SoxFan562004

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templa...8&zoneid=13 More cool news, well for those of us without DirectTV, on the MMA on TV front, Vs. is going WEC 2 1/2 hours for 46.

The contract maybe a little big, but I see why the Cards went ahead and made this deal, even with the Pujols situation looming. First, he was a Boras client, so they knew what they were dealing with the second they sat down at the table to negotiate, when you negotiate with Boras, you know you are going to pay premium dollar for a player. Also, I know the market was limited, but I would have to think there were at least a team or two out there interested in him. I would have to imagine after losing Figgins, Lackey and Guerrero's contract coming off the books that the LAA not only had money, which they always do, but interest. Then, as much as we make fun of Boras' "mystery team" tactic, I think there's always some grain of truth to it. Then just look at their team. It's a vicious circle with the Pujols deal. You have no chance to sign him unless you commit money to the current team, which may in the future preclude you from signing Pujols. So are they suppose to build a quality team for next year and hope Albert signs or lose Holiday, fall back to the pack in the NL Central and piss off Albert forcing him out of town? As far as I see it here's the obvious options the Cards front office looked at: 1. Sign Holliday and continue the contract extension talks with Pujols hoping that the 88m payroll they currently have has built in money to add the pay bump for Pujols. 2. If Pujols walks you have a very good player to build around, obviously not Pujols, but realistically if you lose Pujols you are not going to be able to replace him player for player, it's going to be multiple players in the field and on the mound. It would be better than being stuck without Pujols and Holliday. Obviously there are other ways this situation that this can go, but those are the two overwhelming cut and dry scenarios I see. Let me make this clear, in no way shape or form do I think the Cards front office signed Holliday with the idea that it would severely cramp their ability to sign Pujols to a contract extension that they think would work for them. There has to be a contract limit that they can expect to sign Albert to without limiting their ability to compete at a high level year in and year out. I imagine part of the "recruitment" plan to keep Albert was resigning Holliday, LaRussa and Duncan (yes, I understand Duncan is a pitching coach, but Pujols has to realize his value to the team). However, if in negotiations the Cardinals realize they have zero chance of resigning him then they have to have a solid Plan B, then the question becomes do they trade him before he walks? As far as Pujols goes, if it's a pure money grab than he won't be in St. Louis because only 3-4 teams can afford that type of contract, off the top of my head it's LAA, NYY, Bos and NYM and Stl. couldn't compete in a bidding war. If he's willing to take a little less than the tip top money, still a ton of money and years than he can stay in St. Louis. As I've stated in other threads, these players have a unique talent that allow them the ability to demand top money or take a little less to stay in a comfortable place, and I don't begrudge either decision. What is St. Louis suppose to do, make some sort of symbolic stand by being stubborn and getting outbid on him? They have to look to the long term health of your franchise and in a realistic scenario that may not involve Pujols. (sorry if this is a little jumbled, it was stream of thought, so I reserve the right to edit heavily!)

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:27 PM) The thought around St. Louis is that the Cardinals had to sign a big bat to convince Albert that they are going to be competitive in the next several years in order for him to resign. I don't know what the rest of their roster will look like, but I would be surprised if Albert isn't resigned before he hits free agency. it begs the question if he isn't resigned by the season do they seriously have to consider trading him, i mean they really can't just let him walk and get a pick in compensation. but yes, Albert mentioned something earlier last season about wanting to see the Cards show they're going to have a good team before he resigned, so resigning Holliday basically had to be done

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 05:33 PM) If this commitment of money means they can't afford to extend Albert at roughly ARod rates, then it's an absolutely foolish contract. yeah but it might be one of those things were Pujols and his agents told the Cardinals if they don't resign Holliday or a comparable batter they can forget about signing him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:57 AM) The only reason that exists in the NFL is that it's what the players gave up in exchange for the hard cap. That's a pretty big concession from the players. yeah I agree, I should have added more to my post by saying there is little to no chance that the MLB players union would agree to a hard cap and something like this would be more likely, although I agree unlikely.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:51 AM) I'm not saying that there's a GOOD chance that it happens - I'm saying that there is a chance that it happens and I'm starting to think that, by rules, there should be NO CHANCE that the yanks be able to pull that off. instead of a pure salary cap I would imagine the first step would have to be a franchise/transition player type system put in place. Some tweaks would have to be done, but that might be a good first step

