Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions
1. Of the four scenarios I laid out last week where Michael Young isn't traded (and while it remains unclear whether Texas will yet move him, it does appear likelier that he won't be traded than it did at around this same time last week), what percent likelihood would you assign to each possibility? As a refresher, Scenario No. 1 was Young reporting to camp and putting his frustrations completely behind him, Scenario No. 2 was Young reporting to camp and being a disruptive presence, Scenario No. 3 was Young acting outwardly as though everything is fine but still heavily pressing the front office for a trade, and Scenario No. 4 was Young not reporting to camp, or refusing to assume the DH position.
2. What is the one thing you are most looking forward to hearing/seeing/monitoring in Surprise as spring training gets underway this week? Is it the Neftali Feliz-as-a-starter angle? Is it waiting to see if Young escalates matters? Is it the first-hand accounts of Adrian Beltre's sexy glovework? Or perhaps Professor Parks complaining about a heavily congested Bell Road on Twitter?
3. If Young reports to spring training, goes about his business, and the entire trade mess fades away into the background, will your perception of Young have been changed at all since just before the trade demand story blew up? In other words, will you think any less or any more of Young going forward as a result of what has transpired over the last couple of weeks, including his trade demand and sharp rebuke of the front office?
4. Take a shot in the dark at predicting what the Rangers' Opening Day starting rotation will look like, and how many innings each of those pitchers will log as a Ranger in 2011. [Keep in mind that even last season, the Rangers only got 111 starts out of their original starting five, so 150- to 200-inning projections across the board likely isn't all that realistic.]
5. What you would be willing to do -- speaking in the hypothetical Klondike Bar sense, of course -- in order for Albert Pujols to sign with Texas after the 2011 season?
Open Thread, The Off-Season
Reader Comments (56)
1. 40, 9, 40, 1. Young will be a disruptive presence simply because the topic is going to be discussed ad nauseum. But I expect his bitterness will fade as he settles into a work routine.
2. Two things for me: Borbon having quality at bats and the health and progress of Webb.
3. I thought Young was a bit of a diva before all this. The last couple weeks have simply solidified that impression.
4. Wilson, 150. Lewis, 205, Hunter, 140. Webb, 70. Holland, 155.
5. Drive up the bidding, mostly. It wouldn't surprise me if the Rangers traded for either Fielder or Pujols this summer after one of those two teams tanks. Then they play very nearly the same offseason game as they played with Lee next winter and eventually collect two draft choices as the player signs elsewhere for a huge amount and too many years.
I'd like to be a better participator for numbers 1. & 3., but even 'ad nauseum' is a weak descriptor for the neural overload that I'm feeling on that subject. The circuit breakers are open.
2. On the other hand, the 'Neftali Feliz as starter' phrase excites me. I'm hoping that more time with Maddox will further develop his already interesting change pitch. Also, flashing back to that unbelieeeveable pitch that he threw to A-Rod to close out the Yankees has kept my mind diverted from MY all winter long. If he had shown that pitch just a few more times this past season, Joe's 'Most effective pitch in baseball' post would have been a closeout... You couldn't hit that pitch with a nuclear device.
3. see # 1
4 Wilson 175, Lewis 190, Feliz 155, Webb 110, Holland 150, Ogando 90
5. Please, not Fielder ... We don't need another semi- glove at first base. When he is a FA, offer Albert $17-20 mil for 5 years, any further out than 5 years should have incentive loads. He may be superman now, but 6 years out he prob won't be. I don't think I'd trade for him short-term.
Defense is not very important at 1B, and Fielder more than offsets with the bat. The question you'd ask in dealing for him is not defense, but the price of acquisition.
Pujols and his agent would not even return your call for that price. Add $10M per year and you might have a conversation. I agree it's probably not wise, but if that's all you're willing to offer you don't bother even making the call.
1) 100%.....the other three scenarios 0%.
2) Seeing how some of our young starters fare in their bid to make the starting rotation, i.e., Holland and Kirkman especially. We need to leave Feliz as our closer at least at this time.
