caulfield12

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 02:15 PM) Also worth noting that Joe Mauer saying moving to first was his decision and not the teams. Obviously, the Twins are going to accommodate this request. Would they have still given him that same contract if they could go back to that moment with the knowledge he was going to be a full-time 1B as early as 2014?

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) I think the Twins will grab a FA veteran catcher until Pinto is ready. he has a lot of mechanical issue on defense but the bat seems legit. Its a silly thing to say, but the sounds of the ball coming off the bat sounds different from him. I guess that was the bonus od watching an awful team play meaningless September games. The Twins also have Chris Herrmann, who played back up C and some OF. Doumit has a concussion last year and I think the Twins will stick him at DH and OF. I wondered this last year, but is the MLB and the manufacturers of catcher gear working on a way to reduce the impact of a batted ball hitting a catchers head? When was the last time catchers gear had a change...the mid/late 90s with the hockey style mask? People have made the argument that Mauer doesnt hit enough HR so he will be an overpaid 1st baseman (he was 'overpaid' at catcher too ), but he is an elite hitter and his bat will play at first. the Twins just got to find players who can get on base in front of his on a consistent basis. It's just that he is an elite defensive catcher and the best hitter at that position. Sticking him at 1B, he's no longer elite...not $23 million worth. I guess it's all relative, there are lots of players like Carl Crawford who aren't "worth" what they're getting paid....but, objectively, I'd have a hard time agreeing with it. On the other hand, because of the length of the contract, they have no choice if they don't want him to break down and be a complete albatross on the back end of it. He would have been the 6th rated 1B OPS-wise in MLB, behind Davis, Goldschmidt, Votto, Encarnacion and Freeman. 5th in WAR, although that would have to be adjusted because Mauer was mostly catching in 2013. So the question is, would the Twins go out and sign the same contract with Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto or Freddie Freeman to play 1B starting in 2014? How much MORE is he worth to the Twins because of his "hometown hero" status in the Twin Cities?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 01:45 PM) That doesn't count Abreu. If you count Abreu and reasonable arb numbers, they're at ~$87 million. If that's the payroll, they are done. Wouldn't that still give you $10 million left to play around with? I think Abreu was $17 million this season...

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 12:01 PM) I don't follow your reasoning. Why would some other catcher be the answer to our turning things around? We were pretty successful with AJP behind the plate If the money's under $5 million for one year, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. However, it just kicks the catching decision one year down the line, but it also gets in the way of developing Flowers/Phegley (if that is actually in the cards at this point). Maybe they could just trade him at the deadline and play Flowers/Phegley in the second half, but how does that help solve anything for 2015? As it is, we're already kicking permanent solutions at 3B, SS, 2B and CF down the line (into 2015). There's a decent possibility Viciedo isn't part of the future as well. They're going to have to decide about Semien (75%)/Sanchez (25%)/Micah Johnson (50/50), too, if any of those guys are meant to be everyday players at the big league level. We're also going to need a new DH to replace Dunn. Assuming Abreu and A. Garcia are solid next year, we still might end up replacing 7 positions going into the following season...so, unless there's a catcher in our system ready to explode on the scene, we're going to have to trade from our pitching depth to solve these issues or pay top dollar on the FA market.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 11:52 AM) Married, two daughters, and 39 turning 40 in a month. That's why I identify with Up in the Air a lot more. Always travelling and working in other countries. No kids, unless you count my students, like TEX might. No house, no car...no debts and a job at least. Cue speech from George Clooney... Ryan Bingham: How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.

Bringing back AJ is a step in the wrong direction. If they were close to being competitive and had a solid offense already, you could at least think about it...but not in the situation they find themselves in right now. It's the same reason the Cubs would be a little crazy to sign Ellsbury or Choo. Tanaka at least makes a bit more sense because you're always going to need quality starting pitching to build around.

