Stras Coming West?
The Padres are interested in Strasburg. That sounds about right for them. Double down on another “Manny Mistake.” Stras is 31, he’s coming off by far his highest innings total in years, and they’re going to throw 200 million at him, at least. That dude is the poster boy for an arm about to get cut open…..
If they were like one piece away, maybe. You roll the dice with Stras. But San Diego is *manny* pieces away from being a contender.
GM’s need to stop being lazy and signing expensive free agents. It doesn’t work.
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“*manny* pieces away”
Good one! 🙂
“GM’s need to stop being lazy and signing expensive free agents. It doesn’t work.“
Maybe the signing of Manny and Bryce will be the last hurrah of that mindset.
GM’s can’t help themselves. And I know a lot of it just has to do with marketing. Marketing sells tickets it doesn’t win games. Stras is a prime candidate to get injured. That’s not me hating on him, and maybe he will somehow stay healthy. But with a guy making that much dough I’d steer clear because of the risk.
The signing of big name free agents isn’t going anywhere. It is a part of the fabric of the current game/landscape.
And even it it does not work from the player performance perspective, it often does work from a marketing perspective and getting butts into the seat.
Regardless, I just don’t see the big free agent thing going away anytime soon.
Premier players are going to continue being expensive. Nats without Rendon would not be same team; I’m sure they extend Stras. SPs are still calling card for championship teams.
Teams that have won it all lately have all spent a lot of money on pitching–Cubs Stros Sox and Nats all brought in top flight pitching from elsewhere, most of it very expensive.
Downside has been that each team only has 1 ring and winds up paying for extended contract years, usually with lot less success.
Thing about pitching though is that trend seems to be more guys on a staff throwing fewer and fewer individual innings. Stras threw almost 250 this year altogether, most he’s ever done and it seems unlikely he would ever do that again-so by extending him or acquiring him you are paying more for less work.
As rosters increase and teams fiddle around with IL stints bullpen games and the analytic 3rd time around the order stuff, depth in a staff seems to be becoming more important. Complete game has gone way of flip phone.
So many big games have been lost doing that.
The Giants were a prime example of the opposite philosophy. A few castoffs got them respectable. For a while anyway, and they were tied down with 7 bad deals. Yeah, the crowds disappeared when they struggled, but they came back when they got hot.
Just started this fascinating book “K A History of Baseball in10 pitches” by NYT writer Tyler Kepner.
“Tom House believes the traditional SP as we have known the role will soon cease to exist. Future staffs, he predicted, will be made up of 12 pitchers throwing 3 times a week, with nobody working more than 45 pitches per game or going more than once through the lineup.”
John Smoltz: “These guys (young pitchers) only know one thing because organizations are telling them one thing–give me everything you have (in terms of velo) and we’ll take care of the rest. It’s taking on average 25 pitchers per year per club.”
Further, he says
“I maintain that in 3 to 5 years this game will crash. If I’m right the pitching cannot keep up, and/or fans are gonna go ‘Uncle I can’t take it it’s 10 pitchers a game, I can’t take the pitching changes, I can’t take the length of the games.’ ”
Writer then notes (2017) correlation btw pitching velo going up, more Ks HRs fewer balls in play more standing around and length of games at all time high of 3 hours 5 minutes average.
So lets hope the Giants don’t fall in the overpay offer for Cole with another good chance for TJ surgery!
The guy who would be most disappointed is Mr Over the Top Krukow who wants to sign every free agent out there plus a slew of manager candidates to sit in the dugout next to the officially named manager..
Despite game 7, this World Series was least watched in 5 years (since Giants/Royals). This game is already a regional game, turning towards an NHL type model. The history of it is no longer sacrosanct. Fewer people will watch it as time goes on, including me, if this kind of ball keeps up. I’m not interested in seeing endless Ks, walks and then the HR. I’m totally down with limiting shifts and other things to gin up real offense and plays in the field which made baseball watchable. It’s heading towards NFL level unwatchability…
Good synopsis, Tom. I agree wholeheartedly. They are killing a wonderful game that has existed, without major change, for a century.
