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2020-21 MLB Hot Stove Discussion


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It will be interesting to see if LaRussa's brand of baseball will still be relevant in today's baseball - for one thing, his "two for one" rule on hit batters won't fly. Still, if he has a good staff, I can see it succeeding, LaRussa is no fool about baseball. However if Covid-19 is still very active, I'd be concerned about him catching that illness, baseball's record on Covid is not that great. My big hope is that we don't begin to hear about "The White Sox Way", had more than I could take about The Cardinal Way under LaRussa tenure there.

Edited by Matthew
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Hey Dan, I know there’s been buzz about this for some time, and now it appears it may be happening:

Red Sox, Cora in managerial talks

... what would you think of a Cora return? And with Bloom at the helm, things could be looking up quicker than expected for Boston in the next couple of years. The AL East is going to be brutal, methinks... Rays have some good young talent in the pipeline to help sustain their current level, while Jays and even the O’s are on the rise. I think the window may have all but closed for the Yankees on a WS title and their outlook for next season is murky in several areas... I mostly just want them to resign DJ, and possibly Tanaka if the price is right. Still, they’ll most likely be a solid 90-wins team.

Also curious to see how the free agent market plays out. CW is that it will be brutal for players, given the economic toll of 2020. 

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29 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Hey Dan, I know there’s been buzz about this for some time, and now it appears it may be happening:

Red Sox, Cora in managerial talks

... what would you think of a Cora return? And with Bloom at the helm, things could be looking up quicker than expected for Boston in the next couple of years. The AL East is going to be brutal, methinks... Rays have some good young talent in the pipeline to help sustain their current level, while Jays and even the O’s are on the rise. I think the window may have all but closed for the Yankees on a WS title and their outlook for next season is murky in several areas... I mostly just want them to resign DJ, and possibly Tanaka if the price is right. Still, they’ll most likely be a solid 90-wins team.

Also curious to see how the free agent market plays out. CW is that it will be brutal for players, given the economic toll of 2020. 

I think free agency will be brutal for a lot of players and it will be bad for the game if the PA uses the legit concern about revenues in 2021 if the pandemic isn't in the rearview mirror to act as if the owners are nothing but greedy MFers.  Getting an agreement for 2022 was going to be tough either way, another very slow season with low offers won't help.

As to Cora I think he's a fine manager of both the game and of men. But he's no panacea. 2018 roster was a special team and the 2021 roster will have massive holes unless Bloom works some magic and some of the youngsters he threw out there this year turn out to be good. There's a pitcher who looked real good against playoff teams the last month, and a hitter who may fit well into the Three True Outcomes paradigm, hit a quite few taters in September. Aside from them though I don't know who would be an impactful controllable player, and Cora will watch his stock tank if he doesn't have the players.

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https://www.axios.com/mlbs-bleak-short-term-future-8c8077e6-33f3-4c25-a389-664749964eef.html

MLB's bleak short-term future

1604580476648.jpg

Excerpts:

The bottom line, via WashPost's Dave Sheinin: "For baseball, 2020 featured an ugly labor battle that played out in public, a season reduced by 63%, a couple of major coronavirus outbreaks ... and total regular season attendance of zero.

  • "But as the coming months wear on, it may be possible to look back and regard 2020 as the good old days."
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Not a good situation with La Russa.

I'm sure a lot of us have lived with / know an alcoholic, and this behavior can't be allowed to be swept under the rug. I looked up his first DUI in 2007, and found this paragraph:

La Russa said he had decided to plead guilty to the misdemeanor because it was in the best interest of all concerned.

“I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never occur again,” La Russa said in a statement released by his attorney, David Roth. La Russa did not appear in court to plead guilty.

As part of his plea agreement, La Russa will serve at least six months’ probation, pay a $678.50 fine, complete DUI school and any recommended treatment and complete 50 hours of community service, according to state prosecutors. (source)

I'm sure all the usual formulas will be said again, lesson learned, isolated instance, etc., but this is a man with a serious problem, and needs to be addressed by the White Sox and MLB. My confidence that it will is not too strong though.

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Theo leaving the Cubs, Jed Hoyer to take over reins.

Which leaves me with one assumption: next stop has to be Cleveland, right, to end their frustration? He punched his ticket to the HoF with the Red Sox and Cub championships but if he did it in Cleveland too ... that would be ridonkulous.

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On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 1:35 PM, Dan Gould said:

Theo leaving the Cubs, Jed Hoyer to take over reins.

Which leaves me with one assumption: next stop has to be Cleveland, right, to end their frustration? He punched his ticket to the HoF with the Red Sox and Cub championships but if he did it in Cleveland too ... that would be ridonkulous.

https://www.lonestarball.com/2020/11/20/21583270/rangers-7-1-to-be-epsteins-next-employer

BetOnline has posted odds on who Theo Epstein’s next employer will be, and the Texas Rangers are the fifth most likely destination on the board, at 7:1. The New York Mets are the top choice on the board, at 5:4, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies at 3:2. The Seattle Mariners are at 5:1, as is Epstein becoming the next commissioner of MLB.

