Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions
1. According to Peter Gammons (via MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan), Texas attempted to acquire Matt Garza by using Derek Holland, Frank Francisco, Engel Beltre, and Cubs catcher Robinson Chirinos -- who would have been acquired in a separate deal, and then flipped to Tampa Bay -- before the Rays opted for Chicago's offer, comprising top pitching prospect Chris Archer; per one source, the Rangers would have acquired Garza if not for the Cubs' inclusion of Archer. Assuming this report is indeed true, how would you have reacted if Texas had pulled off the deal?
2. Take a stab at predicting Adrian Beltre's AVG/OBP/SLG/HR for the Rangers in 2011, along with -- if you're comfortable with doing so -- your personal expectation for the number of wins above replacement he'll post.
3. Per Richie Whitt, three of the names on the Rangers' wish list to succeed Josh Lewin are Scott Franzke (former pre-game and post-game radio host on KRLD), Brian Anderson (current Brewers play-by-play man and broadcaster for TBS's nationally televised Sunday afternoon games), and Mike Capps (current Round Rock Express play-by-play man and former WFAA sports director), the final of whom he pegs as the favorite in the race. Care to lay any bets on which of the three -- if any -- will grab the spot?
4. With Beltre now in the fold, what's your preferred Opening Day lineup?
5. Is there anything whatsoever to the notion floated on the Hardline last week that Rafael Palmeiro could garner sufficient support for election to the Hall of Fame -- or, at the very least, enough support to keep his name on the ballot -- if he were to simply come clean with the truth and apologize?
Open Thread, The Off-Season
Reader Comments (55)
Hey, it's not 6:00 yet.
1. It surprises me that TX was willing to give that much up for Garza and I'm kind of glad the deal didn't go through. I don't like Garza that much, and I wonder what they would have given up to get Chirinos.
2. .270/.335/.470, 5 WAR I think Arlington will be kind to Beltre.
3. no idea
4. Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Moreland, Torrealba, Andrus, Borbon off the top of my head
5. no
My first thought was that I am glad the trade didn't go through. But on second thought it would have been nice to have Garza. I believe he would be under team control for three seasons. Say what you will about Garza, but the Rangers will need somebody in the middle of their rotation. Especially with Wilson and Lewis becoming free agents after this season. If they have a similar season to 2010 then I imagine a lot of teams would be willing to purchase their services. Garza is not the ideal pitcher for the Rangers, but he would make a good team even better.
1. That would have been too much for Garza. I am glad the deal didn't get done.
2. .280 / .335 / .510 / 29 5 WAR
3. None of the above
4. Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Andrus, Moreland, Torrealba, Borbon
5. No
1. Holland's stock seems to have fallen awfully far in the last year and a half.
2. He will be close to last years numbers if health
3.
4. Doesn't matter much. Dropping Elvis down is a good idea.
5. Nope. He is just screwed for now. His path, along with others, will be through the veterans committee.
4. Kinsler bourbon Josh beltre young cruz Moreland() torrealba
5. I have argued this to many times. If you didn't do the crime why lie about it just to please a bunch of cotton-headed ninimuggins. I believe that what he says is thet truth
He didn't bulkul, his career stats follow a natural bell curve as most players should. He was at any point injury ridden. His next test a week later was clean. A year before was clean. And mainly I just believe him. He was, is, and always be my favorite player.
(1) That is a load to give up but he is a proven front end starter.
(5) Coming clean is the best thing to do whenever you do it. However, now his constant lying about it overshadows his use of steroids. Coming clean now will be viewed as a self serving attempt done just for getting in the hall of fame.
1. The Ranger offer seems like a lot to give up, so the Cubs prospects must be grade A. Garza us certainly good and on the good days he passes the eyeball test; but he is yet to prove to be an ace over the course of a full season.
2. A near duplication of 2010 barring injury.
4. Kinsler, Young, Josh (CF), Beltre, Cruz (LF), Murphy (RF), Moreland, Torrealba & Elvis.
5. Interesting vote this week. So far the voters are just saying "NO" to the known steroid users. A. Rod will be interesting.
1) Would like to have Garza but I think that the package mentioned is a bit much.
