Hot Stove Thread

I've always thought Melky was just waiting to blossom; he's been the one Yankee I enjoy watching.

That said, I keep wondering what everyone sees in Ellsbury. To me, he comes off like a Johnny Damon with less bat and speed, and an only slightly better arm.

 

Not sure what is wrong with that. Sounds like a guy worth getting. I'm not sure Jacoby is going to hit 24 HRs in a year, but he might match/better Damon's other offensive numbers. He's at least as fast, too.

 

Rumblings:
Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino to Cleveland for Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, and Adam Miller.

 

That's better than the previous rumors, especially given that the Pirates would probably love to ship Paulino out of town. Shoppach is a nice upgrade and still fairly young. Gutierrez showed some flashes last year and Miller is a big-time prospect.

I'd rather see them wait and see if Bay returns to form, but this wouldn't be awful.

 

Ugh....

Nothing like rebuilding again. Giving up on 2008 as the snow falls in 2007.

I would wait until may or June when the Bucs are dead in the water and hopefully Jason will be having a better season . He should merit a top-25 prospect at least, and I do not think Cleveland is giving up a ton for him. I could be wrong on that, though.

 

Seemingly every time Team Sport Fishing makes a deal, they end up smelling like a rose. As despicable as it might be to blow it up and start over every couple years, they acquire top-flight minor league prospects who become good major leaguers.

 

The Marlins payroll next season is likely to be about $15-16 million...for the entrie fucking team!
That's less than A-Rod, Jeter, Mussina, Giambi, Beltran, Manny et al each will make. And here's a little something to tell you how despicable Marlins ownership really is:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/baseball/marlins/sfl-flsphydespec05sbdec05,0,2222915.column

 

That's a real good read.

 

Devil, riddle me this: Honestly, how do Pirates fans, you specifically, still root for Pittsburgh? The Pirates have 15 straight losing seasons and haven't sniffed 80 wins since a 79-83 campaign in 1997. Even worse, they've made almost no effort at getting better.

I'd like to tell you I'd still root for the Mets after 15 consecutive awful seasons, and I think I would. But that answer might change if I saw top prospect after top prospect get shuffled off around the league. I can take a Scott Kazmir or Lastings Milledge trade; you never really know if they're going to pan out. But if the Mets decided to get rid of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and John Maine along with any hope of competing year after year -- like Pittsburgh's done with Barry Bonds, Jason Bay (presumably), Jason Kendall (he was good at one time, Cubs fans), Jason Schmidt, Brian Giles and Tim Wakefield -- I'd begin to lose any hope in that franchise.

I've always said I respect the hell out of Pirates fans who still root for that franchise. But I find it hard to believe anyone still has hope. Ever.

 

I'll admit I first thought of spnited when I read this quote:

 

From the people who brought you "We will not negotiate with A-Rod if he opts out."