3) No...will still have the same feelings on MY and that extends to most of the pampered players who make so much money that they have lost reality with Middle Class America and hard working Americans. Ego and money......a dangerous combination.
4) Wilson (180); Lewis (190); Kirkman (140); Holland (150); Hunter (120).
5) Absolutely zilch.....
1.) 3 and also Young has a meltdown after Blanco gets to play in the field more than him
2.) That it is over. Spring Training sucks.
3.) Much less,
4.) Don't care who the opening day 5 are. Here are my top 5 IP for the team this year: Lewis 200, Wilson 170, Holland 170, Hunter 120, Feldman 120
5.) Been there, done that. The answer is no. Just no.
1. I think Young reports and shuts out the media. Plays ball as asked to. Washington will give him plenty of at bats ahead of more deserving talent. No one really wants MY at his salary, something we all knew even before the fiasco. Maybe if Robinson Cano goes down with an injury (or something similar) will the Rangers be able to unload him. Frankly, I think he'd be worse at 2nd than 3rd...
2. Most looking forward to see how MY responds to all of this.
3. It has changed for the worse- even though I haven't much cared for MY ever since he got the mammoth contract - now he's tarnished himself in front of the whole baseball world. It's just the fact how people have defended his defense when it was obvious that he sux on defense. His bat is passable but he's no superstar with the stick, either.
4. It's too hard to tell because probably one opf the projected 5 will be hurt - at least a 30% chance of that. I do not count on Webb at all - as far as I am concerned, he's not even in the picture. That doesn't mean I don't hope he comes out of nowhere - but I don't count on it.
I hope Holland is given a chance.
5. Shrug. Pujols would be nice but I'd rather have a couple of nice pitchers for his trading price. What would it take to get King Felix? Sheppers ,Perez, Holland and Neftali? I'd think about it. Pujols? Not so much.
1) 10-10-60-20, senario three being the most likely.
2) torealba's work with our pitching staff, and Youngs work at 1st.
3) one bad month won't change my opinion of him.
4) CJ at 165, Lewis at 225, Holland at 175, Hunter at 120, Webb at 105
5) you offer Pujols 30 - 35 for as long as he wants, knowing that this teams fans will show up in droves to watch this guy play and you're in the American League so he can move to DH when he can't play in the field. Pujols has not had any really bad injuries so he should be able to last well into his late 30's at least. This would allow Pujols to hit all his records in TX. The added publicity, merchandise, and fan growth would all help to pay for the extra money and years on the contract.
1) 14%, 5%, 80%, 1%
2) The filling out of the rotation. Specifically, how Webb, Feliz, Hollabd, Mirkman, and Hurley are doing.
3) I lost respect for him when he petulantly demanded a trade in 2008. This just intensifies those negative feelings.
4) Lewis 205, Wilson 180, Holland 160, Hunter 75, Harrison 45
5) I'm intrigued, here. Let's assume the Yankees are out (Tex), Red Sox are out (AGon), Dodgers and Mets are out (broke), Tigers, White Sox, and Twins are out (Cabrera/VMart, Dunn/Konerko, Morneau), Phillies are out (Howard). I'm not sure who will drive the 1B market next offseason. Maybe the Cubs. Now add in the fact that the 1B market will have Pujols, Fielder, and Pena in it... I think 2012 could be a great chance to get a (relative) bargain. I would probably offer Punols 5/135. But really, while everyone's drooling over Pujols, I would try to steal Fielder at something like 5/55.
1. I think the reality is that it will be some combination of the first three sceanrios. Even if he tries to put it all behind him he will still be somewhat disruptive to the team and will manifest at least some small level of negative energy. And scenario three could easily coexist with both one and two. I think the answer is some combination of scenarios one through three with the possibility of scenario one growing stronger throughout the year. Number 4 will never happen.
2. The Young thing will be dust shortly, but he may still be traded so I'm not so much anticipating that. I'm most looking forward to seeing how Feliz, Kirkman, Holland, and Webb perform.