2) .265/.450/.355/22
3) Capps
4) Andrus SS
Kinsler SB
Hamilton CF
Cruz RF
Young DH
Beltre 3B
Murphy LF
Moreland 1B
Torrebella C
5) The damage may be done for Palmerio........he may or may not be guilty of steroid use over the years but getting caught 5 years ago did him in especially after his Congressional testimony. The steroid era and it's aftermath may end up being forgotten at some point. I think that if he and McGwire, and Bonds and maybe others tainted by this ever get in it will be towards the end of the 15-year period before they get to the old timers committee voting.
(1) I would be wondering if JD had just pulled another John Danks trade. The biggest difference, though, is that Garza is an established ML SP. There is less guesswork with Garza than McCarthy.
It seems like a lot, but remember that Garza was under team control longer than Greinke.
As an optimistic type, I would be willing to take a wait-and-see approach to whether Garza could learn some new tricks from Maddux. In particular, I wonder if Rangers evaluation of Garza suggest that his great fastball would be nicely enhanced by adding a cutter.
(2) Good luck.
Ok. He has hit well in TBiA, so... .298/.357/.521
(3) Mike Capps. Keep it local. Keep it real.
(4) Andrus, Kinsler, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Face, Moreland, Yorvit, Borbon
(5) Why? Why in the world would any athlete believe that would be the case? Silly argument. Even if it were to become the defacto requirement that every ballplayer from that generation would need to make a post-career confession to be included in the Hall of Fame, how does that change the risk of not being elected? Say Palmeiro confesses and many others confess they didn't, wouldn't that be an argument against Palmeiro that he would not want the committee to be able to make?
1. I would have been hopeful, but somewhat disappointed. I think we all saw what Holland is capable of in that long relief appearance in the ALCS in Yankee Stadium last year. Pretty impressive. I'm hoping that he can build on that. He is a potential #2 starter for us at a very young age. I think it would have had to been Greinke or bust for us as far as trading for a pitcher goes.
2. Beltre: .308/.375/.465/30 hrs.
3. Is Bob Uecker still available? As CJ's first pitch of the season sails 8 feet outside and violently pegs the brick backstop behind Torrealba, here is the call: "CJ winds and delivers to begin the Rangers 2011 campaign and...JUST A BIT OUTSIDE!" Game continues and CJ is getting roughed up a bit. Uecker continues: "I'm not sure what that pitch was. It looked like the terminator. Either way, it's see ya later for CJ. He's probably gonna become a spectator"
4. Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Beltre, Nellie, Kinsler, Moreland, Torrealba, Borbon
5. That poor guy is gonna fight this until the day he dies. He'll never get peace. He should just do what McGwire did and become our hitting coach. Maybe he could get into the Hall by coaching. Not sure it's happening from his days on the field at this point.
4.
And I forgot - Scott Franzke is my personal favorite. He did a great job in his few stints calling games for KRLD and has turned into a top voice in baseball since taking the Philly job.
1) too much for Garza.
2) .285/.335/.485/31HR/5.3WAR
3) clueless
4) Andrus, Moreland, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Kinsler, Young, Torrealba, Borbon.
5) no. Raffy will never get in period.
1.) I wouldn't trade Holland for Garza straight up. There numbers aren't that far different from last year and Holland is still learning.
2.) I think 5 WAR as well. .280/.340/.550/30 sounds good.
3.) Don't care. I liked Josh.
4.) Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Kinsler, Murphy, Torrealba, Moreland
5.) I think Raffy should just go along with it. If he thinks he's innocent, then keep preaching why. If he were to confess, I'd probably try to convince people that it happened AFTER he built up his HoF credentials. Perhaps then people would say, like with AROD and Bonds, that he'd probably have made it anyway.
1. Sounds like a decent deal, depending on what they were giving up for Chirinos. I was surprised, however, to see that Garza has never put up nearly as good a yr as Colby and CJ had last yr, so maybe I have him a little over-rated. Conversely, I suppose we may find out that those two had their career yrs and will never approach 4.4 WAR again.
2. If he posts a .285 / .360 / .500 season with similar UZR to 2010, that would put him at about 5.2 WAR, I believe, which would be just an outstanding return on their money, IMO. I think most estimates have been a little low, though he might feel a little too much pressure in the clean-up spot...would prefer to see him hit 5th or 6th.
