Tuesday Open Thread: Ice Storm Edition
Joey Matschulat
Andy Pettitte's return to the New York Yankees should end their pursuit of free-agent right-hander Ben Sheets. - vb.rm/Flickr.comIsn't winter weather in North Texas fun?
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11:55 P.M. - The Yankees signed free-agent left-hander Andy Pettitte to a one-year, $5.5 million deal laden with $6.5 million in attainable performance bonuses, effectively ending their pursuit of Ben Sheets (Ken Rosenthal, FOXSports.com)
[Coincidentally, after SI.com's Jon Heyman reportedly stated on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" on Monday evening that the Brewers and Rangers were interested in free-agent left-hander Oliver Perez, Tuesday brought word from Newsday's Anthony Rieber that the Mets had moved "a little bit closer" to re-signing Perez.
Keep your fingers crossed that they keep moving in that direction.]
11:40 P.M. CST - According to a team source, Texas would deal catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia straight up for right-hander Clay Buchholz (Jim Reeves, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
[And this deviates from what we've known for several months how, exactly?]
11:30 P.M. CST - Right-hander John Bannister (No. 30 prospect in the Rangers organization according to industry publication Baseball America) would rank No. 7 in the Astros organization, and catcher Taylor Teagarden (No. 6 prospect in the Rangers organization, again according to Baseball America) would rank ahead of the Astros' No. 1 prospect, Jason Castro, who was selected with the 10th-overall pick of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Jim Callis, Baseball America)
[Did Castro address an organizational weakness for the Astros? Sure. But there's a good reason why the phrase "best player available" is tossed around with such great frequency come draft time.]
6:25 P.M. CST - According to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle (per KGOW 1560 AM), "the contract terms the Rangers are looking at with [free-agent right-hander] Ben Sheets" are two years and $20 million (Adam J. Morris, Lone Star Ball)
[MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reported yesterday that Sheets's representative, Casey Close, was still seeking at least two guaranteed years for his fireballing client, while the Rangers remained reluctant to go beyond one guaranteed year with a possible second-year club option. Discussions are presumably ongoing.]
5:30 P.M. CST - Texas is reportedly close to averting a potential salary arbitration hearing with outfielder Marlon Byrd, as Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine continues to have "good conversations" with Byrd's representative, Sam Levinson; Byrd is asking for $3.6 million in 2009, while the Rangers are offering $2.7 million (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)
[It's been noted many times already, but it nevertheless bears repeating: Texas hasn't gone to arbitration with one of its players since 2000 (Lee Stevens), and the possibility of the two sides taking their respective cases before a three-person panel of professional arbitrators next month was never remotely realistic.
If 2009 is Byrd's final season in a Rangers uniform, his tenure in Texas will have been a massively successful one. Procured from the scrap heap in December 2006 after a lackluster stint in Washington and swiftly inked to a minor league deal, Byrd was designated for assignment on April 1st, 2007, but ultimately cleared waivers, and he hasn't stopped hitting since. In the time that has passed since his promotion back to the majors in late May 2007, Byrd has amassed a whopping 6.1 wins above replacement through his renascent offensive approach and quality outfield glovework.]
Reader Comments (11)
No ice in west Fort Worth yet. At least not outside of my office window, but if I go out for lunch in another hour or so and end up in a ditch, boy I'm gonna be pissed.
Still no ice in downtown Fort Worth, waiting for it though, I can't wait to get stuck in my parking garage all night.
The wackiest thing, of this whole possible ice storm, is that we should be mid 70s for Sunday.
Only in Texas! Be careful folks!
UT Tyler has cancelled my 6:00 class -- even though it's not doing much of anything outside.
I think what we've historically seen with winter weather events like these is some mild embellishment on the part of the media -- after all, inciting a panic amongst the masses is GREAT for TV/radio ratings and internet traffic. That isn't to say that misleading information is intentionally disseminated by such outlets, but phrases like "worst ice storm in five years" are more what I'm talking about.
Yeah, we're getting slaughtered in the northeast here. Got about 6 inches of snow with freezing rain coming down now.
34 degrees and not even drizzle here in Murphy. Supposedly we'll get some ice later.
Well, here's hoping Joey - and everyone else out there - can stay safe and warm. Gotta say though, the whole ice storm thing sounds kinda fun... the weather out here in California never does anything that radical.
Lee Stevens. Now there's a blast from the past.
So just wondering, what's the defensive difference with wins over replacement players of Hamilton vs. Byrd. Would we be better off putting Byrd in center and allowing Hamilton to swat from a corner outfield position?
Reason I ask, is because you lock Hamilton into a corner outfield spot, and then once the trade deadline rolls around you'd have to expect Byrd to be involved in a deal if Borbon or Golston are promoted.
nacogdoches, drizzles of freezing rain. definitely cold! 2 early classes tomorrow. i wouldn't mind the day off.
sign sheets!
The answer to your question is quite possibly, Robert (at least from the standpoint of gaining extra runs according to the likes of UZR and +/-) -- of course, the question then becomes "What do you do with Cruz?" Left field?