3. I won't think less of Young. I just don't think anyone on the outside has enough information to think less of him about this. But I am more supicious of him now. He did display what could be deva qualities in the absence of real mistreatment. Should part of this question be: do you think less highly of the FO after all this?
4. This will no doubt be the story of the spring. Something from these 7 guys will be the starting rote.
CJ, Colby, Feliz, Kirkman, Holland, Hunter. Webb (this is probably childish but I want Nefti, Mike, and Derek with Tommy as your long man and Webb taking a little more time at AAA to get his strength back. If those guys pitch like they are capable of we would be, wow, awesome. As far as Feldman, Harrison, and Bush go I really hope we don't have to go there and our higher upside guys florish but maybe Feldman will get it back (of course he will be injured still) and, who knows, Harrison could flash something as well (but I'm just tired of Harrison, the ST hype always followed by the regular season mediocrity at best).
CJ
Colby
Neftali
Holland
Kirkman (this is my wish and not my prediction, are wishes allowed?)
with Hunter as your long man and Webb as your go to at Round Rock.
5. NEVER! With that money you could do WAY too many things. We are not the Yankees. If he wants a 300 million dollar contract he will not be signing in Texas.
Defense is not very important at 1B?
Pujols will break all of Arods records. You offer to name your 1st and 2nd born children Albert and Alberta and sit back and enjoy a Rangers Dynasty. Hamilton batting 3 and Pujols 4 is the scariest 1-2 punch EVER.
No, defense is not very important at 1B. The best bat = the best 1B, more or less.
lol Tell that to your pitching staff.
1. I'll go with door #3, but by definition, the whole episode will be disruptive, at least on the periphery.
2. Feliz as a starter and how Webb looks.
3. Never really bought his sanctimonious act after his whining episode when asked to move to 3B to accommodate Elvis. And I think he's been grossly overrated as a baseball player by some fans and the media. So no, I don't really think less of MY, mainly because I didn't think very highly of him to begin with.
4. Ok, here goes:
Wilson - 170
Lewis - 205
Hunter - 95
Holland - 160
Bush - 75 (fills in until Webb is ready)
5. Don't do it.
1. I think there is probably room for MY, if he realizes he's not one of the best 9 everyday players on the roster any longer. With injuries and rest requirements, as well as opportunities against southpaws, he could expect workload similar to Murphy's the past couple of seasons. If he is mad because he was assured we wouldn't acquire anyone that would cut into his usual 700 PAs per season, I think he's probably going to have to come into Surprise with a whole new understanding of where his career is headed. I hope for his sake he's recently received some good advice from his inner circle on what his outburst has cost him, because JD isn't just going to give him away. I think he can regain some objectivity, as Rhads mentioned he needs to do. 60%, 0, 40%, 0.
2. I'm seeing one 50-50 scenario that means more to this season than any other: Dutch's ability to step forward big-time. If he can produce 2.5 to 3 WAR this season, I think this team can overcome most other challenges and win over 90 games. I'd really like to see Derek putting together some very strong outings this Spring.
3. I'm simply not enthralled with MY's talent. He's only depth on this roster, and will be replaced if his clubhouse presence becomes a detriment at some point, but eating most of his contract could really hurt our payroll flexibility. The tightness of this clubhouse, however, hasn't been an illusion. I think we can expect his attitude will improve eventually. He's probably not going anywhere with that contract. Please RW, don't give Mikey too many PAs!. Unfortunately, he'll probably hit in the 2-hole again and get way more opportunities than Napoli.
4. CJ 200; Colby, 200; Dutch 180; Hunter 80 (includes some long relief); Bush 70 (includes some long relief); Webb and Feldman will get more than a few starts, too, but not before May, probably. Everybody hopes Webb contributes mightily, but I think his ceiling is probably close to the '10 Ben Sheets. Feldman can bounce back, possibly, but he's probably at best about as effective as Hunter was last yr. Hope I'm wrong about the contributions we get from the 4-5 spots, but we'll definitely be shopping in July.
