The Official 2015 MLB Thread

I cant tell you how upsetting it is for me to see Andrew Heaney become the ace of the Angels. I talked him up all of last year and he made me look bad like I was overrating him and I was, and now he's looking like the next great pitcher in baseball. You cant give up a prospect like that for nothing... huge mistake

"Jt0323 wrote:

What a game last night for the Yanks, Arod coming through HUGE. 3 home runs, one further than the last. 23rd of the Season for him. I really really hope hes not that stupid to be back on the juice. Imagine the mess it would be if news came out "BREAKING NEWS: Arod Suspended for failed drug test"

Would anything Arod does shock you at this point? And yes I do think he would be stupid enough to still be using. Not saying he is using just that based on his past he's certain dumb enough.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Would anything Arod does shock you at this point?

No, and that scares me.

No tanking for Boston tonight. I kinda expected them to win today for Pedro. HOF inductee's teams were 3-1 today (Boston Dbacks and Braves), the lone loss was Biggio's team.

"texanphinatic wrote:

Moreland would be cheaper, producing well this year, but its above his norm so teams may be somewhat weary. If the Rangers trade Price, there would likely be cash considerations included to some degree though.

the mets already have mitch Moreland in lucas Duda except Duda is better.

"Vertical Limit wrote:

Familia is garbage lol anyways, I am kinda laughing at the Cubs' sinking ship.. good lord... SWEPT by the Phillies of all teams.

Familias been money all year. Bad outing today. Probably his worst of the season

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13321634/cincinnati-reds-trading-johnny-cueto-kansas-city-royals

Dominoes starting to fall into place, Cueto to the Royals. Good move for them, fun team.

Dodgers have to be getting antsy, though I do not think Cueto was the main target. They supposedly want a pitcher with more than just the rest of the year on contact, to make up for Grienke. Mostly that has meant Hamels, but if that falls through, they may have to look at rentals like Price or Gallardo.

Interesting that the Indians were listening to the Jays about Carrasco though. Good, young pitcher for a team that has a trending up arrow.

"Jt0323 wrote:

No, and that scares me.

It should. Again not saying Arod is juicing still but he never failed a PED test, only got nabbed because the FBI seized records from the doctor giving them to him so whatever he was taking wasn't coming up on tests. He (and others) could easily still be using.

Also I found Brian Cashman's comments about older players putting up big numbers interesting too.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Never going to happen. Bad body and even worse contract. Plus not sure he'd be able to handle the Boston media market.

That seemed to not stop them with Pabs.....I think it is more of the contract, it seems neverending for big money...

"Ray Finkle wrote:

That's good he's hitting like that this year but that's 100 points over his career average and he's 31 and signed for $120 million/5 more years. Someone like that doesn't usually age well. That's a big risk.

Prince is a .240 career hitter? No way....I always though of him as a career .270-.285......

"Vertical Limit wrote:

Johnny Cueto is officially a Royal now.

I like Cueto but man they gave away what looks to be a solid starter in Finnegan plus 2 other solid prospects....if they win it all? It was worth it, but if not and then Cueto skips town which he will.....ouch....

"Vertical Limit wrote:

I get the feeling Hamels to yankees will happen soon.

God I hope not....they are saying Severino or Judge along with Sanchez and another good prospect.....not to mention you take on over 100M in payroll. Simply doesn't warrant that...

"Jt0323 wrote:

What a game last night for the Yanks, Arod coming through HUGE. 3 home runs, one further than the last. 23rd of the Season for him. I really really hope hes not that stupid to be back on the juice. Imagine the mess it would be if news came out "BREAKING NEWS: Arod Suspended for failed drug test"

I think it a combination of a year off and the main thing is he isn't playing the field anymore like Papi. It is what keep Papi great all these years, you think if he had to play 1st he would have been as good as he was for as long as he is? Of course if he gets popped tomorrow I wouldn't be shocked but A-Rod has never been a dog the way he approaches the game and is a smart hitter. You watch his AB's and you can tell he is just zoning a portion of the plate because he doesn't have the speed to reach all parts of the plate like he used too.....

"finyank13 wrote:

That seem to not stop them with Pabs.....I think it is more of the contract, it seems neverending for big money...

Yes Sandoval has a bad body too but he also plays 3B and was an above average defender. He's also 2 years younger with 4 years left on his deal (with an option for the 5th year) at $77.4 million including his $5 million dollar buy out in the option year which would cover his age 32 season, while Fielder is already 31 has $120 million/5 years left on his deal. There's a big difference there.

"finyank13 wrote:

Prince is a .240 career hitter? No way....I always though of him as a career .270-.285......

I must have been looking at different numbers as Prince's career BA is .288. Still though his drop off in power would scare me, like I said his body type doesn't tend to age well.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

It should. Again not saying Arod is juicing still but he never failed a PED test, only got nabbed because the FBI seized records from the doctor giving them to him so whatever he was taking wasn't coming up on tests. He (and others) could easily still be using.

Also I found Brian Cashman's comments about older players putting up big numbers interesting too.

Oh Lord what did he say now?

"finyank13 wrote:

I think it a combination of a year off and the main thing is he isn't playing the field anymore like Papi. It is what keep Papi great all these years, you think if he had to play 1st he would have been as good as he was for as long as he is? Of course if he gets popped tomorrow I wouldn't be shocked but A-Rod has never been a dog the way he approaches the game and is a smart hitter. You watch his AB's and you can tell he is just zoning a portion of the plate because he doesn't have the speed to reach all parts of the plate like he used too.....