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:49 AM) St. Louis would be crazy to let it get to that point. Either they need to trade him first or they need to sign him before it gets to that point. I agree, there's no way they can just let him walk. I heard last night on an ESPN Radio update that the Cards were close to a 7 year deal with Holliday, but haven't heard anything new this morning.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 4, 2010 -> 01:02 PM) forever? Or the year? meltzer said it would be 2 years before he could fight again, so that would be 2 years out of the game and he would be in his mid 30's, so maybe forever

actually looks like the Vlad twitter account might be fake, so probably nothing to the new rumors of M-1/UFC talks. Meltzer is saying Brock has a big Dr.'s exam coming up to see how much damage was done, if he needs surgery he's basically done, if no surgery he can train in a few months.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jan 3, 2010 -> 03:13 AM) I am actually a Lauzon fan, or a fan in general of good submission guys. Lauzon needs to get his cardio back. He got gassed pretty quickly. He needs to work on his striking. His ground game is definitely good enough. I agree on Evans. He is a knockout waiting to happen. but for business it worked out for the UFC since they can now have the Rampage/Evans fight. Considering how that card was destroyed by injuries it was an entertaining card

Jenny Lewis and Jolene Von Vugt

There are rumors on a few sites that the UFC signed Gomi, Meltzer said it's not confirmed but said the UFC has made him a big offer and Gomi hinted at something on his twitter. 2-2 in his last four fights, but I would be really excited if this is true

If this is a one year move it's a decent move, but the three years make it mind boggling. I guess it's back-loaded so they have a little money left this year, so it's not 5m per year. Looks like last year was the first time he played over 140 games. What is it with the Cubs giving guys playing 81 games in Arlington coming off some of their best years contracts? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...ar=2009&t=b 14 of his 20 homers were at home last year and his SLG% was over .100 higher and he only had 15 more PA at home, so it's basically the same. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...dma01-bat.shtml lol, similar batters? Number 1 is Reed Johnson.

I know the Mets don't have the greatest luck with FA signings, but I really like this move. Bay is a very productive player. That NL East is going to be tough again, the Phils, Mets, Braves and Marlins all have a chance at being very good, and the Nats made a few moves in the pen to make them at least pesty.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Dec 28, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) I'm going to change my mind and take Nog-Randy as the fight of the year too, as it was probably the fight I had the most fun watching. It was one of those "you had to be there" moments with two legends who were pretty much counted out beforehand. Years from now people who weren't fans at the time will be able to watch that fight and say it was a great fight, but you really have to see a fight like that live and know the backstory to truly appreciate it. The last similar UFC fight that I can think of was Chuck-Wandy. I think that's a good way to describe Nog/Randy. Definitely was so awesome to watch as a long time MMA fan. It's similar to the Randy/Big Tim fight, that fight out of context is only OK, but in the moment it was so great.

This just smacks of hype. There's way too much money to leave on the table

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 09:52 AM) My guess is the Twins Can Tampa still use a DH? That might be a good fit for him, early and late season home games inside a dome might help him.

I forgot this deal was struck, but Zuffa is actually going to use it's PRIDE library starting January 15th on Spike. It will have Chuck vs. Overeem, Rampage vs. Wand (not sure which match), Newton vs. Anderson Silva and Rua vs. Randleman

In the day of FA and the fact that the Sox had some contracts ending the change doesn't bug me, in fact it was needed. I'm not sure what the overall numbers were for the year, but they had a month or so stretch near the end of the year where their RISP avg. was about .220. Know I can be a bit of a stat guy that wants to look at more than one stat, but if they hit around the league average in that stretch they are in the thick of the race at the end of the year with Det and Min. A shakeup was needed. I really think they need one more power bat considering they play 81 games in the Cell, but we will see what happens, and with the first 4 in the rotation they have and considering the division they play in, they should have a chance most nights.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 08:52 AM) Hopefully we can face him in the playoffs. It'd be nice to have an automatic win. And I can't believe anyone would call him a "great" or "excellent" pitcher, get out of here with that non sense. great point. to me he is a very good pitcher, but I could never describe him as great or excellent. His overall performance in the AL are what I use to support that.