5. Best player in baseball, obviously. I think somebody is going to offer Pujols 5 yrs and $150M; maybe it is JD. If he wants 6 or 7 yrs, maybe a team could justify 6-$170M or 7-$190M. Albert isn't likely to dominate pitchers past his 36th birthday, and the Rangers have already proven they have some discipline in going out more than 5 or 6 yrs. I don't think we take this risk, and Pujols eliminates us fairly quickly, but I believe he'll find St. Louis values him as much as anybody, and he re-signs with them at a small discount. I'll actually be surprised if he doesn't sign in the next 2 weeks, once the reality sinks in that the Cubs would probably be the only team able to grossly overpay for his services with an 8-,9-,or 10-yr contract. He doesn't want to play there, surely, as dysfunctional as they've been for several yrs.
Have you seen the pitchers that will be free agents after this season? Not too much to get excited about. Pujols it is.
samson, defense is nowhere near as important at 1B as it is at other positions. Not even close. You'd have to be truly awful to really hurt your team over there, and Fielder is good enough with the bat that he'd basically have to not wear a glove to hurt the team.
Don't be dense. You know very well that no one is saying you don't need defense at all. But we're talking relative values here, and at 1B offense is WAY more important than defense. The opposite of, say, SS.
Rossi,
CJ Wison? It will cost a pretty penny to keep him, and we will need to keep him in the absence of an explosion of pitching talent into solid starters in Texas. Also, if Webb gets it back he could come with a hefty price tag.
If Prince Albert would do 27 over five maybe. But there's no way he would do that, he's wants 27-30 over 8-10 which would be an Arodesque scew up.
I can't see a scenario where MY is going to be taking more than about 20-30 games off all year.
If you want to keep his depth than you have to give him the playing time he expects.
If you didn't want to keep his depth at the cost of having to play him nearly every day then you should have traded him a long time ago.
The idea that he should stay and play every other day for the team or just because he gets paid a lot makes no sense. What player like Young would not ask for a trade in that situation, ZERO. He has to keep his value up like anyone.
Wash has said that he will play almost every day and he will, that's just reality. Anyways, Murph against LHP, Napoli against RHP, and Moreland against LHP would not be that much better than Young if at all. It is a small sacrifice of better hitting to keep Young's leadership and his depth. To say he should stay and take every other day off makes no sense. Of course he nor any player would ever do that.
1) 10%, 1%, 89%, 0%
2) Starting pitching. We need the guys that stepped up last season to pitch well and we need to see who will step up next. The entire season rests with this (from a playoff perspective). I think Ogando saves us here.
3) No. But I'm not as negative on him as others are. He made a mistake...he'll pay a price. I don't think this includes hanging him.
4) Wilson 160 IP (worried about him doing it twice), Lewis 210 IP, Hunter 100 IP (loses job), Webb 140 IP (wishful thinking?) and Ogando 175 IP (can see Holland replacing Hunter at some point).
5) 30 mil if we're increasing our payroll to 150 mil. Otherwise, zero (unless he can pitch some).
I believe the Rangers have developed some faith in Murphy, and that he's a better answer against righties than MY. If Wash disagrees, however, then MY will probably still get his 140+ starts again this yr, as Joe believes. I'm hopeful the staff evaluates the situation correctly.
1) and 3) I, for one am, absolutely fed up with the MY talk. I will not take part in any discussion about him.
2) Starting pitching (Feliz to the rotation, Webb well, Wilson and Lewis solid as they were last year)
4) Wilson 150, Lewis 175, Webb 100, Hunter 150,
5) Not no, but hell no on Pujols
Regarding Pujols: I suspect that his "I will veto any trade" position is a negotiating ploy. If we get to the deadline and the following things are all true:
1) He has not and will not be extended in St Louis, and will test FA in the offseason
2) St Louis is not a contending team
3) Texas is a contending team
Then I think he would accept a trade as a rental player. I'm very interested in this possibility. Perhaps you deal Moreland and another prospect or 2 for him, then take the 2 comp picks for him when he leaves (after he leads you back to the WS) and replace Moreland at 1B long term with either Fielder or Pena (who I think could be had very cheaply in a market where he's competing with Pujols and Fielder for 1B money).