The other teams listed are the New York Yankees, at 12:1, the Los Angeles Dodgers, at 14:1, and the Los Angeles Angels, at 16:1. The chances of Epstein landing at any of those three places seems remote, however. The scuttlebutt has been that Epstein is likely to try to get involved with an ownership group that will be trying to buy a team, and I suspect that he’s not likely to come on board with a new team as an employee, without an equity interest.

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3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

https://www.lonestarball.com/2020/11/20/21583270/rangers-7-1-to-be-epsteins-next-employer

BetOnline has posted odds on who Theo Epstein’s next employer will be, and the Texas Rangers are the fifth most likely destination on the board, at 7:1. The New York Mets are the top choice on the board, at 5:4, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies at 3:2. The Seattle Mariners are at 5:1, as is Epstein becoming the next commissioner of MLB.

The other teams listed are the New York Yankees, at 12:1, the Los Angeles Dodgers, at 14:1, and the Los Angeles Angels, at 16:1. The chances of Epstein landing at any of those three places seems remote, however. The scuttlebutt has been that Epstein is likely to try to get involved with an ownership group that will be trying to buy a team, and I suspect that he’s not likely to come on board with a new team as an employee, without an equity interest.

I don't think that last bit is scuttlebutt, I think Theo has said directly that he's interested in an ownership stake. the rest of it is just silly guessing.  And the Yankees should be about 100-1 they aren't hiring Theo to make baseball decisions.

So what are the odds current ownership puts their team on the market, for the Rangers or Indians?  

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6 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I don't think that last bit is scuttlebutt, I think Theo has said directly that he's interested in an ownership stake. the rest of it is just silly guessing.  And the Yankees should be about 100-1 they aren't hiring Theo to make baseball decisions.

So what are the odds current ownership puts their team on the market, for the Rangers or Indians?  

To my mind, if it's part of ownership that Theo wants, rule out the big teams like Philly, L.A. or N.Y. as destinations. I could see Cleveland or a Tampa Bay being willing to sell to a group Theo leads. Cleveland might be the better option with a well established fan base, and he won't have to either get a new stadium, or a new city, (one or the other for Tampa Bay) both of which might hinder the baseball side of things. The normal course for team thinking of selling is to gut the team and then have the new group rebuild. All in all, it seems as if Cleveland is the place that would be number one on my list, a lot of upside to that situation. It's amazing to think, the guy is only 46, so ownership is probably his preferred mode in terms of the future, where he's overseeing everything. Don't know if Cleveland is for sale or not, Tampa Bay is always for sale, but money still runs the show.

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4 minutes ago, Matthew said:

To my mind, if it's part of ownership that Theo wants, rule out the big teams like Philly, L.A. or N.Y. as destinations. I could see Cleveland or a Tampa Bay being willing to sell to a group Theo leads. Cleveland might be the better option with a well established fan base, and he won't have to either get a new stadium, or a new city, (one or the other for Tampa Bay) both of which might hinder the baseball side of things. The normal course for team thinking of selling is to gut the team and then have the new group rebuild. All in all, it seems as if Cleveland is the place that would be number one on my list, a lot of upside to that situation. It's amazing to think, the guy is only 46, so ownership is probably his preferred mode in terms of the future, where he's overseeing everything. Don't know if Cleveland is for sale or not, Tampa Bay is always for sale, but money still runs the show.

And I'm sure he'd like to win again with Tito at the helm ... and I did see news that Francona is doing much better from the medical problems that took him out of the dugout this summer, so that is good to hear. He deserved much better from his players and ownership the way it ended in Boston.

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  • 2 weeks later...

https://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/hunter-renfroe-signs-with-red-sox

If this means that we are out on Springer but they will spend money to get some decent starter like Kluber (isn't he top of the free agent pile?) then I am cool with it.  Renfroe has hit 25+ home runs every year except this messed-up season, and he tied for lead with 13 OF assists. He also clearly has a swing made for Fenway. And, under team control for three years.

What I am not convinced is whether he really needs a platoon partner. Springer hits everybody.

Edited by Dan Gould
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Seems like an excellent signing for the Sox, Dan.

Not really hot-stove news, but still of great interest to all of us baseball fans here, I'd imagine:

MLB to reclassify Negro Leagues as major league

From the NY Times article:

The first step in merging the record books will be a thorough review of available information by the Elias Sports Bureau, keeper of M.L.B.’s official statistics. Its findings could result in several records changing, and could affect the career totals for any players who appeared in both the Negro leagues and the National League or the American League — a group that includes players like Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Satchel Paige.

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