I think people also forget that Arod is an all time great player and yes like you mentioned not having to play the field day in and day out, along with finally being healthy after his hip surgery. The only thing that surprises me is his power output. I figured he'd bat .250 to .270 with a good OBP but didn't think he'd have 20 plus HRs at the end of July.

Another player I'm shocked at is Teixeira as his batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS have been declining each year since 2007 and all of a sudden he's an All Star player again. Wonder if he was playing hurt all those years or maybe it's just a fluke year. Who knows.

"finyank13 wrote:

Oh Lord what did he say now?

Paraphrasing here but it was about signing free agents and how they don't get better with age and the ones that do are usually on something/cheating.

I'm sure you heard about it, it was a few weeks ago. Cashman is too honest with the media sometimes.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

I think people also forget that Arod is an all time great player and yes like you mentioned not having to play the field day in and day out, along with finally being healthy after his hip surgery. The only thing that surprises me is his power output. I figured he'd bat .250 to .270 with a good OBP but didn't think he'd have 20 plus HRs at the end of July.

Another player I'm shocked at is Teixeira as his batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS have been declining each year since 2007 and all of a sudden he's an All Star player again. Wonder if he was playing hurt all those years or maybe it's just a fluke year. Who knows.

Tex went vegan dude he went vegan......lol no BS! That's what he says the difference is....that and his wrist being fully healed...

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Paraphrasing here but it was about signing free agents and how they don't get better with age and the ones that do are usually on something/cheating.

I'm sure you heard about it, it was a few weeks ago. Cashman is too honest with the media sometimes.

I love Cashman's honesty.....

"finyank13 wrote:

I like Cueto but man they gave away what looks to be a solid starter in Finnegan plus 2 other solid prospects....if they win it all? It was worth it, but if not and then Cueto skips town which he will.....ouch....

God I hope not....they are saying Severino or Judge along with Sanchez and another good prospect.....not to mention you take on over 100M in payroll. Simply doesn't warrant that...

I think it a combination of a year off and the main thing is he isn't playing the field anymore like Papi. It is what keep Papi great all these years, you think if he had to play 1st he would have been as good as he was for as long as he is? Of course if he gets popped tomorrow I wouldn't be shocked but A-Rod has never been a dog the way he approaches the game and is a smart hitter. You watch his AB's and you can tell he is just zoning a portion of the plate because he doesn't have the speed to reach all parts of the plate like he used too.....

i think you can get the Phillies to absorb some of that money per season from that contract and make it more fairer.

You get a proven postseason pitcher in Hamels..

I think this week determines whether the Yankees are serious contenders or not. Got to get a starting pitcher and maybe some more help in the bullpen, and if you can get any sort of talent to replace Didi from the starting lineup..

"finyank13 wrote:

I like Cueto but man they gave away what looks to be a solid starter in Finnegan plus 2 other solid prospects....if they win it all? It was worth it, but if not and then Cueto skips town which he will.....ouch....

Let's look at this objectively. He's been in Cincinatti. Cincinatti is known for Skyline Chili. We are going to introduce him to proper Barbecue. I think we have a chance at keeping him.

Losing Finnegan sucks, but a rotation of Cueto / Volquez / Duffy / Ventura in the playoffs, especially with Duffy coming on, could be lethal in the playoffs.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Would anything Arod does shock you at this point? And yes I do think he would be stupid enough to still be using. Not saying he is using just that based on his past he's certain dumb enough.

He gets tested 10x a week, per his agreement with mlb in order to play again.......:O :surrender:

"Ray Finkle wrote:

I think people also forget that Arod is an all time great player and yes like you mentioned not having to play the field day in and day out, along with finally being healthy after his hip surgery. The only thing that surprises me is his power output. I figured he'd bat .250 to .270 with a good OBP but didn't think he'd have 20 plus HRs at the end of July.

Another player I'm shocked at is Teixeira as his batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS have been declining each year since 2007 and all of a sudden he's an All Star player again. Wonder if he was playing hurt all those years or maybe it's just a fluke year. Who knows.

He went gluten free...lol seriously, he attributed his new diet to his success. I also think he is finally healthy, the wrist was really killing him in the field too. He's finally playing gold glove defense again.

"Vertical Limit wrote:

I think this week determines whether the Yankees are serious contenders or not. Got to get a starting pitcher and maybe some more help in the bullpen, and if you can get any sort of talent to replace Didi from the starting lineup..

Why are the yanks replacing DiDi?
His defense is what the Yankees traded for, the last month his bat is really coming along. He's exactly what they thought they'd be getting. A .245 hitter with great defensive range. What the yanks need is a regular 2ndbaseman. Drew would be a nice bat to come off the bench and great later inning defense. He's nota starter and Brendan Ryan's mustache cant hit either.

If the tigers are selling, I'd like the yanks to look at kinsler. Zobrist will cost too much in my opinion.

Replace either one but DiDi's defense is a tad overrated by yankee fans, there is about 20 something shortstops ill take over him. Ive seen plenty of boneheaded plays by that guy.

"Finfangirl wrote:

He gets tested 10x a week, per his agreement with mlb in order to play again.......:O :surrender:

And your point is.....? He was tested multiple times each year since what 2005ish and never failed a test.

I'm not saying he is or isn't using, I couldn't care less either way. But it's Arod would you really rule anything out when it comes to him?