3. Don't have any idea on these candidates.
4. Andrus, Kinsler, Hambone, Cruz, Beltre, Young, Moreland, Torrealba, Borbon
5. Don't think so; he's made his bed, & now he has to lie in it
I was never a fan of Raffy the person, but he should be in the HOF. There isn't the spike in stats that everybody always claims is a sure fire sign of a user and his numbers are Hall creditable. Besides, I believe him. t's all a moot point anyway...No way Arod, a Yankee is kept out because when his name comes up it's going to be..."hell, why not? Everybody was doin' it", and once he gets in the door is open for everybody.
1. I'd bet a dollar that Holland finishes the season with a better xERA than Garza this year, so No...I would not have been happy.
2. 280/385/520 27 HR (don't know enough about WAR)
4.
1. Kinsler
2. Young
3. Hamelton
4. Beltre
5. Cruz
6. Thome
7. Andrus
8. Murphy
9. Y. T.
1. The one recurring unpoken statement about any trade involving Holland has been this: each time the other team rejects the trade, Holland's stock drops just a little more. He has more value pitching for us than he has in a trade. As far as rating the deal, it doesn't matter too much. The Rays always wanted the Cubs prospects and therefore our package of prospects is inferior. The catching prospect in return is intriguing.
2. This is a shot in the dark, but I'll go with .290/.350/.500/30HR or something similar. 5 WAR seems about right, but most importantly our return on investment is about one thing: defense. Remember, this is a team that won 90 games with Mike Young at third and supposedly leaked runs at that spot. I think we all should expect 92-95 wins, a significant decrease in unearned runs and a significant increase in double plays turned from that position.
3. Just heard Anderson call a game. I could stand listening to him for a season. I don't know a thing about Capps or Franzke. Is Lewin still available?
4. Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Kinlser, Moreland, Catcher, Borbon. Fearless prediction: By the end of September, this lineup will be recognized as the most potent of the 21st century.
5. Americans love to forget and forgive when it comes to apologies. I don't know why, we just do. You can't rule it out with that kind of culture and climate. But the longer he waits, the more he paints himself in the light of Bonds and Clemens, who will never see the Hall.
1) the inclusion of FF is what gets me the most... He is an important piece of our bullpen this year, and giving him up would guarantee Feliz is staying in the bp which I really hope is not the case.
2) I think the next 3 years for Beltre will be some combination of a 3.5, 4.5 and 6 WAR seasons. Not sure what order they'll be in, but the 6 will be when everything is going great, the 4.5 will be an above avg year with fairly good health and the 3.5 will be a year he misses some time to injury. All in all well worth the contract for those 3 years. Then I think those 3 years will be followed by 3 years of 3-4 WAR with the chance of injury bringing it down to 2, or a great year bringing it up to 5... So final prediction next year .275/.340/.460 24 hr for 4.5 wins...
3) no clue, someone good
4) Kins, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Mitch, Young, Torrebla, Borbon, Andrus. (only if Mitch produces, when Murph plays he'd be in Mitch's slot.
5) His best bet is to stay on the ballot long enough for all of the great steroid players to get in. I have to think that ventuallt arod/bonds/Clemens will all get in. Once all the greats are in the slightly lower tier players like Palmerio have an outside shot.
We learned two things from this potential deal:
a. Neftali is, for sure, the closer again this year. JD wouldn't be dangling Frankie out there if he was thinking about stretching out Feliz and moving him to the rotation. (or maybe he was about to announce Soriano deal in the morning)
b. Holland has no value to the Rangers any longer.
Palmeiro's story is terrible; players don't test positive for the particular steroid he did unless they were injecting it into their bodiies. I used to always ask a silly hypothetical question that started with, "Suppose the entire Rangers rotation walked by Miguel Tejeda's locker"...nobody ever got the punch line, or else failed to see any humor in it.
