MLB off-season news & notes thread

[Big McLargehuge]

The world does not, in fact, revolve around Chicago.

Harsh words, I know.

 

[bluesfan94]

I heard the Cardinals only signed Pena because the Cubs were good.

 

[hockeykicker]

I heard the Cardinals only signed Pena because the Cubs were good.

dont forget about david price, was gonna sign with the cards but probably was scared of the cubs

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Would make a ton of sense...and they'd have been bidding against themselves in trade talk after a couple of moves made the past couple days.

My expectations of Pedro being tendered went from about 99% to 1% real quickly...if nobody bites you just can't tender someone who has no place on the roster.

I think he meant Henderson Alvarez to OAK.

 

[DougieSmash]

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/158701152/winter-meetings-predictions-heyward-samardzija

Some bold predictions from Castrovince.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I think he meant Henderson Alvarez to OAK.

Works for both

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

I think he meant Henderson Alvarez to OAK.

I wouldn't mind both tbh

 

[hockeykicker]

im betting their goal is to trade him for bullpen help, shift rendon back to third and sign zobrist to play second

 

[TF97]

I feel like Oakland is going to sign Alvarez

I should specify here. I meant Henderson, not Pedro.

 

[bluesfan94]

dont forget about david price, was gonna sign with the cards but probably was scared of the cubs

Who didn't even want him because they're already so good.

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

Erm...wait, how is Bell worse with the glove? .

Check his defensive statistics and listen to Pirate scouts. 16 errors in very little time at first in the minors. As horrible as Alvarez is defensively, Bell, is worse. can he work on it? Sure he can. But Bell is at least an ASG call up at best and even then, the Bucs are getting less production to go along with the spotty defense. Alvarez is what he is, and his offense last year for a part timer was beastly. Sure, hes gonna make a great DH somewhere, glad hes out the C.

As for the Cubs knocking the Pirates into reality, dont think this move doesnt signify a change in direction. The Cubs are only going to get better and the Cards are still the class of the NL. As drastic as letting 25 hrs and 80 rbis just walk, you have to think, with as many times the Pirates have failed recently in the one game playoff, that instead of a huge run producer, which Alvarez was, they are placing defense as a premium. Which would be a good step in the right direction. Small ball and obp worked for the Royals.

I dont recall any Cub fan worrying about the Bucs in the one and done with Arrieta on the mound. Considering the Pirates have been so good for so much longer that isnt right.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

im betting their goal is to trade him for bullpen help, shift rendon back to third and sign zobrist to play second

It's such a shame. He had so much potential and ended up being a vagabond who is (maybe was?) trouble in the clubhouse.

 

[darko]

I miss when Murray and I believe Gootie were the only Cubs fans who came around here (probably 1-2 others i'm forgetting)

Some of the new ones are becoming similar to some of the main board Hawks fans that sprouted up a few years back.

Good times.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[Muston Atthews]

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Check his defensive statistics and listen to Pirate scouts. 16 errors in very little time at first in the minors. As horrible as Alvarez is defensively, Bell, is worse. can he work on it? Sure he can. But Bell is at least an ASG call up at best and even then, the Bucs are getting less production to go along with the spotty defense. Alvarez is what he is, and his offense last year for a part timer was beastly. Sure, hes gonna make a great DH somewhere, glad hes out the C.

As for the Cubs knocking the Pirates into reality, dont think this move doesnt signify a change in direction. The Cubs are only going to get better and the Cards are still the class of the NL. As drastic as letting 25 hrs and 80 rbis just walk, you have to think, with as many times the Pirates have failed recently in the one game playoff, that instead of a huge run producer, which Alvarez was, they are placing defense as a premium. Which would be a good step in the right direction. Small ball and obp worked for the Royals.

I dont recall any Cub fan worrying about the Bucs in the one and done with Arrieta on the mound. Considering the Pirates have been so good for so much longer that isnt right.

Is this guy for real?

