2011 MLB Season

[naiwf]

Where are the Natinals getting all their money from? The Expos couldn't afford to pay anybody and now these guys are wasting $120+ million on overrated 30 somethings like Edge.

[gunnar hendershow]

Ted Lerner is a very rich man. That's where the Nats are getting all this money from.

[HailtotheYo]

Yeah, the Expos =/= the Nationals, at all.

Lerner has that disease, "money out the wazoo."

[sahyder1]

Where are the Natinals getting all their money from? The Expos couldn't afford to pay anybody and now these guys are wasting $120+ million on overrated 30 somethings like Edge.

It's not the same ownership.

[naiwf]

I know that someone purchased the Nats from MLB, it's just odd to see a franchise that never spent money now morph into big spenders.

[The Buscher]

That's true. But I just don't see them being willing to spend it, even on Pujols.

Another Mets related note, if K-Rod finishes 54 games next season his contract gets guaranteed for 2012 at $17.5 million. Thanks Omar! Therefore, expect to see him as a set-up man in certain situations and other guys pitching the 9th in meaningless games as the Mets look to buy him out at the end of the season.

EDIT: A-Rod plays for the Yankees right? Therefore they were in on the bidding which is the point I'm making. They won't be in it for Pujols. So he can either choose to play for the Cubs or Cards since every other high payroll team is out of the mix. Neither one of those teams should go anywhere near $300 million. Unless they decide to go Texas/A-Rod contract stupid there's no need to outbid the one other team by that much.

Upon further review it may just be 54 appearances total for K-Rod, but in either case the Mets won't use him as much which means they'll rely on other guys to do the heavy lifting to avoid paying him in 2012.

K-Rod would most likely file, and win, a grievance if the Mets were obviously avoiding using him when he would have been used otherwise. All he would need to do is argue that the option was a huge reason for him signing with the Mets to begin with. 54 games finished not only means saves, but any game in which they won where he was the last pitcher. If it's, say, a tie game at home - teams usually bring in their closer. If K-Rod pitched the 9th and the Mets then won in the bottom of the 9th, it counts as a games finished.

In that instance, 54 isn't that much...and honestly I thought he needed fewer than that. I'd be surprised if it didn't vest. It'll suck paying that absurd amount to a closer but at least K-Rod is decent and they weren't going to spend all of the money they are freeing up in one off-season anyway.

[bill_da_bill]

I’m going off memory here, but I think I read somewhere that the Nationals owner is the richest owner in baseball.

[gunnar hendershow]

I’m going off memory here, but I think I read somewhere that the Nationals owner is the richest owner in baseball.

I'm fairly certain he is since Billionaire Ted got pushed out of Atlanta awhile back. The Super Steinbrenner Bros. are filthy rich too, but that money almost all comes from the profits made from owning the team.

[Ananas]

Enrique Rojas of ESPN reporting that the Jays are going to sign Jose Bautista to a 5 year, 65 million dollar extension. I'll link to Dave Cameron's write-up because I think it's bang-on.

[gunnar hendershow]

That doesn't come at too steep a price. Last year wasn't a fluke year, though obviously he won't have another season as productive. And the contract, if the situation arises, is definitely tradeable.

[naiwf]

Miggy got caught with another DUI today. I hope the guy gets his act together because he's a potential HOFer in the making, and it always sucks to see a guy with a lot of potential throw his career away due to an addiction. As a fan of the Mets and seeing what happened to guys like Straw and Doc, it bugs me whenever a guy's demons derail his career.

[gunnar hendershow]

I don't know where the positive influences for Cabrera are going to come from, but I hope he has some supports that really do help him overcome his addiction.

That said, drinking scotch will talking to the police is pretty awesome.

[bill_da_bill]

This guy baffles me man. I really thought he had figured it out after last season, but it certainly doesn't look like it.

He blew a fucking .26, thats ridiculous! And of course pulled the whole, "do you know who I am?" card on the cops. He's one of if not the most purely talented guys in baseball and he just can't get straight man.

Someone on that team has to step up and sort this dude out. There are a lot of Venezuelans on the team and the word is most of them are pretty close, especially Cabrera and Carlos Guillen. Someone has to help get this guy straightened out before he does waste all of this talent.

And in my opinion, even as a Tigers fan, Cabrera should be suspended by the league or the team for at least 5 games for this.

[gunnar hendershow]

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6144975

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Summary: Hank Steinbrenner basically convinces the owners of small market teams that he doesn't want them to be successful. He and his brother are idiots, somewhere their dad is rolling his grave.

[naiwf]

Adam Wainwright may have blown out his elbow. St. Louis had better hope that it's not as serious an injury as they think it could be.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah the reports are not sounding too good right now. Bad week for St. Louis fans.

[sahyder1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6144975

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Summary: Hank Steinbrenner basically convinces the owners of small market teams that he doesn't want them to be successful. He and his brother are idiots, somewhere their dad is rolling his grave.

Hank is a moron. He got the idiot gene from George. Hal is much more reasonable.

[Panni]

Does anybody else get the feeling that the NL Central is looking more and more like Milwaukee Brewers for the taking, especially now that Wainwright is down for the year? If Greinke pitches like an ace, which I think he will, Gollardo has another solid year, and the lineup produces like it should, I think we may see the Brewers head all the way to the NLCS.

Edited February 23, 2011 by Panni89

[Toe]

Does anybody else get the feeling that the NL Central is looking more and more like Milwaukee Brewers for the taking, especially now that Wainwright is down for the year? If Greinke pitches like an ace, which I think he will, Gollardo has another solid year, and the lineup produces like it should, I think we may see the Brewers head all the way to the NLCS.

I like the Reds in the Central, although it will now be very close between them and the Cardinals and Brewers.

[naiwf]

Wainwright needs Tommy John surgery. I don't know if this makes the Cardinals more or less likely to sign Pujols.