I think some anti-shift rules are coming eventually. The MLB front office has seen that the teams, and so many of their batters, mostly refuse to hit opposite field. So many still just try to swing for the HR over the shift.
So….the batters get rewarded with anti-shift rules! Is that insane or what?
No brainer regarding Bum.
A tiny bit surprised about Smith getting it. However, now that it has been offered, my guess is that Smith will take it, i.e., there’s zero chance that he will get this much of an average salary per year on a long term deal. Couple that with most teams not wanting to give up a compensation draft choice for a closer; my opinion is that he will be confident enough in his ability to repeat or come close to his 2019 performance next season and reap a long term contract in 2021, where a team wont have to worry about QOs
Once Chapman re upped with the Yanks it made Smith the most valuable closer teams will seek. Giants just covering their asses which makes sense..
IMO Giants totally botched Bum. The QO is an insult, because if he declines, he won’t be picked up until post draft next year. Should have traded him and then they could resign him. I think they don’t really want him on a LT deal. We’ll see…
I agree they should have traded him. However, I have also always said that it takes two to tango, coupled with the FACT he had a limited no trade clause of 8 teams.
One other thing, for those of you whom think he is going to score a big contract, see Loo’s link below, i.e., the Post writer only believes he will get 3 years, 60 million. That’s about what I estimate . . . if that.
One writer’s opinion:
https://nypost.com/2019/11/04/ranking-mlbs-top-30-free-agents-and-predicting-where-theyll-sign/
If my man Puig is that cheap, the Giants would be stupid not to snap him up…
Unequivocally agree Loo. I would welcome him with open arms. Also, in my opinion, he would be great for the clubhouse.
Would definitely shake things up although I think the writer is seriously underestimating what Puig’s gonna get.
I think Bum’s gonna do much better than 3/60 as well…
Puig? Really? Fuck that guy sideways.No way I want that guy on our team.
I’d think 3/$75 is the floor for Bum. And I’d do that in a second if I was Farhan.
I think Bum easily gets 4/100 from the Atlanta Braves and gets right back into the playoffs again with a talented roster close to winning it all..
why would a team offer Bum 4/100 if they wouldn’t even offer the Giants a decent prospect for him for a post season run?
Agree about Smith accepting the QO and also see Bum signing up for 3 more years at around 25/per. Atlanta does seem like a good fit, but yeah, why didn’t the Braves trade for him and then have the inside track to re-sign him? Just can’t see Bum leaving SF. Which of course means, he will.
i mean, think about it. The Yankees, the Braves, the Twins, all these teams that NEEDED pitching at the most critical time wouldn’t throw a decent prospect to the Giants at the break. But now they’re gonna trip over themselves to outbid eachother at over 100 million dollars?
I don’t see it.
Maybe they just didn’t offer enough. Or he might’ve been off the market when they got back into contention.
The teams you mention are more desperate now…
Now?!?
I been saying 3/$75 for 8 months. A make-good deal for the last cheapo deal they signed him to.
Too short….4/$90 bottom
I really don’t think he wants to go anywhere.
I’m sticking with the 4/100 and I can see Bum getting a shitload of chicken mc nuggets in the deal as well..
Per Loo’s link above, that Post writer predicts Cole will get 8 years and $280m? That’s just insane. Of course, the prediction is the Angels, so there’s that….
I wonder if the Braves and Yankees feel like they blew it by not going hard after Bum.
But after going 25-5 in July, it was going to be hard for the Giants to trade Bum.
Warriors may not win a lot, but they got some young talented guys. Cauley-Stein looks solid. Pascual, who I haven’t seen much of, looks like a natural out there.
Dubs beating Portland by 4 to start the 4th. If they can close this out, it would be cool.
Hey! Dubs win at home!
Somebody posted this on the Bay Area blog:
“MadBum on his day off”…