AZ D'BACK Baseball...as well as other MLB talk

[buddy]

sorry, yeah i meant lee and felix.

[buddy]

i guess it's official lackey 5 yr deal.

The Boston Red Sox have reached a tentative deal with right-handed pitcher John Lackey, pending a physical, worth slightly more than the $82.5 million, five-year contract A.J. Burnett signed with the New York Yankees last year, a source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Pair Of Aces

The Red Sox's rotation is coming up aces. Here's a look at how Lackey and Josh Beckett, who is Boston's No. 1 guy, compare:
Beckett Lackey
Born Spring, TX Abilene, TX
W-L 106-68 102-71
ERA 3.79 3.81
Won WS Clincher 2003 2002

Lackey traveled to Boston for a physical exam Monday, fueling speculation that an agreement was close at hand.

Specific details weren't available, but the Red Sox's heightened pursuit of Lackey came after reports that Boston is fading in its efforts to retain free-agent outfielder Jason Bay.

Lackey, 31, is 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA in eight seasons with the Angels, and he would join Josh Beckett and Jon Lester at the top of a powerhouse rotation in Boston. The Mariners, Angels and Mets are among the other teams interested in signing Lackey.

Entering the offseason, it was believed that Lackey would use A.J. Burnett's five-year, $82.5 million contract with the New York Yankees as a benchmark, but industry estimates of his potential haul have ranged from $60 million to $100 million.

There were reports that Lackey declined a $72 million offer earlier this year from the Angels, but his representatives have since characterized those reports as untrue.

Lackey shut out the Red Sox through 7 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the AL Division Series and nearly no-hit Boston in 2008, but in nine career regular-season starts at Fenway Park, he is 2-5 with a 5.75 ERA.

Bay turned down Boston's latest contract offer late last week and was ready to "move on" from Boston, according to his agent, Joe Urbon. The Red Sox have no intention of offering Bay a five-year deal, a source told ESPNBoston.com.

Also still up in the air is the status of third baseman Mike Lowell, who will undergo a physical for the Rangers this week, a source told EPSNDallas.com, as the Red Sox and Rangers continue to evaluate a proposed trade that would send Lowell to Texas and catcher Max Ramirez to Boston.

[humanoid]

seems like a strange gamble for Philly...since Lee was already there, is younger than Halladay by 15 months and was a success for them..

Halladay is a better pitcher, and has been for a longer time, but he will be 33 shortly after the start of next year, has logged tons of innings and has never thrown 1 inning in the playoffs

maybe they had the feeling that Lee wasn't interested in resigning there longterm for some reason

[stuporfly]

yeah i think its silly. why not keep lee? but we'll see if the report pans out.

I just looked, and Lee is also a year away from free agency. He's also said he won't give the Phillies a bargain to re-sign him, so apparently they'll have to pay to keep either he or Halladay.

[buddy]

then i would take halladay over lee. i guess that makes sense then.

[buddy]

beckett, lackey, and lester. thats a decent 3-man rotation. if lackey stays healthy, which he's had problems doing in years past.

[paulb]

Halladay is the most consistant pitcher in the mlb.... Im jealous Phillies seem to be getting him....hopefully Yankees in 2011

[buddy]

the latest report says:

According to the report, Halladay is expected to agree to a contract extension with the Phillies, which would finalize the deal.

[paulb]

[humanoid]

beckett, lackey, and lester. thats a decent 3-man rotation. if lackey stays healthy, which he's had problems doing in years past.

we'll see what Beckett does in his free agent year this year...he'll either dominate or succumb to the pressure of trying to earn a contract and pitch worse....

Lester is a stud though

Lackey...should be good for the Sox, he's solid if unspectacular...I am glad the Yanks didn't sign him though, I didn't want to see too many long term pitching contracts overlap, I'd like to see what Joba and Hughes can do

it's fun to occasionally get to follow young guys through the system and see them succeed

[humanoid]

Halladay is the most consistant pitcher in the mlb.... Im jealous Phillies seem to be getting him....hopefully Yankees in 2011

no, he'll sign an extension with Philly


watch 2011, Josh Beckett signs with the Yankees to stick it to Boston (I don't want to ever have to root for him though)


Cliff Lee will be a free agent

and 2012....Felix Hernandez will, unless they lock him up soon, and they will certainly try....he knows he will get a ridiculously huge contract somewhere though

[buddy]

watch 2011, Josh Beckett signs with the Yankees to stick it to Boston (I don't want to ever have to root for him though)

ha. i seriously doubt beckett signs with the yankees "to stick to the red sox", although the yankees would love that. but if the yanks throw a shitload of money at him, how can he turn that down?

