mvp 78

How is it a low ball offer if there are no other bidders?

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/j-d-martinez-rumors-tuesday.html The Red Sox’ current top offer to Martinez is “in the vicinity” of only $100MM, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. That’s quite a lot less than has generally been stated, and certainly paints a different picture of the present state of affairs for the market’s top slugger. While the Sox are still smitten with Martinez, Speier writes, the organization is also not particularly interested in running up its bid when demand from other teams is questionable. The article discusses the broader opportunity that Boston may have on a still-dragging market, given its willingness to move past the luxury tax line in a winter where others are declining to do so. Of course, demand can have a way of forming to fill vacuums, and Martinez and his reps at the Boras Corporation are no doubt hoping that’ll occur over the coming weeks. The Diamondbacks are, notably, still working on creative means of bringing Martinez back into the fold, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. That could mean broaching the idea of a shorter deal with a big annual salary and opt-out opportunities, Heyman suggests, though the details of any offers to this point remain hazy. Such a pact might ameliorate concerns with locking into another massive, long-term entanglement, though it’d cut down on the upside for the team and would no doubt still require a big jump in payroll (or further creativity in the form of shedding other contracts). Whatever the details, though, Heyman says there’s some added optimism on the Arizona side that the team could have a real shot at pulling off a surprise deal. Remember, if it's coming from Heyman, it's just Boras BS and a ploy to get the Sox to raise their offer.

Losing ALCS game 5?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2018/02/12/collusion-tanking-debt-and-baseballs-dark-labor-history-resurfaces-in-2018/#46c5419f176e For those that don’t recall, both the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros went about radical roster reconstruction under new ownership. The matter was simple to Ricketts of the Cubs and Crane of the Astros: bloated contracts for veteran players were hampering flexibility. The term “blowing it up” became the term before “tanking” but the idea that stripping rosters down to young players that saw lower salaries would cause a case of sinking in the standings. There’s the side benefit of landing at the top of the draft heap when you lose a massive number of games. In 2017, the Astros won 101 games and eventually won the World Series. In 2016 it was 84 wins and 2015, 86 wins. Not bad. But in 2014 they lost 92 games, 2013 there was 111 losses, and 107 losses in 2012, and 106 losses in 2011. For the Astros, the idea was pain would eventually equal gain, and as the parade in Houston showed, it paid off. The bad thing is, every owner in baseball looks around at what the one team did to win the World Series and says, “We need to do that.” “Our Clubs are committed to putting a winning product on the field for their fans,” Manfred said in a statement to rebut Clark. “Owners own teams for one reason: they want to win. In Baseball, it has always been true that Clubs go through cyclical, multi-year strategies directed at winning. There are larger concerns around what clubs are doing to improve themselves, or rather, what they’re not doing. This “invest in homegrown talent” also acts as a cover. The Pittsburgh Pirates were in a position over the last two off-seasons to improve themselves to get past just the Wild Card. Instead, they held pat, and this off-season traded Andrew McCutchen to the Giants and Gerrit Cole to the Astros. This does not fit the league profile for improving in a five-year cycle. Other clubs have a legitimate reason for down-cycling. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have not only spent large in free agency, but at record levels, have been in violation of the league’s debt rule. That was allowed as part of the sale to Guggenheim Partners, but now frowned upon given that the sale was completed in 2012. And LA and the Yankees both have reasons to get under the Luxury Tax threshold. Not only have changes to the tax penalties made it more painful, by getting under the threshold, the tax penalties for the two who have been consecutive offenders of the Luxury Tax will see the penalty drop to 20% by going back under. That plays into the bumper crop of free agents in the 2018-19 free agency class that features the likes of Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, and Manny Machado. At some point, either that smoking gun surfaces, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, then the real focus on baseball's labor landscape shifts to when the current basic agreement between the players and the league expires on Dec. 1, 2021. If the players are unhappy about how matters have transpired, they'll need to dig in and try and get better concessions in the next deal. If the landscape continues to move toward clubs investing in young, developed talent, then getting players into salary arbitration early might be one matter they could go after. But even if that's not one area they do chase, it's clear that areas where salaries can increase has to be more the focus than the last time. There's little doubting that matters went the league's way in 2016 with the current labor agreement. If they truly want to gain from the increased revenues that the league is seeing, they could upend the mindset put in place since Marvin Miller was executive director beginning in the 1960s. Tie salaries to baseball related revenues that have now surpassed $10 billion. That would mean a cap system more inline with what other pro leagues currently have.

There's just no way. They'd be better off waiting for Harper next offseason.

