OT - I'm bored, Part Pangos & Bell!

[pixburgher66]

A's giving Billy Butler $30M is...weird. For one of the noted "advanced metrics" teams, he's kinda outside of their mold. Not that this is a bad thing, but...that's a lot of money for a guy who is very limited. Not an athlete, can't really play him in the field, and even some of the better batting stats don't flatter him.

 

[Darkstone42]

The Bucs obviously need to upgrade at other positions, particularly starting pitcher and first base, to cover the loss of Russ Martin, but a few savvy moves, and this team should be better than they were last year. Plus, we have Elias Diaz just about ready to break into the Majors, decent bat lately, and he's always been a very good defensive catcher. Mid-season, he could be up and contributing in a positive way.

A's giving Billy Butler $30M is...weird. For one of the noted "advanced metrics" teams, he's kinda outside of their mold. Not that this is a bad thing, but...that's a lot of money for a guy who is very limited. Not an athlete, can't really play him in the field, and even some of the better batting stats don't flatter him.

Butler's interesting. He's one-dimensional, but he hits the ball on a line consistently, and aside from last year draws a ton of walks. Basically, he's pretty good at avoiding outs, which makes him valuable offensively. And hitters like Butler (singles and doubles, basically) are the ones best suited to that atrocity of a ballpark in Oakland, so he profiles better there than, for example, a right handed home run guy, whose value would be disproportionately suppressed by the park.

 

[puckhead]

these guys have been watching too much Bugs Bunny

 

[evolver115]

I hope they enjoy the 18-loss A.J. Burnett

I bet you AJ wins more games in 2015 than he loses. He had a 4.95 ERA in 2014, but his xFIP was 3.95. That means he was unlucky fairly often, and if he pitches at that same rate as last season, there is likely a regression to the mean for his ERA. Working with Searage will also help reduce his walk rate, which bloated up in his time with phillie. Another thing is the Bucs play better defense as a team than what the phils do. AJ is a fly ball pitcher, but his best pitch, the knuckle-curve, also induces a lot of ground balls. He will benefit from playing in PNC park again with the deep left field dimensions, and the 21 foot high wall in right. He isn't going to compete for a Cy Young, but he'll be a reliable #3 in the rotation and will give the Bucs 6 innings per start. He'll be fine.

 

[Cobiemonster]

 

[pixburgher66]

If the Red Sox want to move some pieces now that they've signed Hanley and the Panda...I'll take Mike Napoli, please and thanks.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Hanley, Panda and possibly Lester as well? Kind of wish the Mets had waited on getting an outfielder. I suppose they could still use a 4th outfielder since Cuddyer's health isn't to be trusted and he'll probably get a decent amount games at first.

 

[Darkstone42]

If the Red Sox want to move some pieces now that they've signed Hanley and the Panda...I'll take Mike Napoli, please and thanks.

Unless they can talk one of Panda or Hanley into playing first base, Napoli isn't going to be available.

So basically, Napoli isn't going to be available.

I imagine they'll dangle Cespedes and/or Boegarts, though.

 

[pixburgher66]

Unless they can talk one of Panda or Hanley into playing first base, Napoli isn't going to be available.

So basically, Napoli isn't going to be available.

I imagine they'll dangle Cespedes and/or Boegarts, though.

I know, but I want a 1B so I'm leaving logic to others. There's a lot of OF available on the market and no freaking 1Bs. And, I mean, they're putting Hanley in LF where he's never played (professionally), so who knows, right?!? I think they made some silly decisions today, btw. They'll probably move some young talent for another SP (Hamels?), and it probably won't matter much because they have deep pockets and who cares if they spend money poorly, right? *infinite bitterness*

 

[Darkstone42]

I know, but I want a 1B so I'm leaving logic to others. There's a lot of OF available on the market and no freaking 1Bs. And, I mean, they're putting Hanley in LF where he's never played (professionally), so who knows, right?!? I think they made some silly decisions today, btw. They'll probably move some young talent for another SP (Hamels?), and it probably won't matter much because they have deep pockets and who cares if they spend money poorly, right? *infinite bitterness*

If they put Hanley at short, they're going to be terrible defensively on the left side. Pablo doesn't have range, and Hanley's got inconsistent hands (and not great range, really). Hitting ground balls to the left side will be a really easy way for opposing teams to get hits.

But that lineup. Man, that lineup will be good.

 

[Cobiemonster]

 

[dash]

The Jays Canadian steroid boy is going to Oakland with some scrubs and Josh Donaldson is coming to Toranna.

 

[DevilishWon]

dash Cammalleri had 2 tonight and 2 or 3 near misses. one of Lou's better pick ups in recent years

 

[dash]

dash Cammalleri had 2 tonight and 2 or 3 near misses. one of Lou's better pick ups in recent years

The Flames tried to re-sign him DW, but he didn't want to be part of a re-build (can't say I blame him). I like Squidy and hope he continues to produce for New Joisey.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

The Jays Canadian steroid boy is going to Oakland with some scrubs and Josh Donaldson is coming to Toranna.

18 year old now former vancouver c's ss Franklin barreto is no scrub.

He'll be good

About those counting stats, as of right now, Barreto leads the Northwest League in RBIs with 61, doubles with 23, runs scored with 63 and hits with 88. He’s also tied for second with 4 triples, third in stolen bases with 28 (at an excellent 87.5% success rate), and has six home runs, which puts him in the top 10 of that category.

 

[dash]

I should have used minor league player instead of scrub, but I was lazy.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

[ame="[MEDIA=twitter]538534420622622720[/MEDIA]"][/ame]

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I should have used minor league player instead of scrub, but I was lazy.

The other 2 might be scrubs lol

But from the c's games i went to this year, you could tell barreto willbe a player

 

[pixburgher66]

I don't really know what the A's plan was this season other than "let's change a bunch of things!" Are they spending money, trading away assets, or acquiring assets? Maybe this was in response to the fact that they moved pretty much their entire farm system last season in trades. Then I just circle back to the Butler deal, which I'm still not a fan of, but that's probably mostly because I'm an NL fan who can't grasp the concept of paying a guy like that for just the bat.

 

[forty_three]

Nelson Cruz agrees to deal with Seattle Mariners - ESPN