Javy is a very valuable pitcher for the regular season because he starts 30+ games a year and pitches over 200 innings a year. He had arguably his career best year last year, but using ERA+, which is a quick crude stat but can be a good guide, his 3 out of 4 years in the AL he was around average or below and one year he was very good with a 126. As a 4th or 5th starter he is great, and the NYY can afford to pay a 4th or 5th starter that kind of money, so it's a very good pickup for them.

there's also the fact that he using OPS+ through 06-08 he was at worse 12% better than an average play at the plate and a plus defender and sometimes guys just have career bad years as guys have career best years... http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riosal01.shtml KW and the scouts must have thought he will be able to turn it around and then looked at Pods and saw a guy who has a history of not staying healthy, is about 5 years older than Rios a far inferior defender and arguably had the 2nd best year of his career at the plate while hitting 22 points above his career average in BABIP. Is the Rios pickup a risk? Sure was, but I'm not ready to call it a failure yet.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 01:43 AM) The WEC card wasn't too shabby either. Between those two cards, Cowboys/Saints & the Bulls, my remote was getting a workout. King Mo looked good, he'll have to beat at least a top 20 guy for me to jump on the bandwagon though. Souza made his name in the US tonight, you also have to wonder how much Lindland has left. Melendez/Thomson II was teh awesomezzz. I think you've gotta do a rubber match or hope that Aoki will come over & fight Melendez. Scott Smith pretty much screwed Strikeforce with the KO, it hurts Cung WAY more than it helps anyone. Horodecki made a mistake & paid for it. So now that we're done for MMA in 2009, shouldn't we be having the best of the year discussion? Just sayin.... Agree with you on those two, good performances, but they were over handpicked opponents that suited them perfectly. I enjoyed the Strikeforce card last night, but it just made me think there's no way they can run 20 cards a year. Strikeforce really needs to take a bigger step talent wise, I think Smith's upset was the first unpredictable thing that has happened on a Strikeforce card in a long time. Melendez/Thomson was obviously extremely entertaining, but having it a week after BJ's last fight just put the bug in my head that BJ mops the floor with those two last night and likely Ken-Flo does too. Their exchanges were good and exciting, but a lot of arm punches. Aoki would be a heavy favorite to me against the winner in that rubber match. The Le fight wasn't overly exciting for me, it's not exciting for me as a fan to see a hand picked opponent do zero circling, take exact paths that work for Le, Le hurt him, have the complete inability to finish him on the ground, wash rinse repeat for 2 1/2 rounds, (all while Mauro is screaming at me about how awesome he is) then Le finally gasses and a guy with good hands KOs him. They were trying to sell Le as a top 185'er? Are you kidding me? He would get crushed by any top 10 MW. (there's a reason Dana never pressed too hard for Le and it's the same reason he didn't go hard after Manhoef, they wouldn't always get guys who suited their match-ups) Again, it was an entertaining card, but to me, just showed some holes to Strikeforce's overall gameplan. WEC card was entertaining. Was a little annoyed how crazy the play-by-play guy was going over Cerronne's performance, it was good, but come on, Ratcliff got three direct nut shots, I imagine that slowed him down a touch! Saw on mmaweekly.com they're looking at Fedor vs. Werdum in April, as earlier posts will show, I have little interest in that fight, Fedor will eat him alive on the feet and stuff any takedown shot. Again, Strikeforce needs better, more challenging match-ups, but I'm afraid with them trying to run a lot of shows we are going to see

FWIW the score is just reporting that there are 3 teams interested but nothing is near

Yesterday at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame banquet Bobby Knight openly questioned why Calipari (sp?) is still allowed to coach after leaving two teams on bad terms with the NCAA. Basically saying the lack of integrity is one of the reasons he's glad he's not coaching anymore. Good to see a prominent college basketball figure come out and question Calipari.