@Scooby,
I forgot again about Hurley. I hope he has a great yr. Kirkman ala 2010 would be his ceiling for this season, maybe?
I think you might be underestimating the market for Pujols and Fielder among the AL clubs you mention. The ability to accommodate an extra bat with the DH slot means even the Spankees or Red Sox might decide to make room for one of these guys. I think Cashman might have missed a chance to slide a soon-to-be-geriatric ARoid into that role and go harder after Beltre. There aren't a lot of impact third-basemen likely to be available for quite awhile. I realize most of these guys consider themselves above DH'ing at this point, but as we have experienced recently, they might be open to moving until at least the new player is actually signed...lol
Still, I think Pujols wants to stay with the Cardinals and he'll re-sign before long. Not sure most folks agree with me on that.
1. 20%, 5%, 75%, 0%
2. The Young storyline and the Feliz as a starter will be in the forefront, but I'll also be looking for maturation from Borbon, the health of Kinsler and Cruz's legs, Derek Holland, and the composition of a bullpen.
3. Yeah. I always thought he handled the move to 3B poorly, but I was willing to give some blame to the poor communication from Daniels. Poor communication might have been part of this problem too, but at this point Young knows JD and knows he's trying to help the team at all costs. He also knows he was not working out defensively at 3B. Additionally, it's ridiculous if he's scared of losing at bats....you know Ron Wash is going to hit him second in the order every day, no matter what position he's playing. Young has been the Rangers icon for a long time, and he still could be, but he needs to realize where his talent level is at and use that talent in the way the front office has identified.
4. Wilson (175 - this is also a storyline to watch this year. He may have a Hamels 2009 season, where he still pitches a lot of innings but isn't quite as effective as the year before). Lewis (195) Hunter (180) Holland (170) Kirkman (75)
5. Pay the biggest truckload of money we can afford to a declining player who yet still may be the best hitter in the game for 3-4 more years.
Personally I would give Pujols a 5 yr deal for $150 mil. $30 mil a year for one of the greatest to ever play but I believe Pujols is wanting something longer. I'm all for giving him the world but not for eight years.
'Defense is not very important at 1B' - tball and Scoob.
Your apparent confidence causes me to believe you must have a metric that supports that premise to your satisfaction. Would you mind letting me see it? I'm an old fella, but I'm honestly trying to be open- minded about something that appears illogical on it's face.
I know that the 1B touches (or misses) the ball way more times than the remainder of the non-battery players.
Pickoff throws from the pitcher and catcher, fielded throws (of various quality) from any or all of the fielders, including the wild throws from the outfield trying to catch a runner returning to 1B. Batted balls, fair and foul, line drives and bloops. Bunted ball coverage along with base coverage for bunted balls fielded by another player.
No, I haven't saved video of all the painful memories of 1B's running down the right field line chasing a missed pickoff, while runners are scurrying around, racking up enough runs to win the game...I'm guessin' probably 3-5 games this past season.
I wish we'd had those runs back in the World Series.
I am so tired of hearing so much about such an average player. Leave, stay, trade, retire, whatever. It wont make 1 win difference. Myoung is a spare at this point. His defense is so bad and his bat so average that he is near replacement level. What's the big deal.
1. Scenario 1 30%, Scenario 2 20%, Scenario 3 40%, Scenario 4 10%
2. Young and TEX walking things back.
3. Less
4. Wilson (200), Lewis (200), Kirkman (180), Hunter (150), Webb (180)
5. Since the primise is to add him to the roster ... the presumption would be that TEX would offer more money/year than anyone else ... OR since we have an entire season to figure out what the deal will be find another way to attract Pujols through another value premise different from what any other franchise can offer him. TEX will not win a money duel. (Personally, I believe TEX needs to focus on and develop from inside and not chase another FA ... and avoid the Pujols craze).