[humanoid]

ha. i seriously doubt beckett signs with the yankees "to stick to the red sox", although the yankees would love that. but if the yanks throw a shitload of money at him, how can he turn that down?

you don't think he see any writing on the wall in signing Lackey to a 5 year deal when they haven't extended him yet???

[humanoid]

it's not something I'm guaranteeing, but I could absolutely see it happening

like I said though, I really don't want to have to root for Josh Beckett (although I would if I had to)

[buddy]

there's still time to re-up beckett. plus the red sox are notorious for waiting until a player's contracts is up to offer them a solid new contract. sometimes that works against them, case in point jason bay.

[humanoid]

there's still time to re-up beckett. plus the red sox are notorious for waiting until a player's contracts is up to offer them a solid new contract. sometimes that works against them, case in point jason bay.

I know there is still time

the Yankees like to wait until the last minute to work out deals too

[seandlr]

Well Seattle should be looking pretty good next season.

[humanoid]

Seattle still has plenty of work to do though....they may have trouble driving in Ichiro and Figgins....the 2 guys with the most pop and run producing ability on their team, Beltre and Branyan are still unsigned. Beltre was hurt last year, and was pretty mediocre when he played, but he is as good as anyone at 3rd. Jose Lopez is an underrated hitter, and Franklin Gutierrez is continuing to develop.

It also depends on if Figgins approaches his career year of last year, a contract year, or reverts to somewhere a little closer to his career averages. If he is suddenly a patient, walks machine, he and Ichiro will at least be on base a ton.

They have a top notch 1 & 2 in their rotation, but they didn't have a single starter other than Felix throw even 100 innings last year...so the rotation is still a major work in progress

They have definitely closed the gap between them and the Angels, as the Rangers have as well. It should definitely be a much better division than it has been in recent years.

[biggfoot17]

HALLELUJAH!! MILTON BRADLEY IS GONE!! Good riddance you piece of shit.

[paulb]

is Nick Johnson a good pickup for the Yankees?

[biggfoot17]

If the can get on base the way he did for Florida. If I recall correctly, his OBP was something like .450 or higher. That would be very nice to have in front of Arod and Tex. But I hate the Yankees so I hope it turns out to be a flop =)

[paulb]

Well, Nick Johnson will probably be batting 5th like Matsui did, with Jeter and Granderson in front of Tex then Arod....

[stuporfly]

Well, Nick Johnson will probably be batting 5th like Matsui did, with Jeter and Granderson in front of Tex then Arod....

Most of the New York papers have Granderson hitting in the 6 or 7 slot, which makes sense with his proclivity for swinging away. You don't want a guy who strikes out a lot high in the batting order.

I think they're gonna still try to re-sign Damon - He can still play a solid left field and his offensive contribution to the team batting behind Jeter was invaluable.

[paulb]

Really? Interesting... I assumed Granderson would be replacing Damon, since Yankees dont wanna commit money/time.

So potentially it could be

1. Jeter
2. Damon
3. Tex
4. Arod
5. Johnson
6. Posada
7. Granderson
8. Cano
9. Swisher

Cabrera on the bench?

[boarderwoozel3]

So I was at a holiday/engagement party with Giants prospect John Bowker last night. Didn't even know it was him until after some laughs about first dates and dates where only one person thinks it's a date. Bowker went to high school in Sacramento with my cousin who just got engaged. Certainly looks like he can hit a baseball a long way. Random, but I thought I'd share.

[Still-ill]

Most of the New York papers have Granderson hitting in the 6 or 7 slot, which makes sense with his proclivity for swinging away. You don't want a guy who strikes out a lot high in the batting order.

I think they're gonna still try to re-sign Damon - He can still play a solid left field and his offensive contribution to the team batting behind Jeter was invaluable.

Damon's only knock is he has the worst arm in baseball.