@bradfo The on again, off again Brian Johnson to the bullpen convo is clearing up. He will pitch a few times as a starter and then most likely spend most of ST as a reliever. He is out of options

https://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2017/12/espns-2017-mls-cup-viewership-20-percent/ I believe that Seattle isn't representative of the rest of the country when it comes to MLS. Seattle Leads All Local Markets for MLS Cup and MLS Playoffs on ESPN Seattle was the top local market for both MLS Cup (7.0 rating) and the entire MLS playoffs on ESPN (2.3 rating). ESPN’s Top 10 MLS Playoff markets: Seattle (2.3), Columbus, Ohio (1.6), Atlanta (0.8), Louisville (0.6), Dayton (0.5), Portland, Ore. (0.5), Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (0.5), Cincinnati (0.4), Nashville (0.4) and Knoxville (0.4). Top 10 MLS Cup markets: Seattle (7.0), Louisville (3.2), Columbus, Ohio (1.7), Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (1.1), Raleigh-Durham (1.1), Atlanta (1.0), Indianapolis (1.0), Portland, Ore. (1.0), Austin (0.9), Birmingham (0.9), Memphis (0.9) and Philadelphia (0.9). ***Toronto is not one of the 56 U.S. metered markets. Seattle’s 7.0 rating ranks as the second-highest local market rating for MLS Cup on ESPN networks since 2006. The top-five: Portland – 2015 (7.3), Seattle-Tacoma – 2017 (7.0), Salt Lake City – 2009 (5.8), Columbus, OH. – 2008 (5.8) and Kansas City – 2013 (5.3). Also, people generally just don't give a s*** about MLS. http://worldsoccertalk.com/2017/12/12/man-utd-man-city-viewership-beats-mls-cup-final-18-espn-univision/

If a plan B isn't signed, I believe it's because Desperate Dave didn't think the other guys were an improvement over Hanley.

The info coming out of AZ is all over the place. Some people saying they've offered 5 years and close to what Sox have reportedly offered. Others have said they've only offered a short term deal. Maybe just more Boras smoke screen to scare BOS?

@PeteAbe Mookie Betts arriving at JetBlue Park today. #RedSox #SpringTraining2018

Very questionable...

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/560389/Boras-met-with-D-Backs-owner-on-J.D.-Martinez Of course Boras is now pulling the "go directly to the owner to get the deal done" route.

So then, when was the last time the Sox had leadership?

@PeteAbe Andrew Benintendi arrived at #RedSox camp today.

And the 2016 unit was basically the same roster except for Papi. Were they functioning "more as a unit" because Papi was the leader? How is that even determined? Seems to me more of a personal perception thing than anything else.

I agree with the take that most of the fault is due to the CBA and that Boras should figure out that maybe the money just isn't there right now.

Another LoMo post: https://www.overthemonster.com/2018/2/12/17003232/red-sox-logan-morrison-jd-martinez Morrison is coming off a phenomenal season at the plate and if he can repeat that performance he would be the power bat so many want to see in the middle of Boston’s lineup. In 2017, the former Ray, Mariner and Marlin had the best year of his career hitting .246/.353/.516 for a 130 wRC+ with 38 home runs. He’s never going to impress with his batting average, but he has increased his walk rate in each of the last three years and showed a huge power outburst with some improvements to back it up. Specifically, he has become one of the poster boys of the so-called “Flyball Revolution,” as he upped his flyball rate by 11.5 percentage points from 2016 to 2017. That’s all very good, and has people understandably excited... Even with all of that in mind, though, I’m not sure how much sense Morrison would make as an alternative. For one thing, the fit is not ideal on this Red Sox roster. Part of the reason that Martinez is an attractive target is that, while he’ll mostly serve as a designated hitter, he can also become the fourth outfielder... Morrison, meanwhile, would be simply a DH or first baseman. That’s a fine and relatively common profile, but it’s also one that the Red Sox already have... The counterargument would be that they could try to offload Ramirez or simply cut him, but I would definitely not do the latter and I’m not sure they’d realistically be able to do the former. It’s not only the fit that has me worried about Morrison, either. Although he was outstanding in 2017 and there were real tangible changes in his game to lead to that breakout, I’m still not 100 percent sold that he is this kind of hitter now. For one thing, I have no idea how the juiced balls — or whatever you think is behind the sudden home run explosion around the league — affected his numbers. Furthermore, even with the increased flyball rate it seems his home run total involved plenty of luck. His home-run-to-flyball-rate came in at 22.5 percent, ten percentage points higher than his previous career-high. I’m skeptical that’s sustainable in a vacuum, never mind for a pull-oriented left-handed hitter coming to Fenway Park. To me, if it's a short term deal, it's worth a shot if JDM won't sign.

“They’re not likable!” Don’t remember people saying this when AJ Pierzinski(sp?) was on the club.

You never said s*** about the Travis trade. Get out of here.

Good thing you root for someone else.

Darvish 6/126 to Cubs

Why offer 3/87 when you’ve already offered 5/110 (22 AAV)? Why increase the AAV by 7 just to reduce the years by 2? They’d only be paying 88 over the first 4 years of the deal to begin with.

Lauber lumps LoMo and Duda in with Carlos Gonzalez for some reason. Yuck. Before someone @'s me, CarGo's OPS+ in COL 127, away from COL 73.

http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/53896/what-should-boston-do-if-j-d-martinez-really-is-fed-up-with-the-red-sox What to do if JD is really fed up? 1. Do Nothing 2. Wait for Deadline 3. Sign Moose 4. Trade JBJ 5. Sign JD I'm not a Scott Lauber guy.

Did we give up draft picks to sign Hanley and Pablo?