1) 40%, 10%, 48%, 2%
2) DH and rotation situations
3) Hopefully this will be put behind us all, but lower people's perception of MY as a damn god to an extent that if he needs to be dealt in the near future it won't be so tramatic. Or, in worst case, lower his value so that if the rangers try to sign him to another deal in a few years we get him back for pocket change. I think he'll still be a good leader and semi-productive at DH, but I wouldn't hesitate one bit to trade him in a package for Pujols mid season, either.
4) Not even going to guess at this one innings-wise, but I expect all these to be in the rotation at some point in the season: Wilson, Lewis, Hunter, Webb, Holland, Kirkman, and maybe even Bush or that japanese guy. Would be totally amazed if we make it through the season with any fewer than 7 different starters, including at least one acquired via trade mid season.
5) I'd lasso the moon, empty the national treasury, or sacrifice Michael Young to the baseball gods to make this happen. Even if we get him midseason and he signs back with the Cards again, any time with him is a grand slam.
Regarding Pujols FA contract, who are really looking to be the front runners/players in this chase? I mean, Yanks have Tex, Bsox are set... I can see the Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, and Angels maybe, but surely most of the big teams seem to be set at 1st already? And he's not in a place to start DHing just yet... Can you imagine an infield with Pujols, Beltre, Andrus, and Kinsler?!
@ diznpeewee:
Herems my metric: 1B gets more touches than any other non-Catcher position. Yet those touches are of a different type (difficulty-wise) than other positions, as evidenced by the following. Name the last defense-first 1B to be a long-term ML regular? Name the last team to carry a defense-first 1B on the bench forf late innin situations? Name the last Latin prospect described as a 1B with a phenominal glove but a suspect bat? These types of players don't exist for a reason.
diznpeewee, scoob said it pretty well, and as I said above in response to samson, it's more about the relative importance of defense vs. offense. At 1B, defense is less important than up the middle positions where range and throwing are key. Obviously an ideal player is good at both, like Pujols. But to dismiss a bat like Fielder's because his defense isn't that good is to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Moreland's defense may or may not be good at 1B, we don't really know. But you would not hesitate to upgrade the bat there no matter what, if the price is right.
If the Rangers decided to make a deal for a 1B, this season or next winter, defense is less of a consideration than it would be if there were pursuing a CF or SS. Yes, we do have some statistics that estimate the importance of it, but the exact numbers don't change what has been a baseball fact for a century. 1B are sluggers, generally speaking, the glove is a bonus there. A player that truly cannot handle even 1B defense will quickly be relegated to DH in the major leagues.
1. 79& 2. 0% 3. 21% 4.0%
2. Brandon Webb's health status
3. Opinion of him will stay the same whether it is 2006 or 2016... He'll always be a Rangers
4. Colby Lewis 206 in -- CJ Wilson 187 in -- Tommy Hunter 161 in -- Brandon Webb 144 in -- Derek Holland 181 in
5. I wouldnt hesitate giving him 5 years 160 million with vesting options for 6th and 7th year at 27-30 mil a year for final 2 years...
I'm looking forward to seeing how the offense will click with Moreland, Napoli and Beltre in there with the others.
I imagine that if Pujols does hit the FA market, he'll be too expensive for Texas.
"I believe the Rangers have developed some faith in Murphy, and that he's a better answer against righties than MY. If Wash disagrees, however, then MY will probably still get his 140+ starts again this yr, as Joe believes. I'm hopeful the staff evaluates the situation correctly."
Dude in UK,
You can have Murphy against at least 80 percent of RHP without cutting deeply into Young's PA's:
He plays 25 with Hamilton in CF
20 when Young sits
12 when Hamilton and Cruz rest
25 when MY plays 2nd and 3rd (15 at 2nd and 10 at 3rd) to rest Kinsler and Beltre
That's 82 games, and if you want a few more for Murphy against LHP you could get them with Napoli at catcher and Young at 1st. You can get Murph in the lineup against RHP without cutting into MY's playing time and the biggest sacrifice is Moreland's lack of at bats against LHP, which I don't have too much of a problem with because you are keeping Young's bat, his depth, and his leadership. That is a small price to pay for all of those benefits.