[humanoid]

Well, Nick Johnson will probably be batting 5th like Matsui did, with Jeter and Granderson in front of Tex then Arod....

Nick Johnson would likely bat 2nd. He doesn't have near the power or run producing ability that Matsui did to properly protect Arod in the lineup. Johnson is a quality hitter, whose main strength is his eye, patience and ability to get on base. Since 2006, he has the 2nd highest OBP in all of baseball, second only to Albert Pujols. If he can stay healthy (huge IF unfortunately), he'll be a great asset to the team, especially right in front of Tex and Arod.

Granderson will likely be a 6-7 hitter in the Yanks' lineup. If he can just do his thing, and not try to be too pull conscious due to trying to yank everything out of NYS, he should thrive with the hitters he is surrounded by.

[humanoid]

Well, Melky is gone...along with Mike Dunn (hard throwing LH reliever and depending upon which report, A ball pitching prospect Arodys Viscaino....for Javier Vasquez and Boone Logan from Atl.

Vasquez had his ups and downs in the Bronx the first time around, but he is a very solid $4 starter for the Yanks who had a fantastic year last year in ATL. He has pitched at least 198 innings every year for the past 10 seasons and was the only other pitcher besides Randy Johnson to record 2000 K's during the 00's.

Javy will be pitching in a contract year, so that may provide additional motivation for him and that adds quality without the team being forced into another long term deal. It also allows the Yanks to keep either Joba or Hughes in the setup role which helps keep the bullpen strong heading into 2010.

The Yanks will likely look for another LF, since I can't really see them playing Brett Gardner out there full time. He will get plenty of PT, but can;'t realistically see them relying on him everyday. I don't think that means Damon would be back, since they wanted him to be primarily a DH. Since they just signed Nick Johnson to be the DH, I would more expect them to go after a RH guy like Marlon Byrd or Mark Derosa who both would come cheaper than Damon. I like the idea of Derosa, since he could play a lot of LF, but also spell either Arod, Cano or Teixeira occasionally to give any of them a DH day or day off.

[stuporfly]

All those dumb-ass "Got Melky?" shirts rendered completely useless!

I must confess, I haven't followed Vasquez' career since they unwisely dumped him in that Randy Johnson trade. I just remember some of the Yankee core players like Jeter being unhappy they didn't give him another year to settle in.

I still think the Yanks are gonna try to bring Damon back. Their approach at the moment appears to be allowing him to see what's really happening in free agency. When he's not gonna get what he's looking for from another club, he might be more willing to take something closer to the Yankees' offer than he is right now. Like you, I can't see Garnder out there full time, so unless they're looking to swoop in and make a splash with a guy like Jason Bay (unlikely), they might well want to bring back a relatively reliable player like Damon who's already proven he won't fold under pressure. I do agree with Still-Ill that his arm is pretty crummy, but it's a decent trade-off for what he provides in other areas.

[humanoid]

There is almost no possibility of them going after a big signing like Bay or Holliday. They are already beyond the luxury tax threshold and every dollar they spend beyond the current threshold of $170 million is taxed. As a repeat offender, the Yanks would now pay 40% on every dollar they spend over $170 mil. That's another strike against Damon, since signing him to a $10 mil per year deal would essentially be $14 mil per year. Same with any other big ticket guy, the dollar amount would be that much more absurd. Paying Holliday $20 million would mean $28 million in actuality, which he is nowhere near able to justify.

That's why I mentioned Derosa and Byrd, they could both be had for cheaper than Damon, although probably not significantly. Damon has succeeded in NY, but as mentioned, throws like a handicapped girl. His defense is becoming a liability, but his offensive value (at least in NYS) is still rather high. Byrd is a good option since he is about 3-4 years younger than either Damon or Derosa, and can play all 3 OF positions better than either guy as well. Derosa, offers versatility that the others don't, as he can play both the corner OF spots and has played every IF position during his MLB career. He hasn't played SS for several years though, but has recent time at 3rd, 2nd and 1st.

I really like Damon, and would like to see him back. Unfortunately, I was hoping to see him primarily in the DH role, where his defensive shortcomings would no longer be an issue. At least if he does still have a spot with the team, it should be on more team friendly terms than the nonsense that Scott Boras is hoping for.