In '01, the Rangers played an exhibition in OKC shortly before the season began. Raffy was standing outside the dugout after BP when an 8-yr old walked up and very quietly asked for his autograph on a poster of him. He simply said, "I don't sign autographs," but a photographer on the field saw it and quickly came to the rescue, saying, "No, go ahead and sign; it will make a great photo". I about threw up in my beer cup when Palmeiro started to sign with this huge smile on his face for the camera like he was suddenly just tickled to death to be this kid's hero. He never smiled at the boy, just at the camera.
1. This report makes me think more than anything else. The Rangers FO must have a high opinion of Garza, and a rather sour one of Holland. As a Holland fan, I'd hate to see him go and want him to succeed in a Ranger uniform. He inspired my favorite Ranger internet comment ever: "Don't you dare touch my Derek Holland" around the time of the 2009 trade deadline. I think we all felt that way then. But I'm wondering if the FO has justifications for its seemingly eagerness to include him in the Cliff Lee deal, and now the attempted Garza trade. Do they think his value is destined to plummet? Why? I also wouldn't have liked to give Frankie up, as regardless of whether Feliz closes or starts, Frankie is one of the 2-3 best arms in the 2011 bullpen.
2. .290/.350/.475
3. I bet Capps gets it. I remember hearing a story that Franzke is happy in Philly. I know nothing about Anderson. Still a little upset they let Lewin go. I guess one gets attached to an announcer who suffers through hours and hours of bad baseball with them and never gets down.
4. Preferred: Andrus/Kinsler/Hamilton/Cruz/Beltre/Moreland/Young/Yorvit/Borbon
Predicted: Andrus/Young/Hamilton/Beltre/Cruz/Kinsler/Moreland/Yorvit/Borbon
5. Probably not.
Garza is still pretty young, which makes it very likely he's still in his prime or improving. He's a known commodity, which makes him very valuable. For a team trying to get back to the WS, he's very, very valuable. Don't think JD included Holland in the deal because he's down on him. He's simply trying to get a key piece for this rotation.
I think we learned that Feliz would definitely be the closer IF they had gotten Garza, which makes perfect sense to me. They still have a hole in the rotation, however, with the missed trade, so Feliz should certainly have a chance to fill that.
1. Too much for Garza but eventually don't you have to get rid of some prize prospects for proven talent?
2. .286 / .348 / .554 / 27 / 6 WAR
3. Capps
4. Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Cruz, Beltre, Moreland, Murphy, Torrealba, Andrus
5. Raffy needs to explain what he did and when he did it and then just hope the Veterens committee puts him in after 15 years. McGwire only partially came clean and we still don't know exactly what he did and it is not the way to go. Tell all.
1. If that pkg is correct then it shouts "Insecurity!" Someone is looking for a 'lock' and there isn't any.
What do they know or suspect that we don't know but may suspect? TRUST YOUR FARM YOUTH.
2. He wants a ring so he might be driven this season. .300 95 RBI 20 HR 90R 30 dbl
3. Nada, Any of them will do just as good. Let's Talk Baseball!
4. Andrus, Borbon (Better Bunter), Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Young, Kinsler, Moreland, Torrealba
5. MLB was quiet too long on what was legal. If he has the stats then let him in. Don't Cop a plea. I
would say he didn't do anything wrong when he did it. If he didn't lie then, he shouldn't change his story.
Palmeiro's numbers aren't 2nd to anyone, really, outside of Bonds and Clemens. 3,020 hits and 569 HRs? Are you kidding me? He'd be a 1st ballot guy ahead of McGuire, IMO, without the controversy. But he might as well have gambled on baseball, for all that he did to his reputation (and Baseball's, in the opinion of the writers, it seems). The finger-wagging will be played over and over for yrs, each time the ballots are sent out.
As far as his numbers not really looking suspicious with a sudden increase in power, as someone mentioned earlier, that is simply not the case. He'd never hit more than 14 HRs in a season until the yr he turned 27. I defy anyone to find a player who'd still never hit 30 HRs in a season before his 29th yr, then hit 433 HRs between his age 29 and age 39 seasons -- just short of 40 per season. Between 1993-1999, Raffy hit 266 HRs, if my math is right. Bonds hit 269 during the same period. Bonds really exploded in 2000, but Palmeiro still hit 169 over the next 4 seasons as he was reaching nearly 40 yrs of age.
