2011-12 MLB Offseason Thread

[Ananas]

Well at least you know the Mets won't be blowing any wins this year!

It's funny because those two combined for 9 of the Jays 25 blown saves last year.

Why don't they just have Reyes change positions?

Because Hanley is a bad shortstop. And has always been a bad shortstop.

[Your Mom]

Pujols to the Angels. 10 years 250 million. Glad to be rid of him. Go Cubbies!

[Meacon Keaton]

I saw that coming as soon as I heard they were in the chase.

[gunnar hendershow]

Huge signing for them, I definitely thought he was staying in St. Louis.

[naiwf]

That contract will be an anchor in about 4 or 5 years time. So look for Pujols on the Yankees in 2016 or 2017 at the latest

[naiwf]

Apparently, the Angels just signed CJ Wilson too - 5 yrs/$77.5 million.

[Meacon Keaton]

Hope Texas enjoyed their back-to-back trips to the Series while it lasted...

[Panni]

Wow! The Angels have just turned themselves into big-time favorites in the AL. Haren-Weaver-CJ Wilson is a great start to a rotation. Then they have Pujols batting around guys like Hunter, Mark Trumbo, and others. That's a great team.

[gunnar hendershow]

We all thought the same thing about Boston last year. Maybe Wilson flops, maybe Pujols doesn't hit as well in the AL, there's a lot of factors in there for the Angels. But definitely a great offseason for them if it all works out.

[Panni]

I'm a Yankee fan, but in recent years I've come to really take a liking to the Mets as well. What do you guys think of a swap between the two teams for Johan.

It just doesn't seem like the Mets are realistically built to win now, and the Yankees can give them some young chips. The Yankees have a few good catching prospects, a position the Mets seem to have a need for, as well as good pitching prospects. I doubt Mets fans would like it, but I think it would make sense.

[gunnar hendershow]

Mets are going nowhere, might as well start a legitimate youth movement instead of never fully rebuilding and thus being stuck in purgatory for years.

[DMN in the House]

Smart by the Angels to try and make a move on the LA market with all the uncertainty with the Dodgers (and make no mistake, thats part of the thought process here). Too bad it won't work. Yeah, they might win the Series, but they'll still be a niche team.

[gunnar hendershow]

LA's big enough for 2 teams and I think they'll be perfectly fine playing the Mets role in that city. Maybe with more success though. It will always be about the Dodgers in LA, but the Angels will do just fine.

[DMN in the House]

I've never been to NY, but I have to assume the Mets have a larger fanbase than the Angels. Really, no one outside of Orange County cares about them.

[gunnar hendershow]

Okay then the Mets definitely do have a bigger fanbase.

[sahyder1]

As an Angels fan I like the Pujols signing but not completely sold on the Wilson move. Definitely like it a lot better in the 77.5 million price range then the 100+ that was originally being reported he would go for but I would have liked them making a play for Reyes instead. Yes in 4-5 years it probably will seem like too much money but at the time he will be reaching in to the upper echelon of HR numbers. If nothing with him and PED comes out (which I have always suspected that it might) the marketing they would get from him alone would be worth the money.

Wow! The Angels have just turned themselves into big-time favorites in the AL. Haren-Weaver-CJ Wilson is a great start to a rotation. Then they have Pujols batting around guys like Hunter, Mark Trumbo, and others. That's a great team.

Don't forget Santana either.

Edited December 9, 2011 by sahyder1

[DMN in the House]

Okay then the Mets definitely do have a bigger fanbase.

Yeah, LA is totally blue. Don't get me wrong, the Angels fanbase is growing, but it's mostly an OC thing. It's kinda hard to explain, but there's a big divide, culturally, between Los Angeles and OC, and the fanbases are the same way.

[Damian WayLNKe]

Anyone know if there is a way where I can check the number of players (or possibly a list) that played in a ball park over the course of a set number of seasons? I tried Baseball Reference, but they don't seem to have anything for the stadiums themselves.

[The Buscher]

Bad job by the so called "best fans in baseball". Many of them are calling for Pujols to never have his number retired, never have a statue next to Musial, etc. and they act as though he stabbed St. Louis in the back. How quickly they forget that Pujols put up 11 amazing years with 3 MVP Awards and 2 World Series titles. I'd like to see any of them turn down a quarter of a billion dollars. It's not like he's moving to LA for just an extra $2-3 million...the $34 million difference is significant.

Everybody seems to think Pujols is going to be garbage halfway through his contract, but I'm not sold on that notion. I wouldn't be shocked if he has another 7-8 excellent years in him. Hank Aaron didn't start trailing off until 40, and I can see Pujols being of that same general mold. The guy just can flat out hit.

[gunnar hendershow]

The bigger question for me is not when Pujols will start trailing off but at what point does LA consider unloading him for a slew of prospects? His value presumably could still be high in 6 years and if that's the case, and obviously if LA is aging as they likely will be at that time, do you call the Yankees or Sox about taking him for the last couple of productive years he'll have in exchange for security at multiple positions for the next decade?

And in a couple of years St. Louis fans won't be so bitter about Pujols leaving. They've got Holliday to build around now and when it comes time for him to retire the Cardinals will put his number next to Musial.