So they're going to make Ryan Doumit the everyday starter at catcher? That seems like a disaster waiting to happen, defensively. Wonder if the White Sox would be interested in Parmalee? He's going to be blocked if they move Mauer to 1B. He's never really had a full season to prove himself at the major league level because they've moved him all over the place.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 11:24 AM) Maybe part of it is an age thing. Or a married with kids thing. Or a Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson/Ben Stiller/Paul Rudd thing.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 11:25 AM) I disagree. The Yankees, BoSox, Rangers, White Sox and Phillies and I am sure a couple of other teams will be in the market for catcher. For argument sake... Rangers get McCann. BoSox resign Salty. Then you have the Yankees, Phils and our Sox battling out for Ruiz and AJP. I think ultimately AJP ends up in NY and the Sox get their catcher via the trade market. AJP has a few things in his favor, he hits left-handed, he's incredibly consistent and he doesn't need more than a year contract. Is the plan for Soto to be the full-time catcher in Texas next year (they re-signed him for around $3 million)...? I still think catcher is one of the three positions the Tigers will look to upgrade (Avila), along with 2B (Infante) and they have to find a DH to replace Martinez. AJ would make sense for the Tigers as well, in that he could split time with Avila and DH the rest of the time (yes, I realize they're both LH). I'm assuming Castellanos is their starting LFer next season.

Cutler should have been out after the first or second series in the 3rd quarter. It was obvious he was limping (ankle), then you had the hand contusion and the groin re-aggravation. The NFL's getting hard so hard to predict with all the parity. The Cowboys and Eagles are both 5-5 and leading their division, although it would be a shock if the Eagles didn't make it at this point with all the momentum on their side. Whoever has to play the Saints, Broncos (assuming Manning's healthy) or Seahawks on the road, forgettabout it. It will also be interesting to see if the Ravens can somehow dig out of that hole and make it back into the playoffs.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 10:03 AM) Wow really? I couldn't get through it when watching it on HBOGO. I think I got about 2/3 of the way through and called it quits. I can see where some would have that reaction. Part of it's Apatow backlash...and it's not exactly a feel-good story, it's quite depressing, and it feels like a screenplay derived from a true/autobiographical underpinning. Maybe we've all seen enough movies where Paul Rudd basically plays the same character. On the other hand, there's a comfort where he keeps playing a predictable character over and over again... Up In the Air is a much better film (it was on t.v. yesterday), and while it's grim and depressing at many points, it also has an uplifting ending in a sense.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 09:43 AM) This was the only comment on this? Saw it last night; thought it was fabulous. I thought the actor playing the young Somali pirate was incredible. My mom's observation was that the movie lost a lot of its intensity/excitement in the final 1/3rd...I think that comment's not unfair. Definitely, Tom Hanks will get another Oscar nomination, and he has a very good chance of winning...which is a nice comeback story for him with how Larry Crowne, Incredibly Loud and Incredibly Close and Cloud Atlas all fared. I still think, all things considered, that Rush was a better movie, overall. Heck, Prisoners might have been a better movie...in terms of sustaining my interest. Definitely, Captain Phillips demonstrates a quite strong individual performance within a film that's not quite great but very good. I sort of felt the same way about Zero Dark Thirty and Jessica Chastain.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Nov 10, 2013 -> 07:34 AM) The Rock? I guess since the Rock is considered by nearly everyone as an "A-lister," he wouldn't be expendable, haha. It was a bit weird for Statham to take that role, but he seems to be up for nearly any paycheck and just loves to be making movies. But his career definitely wasn't on the decline. Even Charisma Carpenter really fit that idea well.

QUOTE (Jake @ Oct 30, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/spor...l.html?mobify=0 Definitely give this a read. Not some crazy, reality-shaking content, but an interesting reflection on what it's like to be a pro ballplayer. The problem is the same thing can happen if you jump into an academic life. The profits of the school/university always come before "pure" teaching. So much politics, gossiping, backbiting. I would say baseball is much more of a meritocracy than anything have to do with teaching/academics.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 9, 2013 -> 08:43 PM) Who, pray tell, do we have to play CF? CF if a top need for this team. If you want to outbid the Cubs, Red Sox, Mariners, etc., for Ellsbury, sure. Not going to happen. With the dollar figures being bandied around this offseason, the likes of Granderson and Saltalamacchia don't even make a whole lot of sense. If Marcus Semien wins ROY, we get a 725 OPS out of the catching spot and 750-775 out of 3B, as well as progression from Viciedo/Abreu/Garcia, then we can start talking about upgrading CF again.