1. I think that's certainly more than I'd prefer to give up for Matt Garza. I've never been too high on him.
2. .285/.348/.489 4.9 WAR
3. Capps I guess
4. Kinsler, Murphy, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Young, Andrus, Moreland, Torrealba.
5. No one knows exactly what it would do, but I don't have a good feeling that it would help.
What a tremendous, superb, unbelievable find Colby was last off-season. He was tied for 19th among pitchers in all of MLB with 4.4 WAR. Garza has never put up more than 3.2 WAR, and he's the 3rd best pitcher to be available this off-season. Our Pacific Rim scouting staff deserve huge bonuses for seeing what no one else could. The Good Guys got $17.6M of production for a measly $1.75M.
Of course, CJ was the other guy tied with 4.4 WAR, and he was certainly nearly as much a pleasant surprise. Let's hope they've found/will find another gem this off-season. Webb might fit the bill, I guess. With the attempt to obtain Garza, it seems the FO isn't really sure what they've got right now.
So, CJ might be in line for a $10-12M salary in arbitration. Does this sound accurate? With the 40-60-80 rule of thumb (someone here mentioned that last week, I think, after Murphy signed), he made a huge amount of money with that 4.4 WAR last yr.
1. I would think the Rangers would have had a great offseason. Currently we have a C+; with that trade, we have an A.
2. .270, .320, .795 (OPS), 24 HRs plus superb defense
3. Mike Capps; Nolan is comfortable with him.
4. Kinsler, Andrus, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Young, Moreland, Torrealba/Treanor , Borbon
5. Not a snowball's chance....
I am going to be very vulgar and frank here, mainly because I am still drunk from last night.
It is a Mother Fucking shame that these fucks are going to crucify Rafael.. I can't wait until some fuck that wasn't even that good, like Jeff Bagwell, gets into the hall, and then later is exposed or finally admits it. Everyone and their moms knows that cunt roided. I wouldn't be surprised if 65-75% of players in the 90s were on the juice. I'd be more surprised if the number was under 50%. Baseball knew it was going on and didn't say shit. Selig is a fucking cunt and should have been forced out after the steroids investigations. Watching that cunt make a fool out of MLB when Bonds broke the HR record was sickening.
Lets say Palmeiro took roids one time and then failed that test. If you take a drug once you are still a roider right? What about the guys back in the 70s taking greenies. If you take an upper once you are a user right? That should keep you out then right? Well then get Hank Aaron's admitted drug using hypocritical ass out of the fucking hall of fame. Fuck Hank Aaron and Fuck MLB. They are a bunch of self righteous cunts. So is anyone that believes Rafael doesn't belong in the HOF.
1) Personally I would rather see Holland for a season in the rotation. So Im glad they didnt do that deal.
2) .305/.375/.525/ 37 HR. He is going to have the best player in baseball in front of him and Nellie behind him in a great hitters park he is going to mash this year
3)dont care
4)Andrus
Kinsler
Josh
Beltre
Cruz
Young
Murphy
Moreland
Torrealba
5) If he is lying, than he shouldnt get in, but who knows if he is I dont and I dont care. You know most players in his era used and he was the best in his era so unless u arent letting anyone in then u cant keep him out. I know all these so called baseball purist want to turn their nose up, but they knew it was going on and didnt do a damn thing about it. They enjoyed it just like we all did, so dont act all high and mighty now. Im sick of the baseball voters they dont vote guys in on their first ballot and why? Because they r a bunch of clowns that have too much power
1. Don't know much about Garza other than what I saw in the playoffs last year. He seems to be pretty good, but Holland & FF will be much better combined that Garza would be by himself.
5. What you guys don't know is that Palmero CAN'T admit to Roids because he could very well be indicted for lying to Congress about it. Lying in a Federal investigation is a crime. Martha Stewart was never convicted of insider trading even though that is what got all the publicity. She was convicted of lying to the federal agents that were investigating her for insider trading. Palmero can't ever come clean or risk spending some time in Leavenworth.