1) Im sick of this story, he wont be a problem 100%
2) Im ready to hear what pitchers are stepping up. I dont care who it is, I am rooting for Holland to be a star this year he has got the talent. I want to see Webb and see if has that dominant sinker back. Are CJ and Colby ace quality or are they # 2 or 3's. Is Feliz a an ace or the closer? I cant wait to see the Rangers first hand in Round Rock, damn Im ready for some baseball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3) I lost a ton of respect for the guy, I loved the man and I hope he acts like he always has. He probably regrets what he said, I think what he did is something u would expect from a guy like T.O. not Mike
4) CJ 180IP, Colby 195IP, Webb 175IP, Hurley 135IP, Holland 165 IP I think the Rangers replace Hunter if someone like Hurley or Kirkman steps up they have better stuff. Holland is a wild card, I think he has to be great this year for a repeat of last year
5) I would give my left arm for the Rangers to sign Pujols
5. 10/330million
Dude in UK,
Before I thought about it I was worried about Murphy's playing time but I think there are enough opportuntiies to get him in the lineup against RHP. Also, Young being a near every day player does not cut into at bats for Napoli, Moreland, and Murphy that much because we only want Napoli's bat against LHP, Moreland's against RHP, and Murphy's against RHP. You just have a classic 1st base platoon and get Murphy in the lineup in creative ways. Napoli against RHP and Murphy and Moreland against LHP are going to be about the same as MY against RHP. So Scooby's argument about Young's time being cut into by superior hitters is moot.
Bottom line, to keep Young you have to play him near every day otherwise he will obviously be very unhappy (he would have asked for a trade in January if he were told his at bats would have been cut). Playing him every day is a small sacrifice for the benefits of his bat, his depth, and his leadership. If they could trade Young and sign Guerrero, I believe that is what JD wanted, fine, but that ship has sailed because MY said he wanted to stay and there is no replacement for him on the market to add offense and depth.
5. I'd love to see that bat in the line-up with Betlre, Cruz and Hamilton but I don't think the Rangers stand a chance. I'll put my money on the Angels. They were suprisingly quite this offseason and if they don't beat the Rangers out for the top spot in the west this year they will be all in for the best offensive player in the game.
Joe,
Sorry, but I don't just want Napoli vs LHP. He's better than Young vs RHP. And that's based on numbers in a much less hitter-friendly park. Napoli IS going to force his way into the lineup nearly everyday by season's end. Not to mention, if a trade can be made at the deadline for a major bat, virtually all of that new player's ABs need to come out of Young's hide.
Finally, you fail to adress the point that whether Young starts or not, he has no business hitting in the #2 hole.
Not that any of this wil matter once Young is traded. Which he still will be.
Oh, and two more stats. First, in order for Murphy to get a start vsRHP, every time Young plays 2B/3B, all of Young's starts at 2B/3B would have to be vsRHP.
Michael Young's 2010 OPS vsRHP: .739
Andres Balanco (a switch hitter who is better against RHP)'s 2010 OPS vs RHP: .739
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I would rather have Blanco at the plate than Young against RHP. That would be silly. But I think pretty clearly starting Young at 2B/3B makes you worse than starting Blanco at 2B/3B vsRHP once you factor in offende and defense.
Second, in 2010,Young was a .679 OPS hitter away from RBiA. Blanco was a .682 OPS hitter away from RBiA. This is total, not just vsRHP. Add it up, and starting Young over Blanco on the road against a righty at 2B or 3B makes no sense at all.
Sorry Joe, but thems the numbers.
I want to see the experiment with Feliz. Next, the whole staff's progress & step-ups.
Watch Beltre field with a flat glove and Youngs face when he views the real deal @3B.
Watch Moreland take charge @1B. Seeing the face, in his new kitty liter adv contract, as a
cartoon kitten... "Stay fresh, no odor" yeah right.
Young shows up puts on brave face but still pushes for a trade.
