jacksonianmarch

Lets drop the "he downt wike da presha" argument. These guys are going to take money and yrs over environment and if its close, then they will go with the better environment for them. Lets start with Holliday: He turns 30 this offseason His career line is .318/.387/.545 for a .932OPS His 2009 line was .313/.394/.515 for a .909OPS His 2009 line was brought down by a dismal experience in the expanse in Oakland while languishing in last place. Since being infused into a playoff race, he put up a .353/.419/.604 line for a 1.023OPS. he can play both OF positions well (minus that one big error) and brings speed with his other skills (80SBs in 5 seasons). So, this guy is a top tier performer who brings 5 tools to the table and is entering the prime of his career. The last guy with his resume at a young age to hit the market was Teixeira, and you saw what he fetched. JD Drew prior to his deal with Boston was a similar performer, albeit his exodus from the dodgers and his durability made his situation a bit more dicey. Magglio Ordonez was also very similar when he signed, but durability was also an issue since he was coming off an experimental knee surgery. He signed for 5yr 75 mil with 2 options that will make it a 7yr 105mil contract, and both options are likely to vest. So, if we consider JD Drew as the low point as Drew is the cheapest of the three and had issues come up on his physicial, then 5yrs 70 mil should be the low point. Then consider that Holliday will be younger than both Ordonez and Drew, AND he has much more speed and has no durability issues and you are probably looking at Ordonez's AAV being the minimum salary here. Then consider one other confounder, the Soriano signing in 2006. He signed for 8yrs at 136mil at the same age. Now Soriano was more of a speed threat, but is much worse in the OF and has been a worse hitter (OPS wise) than Holliday. So, where does that leave us? Tex is the better player when compared to Holliday mostly due to Tex's insane patience, better power, switch hitting, and age (he was a yr and a half younger at the time of his FA compared to Holliday's). So maybe Tex's contract is a ceiling at 8yrs 180million dollars. I would say that JD Drew's 5yrs 70 mil is a starting point AAV wise. And Ordonez's 7yrs 105mil contract and Soriano's 8yr 136million dollar contract are good middle points. I would have to say that Boras is going to get 7 yrs out of someone with a likely vesting option for an 8th since he is only 29 (turns 30 in 3 months). So lets say that, to sign Holliday, the sox would need to offer 7yrs $112mil with a vesting option for 18 mil on yr 8. Would that be too much? Too little? I dunno, but that is where I put his figure at.

Reynolds is young and I believe won the HR title. Cmon guys, think about players who may ACTUALLY be available by trade.

A very cheap contract would bring Kendall in. Kendall hasnt had a BA over .250 or an OPS of .700 or higher since 2006. He does walk a fair share and he does play above average to good D, but he is absolutely atrocious with the stick. I have kinda skimmed through a few things on this post here. As far as I can tell, Rafael Soriano is not going to be a FA Duchsherer will be, but he missed all of 2009 and the latter half of 2008 with various arm and lower body ailments. Now, he is dealing with depression, something that would probably not fit in well in the Boston pressure cooker. If you got his head on straight, and he was healthy, he's be a very good swing kind of pitcher, a la Alfredo Aceves, but the chances of that being realized are minimal. Jarod Washburn is another interesting case. He was on my list for guys to target at the deadline, but he was injured and didnt help the tigers do s***. If his knee is healthy and if his arm and back check out, then he's a viable option anywhere, even Fenway with that short LF. But he is another iffy guy to bring in at this point.

From prosportsdaily.com Figured I'd post this up here for the offseason rumor mill so we all know who is a FA and who isnt

Fantasy land is swiftly taking effect. Good night folks.

I have a feeling we wont be in on the Lackey train. I have a feeling we resign Pettitte and then re-sign Gaudin as insurance. If NYY arent in on Lackey, then your biggest financial competition will come from Flushing or Arlington, TX

the Kazmir trade essentially sealed the deal for Lackey. He is not going back to LA

Halladay will be up for trade. But do you really want to offer what they are gonna want for him? Or would you rather sign a guy like Lackey, who isnt far off from Halladay, and then deal those prospects away for another hole filler or keep em

If the Rockies knock off the Phils, then the two worst teams would advance IMO. And any world series would be a gift wrapped win for the AL

Take a look at the big time offseason deals. Holliday's with Oakland was strange because Oakland seemed to be trying to make a one yr pitch. But Johan was the last big pending FA traded and he got a big time deal. I will guarantee you that any Mauer deal will require a contract negotiation window

Do you go for Lackey and try to re-sign Beckett? Or are you cool with having a 3 headed monster of Beckett-Lester-Lackey and then letting Beckett walk after 2010

that's because it was a mid season deal. A lot of the offseason deals would require a contract extension

go for it. But make sure you use it for future use before he is capable of showing improvements. Cause if you use it after ST next yr, it might not be true anymore. We'll see.

Pohlad is dead

We wont be trading for him. And by the time Mauer hits the market after 2010, Posada will be in the last yr of his contract with the DH spot likely open.

they arent gonna actively shop him. Someone will have to make it hard to say no.

I am a big time yankee, and I will tell you flat out that I am not sold on Montero as a future catcher for this team. I see Austin Romine as a future catcher for this team, but Montero has a long way to go defensively for him to be even MLB average.

If you let Mauer hit free agency, he is not gonna end up in Boston. Either he will take a discount to stay home or go for the biggest bid, which will likely be from NY. The sox would need to get him by trade and then offer him a massive deal as a contingency on the deal

this series is gonna go 7 games

Goodbye twins. Thanks for knocking out the tigers and making it easy for us.

ONE MORE OUT AND WE MOVE ONTO THE ALCS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2004!

He thought he saw a deer

Jason Kubel is an undercover Yankee in this series

he hit 28 homers as our #8 hitter. And he brings some life to this team, so yeah, why do you want him gone?