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Nov 9, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) that's an opinion. I believe span to be an upgrade and someone that fits more of what we need at the top of the lineup to be more successful. also helps us more defensively. even you stated this. so how is that lateral? Because you're giving up prospects that weaken your organization/depth overall and there's the possibility you trade away someone that ends up better than either Span or DeAza...which puts competing for the division even further away.

The CEO also touted strong prospects for another franchise with “The Expendables 3″ having added Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes and Kelsey Grammer. “We’ve repositioned this franchise in a powerful way,” Feltheimer said. www.variety.com I think they've worked pretty much everyone in there now but Stephen Seagal. Might as well add Mr. T and Lane Kiffin, too.

However, the signing of Jackson is one the team appears to regret, as Epstein told the Chicago Sun-Times: "We got a little ahead of ourselves. We’re not perfect. We didn’t fully understand the scope of our situation, the overall situation with the timing of our business plan, the timing of our facilities and the timing of our baseball plan." www.sbnation.com

Have the same general feeling about Thor....and you could say something similar about the Iron Man franchise. The first movie with the full backstory is almost always the best when it comes to superhero movies. It was much better than Iron Man 2, although that's a pretty low bar. And the ether felt about as compelling as a "villain" as whatever that mysterious essence (Parallax) was in Green Lantern. Plus, Sif didn't get nearly enough screen time, either.

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Nov 9, 2013 -> 12:49 PM) apparently washington is willing to listen to offers for him. left handed hitting center fielder that can leadoff and steal bases. seems like what we are looking for. and is only 29. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/nati...enard-span.html Nationals Willing To Listen To Offers On Denard Span By Jeff Todd [November 9, 2013 at 12:20pm CST] Officials of competing clubs say that the Nationals appear willing to listen to offers on center fielder Denard Span, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The 29-year-old came to Washington via trade from the Twins, who received pitching prospect Alex Meyer in the deal. He's the same age as DeAza. He's a defensive upgrade, but an offensive downgrade. Sure, if they were willing to give him up for Gordon Beckham, you'd think about it...but that's not going to happen.

I think to quite a few fans, rebuilding means dealing Chris Sale for that much speculated about huge prospect package (or Stanton/Harper/Trout, etc). And also trading Ramirez, Beckham/Keppinger (if anyone would take them), Santiago/Quintana, DeAza and Addison Reed. Although you could certainly argue that trading Santiago/Quintana would be to improve the team at catcher or 3B, and that closers are completely replaceable and essentially nice luxuries on 99 loss teams. So probably the two players that would be hardest to replace would be Sale and Ramirez (not really counting Viciedo, Abreu and Garcia, since they're all young hitters and part of a "rebuilding/retooling" effort).

