2005 MLB Thread

[Miami Vice]

Doc Halladay was the best I have ever seen him today.

He tossed a 2 hit complete game shut out against the Twins for those who missed it.

He is All-Star bound, but I doubt if any other Jays will make it. Maybe Hillenbrand if he is still in the top 5 in batting.

Edited May 30, 2005 by Miami Vice

[naiwf]

Of the two former young Marlins SP, it's looking more and more like the Red Sox ended up signing the right one. Pavano has been a lot worse then what his ERA suggests. Opponents are hitting .300 off the man.....terrible for a guy who was supposed to be the cream of the crop. Red Sox knocked him around today. 5-0 in the early going.

Edit: 12-0......17 hits for the Red Sox.

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Did Clement pitch for the Marlins? Heh, never knew that...

Anyway, I think we need to score 10 runs tonight to win. David Wells has sucked so far this year, and it doesn't look like hes going to get any better.

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[Green Demon]

Wow the A's are really doing pretty bad this year, I mean I knew that they lost good starters but I thought that they would do better then they are doing right now. I am glad that the Indians were able to sweep them today. The team looks to have turned it around recently with 4 wins in the last 5 or so. There still got alot of games to make up against the White sox's but there is still alot of season to be played. Aaron Boone needs to start hitting, or he needs to sit some games on the pine since right now he is sucking and he is doing pretty bad on the field too. I went to the game thursday and he bobbled almost every ball that went his way. I am still surprised at the Indians bullpen, they are one of the best in the AL if not the ML right now, a big turnaround from last year.

[Lowerdeck]

Anyway, I think we need to score 10 runs tonight to win. David Wells has sucked so far this year, and it doesn't look like hes going to get any better.

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Want to eat some crow?

Seriously, I didn't have much hope in Wells. But last night, he did really good. Maybe it's the fact him and Renteria switched numbers that things are going good for both of them.

[sahyder1]

Angels: Top draft pick Weaver signs deadline deal

by Fanball Staff - Fanball.com

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

News

The Angels reached an agreement with their 2004 first round pick, Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver right before Monday's deadline. "It has taken a while, but finally, at the deadline, we got a deal done with Jered Weaver," general manager Bill Stoneman said. The younger brother of Dodgers pticher Jeff Weaver, Jered figures to move through the minor league system quickly, although the club won't rush his development.

Views

The main reason why Weaver went unsigned until the last minute, was because he was represented by arguably the toughest agent in sports to deal with, in Scott Boras. In last year's draft, he was considered by many experts to be the pitcher who was closest to being major league ready, but he slid to the Angels at 12 because of the fear of whether or not he was signable. Don't be surprised if Weaver is at the upper levels of the minors by the end of the season. If he's in shape, it isn't a far fetched assumption.

Edited May 31, 2005 by sahyder1

[oldskool]

Looks like 11 teams were right about him being tough to sign, though.

[Ron]

Kenny Rogers wins YET again tonight, now 7-2 on the season, and has won his past 7 starts. Glad I have him on my fantasy team .

Anywho, my Phillies win again too, and are now 2 games under .500. They still suck, but if Utley gets more playing time, I'll be a happy camper.

[Jester of Death]

Drew Signs At Last Minute

James Renwick - Scout.com

May 31, 2005 at 1:24am ET

It was just minutes before the D'Backs would have lost the rights to him, but Stephen Drew signed just before 12:00am Tuesday and officially became a Diamondback.

Stephen Drew, the Diamondbacks 2004 first round pick (15th overall) out of Florida State University, agreed to terms with the Diamondbacks just minutes before the Tuesday 12:00am EST deadline.  If he had not signed the Diamondbacks would have lost the rights to Drew and he would have reentered the draft.

Drew, who's older brothers are outfielder J.D. Drew of the Dodgers and Tim Drew , a pitcher in the Braves organization, was regarded by many to be the best position player in the 2004 draft, but fell to the 15th pick because many teams feared his agent, Scott Boras, would make it too expensive to sign him.

JD Drew was the second pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1997 draft, and like Stephen, was represented by Boras.  The agent asked Philadelphia for an unheard of $11 million contract, and when the Phillies refused, he chose to play the rest of the '97 season in the Independent League, wait, and then reenter the draft in 1998.

