caulfield12

Baseball's financial insanity finds a new home in LA By PETE GRATHOFF The Kansas City Star By PETE GRATHOFF Updated: 2012-08-26T03:19:10Z You could make the case that Los Angeles gained more than three All-Stars in the blockbuster trade between Boston and the Dodgers was completed Saturday. It also has become home to uncontrolled spending. For years, the Red Sox and Yankees have been baseball's most aggressive teams, throwing huge bucks at free agents and trading prospects for established stars with impunity. But the teams in Los Angeles have supplanted the Yankees and Red Sox as baseball's most ambitious (or, depending on your point of view, reckless) franchises. Not that they care. "Are you playing within the rules? That's what I always looked at," Dodgers manager and former Yankees star Don Mattingly told the Los Angeles Times. "They used to say all that about the Yankees. If you don't like it, change the rules." But don't confuse the Dodgers with the Yankees, because LA is in uncharted territory. The Dodgers acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford and infielder Nick Punto from Boston for first baseman James Loney, two minor-league players (infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., and pitcher Allen Webster) and two players to be named later (expected to be pitcher Rubby De La Rosa and infielder Jerry Sands). LA was so eager to gain an impact bat at first base that it agreed to take on an injured outfielder and an underachieving pitcher. But the key part of the deal is the more than $250 million of salary the Dodgers added. Clearly, money is no object in the city of angels. The Dodgers were sold this year to a group that includes Mark Walter, Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten for $2.15 billion. Before the Red Sox deal, they already had made one of the biggest trades of the year, getting former All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins. But the Dodgers are merely keeping up with the Angels. In the offseason, the Angels got a $3 billion TV deal and went on a spending spree, dropping more than $300 million on contracts for free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Last month, the Angels traded three minor-leaguers, including their top prospect, to the Brewers for pitcher Zack Greinke. He will be a free agent at season's end and had previously turned down a $100 million contract offer from Milwaukee. The Angels must feel confident that they'll sign Greinke to a new deal, and why wouldn't they? The LA teams have shown that money is no object in the pursuit of a World Series title. That used to be said about the Yankees and Red Sox, but those teams were mostly quiet last winter, seemingly concerned about baseball's increasing luxury taxes. No such worries in LA, where the Dodgers are due to get a new TV contract of their own after the 2013 season. "We continue to do everything in our power to strengthen our team for the stretch drive in an effort to reach the postseason," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement. "This trade today exemplifies ownership's commitment to making the team as good as possible not only for 2012 but for many seasons to come." Will this affect the Royals? The consensus among fans is that the team must acquire a top-of-the rotation pitcher this winter. The Dodgers' trade could complicate matters, because they essentially freed up a ton of cash for the Red Sox to sign a starter or two. That could make the market less palatable for the Royals, who by the way are due to receive less than $20 million per season through 2019 for their television deal. The young pitchers in the minors are either not ready or injured. But that's what the Royals might have to rely on as the teams in LA make the Red Sox and Yankees look like penny-pinchers. In fact, Mattingly told the Los Angeles Times that small-market teams should rely on their farm system, pointing out the Twins' success. Of course, Minnesota is in last place and hasn't won a playoff game since 2004, but Mattingly didn't seem to know or care. "There is a beauty in doing what the Twins do," he said. "You have to be really good at what the Twins do. You build your minor-league system. You do everything right. That's the way we should be. Our system should be great. We should teach our guys to play the game right. But right now … to me, it's the best of both worlds." Or, to some looking at the trade with Boston, it's out of this world. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/25/37792...l#storylink=cpy

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...Y3Rpb25z;_ylv=3 Valentine in hot water again, leading to a 3 game suspension for Aceves... ........Does this trade mark the end of Boston as a destination for big-time free agents? . .By Kevin Kaduk (www.yahoo.com/sports) .PostsWebsiteEmailRSS .By Kevin Kaduk | Big League Stew – 22 hours ago ........ Saturday's Boston Herald pulls no punches.Viewed in the here and now, this weekend's blockbuster deal between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers is a giant 'get out of jail free' card for the team on the east coast. With the team's 2012 season sunk by poor play and a fractured clubhouse, GM Ben Cherington has a chance to climb out from under the weight of three giant contracts handed out by his predecessor and plan for a "first principles" future that suddenly includes the term "financial flexibility." The only visible cost of the deal at the moment is a couple more years of Adrian Gonzalez's prime — which could indeed be significant — and the $12.5 million they'll be sending the Los Angeles Yankees (sic) to help pay the quarter-billion's worth of contracts that are headed west. But looking forward, you have to wonder if that financial flexibility will mean anything given the atmosphere that's seeing the trio of Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford (plus Nick Punto, why won't anyone think of poor Nick Punto?) ushered out of town in the most unceremonious way possible. That possibility of Beantown being treated like a no-entry zone crystallized itself on Saturday morning after seeing the cover of the Boston Herald touting all three of the big names as dead weight. "BUMS AWAY," blared the headline and you had to wonder the tab bothered showing any type of restraint by omitting a exclamation point. There's no arguing that the three players provided some key points of contention to fuel Boston's media and its fanbase: Gonzalez with his willingness to let Kelly Shoppach borrow his smartphone, Crawford by posting a dismal 2011 before turning in an injury-shortened 2012 and Beckett by not conforming to the ideals of how a ballplayer should prepare for a game or preen for the public in front of the press. None of the three, however, were the heavy anchors that the newspaper page makes them out to be. One is a pitcher who played a large role in winning the 2007 World Series, one is a first baseman still capable of winning an MVP in a push for another title and one is an All-Star outfield who ran into the common pressure of playing up to a big contract in a big market and was never given the time (nor the health) to work his way back. It's hard to imagine that any future free agent will look at the way these three were treated and want to sign a long deal to play in Boston. Not with new TV riches making Boston and New York far from the only markets to fatten one's wallet and not with an ownership group that paid no attention to the wishes of its players when it answered the dysfunctional end to the 2011 season by bringing in the most divisive manager to solve things. Three players are being scapegoated for Boston's awful season when the list of responsible parties in much longer. Don't think the rest of the league doesn't notice. Money, of course, will ultimately speak loudest in the end. It did when Crawford passed up a lot of money to play in his preferred destination with the Los Angeles Angels to sign for even more cash in Boston. But after seeing how this whole thing went down, it's worth wondering whether free agents will demand an even higher premium to submit themselves to a leading role in Boston's summer soap opera. Sure, the Red Sox may be saving a lot of money now, but it could cost them a lot more — both in payroll and lost seasons — in the end. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/blockbuster-d...-and-sense.html Insightful Jeff Passan article, one of the better ones yet written on the trade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/sports/15sandomir.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,5040070.column

