2012 MLB Winter Meetings and Offseason

[koodledrum]

blackouts are one of those US sports things which always really confused me, if the game is broadcast it should be able to be broadcast everywhere! Probably more to do with the fact living in the UK essentially if there's a Chelsea v Arsenal game in the premiership being shown on TV it's not limited to London, it's broadcast country wide. Not that it matters to me because I'm an international customer regional blackouts on MLB.tv don't apply to me

[belfpala]

I lived near Detroit for a while, so I couldn't see Twins games on MLB.tv if they were playing the Tigers. Never made sense to me. I could walk a block to the nearest bar and see them (Detroit broadcast, of course, I like their broadcast team btw), for free just sipping some water at the bar. Same when I lived in NYC with the Yankees.

[kidsafe]

For reference, this is the MLBs blackout markets by team not including Hawaii which is an absolute nightmare (I think 4 teams claim it as their home despite only one of them actually being available on tv).

IIRC the majority of baseball fans in Hawaii follow the SF Giants (Yomiuri Giants) or the Mariners (they had Ichiro Suzuki), but the Dodgers have the sole TV rights.

[conscript]

IIRC the majority of baseball fans in Hawaii follow the SF Giants (Yomiuri Giants) or the Mariners (they had Ichiro Suzuki), but the Dodgers have the sole TV rights.

Ya the Dodgers and Angels are actually carried by Oceanic Time Warner. The Padres and M's were granted temporary blackout lifts last season so you could watch their games on MLB.tv. The Giants and A's were blacked out. SIX teams claim Hawaii as their home market lol.

[draynay]

and the Phillies trade for Revere, so that's everybody who had money and needed a CF now being covered

nobody wanted to go near Bourne they knew how high the price would be for a Boras client so they all found alternate routes to filling their CF vacancy

now its looking iffy on whether the Dodgers will sign Ryu, and when you're pricing your clients out of the Dodger's range you're doing something wrong

[koodledrum]

everyone knows Boras is an asshole, it's not a secret and people are right to avoid doing business with him, I've said it before, if I was a GM I'd institute a policy of no Boras clients and no negotiation with him!

(incidentally asshole is one of the nicer terms I've used about him!)

[draynay]

the JD Drew opt-out contract still pisses off Colletti I know that much

[Rukentuts]

So who thinks the Twins will unload Joe Mauer next? That's the rumors flying about.

[koodledrum]

doesn't Mauer have full no trade protection though? I know the rumours are doing the rounds but ultimately if he's to leave Minnesota you have to think it would either be for a major contender OR if they REALLY piss him off.

[Rukentuts]

doesn't Mauer have full no trade protection though? I know the rumours are doing the rounds but ultimately if he's to leave Minnesota you have to think it would either be for a major contender OR if they REALLY piss him off.

Yes he does have one. But he could waive it if he wanted to, say if he was going to be sent to a major contender like you said.

I know Boston really wants him, but no offense to them but I don't consider the Red Sox to be "major contenders" atm.

[belfpala]

There was a rumor Boston was willing to take on his entire contract. He'd be a beast in Fenway, almost everything he hits is in the air in left field.

Realistically I doubt he's going anywhere. He has that full no-trade clause and he's too much of a hometown hero.

[koodledrum]

He's up there with David Wright & Derek Jeter as guys who it just wouldn't be right to see him in a different uniform and there's not too many of those kinda guys floating around these days!

[draynay]

Yes he does have one. But he could waive it if he wanted to, say if he was going to be sent to a major contender like you said.

I know Boston really wants him, but no offense to them but I don't consider the Red Sox to be "major contenders" atm.

doesn't Boston already have like 5 C/1B already?

and Mauer's contract is insane, super super insane, I can't conceive of a team taking it on, and I'm a Dodgers fan

he doesn't project long-term at catcher, and then he's just another 1B/DH so his NL value is much lower

his production is really good for a catcher, but you move him to another position and he's a lot closer to league average, look how much Michael Young's value has gone down since he isn't fielding a position, went from being one of the better infielders in the AL to being a below average DH

and $23 mil a year for the next six years is a lot, so he better be in the AL because his bat needs to be in the lineup every day to even have a chance of reaching a fraction of that value

sure he had the 28 homerun season but he's got 22 in three years since, and since his contract is based off the MVP year its way overvalued

[belfpala]

Nah, his contract is based off him being the face of the franchise. You're correct any other team would be insane to take it on.

[draynay]

Nah, his contract is based off him being the face of the franchise. You're correct any other team would be insane to take it on.

yes, it makes sense for him to stay put, sometimes taking the below market extension is the best way to stay put, like with Chipper and recently Longoria & David Wright

but sometimes its taking the extension so ridiculous that the value could only be recouped for the hometown team

[belfpala]

Yeah, there might have been some serious fan rebellion if he hadn't been signed. We've seen it happen over and over. Chuck Knoblauch in the 90's, Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in the 00's... you just need to keep a guy the fans like, even if that means paying him a bit over market value.

[draynay]

things got ugly around here when they dealt Piazza, and again with Lo Duca, grrrr fucking DePodesta.... moneyball only works when your team has no money, if they have money they go and sign Jeff Kent and JD Drew and trade for Milton Bradley, then your team is full of cocksuckers

[Amsden]

Michael Young traded to the Phillies for Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla. As a Rangers fan I'm not sure how I feel about this. We need to strengthen our Pen, but man, Young has been a good and solid player here for years.

[draynay]

yeah that has the look of a tough trade, but they kept bumping Young around the diamond until there wasn't room for him, as a DH he isn't productive enough, as a 2B/SS/3B he's much more valuable and will get way more playing time, always stinks to see the long-time guys go, but this is one of those moves that both parties benefit from

edit - although the Phillies didn't seem to get the memo that they might want to get a little younger, especially with their infield

[conscript]

edit - although the Phillies didn't seem to get the memo that they might want to get a little younger, especially with their infield

Ya I chuckled about that. Whats the solution for an aging team? Bring in a guy who will be 37 next year.