2014 Offseason Plans Thread Pt2

[gregrey972]

Sure is. Tho my primary interest is John Blake and all the non or very light English speaking reporters asking questions.

Questions asked in Japanese!!!

 

[romeo212000]

i like ubaldo as a pitcher, but I don't like him as a person. Heard he's a gigantic dick and a bad teammate. Plus he looks goofy as hell. I, personally, like ervin santana more than him, but thats just me

If Texas signs Santana we'll all get to watch about 40 homers leave the ballpark this season off of the other teams bat.

 

[jta4437]

Ubaldo will be too expensive and he's a huge nibbler which is annoying.

I don't want Ubaldo b/c of a career 4.0 BB/9

Looking at his career peripherals, there's not a whole lot to like besides maybe the K's and even then its not that great

 

[DT LUNA]

If Texas signs Santana we'll all get to watch about 40 homers leave the ballpark this season off of the other teams bat.

I don't like Garza but prefer over Santana and Ubaldo

 

[jta4437]

If Texas signs Santana we'll all get to watch about 40 homers leave the ballpark this season off of the other teams bat.

Thank you, I've seen Santana struggle far too much in this park for him to be a solid signing

I don't know how anyone who has ever seen Jimenez and Santana pitch even discuss these guys as plausible

The fact they haven't signed should speak volumes about the prohibitive nature of their past numbers and their cost in terms of dollars and draft picks for a potential ticking time bomb of performance

 

[jta4437]

I don't like Garza but prefer over Santana and Ubaldo

Same here, whole lot more to like in his past numbers than either of those guys, doesn't cost a draft pick and is probably cheaper dollars wise too...

I'd consider 4/40 for him if I was the Rangers... the fact that there is no draft pick compensation and he hasn't been picked up yet speaks volumes

I imagine ALL FA pitchers will look to start cashing in with the "losers" of the Tanaka negotiations

 

[TDs3nOut]

Perhaps I'm just bored, but I am a little disappointed that there doesn't seem to be more discussion of potentially signing Tanaka. Never even seen him pitch, of course, so perhaps it's not a good idea to get into what is sure to be an expensive bidding war, but the possibility of perhaps adding another ace SP to complement the Fielder and Choo acquisitions would really signal that the organization is totally committed to fielding the strongest possible squad. I will not be at all surprised if we make a serious run at him.

 

[romeo212000]

Tanaka doesn't look like an ace to me. Seems there's more hype than warranted around this guy, largely driven by Darvish success. I've watched video of him and he looks like he could be good, but certainly not in Darvish class.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Here is an excerpt from the Justice piece that I find intriguing, along with some of his ERA, WHIP, and W/L stats from Japan:

"
First, let's pause to look at this guy and why scouts have been effusive in their praise of him. Again, Tanaka is 25 years old. Even the most cautious evaluators believe he'll be at his best for at least the next three or four years if he stays healthy.
After that, Tanaka will have to make an adjustment to pitching with diminished velocity. But there's every reason to think he can do this. While Tanaka's fastball has been clocked in the 92-95 mph range, he has an array of other pitches.
Tanaka has a nasty splitter and a decent slider. He throws a curveball too, a passable one. But the thing that really excites scouts is that Tanaka seems to know how to utilize all those weapons.
In 212 innings this season, Tanaka walked 32 and struck out 183. Those numbers tell you he has command of the strike zone and that he trusts his stuff."

 

[gregrey972]

we are practicing the art of JD-ism...secret sneak attack out of nowhere to grab a player, but totally silent on the matter until then

 

[TDs3nOut]

we are practicing the art of JD-ism...secret sneak attack out of nowhere to grab a player, but totally silent on the matter until then

That's what I'm thinking too, except the part about what we post affecting what ends up happening!

 

[jta4437]

Perhaps I'm just bored, but I am a little disappointed that there doesn't seem to be more discussion of potentially signing Tanaka. Never even seen him pitch, of course, so perhaps it's not a good idea to get into what is sure to be an expensive bidding war, but the possibility of perhaps adding another ace SP to complement the Fielder and Choo acquisitions would really signal that the organization is totally committed to fielding the strongest possible squad. I will not be at all surprised if we make a serious run at him.

Nothing I've read says he's an ace but he wants ace money, I'll pass in that scenario, everything I've seen implies 2 POTENTIAL but 3-4 REALITY

 

[jta4437]

Here is an excerpt from the Justice piece that I find intriguing, along with some of his ERA, WHIP, and W/L stats from Japan:

"
First, let's pause to look at this guy and why scouts have been effusive in their praise of him. Again, Tanaka is 25 years old. Even the most cautious evaluators believe he'll be at his best for at least the next three or four years if he stays healthy.
After that, Tanaka will have to make an adjustment to pitching with diminished velocity. But there's every reason to think he can do this. While Tanaka's fastball has been clocked in the 92-95 mph range, he has an array of other pitches.
Tanaka has a nasty splitter and a decent slider. He throws a curveball too, a passable one. But the thing that really excites scouts is that Tanaka seems to know how to utilize all those weapons.
In 212 innings this season, Tanaka walked 32 and struck out 183. Those numbers tell you he has command of the strike zone and that he trusts his stuff."

He fails to mention that fastball, while has decent velocity, is flat with little movement

 

[WastinSomeTime]

He's probably going to get a lot more than what he's worth.

That is my main concern

 

[WastinSomeTime]

i like ubaldo as a pitcher, but I don't like him as a person. Heard he's a gigantic dick and a bad teammate. Plus he looks goofy as hell. I, personally, like ervin santana more than him, but thats just me

I did not realize that. Might have to 2nd guess myself on that then. I like Santana but man does that guy give up the gopher balls.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Nothing I've read says he's an ace but he wants ace money, I'll pass in that scenario, everything I've seen implies 2 POTENTIAL but 3-4 REALITY

I definitely agree that he'll cost much more than a team would want to pay its third or fourth best starter. Seems that there is quite a disconnect, though, if he really isn't any better than that and all of the hype surrounding him. Not that such disconnects don't sometimes occur, of course.

 

[Hambombs]

it sure does to a lot of hitters

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I don't like Garza but prefer over Santana and Ubaldo

I saw Ubaldo pitch in Colorado but after Terps comments I have to agree with you and go back to Garza and not lose a draft pick.

 

[donaldson79]

If someone has already posted this, my apologizes.

Masahiro Tanaka rumors: Japanese ace wants $17 million annually - SBNation.com

 

[TDs3nOut]

He fails to mention that fastball, while has decent velocity, is flat with little movement

That can certainly present a problem, but it apparently wasn't much of a problem for him in Japan, since these are some of his numbers his last four seasons there:

2010-155 IP, 11-6, 2.50 ERA, 119 SO, 32 BB, 1.23 WHIP
2011-226 IP, 19-5, 1.27 ERA, 241 SO, 27 BB, 0.87 WHIP
2012-173 IP, 10-4, 1.87 ERA, 169 SO, 19 BB, 1.03 WHIP
2013-212 IP, 24-0, 1.27 ERA, 183 SO, 32 BB, 0.94 WHIP

I'm sure he won't replicate that here, but even coming close to that makes him quite a bit better than pretty much any team's third or fourth starter.