http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observ...n-beckham-plan/

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/...e-lance-barrett One would think Selig and Torre are going to take some sort of action THIS time around. Even if Harrelson was 90-95% correct in everything he said.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 10:25 PM) True, but that's all second guessing. What about the leadoff hitter, the lefty, he blew away for strike three with a fastball. I think he knew he had 2 runs to work with and the home run actually was not that big a deal in that situation. Two out homer with nobody on base. He coulda popped up that heater as well or flew out to deep center. The broken bat single is what made it really interesting. True, a single is a single, but that was really really bad luck for Reed. p.s. What is a fastball hitter?? Who in baseball isn't a fastball hitter? If it's fast enough ... they still miss it. Gordon Beckham and Viciedo (long swing, not cutting down to make it more compact) for most of this season. Flowers and Lillibridge would be two others.

Trayce Thompson with his 3rd homer already for the Barons. I think that's something like 24 total on the season. Not sure why Simon Castro was pulled early...he didn't give up a run. Maybe on a pitch count, and he did have 3 walks. Strange season for him.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 09:26 PM) I don't know about that. He had 2 runs to work with. He may have f***ed my fantasy team ERA, but he got the save with room to spare. The second base hit was a broken bat single. That's not struggling. The home run? He had a two run lead and nobody on base. He threw a meaty fastball that got crushed. But no harm, no foul, except to my fantasy team. He did OK IMO. The point is that Seager's a FASTBALL hitter. Needs to trust or at least use his slider more often than he has been.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 09:28 PM) Atta boy Addison shut these "Addison Reed is not a f***in closer" up...It's his rookie year, he'll have bumps and until recently he's been a pretty damn good closer. I don't think that performance tonight exactly quieted most of his detractors.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 09:25 PM) WHEW! We'll take it. Nate Jones with the vulture win. I'll tell you Stone Pony, Nathan Jones is the most fortunate 6-0 pitcher I've seen in my 6 decades in professional baseball.

Always an interesting ending with Addison Reed out there. He simply HAS to learn how to trust his secondary stuff...and the catcher has to call it. Force him to throw non-fastballs. Great games by Rios, Flowers and YOUK. Wise picked up Beckham for a key RBI. Tigers and White Sox hold serve. Tigers' fans must be wondering when we're going to lose. Huge series set up for next week at BALT and at DET. Orioles won again vs. the hapless Blue Jays, now 12 games over .500.

FOUR consecutive two-out hits for the Tigers here. Stupid decision not to bunt there. Thanks, though. Red Sox just blew a 9-3 lead at home to the Royals. KC is next opponent for the Tigers, AT HOME, seemingly never leaving DET.

27,562 tonight. Aybar, Vernon Wells and Wilson © in the top of the 9th for LAA. That's not good. Thanks for nothing Angels' bullpen. That's two huge rallies for the Tigers in one week.

Great, Scioscia. Now you bring in Hawkins. That bullpen has killed their season. They're the only team with more blown saves than the Sox, and they just added another one.

Damn you, Peralta. Crap.

Dirks reaches and is now over .330 on the season.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 08:43 PM) Is Reed able to pitch tonite after all those pitches last nite? Might have to use Jesse Crain.

Former White Sox minor leaguer Josh Kinney...and Redbird/Cardinale.

When we need a Dunn K, he always seems to hit into a DP. Oh, well. Fielder reaches on a single against Richards. One on, one out.

Cabrera actually makes an out in the bottom of the 8th to lead off and hopefully won't be heard from again tonight.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 25, 2012 -> 08:36 PM) Anyone else flinch thinking it was a bloop single off the bat? No, because it wasn't Matt Thornton. Myers has had a couple of hiccups, but one was caused by AJ's thrown down the line at MN, the other was a game where he just didn't have it at all. I think there was one other game he entered and gave up the tying or go-ahead run in a similar situation?

So lucky tonight. Stranded the bases loaded twice this game. Quintana has that knack for coming back and getting a decent or even quality start when he looks like he belongs on the Tampa Yankees roster again. It's pretty uncanny how many times he's battled back for horrid first or second innings.

PULL HIM YOU IDIOT PARENT HOPEFULLY HE'S JUST DELAYING/STALLING so Myers can warm up more. Is there some kind of rule this season the bullpen has to hand the lead right back to the opposing team? Sweet Baby JESUS of Nazareth.

Just once, get out a LHB. Great, 3-1 count to Seager... Matt Thornton just sucks. There's no other explanation.