viewed from a distance. Or it didn't look good on Boggs when he hit 3000 for the Devil Rays. If you're going to have rainbow lettering I say go all out and have a fairy riding a unicorn on the jersey. Now that would be awesome! :party:

Edited by Quincy
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MLB Will Add Two Wild Card Teams

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/mlb-will-add-two-wild-card-teams.html

The two Wild Card clubs are expected to meet in a one-game playoff prior to the League Division Series round, which increases the importance of winning the division.

Wow...

Seems pretty unnecessary and gimmicky to me, and giving one more non-divisional winner the chance to go all the way just heightens the "meaningfulness" divide between regular season and post-season.

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The positives:

1) It does put more importance on winning the division.

2) It means that the wild card teams will want to have their best pitcher available for the 1 game playoff, and thus will not have their ace ready for the start of the divisional playoffs. So back to point 1.

Negatives:

1) What Jim said.

2) Often Wild Card #1 is a better team than one or two of the division winners. This is a common problem when you slice a league into many divisions (see the NFL.)

3) Although this puts more importance on winning the division, it also invites the likelihood that the real race will be between the 5th and 6th best teams in the league. And that just seems sad.

4) Had this system been in place last year the 2 great collapses wouldn't have happened.

At this point I'm resigned to "see what happens." I do like #2 in the positives, although point #2 in the negatives bugs me too. But one reason why we have wild cards in the first place dates back to when you'd have 4 AL East teams that were better than the AL West winner. :shrug[1]:

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It's kind of sad as I thought they had one of the more classic styles of the expansion teams. The new uniforms are blocky, and I don't think the rainbow thing works well, especially when viewed from a distance. Or it didn't look good on Boggs when he hit 3000 for the Devil Rays. If you're going to have rainbow lettering I say go all out and have a fairy riding a unicorn on the jersey. Now that would be awesome! :party:

It'll be interesting to see what Paul Lukas from ESPN's Page 2 column "Uni-Watch" will have to say about these. He's usually on the mark. FWIW, I've never been a fan of any iteration of Marlin's toggery.

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Looks like Florida is out to become a player. They're seriously courting both Jose Reyes and Luis Pujols. That would be some coup for a team that most people barely know is there.

Man, I'd imagine Luis is a bit long in the tooth these days! :crazy:

With Melky Cabrera on board I don't know that the Giants will be pursuing Reyes or Pujols...but it would sure be nice to get one more big bat in the line-up.

If I had to pick, I would like Pujols and on a two-year deal.

Goodspeak, two whole years eh?

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Talk about Bobby Valentine becoming the next Red Sox manager appears to be heating up. Seems to me he's the sort of no nonsense guy this team needs. Wonder if Dan is around and willing to weigh in on this. Not that I wish for anything good for Boston, mind you, but this might be precisely what the doctor ordered.

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Talk about Bobby Valentine becoming the next Red Sox manager appears to be heating up. Seems to me he's the sort of no nonsense guy this team needs. Wonder if Dan is around and willing to weigh in on this. Not that I wish for anything good for Boston, mind you, but this might be precisely what the doctor ordered.

I hate to go back on my word but since you asked:

If Bobby Valentine becomes the manager of the Boston franchise of the American League, I will cease to follow that team at all until such time as he is fired.

And you can take that to the bank.

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