DMax, it's Raffy who is self-righteous. He's just like 80% of these guys who have become multi-multi-multi-millionaires. They really never appreciated what the game gave them, or the adulation that fans had for them. I feel no sympathy for him whatsoever. I've said it before: if any of these guys with the numbers to get to Cooperstown would ever show a modicum of appreciation for the fans who paid their tremendous salaries for all their seasons in the game, I'd be more than willing to support them getting in. By my count, Raffy made nearly $90M in his career, and yet he couldn't take a few hours a yr to sign some autographs for the fans? Now he's worried what people think?
1. Yeah, that's too much. Garza is a good #2, but he is no ace. I suppose I would've reacted favorably to the deal, but I would have been upset with the amount of talent we gave up, particularly Holland. I predict Holland to have a comparable year to Garza. I don't think they have to make a deal, though. Let's see where we are in May and June with the guys we've got.
2. .290/.355/.480/30
3. Bring Josh BACK! I miss him already.
4. Andrus Kinsler Hamilton Cruz Beltre Young Moreland Torrealba Borbon (that's what I think it should be, but Young will almost certainly be hiting 2nd and Kinsler 6th)
5. I don't really care. Does that make me a bad baseball fan?
1. Seems like too much when I am not even sure if Garza will be better than Holland this year.
2. He'll be just as good as he was last year.
3. I don't know any of those guys.
4. Andrus, Murphy, Beltre, Hamilton, Cruz, Kinsler, Young, Moreland, Catcher.
5. Maybe if he would have come clean when it happened. Not now.
1. That may have been a little much to giveup to get garza but I would have been fine with & if were up to me I would have pulled the trigger on that deal
2. .290/.345/.580/30hr/95rbi/ 5.2war
3. I would guess capps if he wired at roundrock that would make sense.
4. This is what I would like to see it worked great in June last year when Ian hit third & Josh was 5th but I know it won't happen
Andrus, young, kinsler, beltre, Hamilton , Cruz, Murphy,morland, Yorvit
5. I would vote for raffy they should just get off the pulpit & realize most eveyone at the time was doing it may not have been morally right but there was no rule against it when they played. Who is to say that alomar dis not & he got in how can they just pick & chose but with that said I think he has no chance to get in & to me that is sad!
I just think Young is a better 2 hole hitter than Kinsler. He is a better situational hitter and while he doesn't bunt nearly as well, he uses the right side of the field frequently and does a great job of moving runners over. Plus he is more consistent and doesn't get in a weak fly ball rut like Kinsler.
I just have this feeling that Kinsler is going to hit leadoff again this year and I'm not opposed to that if he is going to be 2010 Kinsler. 2009 Kinsler needs to be hitting down in the lineup. I personally prefer last year's version of Kins the best.
I'd guess the lineup will look like this:
Kinsler
Young
Hamilton
Beltre
Cruz
Moreland
Andrus
Torrealba
Borbon
If I was the manager my lineup would be:
Elvis
Young
Hamilton
Cruz
Beltre
Kinsler
Moreland
Torrealba
Borbon
Wash has high praise for Andrus' baseball smarts and base-running skills...I don't think there's any way Andrus hits anywhere but lead-off this yr again.
1. sounds like we just missed out...dang. depending on how many other players we would have traded to get Chirinos from the Cubs in order to complete the deal, it could have been very expensive...and i personally feel that Garza is overrated. still, he would have looked good in the rotation for the next couple years.
2. .280/.325/.465 with 31 HR. 4.0 WAR
3. the way Nolan has flipped everything into Round Rock, i'm sure Capps will get the nod.
4. Andrus SS
Young DH
Hamilton CF
Beltre 3B
Cruz RF
Kinsler 2B
Murphy LF
Moreland 1B
Torrealba C
5. Palmeiro will never get in, regardless of what he does or does not admit to.
1. Very upset
2. .290/.345/.485, +14 in the field. Roughly 5.5 WAR
3. I don't know who any of those people are
4. Kinsler-Young-Hamilton-Cruz-Beltre-Moreland-Torrealba-Borbon-Andrus
5. I don't think it would help him, to be honest.
1. Don't mind Francisco and Beltre in the deal but Holland...not so much. But, Garza would be a legitimate upgrade, regardless where he would've ended up in the rotation. I would've signed off on the deal.