Bell had 16 errors at first base...that is atrocious. On the surface. It was his first year playing the position and he showed great progress as the season went on, settling down to averaging an error once every 102 chances in his 32 games in AAA. ..meanwhile Pedro Alvarez averaged an error every 46 chances in the Majors with the numbers pretty well spread out until the team just took him out of the field entirely. Growing pains are to be expected when changing positions. Bell showed improvements while Pedro got worse...it also doesn't help that this came a year after Alvarez had 25 errors at third base out of just 327 chances. Bell's move to first was because of positional depth and not because of necessity, Pedro was moved there because he couldn't stop throwing the ball into the stands...and he responded by forgetting how to field the ball, to say nothing of showing zero positional awareness, constantly going after balls that were the 2B's duty instead of covering the bag.

You don't let 25 HRs and 80 RBIs walk unless they're so bad at the other parts of the game that they completely undo the value of the bat...and Pedro's replacement level WAR the past two seasons shows exactly that. Michael Morse added more value to the Pirates than Pedro did in a fraction of the time by simply not ****ing up every third game.

But please, continue to tell me you know more about the Pirates than I do.

And I don't give a flying **** what a bunch of people who never showed their face on this board until July thought about a one-and-done playoff game. Most Pirates fans fully expected to lose because Arrieta was unstoppable. Pedro going 0 for 3 with 3 Ks is about what any Pirates fan expected.

And for the record, Bell had over 100 more chances fielding at 1B than Pedro did because he wasn't constantly being substituted for in the 7th inning.




The Pirates will need to replace his power somehow, but you won't find a single Pirates fan of sane mind that saw Pedro Alvarez as part of this team come 2016, tendered or not. I expected at least some nibbles on the trade front, but he didn't even garner that.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

It's funny thay the A's beat writer is the first to report Toronto's new gm.

Those teams really are attached at the hip.

 

[robert terwilliger]

i bet the pirates only nt'ed alvarez because the cubs told them to.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

I miss when Murray and I believe Gootie were the only Cubs fans who came around here (probably 1-2 others i'm forgetting)

Some of the new ones are becoming similar to some of the main board Hawks fans that sprouted up a few years back.

Try living here.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Try living here.

I can only imagine.

We're similar in a way (A's and White Sox fans.) The area will always get hyped for the Giants/Cubs when They're good and forget about our teams whether they're good or not.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Check his defensive statistics and listen to Pirate scouts. 16 errors in very little time at first in the minors. As horrible as Alvarez is defensively, Bell, is worse. can he work on it? Sure he can. But Bell is at least an ASG call up at best and even then, the Bucs are getting less production to go along with the spotty defense. Alvarez is what he is, and his offense last year for a part timer was beastly. Sure, hes gonna make a great DH somewhere, glad hes out the C.

As for the Cubs knocking the Pirates into reality, dont think this move doesnt signify a change in direction. The Cubs are only going to get better and the Cards are still the class of the NL. As drastic as letting 25 hrs and 80 rbis just walk, you have to think, with as many times the Pirates have failed recently in the one game playoff, that instead of a huge run producer, which Alvarez was, they are placing defense as a premium. Which would be a good step in the right direction. Small ball and obp worked for the Royals.

I dont recall any Cub fan worrying about the Bucs in the one and done with Arrieta on the mound. Considering the Pirates have been so good for so much longer that isnt right.

HF really needs to implement a competency/sobriety test before allowing someone to post.

 

[robert terwilliger]

man, if all it takes is losing one game in the playoffs to get "knocked into reality" you have to wonder what's been going on on the north side for 107 years.

 

[hockeykicker]

An $18MM average annual value is the “going rate†for Samardzija, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com/CBS Chicago hears (Twitter link). A source confirmed to Levine that at least one team has offered Samardzija $90MM.*

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

man, if all it takes is losing one game in the playoffs to get "knocked into reality" you have to wonder what's been going on on the north side for 107 years.

 

[eyetest is useless]

Lol errors