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/will-trout-...orsement-deals/ I think this article is pretty instructive about the discussion. Perhaps it’s a simple as this: No major league player has had the star power and cross-over appeal of Jeter. Maybe Buster Posey is next big thing. Or maybe it will be Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, last year’s rookie phenoms who commanded national highlight shows and attention all season. Both young stars have only recently tipped their toes in the endorsement waters. Trout’s first big deal is with the sports drink company BodyArmour, which will pay him cash and give him an equity stake in the business. Harper has small deals with Topps and Under Armour sports wear, among others. His marketing agent, from Boras Marketing, says Harper intends to focus more on baseball than on commercials. Whatever the reasons, there’s no denying MLB players simply don’t command the advertising dollars and attention that big-league stars did decades ago. And that may be just fine with them. After all, free agency and the lack of a salary cap mean higher salaries for the superstars of the game, as compared to what NFL and NBA stars earn from their on-the-field work. Whether that’s good for MLB in the long term remains to be seen. I think it's pretty instructive because when Bryce Harper was the hottest thing on the planet (basically from the time he was in high school and on the cover of SI through his rookie season), Boras Marketing has done little or nothing to capitalize on that opportunity. Stephen Strasburg, also represented by Boras, you'll wonder if he might feel 20 years from now that he should have taken advantage of that time period when he was the biggest name in baseball... Finally, you're starting to see more Trout commercials (there was one in the 2013 Super Bowl and a few during this year's post-season, where he wasn't really the "star" of the ad, per se), but considering how dominating he's been in his first two seasons, he SHOULD be doing better in terms of endorsement deals, and yes, 2013 was a disaster for the Angels. I get that. The people that think Mike Trout would/should be “Da Bomb” (dating myself there) are the same age group that root against people like Mike Trout because he’s too talented and nice. Bryce Harper on the other hand, has a real chance to be that “Can’t miss TV” guy, because if he continues to be himself, people will turn to root for AND against him. A couple of years ago, on every 12U (including 11U, 10U, 9U, etc) baseball diamond, half of the players had the ridiculous “Bryce Harper Eye Black” all over their faces .. and THAT was when he was an amateur!!! Harper has enough of “the edge” to just enthrall the young fans, and yet enough of the classic “balls to the wall” effort, hustle, kick you in the nuts, type play” to please the die hards. But whatever he does, he’s going to do it big. Hero, Goat, winner, loser. It’ll always be a show. I feel very fortunate to be an active fan at the start of these players’ careers. I hope I get to see their whole careers and I hope they’re awesome. I still remember when Eric Davis burst on the scene, and then when Junior did. Junior was BIG. snake says: February 5, 2013 at 10:40 pm Why would the same group that thinks he should market himself better be the same group that roots against him? I am rooting for him and would like to see him proactively broaden his reach instead of standing pat. If he gets injured and ends his career you can be sure he will regret not striking while the iron was hot. He is not capitalizing on his rising stardom and he is making poor choices like endorsing BodyArmour energy drink. When your biggest endorsement is an energy drink no one has heard of, you’re not doing it right. Also, now he won’t get big dollars from Gatorade or another energy drink since he is affiliated with the no name brand. It's also interesting that Jay-Z's targeting more Latin American players, like Cano and Cespedes. As mentioned in the article, Cabrera's having a bit more difficult time because of his inability to speak English fluently AND the DUI/arrests in the past...although Chevrolet did promote him heavily in their post-season commercials as being the best baseball player on the planet, the product of hard work, from Detroit, etc. I'm sure that he (Jay-Z) wishes Abreu was on the Cubs instead of the White Sox...but it will also be interesting to see where things go with Puig, Abreu and Soler in terms of endorsements.

Pepsi has signed New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano to be the face of its national Major League Baseball marketing campaign. Cano will make his debut with a television spot that will run during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game this Tuesday. Cano will start the game on the field for the American League. "He represents the kind of athlete who is in the moment, has a great personality and connects with consumers," said Heidi Sandreuter, senior director of sports marketing for Pepsi, which has been the official sports drink of the league since 1997. Financial terms of the multiyear deal were not disclosed. It's the first marketing deal Cano has signed since he signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports. The new sports firm teamed up with CAA to represent Cano, who will be a free agent after this season. "This deal reflects how powerful Robinson's brand is," said Roc Nation Sports spokesman Ron Berkowitz. "His personality and performance and crossover appeal are all attractive to corporate partners." In April, Pepsi made Jay-Z's wife Beyonce its highest paid endorser when the company signed the popular entertainer to a massive, wide-ranging deal. Jay-Z himself does not currently have a deal with the soft drink brand. www.espn.com We'll use this example. 1) He probably won't get this deal if he's not playing for the Yankees or in NYC. 2) He probably won't get this deal through Scott Boras, since it's antithetical to how his agency operates. 3) It's an example where he got not only a deal for Beyoncé with Pepsi, but also the player he reps...but not for himself (seeming to counter Tex's claim that he's going to conflicted in these situations). 4) Getting exposure from a company like Pepsi will lead to other endorsement possibilities, especially if other advertisers see the validity of the approach by Pepsi, which doesn't connect with any celebrity spokesperson without doing careful market research. 5) Arguably, Jay-Z was able to leverage his connection to Beyoncé to also get a deal for Cano, 2 for 1, so to speak.

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/g...-073013928.html On which girl Thor should pick (I guess there are spoilers involved, although not really anything surprising)....and why his pick is wrong. And a possible new Wonder Woman...?

QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 8, 2013 -> 10:02 AM) To whom? And do teams pay players more when they like the agent? Bring back Jerry Maguire/Leigh Steinberg!