He was selected the next season by the Cardinals, who paid $8.5 million for a four year contract with Drew, and baseball as a whole realized that Boras wasn't kidding.

The San Diego Padres were expected to take Stephen Drew with the number one overall pick in 2004, but late in the process decided it was better to take a chance on the top ranked high school player, Matt Bush .  It wasn't a matter of talent, it was a matter of getting the youngest Drew signed.  After the Padres passed there was so much trepidation as to whether or not Drew would sign that 13 other teams passed on him.

"It was a no brainer," Diamondbacks GM Joe Garagiola Jr. said after Drew's selection with the 15th pick, "he was by far the best player on the board."

Boras and Drew were apparently unaffected by Drew's drop to #15.  Reports have varied as to exactly how much Boras was asking for, but many reports had Drew asking for a deal similar to the one that the Texas Rangers gave to Mark Teixeira in 2001.  That deal had a $4 million dollar signing bonus and guaranteed Teixeira $9.5 million.

Some reports had the Boras camp and former Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo on the same page as far as what it would take to sign Drew, but when Colangelo was removed in December the issue of signing Drew suddenly became more complicated.

It appeared the worst fears of those 14 teams that passed on Drew might be coming to fruition as Drew joined the Independent League Camden Riversharks in May.  Drew was leading the Independent League in batting average, hitting over .400, prior to signing.

Ultimately, it got done.  Just minutes before the deadline the D'Backs signed Drew to a Major League contract that included a $4 million signing bonus and guaranteed Drew $5.5 million.  The contract reportedly also offers Drew up to $2 million in 'incentives' which are likely tied to games played and service time in the Major Leagues.  He will likely report to Double-A Tennessee by the end of the week.

It has been rumored that Drew, a shortstop as FSU, could be moved to center field immediately upon signing, something that Diamondbacks officials were hesitant to comment about until Drew was signed.

[oldskool]

Scott Boras is really coming off as a prick, having two top talents drop down 10+ draft spots because teams are (rightfully) assuming he'll make them tough to sign.

But he brought Beltran to the Mets, so I forgive him.

[naiwf]

Nice to see Randy Johnson couldn't handle those hard hitting sluggers on the Royals, BWAHAHAHAHA. 5-4 with a 3.92 ERA doesn't sound nearly as bad as he's pitched thus far in the season. I'm just hoping he ends up like 13-10 just so Steinbrenner can lose his mind.

[sahyder1]

The mighty Royals sweep a 3 game set from the lowly New York Yankees.

.....what is this....the 80s?

[jonnycomelately]

Carl Pavano looks lost out there. Not being a Yankees fan I revel in such facts but damn he's giving up bombs to Terrence Long. And hearing the players on the radio after the game, I've never heard a recent Yankees team more down. Granted they are still over .500 but they are the Yankees and their pitching is horrible. And I am not going overboard with the word horrible as they are 0-18 when they score less than 4 runs. Any day the offense gets shut down, it's over.

And as a Dodgers fan, I know it's going to be a long season when Gagne walks two guys in one inning and can't get the 1-2-3 like he used to.

[ChuBalso]

The mighty Royals sweep a 3 game set from the lowly New York Yankees.

.....what is this....the 80s?

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[Jester of Death]

Torre: 'George isn't a very patient man'

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS -- Looking for answers after a historic sweep at the hands of the worst team in baseball, an upset George Steinbrenner held a conference call Friday with New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Torre.

Torre said it has become an increasingly rare occurrence in recent seasons for The Boss to include him in such discussions, but this was a rare situation.

"It's happened a number of times, but not in recent times," Torre said Friday before the Yankees opened a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. "This was sticking to why we're having a tough time. All of the same questions I ask myself.

"He was unhappy. If I tried to tell you anything other than that, you'd be questioning if I was telling you the truth, and I'm not going to lie to you," Torre added.

New York (27-26) has lost five games in a row, including an embarrassing three-game sweep by the lowly Kansas City Royals, just the third time in the Yankees' storied history that they've been swept in three games by a team with the worst record in the majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Steinbrenner participated on the call from Florida, with Torre and Cashman in Minneapolis.

Torre and Cashman characterized the call as a "state of the team" discussion and said no decisions were made at the conclusion.