Wilson, Lewis, Hunter, Holland, Kirkman maybe, just maybe Webb
Pujols, well thats a tough one. Considering he will demand at least 10/280 thats a number that only American League teams can swallow, mainly larger market clubs like New York, Boston, Chicago, LA and yes Texas. Do to the term of the contract who ever signs him will have to be able to play him at DH eventually. Lets look at those teams: NY- Texiera plays first and they are saddles with AROD's contract, but dont put it past them. Boston - Just signed Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. W/Sox - Just signed Konerko and Dunn to contracts. That leaves Texas with a whole at first base and possibly DH with the possible trading of Young. So with the contracts of Wilson leaving and Hamilton signed for two years (makes him easier to trade for young prospects) So is it possible for Texas to sign Albert Pujols I would say yes.
Pujols? No thanks. Grab two big arms @ASB and set-up for keepiing at least one.
That's where the focus & moo-la should go. I'm tired of the MY fiasco- Play Ball.
Pitching pitching and...
I've been thinking about Pujols all day. Here's my offer:
9/$185m with $40m in bonus money, and a front-loaded deal. Basically, it's 5/$125m ($25m per year) followed by 4/$60m ($15m per year, with a $10m bonus available in each of those 4 years if he wins a Silver Slugger award or finishes top-3 in MVP voting, i.e. he's still producing at current levels).
OPS against RHP for Napoli last year was about .700
for Young it was about .740
So, Scooby, How is Napoli better against RHP than Young? I realize I might be blind or reading the stats wrong but please educate me on this one. Really, let me know why you think that Mike is better than the other Mike against RHP because I don't see it.
For someone touting the numbers I hope you will give some to support your statements. I think Dave H once said Napoli had a somewhat better RC number than MY against RHP? Is that what you were referring to because OPS certainly does not support your statements?
Also, I never said that these guys were not on par with or even slightly better than MY against RHP. I just think that in order to keep Young you have to play Young, and the small increased production that you might get out of Napoli, Moreland, and Murphy against RH, LH, and Left Handed pitching respectively does not outweigh the benefit of keeping Young for his depth and his leadership.
The same goes for your arguments about Blanco.
You don't play Blanco in place of MY not least because of his inferior bat but perhaps more because of the same reason you are keeping Young in the first place instead of trading him: it is more valuable for you to get MY his at bats and to please him so that you can keep his depth and his leadership because with those two things you are a better overall team.
Pujols? we dont need him......
that $$$ will buy 2 SP's......
and that will win a WS...
you guys are just dreaming..
@Scooby and Joe,
There is room on the team for Murphy, Napoli, MM, and Mikey Baseball to get about 500 PAs apiece, though I like having the LHBs in there most days, so you can tell my preference is to get David and Mitch a bigger share of starts.
Reality says with injury concerns and rest requirements, you'd like to have them all remain on the roster. The team really struggled last yr when our regulars were out. I want Young traded as much as anybody, but the truth is he has some real value in the case of an extended DL stint by just about any of our regulars, which is likely.
MY is one of the better hitters on the team against southpaws, and he and Nap would bump Murphy and Mitch out of the lineup almost every time on days the other team starts a LHP. Against RHPs, however, I don't want either Mike in the lineup. Start Ham, Nellie, and Borbon, with David at DH or playing one of the corners when someone needs to rest his legs.
Mikey is going to have to accept a lesser role to really be valuable. The value of the DH role could increase if we could get Hamilton, Cruz, Kinsler, and Beltre off their feet a little more frequently. If they all take some swings as DHs against RHPs, then MY is going to need to sit about 40-50 games, with some pinch hitting opportunities. If he can't handle that, and the Rangers cave, they are probably giving up at least a win or two over the season. And they are also not going to be very fresh heading into the post season.
Borbon is the wild card, IMO. Wash sat him almost everyday late in the season and the playoffs. If he can't handle RHPs, he's probably not going to allow the team to use Murphy at DH as much as I'd like to see. MY will benefit most if Julio is a complete bust.