ettin

Usually my brain is able to translate this sentence structure but yes I am having difficulty with it too IE.

Word. Don't let Butcher have Access to any more pitchers!

First of all I voted 'No'. That would only be a marginal solution if we trade away one or more of Trumbo, Kendrick, and Aybar to acquire near-MLB ready pitching prospects that would be ready to pitch when one of our starters goes down due to injury. Alternatively we could simply DFA one of these guys when one of those pitching prospects is ready for the Majors (or we can no longer tolerate crappy performance from members of that rotation).. No matter what happens we had better acquire two or more starting pitching prospects for near-future use.

Thanks Dave as always!

I partially agree with this statement. There are ways to measure defense that may not be openly available to the public at large, as this is a relatively new field of study both at the Major League level and in the sabermetric community. I don't think we should assume that MLB teams haven't invested heaviliy into their own information discovery on this issue and have developed measurable results. Example: ESPN article on Peter Bourjos' defensive "heat map" from August 2011. The article identified Peter's overall range compared to the average center fielder at that point in time. It would be easy, with some considerable resources of which MLB teams have, to develop data showing Peter's full range, his ability to glove the ball in different zones (from the center out), and then compare that data to other center fielders in the game giving an overall average of MLB CF's as a whole. Extrapolate those numbers over succeeding years of data and you can begin to develop accuracy measurements on that data giving you measurable numbers on Runs Saved for instance. That article was written in 2011 and clearly Peter's range had been identified. I can only imagine the work that has been done in the intervening 2 1/2 years to improve on this information. Range would be another example of comparable data that is accumulated over time and can help measure defensive value. UZR and other systems attempt to objectively quantify that information and those systems continue to improve. Teams would have to remove outlier data such as defensive shifts to paint a clearer picture on the subject of player range but this is just a tedious time-consuming activity that teams can pay someone to do and probably have. Defensive attributes such as First Step Time, Maximum Range, Glove Ability, Arm Strength, etc. are not as undeveloped as they might appear to be to the general public. You can rest assured that there are at least a handful of teams out there that know and have real quantifiable results on defensive value. It is just a matter of time before it bleeds into the general public (or is developed independently by members of the general public). I'm not saying you're completely wrong about the value of defensive metrics I'm just saying that some MLB teams are steps ahead on this subject and I think in the near future you will see more publicly available information confirming this and helping to improve the overall picutre of player defensive value.

Kaz can buy all the new Xbox's he wants now.....

Holy s**t!

Instead of the egg he laid here, it will be a Kazmir egg in Oakland.

Considering what free agent pitchers are going for on the market right now Hanson may be a tender for the simple fact that he could be traded to a team in need of a 5th starter. If Dipoto has performed the groundwork he may have found 2 or more trade partners in the hopes of moving him for an A-ball prospect if possible. Otherwise if no one has inquired then yes he's probably gone.

He's washed up as a mid rotation type and will cost to much money to sign ($80+ million). Pass.

Yes better we ease him in?!?!?

Nice mature response cezero. Of course it costs money but it comes out of the marketing budget if they continue with the past rule in the new agreement (or simply continue with the old system). That is an entirely different part of the allocated team budget which does not count against the luxury for the posting fee only. Never said its magically free I simply pointed out that your $15-$20 million blow to team payroll may not be a reality to actual team budget. There has been a whole lot of negativity on this board lately I'd appreciate it if you didn't continue to add to it, please.

There seems to be a lot of Saturday 11pm angst on the board tonight....

Despite the argument about who nixed what, that potential deal would have been a good one for us if it had gone through.

Unless the rules change the posting fee doesn't count towards the team payroll.

That all depends EG on what happens with the posting system. If it stays relatively the same (where there is only one winning bid) then the posting fee will probably be higher than $80 million but Tanaka's actual salary will probably stay in the $10-$13 million range as he will be dealing with one club. However if a set of new rules takes effect where there is more than one club in the negotiation then yes, you may be right about his AAV going up to the $15-$20 million range (unlikely but possible in this market).

Part of the reason I started writing the 'Hot Stove Trade Speculation' articles was to point out the plethora of young starting pitching options out there that we could trade for. Whether you agreed with the trade ideas or not it did show that there are options out there that could join our rotation and pitch just as well as Hughes, Arroyo, et.al. at the league minimum. I sincerely believe that Dipoto has one or more trades ready to go and there is some X event that needs to occur first before it is announced.

I've actually been following him since the beginning of 2013 as I was looking for a low budget draft target for two of my fantasy leagues. He had a period where he didn't do well, then was out for a while and when he returned he was on point the remainder of the season. His strikeout rate will be higher because his changeup is pretty wicked which works against hitters from both sides. Fly ball type too which would fit into our defensive philosophy.

He would certainly be a target if we were talking a Trumbo trade with the Brewers. Has a strong K/9 rate and good peripherals as a #2/#3 type of the future.

As an aside to the question, I think we will be completely match up based next season, even in the closer role.

He was a year off on LaTroy Hawkins too. Dipoto's BABIP is really high the last two years.

To actually answer your question, partially, Uggla's a defensive black hole and his contact rate has slipped significantly over the last two years. He really is becoming an Adam Dunn-lite, where he either a) strikes out, b ) walks, or c) hits a home run. Nothing in between.

To soon, mancini, to soon.

LOL, I was thinking about making a thread "My thoughts on thoughts".

Yeah I get frustrated with those mechanical pencils too....