"I didn't feel any better because we were talking about all the bad things that have happened," Torre said. "We talked about individuals and my feeling that the pitching is really the key for us. Why we're not hitting is everybody's mystery. It's something you just have to fight your way out of. We didn't solve anything."

Cashman said he holds regular discussions with Steinbrenner about the team but agreed it was rare for Torre to be included.

"It was good for him to hear from Joe," Cashman said. "[steinbrenner] is no less happy than anyone else here."

Particularly Torre, who held a closed-door meeting Wednesday after the $200 million Yankees dropped their second game in a row to the Royals.

Torre said he takes much of the responsibility for the team's recent struggles and was completely befuddled by the veteran group's seemingly fragile confidence.

"I'm accountable," Torre said. "I'm the manager and I'm in charge. This obviously is something that I need to find an answer for. It's up to me to find a way to make this thing start working again."

The demanding Steinbrenner was obviously upset after watching the team with the highest payroll in baseball get swept by a ragtag group of journeymen and youngsters in Kansas City.

"He's put up a lot of money to put this kind of a ballclub in our dugout," Torre said. "This isn't the results that should be accompanying that."

As soon as he heard about the call, Torre knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. Torre has gotten used to outbursts from Steinbrenner during his 10 years in New York. When the Yankees are winning, their owner wants them to win bigger; when they are losing, look out.

"It's a long season and George isn't a very patient man and we understand that," Torre said. "In dealing with George, when you lose and you're supposed to be winning, it's not a happy time. But when you win, he's constantly driving you to improve, so the tone doesn't change much."

Torre did say he hoped Steinbrenner, who has a reputation for firing employees in a heartbeat, would exercise a little bit of restraint and keep his staff intact while it tries to right the ship.

"We hope we can continue as far as work-wise," Torre said. "Results-wise, we want to change that."

No timelines were set, no ultimatums issued. Just a stern reminder that the Yankees are held to a higher standard.

"A week ago, we had won 16 of 18 and now we've lost five straight," Cashman said. "Trying to make sense of this tough game of baseball isn't always easy. ... Everyone is doing everything they possibly can to turn things around.

Edited June 4, 2005 by Jester of Death

[Miami Vice]

So has anyone heard any trade rumours as of late? I know it's a little early for stuff like that but I've heard few things whispered up here in Jays land.

Some of the media believes this is the year that the team has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs with both the Yankees and Sox's playing below their normal abilities. With that in mind several rumours were discussed today on radio.

The most intriguing one was Mike Piazza coming to T.O. Anyone who has kept tabs on this team knows they are desperate for a catcher. Now, don't get me wrong, Gregg Zaun has played very, very well but in reality the Jays have gotten way more out of him then anyone expected. And more importantly he isn't going to be able to keep this up. The team lacks depth behind the plate and Piazza is said to be a good fit since when he takes days off from catching he can DH instead of being forced to 1B of the bench.

Another one talked about was Roger Clemens. Unfortunately none of the media could ever see Clemens’s o.king the trade to Toronto even if they were contending.

So does anyone else have anything?

[Lowerdeck]

Better Toronto than the Yankees for anyone getting dealt.

With Piazza in the AL though, you think he'd end up as the C or the DH?

Clemens back to Toronto? I doubt it.

[Jester of Death]

Better Toronto than the Yankees for anyone getting dealt. 

With Piazza in the AL though, you think he'd end up as the C or the DH?

Clemens back to Toronto?  I doubt it.

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Edited June 4, 2005 by Jester of Death

[Lowerdeck]

I read in some Yahoo article that Steinbrenner said the Yankees are letting down New York.

Yeah... I love watching this. Lost 6 in a row, 4th place, .500 overall. Diehard fans must be furious with Steinbrenner. Time to start picking on casual fans.

[Cole]

Jays 3 over now...I'm happy with that.

Just watching the LAA vs. Bos game right now on Fox, for some reason my local Sports Net East has been covering this series and they usually only do Sunday Night and Jays baseball during the regular season so it's been nice for a change.

Colon doesn't seem to sharp today, how's he been this year?

[reyrey619]

I'm loving the demise of the Yankees again. The fact that they're treading water in June is a dream come true. But, they are the Yankees, and could easily come back. But, I don't see them getting a big starting pitcher, espically with rumors going around that Clemens wants to go to the Rangers.