2. .291 / .340 / .498 / 34... 6 WAR
3. Capps will more than likely get the gig but I have to say I will miss Lewin. As quirky as he is, I appreciated his spin on things or out of the box approach.
4. Andrus SS
Young DH
Hamilton CF
Beltre 3B
Cruz RF
Kinsler 2B
Murphy LF
Moreland 1B
Torrealba C
I can't handle another year of Borbon, hopefully he's part of a trade before the season.
5. Ahh...negative!
DMax, I sense that you're holding something back. Don't be afraid to open up a little and let us know how you really feel.
The issue with Palmeiro's election to the Hall compared to other users was that Palmeiro tested positive after it was banned. Did he lie under oath? Did he knowingly take steroids? He says no, and you know what? I believe him. But the fact remains he tested positive, that can't be erased, and he will have trouble getting in. MJH posted a good piece on this a couple weeks ago, saying all the users that are worthy otherwise should be voted in. I agree with him. The exception being Palmeiro, because he tested positive after the use of the drug was banned. I hate saying that because I loved Palmeiro as a player. I would think Sosa will have trouble as well, almost as much due to the corked bat incident instead of his alleged steroid use.
I think the writers are clearly sending the message: if we can prove you juiced, you'll never get in (Raffy, Big Mac). If it's all rumor and inuendo, you'll get in if you deserve it on the numbers/performance (Bagwell will get there eventually- and should on the performance alone without the rumors).
Yes, Baggy's head swelled up the way Bonds' head did. But he never got caught up in any scandel. And the writers are going to give him a pass.
So, Raffy out, Bonds out, Mac out, Clemens out, Sosa out (corking hurts him here), ARod out, Manny out
Guys not named in the Mitchell report or any other investigation will get in. Piazza never got named (I don't think), so he gets in. Bagwell in, Griffey in, Pujols in, Vlad in, etc. Not sure those guys are clean. But no evidence, so they get in.
Not saying it's right, but I think we're learning that these are the "rules of the road" going forward.
1. Much like the Beltre deal and the Lee deal...good player to have....too much in exchange
2. 3.5-4.0 WAR, 0.5 of it with the glove, Say 265/335/475
3. Brian Anderson is great, IMO
4. Elvis
Young
Hamilton
Cruz
Beltre
Kinsler
Moreland
Torrealba
Borbon
5. The HOF is garbage...I;d rather see great players like Palmeiro or Bagwell just wash their hands of the process rather than be pathetic like Blyleven and spend a decade whining and begging to get in.
Kinsler, Andrus, Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Moreland, Young, Torrealba, Borbon
5. Palmeiro doesn't deserve to be in the HOF - he was afraid to hit against Randy Johnson.
Dude in UK - I guess you're talking about a personal experience with Palmeiro spurning you for an autograph. I remember when the Rangers used to come play the Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale for Spring Training. He, along with most of the other big name Rangers, would stay until the team bus was leaving to sign autographs for the fans. The only doucher that didn't was A-Rod, and the security guard said he had left early with David Segui.
1. Garza is OK, but more importantly this shows what kind of potential package the Rangers might put together around the trade deadline.
2. The numbered bandied about here sound good to me, but I especially want to see his glove.
3. Not familiar enough with any of those names...just as long as they are solid and unobtrusive to the game presentation.
4. I would say:
Kinsler 2B
Andrus SS
Hamilton CF
Beltre 3B
Cruz RF
Young DH
Murphy LF
Moreland 1B
Torrealba C
5. Who can say with any certainty when the Steroids Era began? Where is the dividing line? That's where my problem is with the HOF. Though I can't pinpoint a single player, I'm fairly certain there's someone in the HOF who used steroids at some point. This will take a few years to shake out, but ultimately I think you'll see Raffy, A-Rod, McGwire, etc. all get elected into the HOF. Their punishment will be to wait until they are old. Apologies for show do nothing for me.
3. I'm from philly and i know I'm speaking for the entire city when I say we are begging for Franzke to stay. He is the best broadcaster besides Harry Kalas and the entire city has fallen in love with him. If he does in fact leave to go to texas each one of you should be thrilled to have him. He captures every single big moment unbelievably. You can research any scott franzke call and i will guarantee that you will fall in love with him.