IBC

Why would he retire??.....because he has stated that he might retire, that's why I asked.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1724

I think he'll be back too.....I was just curious what others thought about him returning.

New Dodgers manager Joe Torre spoke with Jeff Kent and received the impression that the second baseman wants to continue his career with the team.

He seemed excited about the fact that I was becoming the manager," Torre said. "We spoke about some things, and I sensed- and I don't know Jeff Kent.... but I felt pretty upbeat and pretty positive that he was looking forward to coming back next year." Kent is under contract at $9 million for 2008, but he's reportedly considering retirement.

"Reportedly considering retirement" sounds like something they say about any player who's had a good career when they're about to hit 40. From the Torre quote it sounds like he'll be back. He's played well enough the last few years that I'd guess he's got 2 solid seasons left.

RedSox trade<br>
Miguel Tejada, , , , , , , <br>to Giants for<br>
Chris Snyder, 2007 Draft, Pick 76, , , , , ,

This would be a good trade if Miguel Tejada were a 17 year old Venezuelan 5-tool prospect who was three years from making an impact. Unfortunately Miguel Tejada remains one of the best SS's in all of baseball - and Chris Snyder remains someone who sounds vaguely familiar. Is Bren going to make a rule that he can draft Rod Carew w/ the 76th pick? If he is, then this is a great trade for him. If it's not, the Nils must have tossed a reacharound into the deal. I demand an investigation!

Indians trade<br>
Trevor Hoffman, , , , , , , <br>to Marlins for<br>
Chad Cordero, Javier Valentin, , , , , ,

I don't mind this trade - I think I'm one of the few who thinks that Chad Cordero's success year-after-year-after-year is not a fluke. I'm not even sure why I'm writing about this trade - I guess cuz it's two closers. I mean, it really doesn't get anymore non-descript then Javier Valentin. Men, and Bren, I apologize for wasting your last 25 seconds.

DBacks trade<br>
Jeffrey Clement, John Danks, Sean Gallagher, Esmerling Vasquez, 2007 Draft, Pick 125, , , <br>to Indians for<br>
Johnny Cueto, 2007 Draft, Pick 7, Hank 6-Conger, 2007 Draft, Pick 37, Blake 6-Wood, , ,

Wow, lot to process here. The DBacks got my two favorite players in this trade (Cueto and Conger), but the Indians picked up more immediate help in Clement, Danks, and Gallagher. It's a nice trade for both sides - the DBacks, a team with a lot of depth, get higher end talent, and the Indians are able to expand the total talent base of their team. I'm not sure why the #7 pick had to go here, I would have tried to hold on to it.

Angels trade<br>
Lastings Milledge, , , , , , , <br>to Pirates for<br>
Ian 6-Kennedy, , , , , , ,

This seems to be a pretty even deal for both teams. Milledge has much more upside, but there are certainly questions about his makeup and whether he cares enough to reach that considerable upside. Kennedy does not quite have the upside of Milledge, but Kennedy is more likely to hit his ceiling as a #2 or #3 starter. So I was ok with what the Angels were doing here...

Angels trade<br>
Ian 6-Kennedy, Michael Bourn, , , , , , <br>to Yankees for<br>
Jeff 6-Samardzija, Nicholas Adenhart, , , , , ,

...until this. Is there are league-wide mandate that says everyone has to work hard to make JB better? This is a classic case of a team diversifying their talent base (which is OK) by taking chance after chance after chance on prospects ripe with upside, but short of results (not OK). Could Samardzija and Adenhart be good? For sure...will both of them be good? Probably not - both have enough history of injuries and being erratic to make it unlikely both hit their apex. Every indication is that Kennedy will, and is pretty close, if not there. I REALLY don't like this trade for the Angels, and I REALLY hate JB.

Z, youre hurting my feelings.

Pirates trade<br>
Dan Uggla, , , , , , , <br>to Rangers for<br>
Carlos Marmol, , , , , , ,

I'm one of the few people, I think, who really likes Uggla. Anytime a 2b can play the position and drop a 30 spot in the home run column (and 83 ebh's!!!!!!) he's ok by me. Marmol is clearly an upper echelon reliever. I worry a little about his workload, but he's certainly a top talent. If I have to announce a winner - I go with Marmol, but it's a solid deal.

Royals wrote:

Angels trade<br>
Ian 6-Kennedy, Michael Bourn, , , , , , <br>to Yankees for<br>
Jeff 6-Samardzija, Nicholas Adenhart, , , , , ,

...until this. Is there are league-wide mandate that says everyone has to work hard to make JB better? This is a classic case of a team diversifying their talent base (which is OK) by taking chance after chance after chance on prospects ripe with upside, but short of results (not OK). Could Samardzija and Adenhart be good? For sure...will both of them be good? Probably not - both have enough history of injuries and being erratic to make it unlikely both hit their apex. Every indication is that Kennedy will, and is pretty close, if not there. I REALLY don't like this trade for the Angels, and I REALLY hate JB.

Gotta disagree. I think Adenharts upside is slightly better than the overhyped NYY Kennedy. Samardzija has been nothing less than nasty in his pro debut, and Bourn is a 5th OF, and more Marlon Byrd than Willie Tavaras.

Since when is a 4.57 ERA in 26 starts nasty?

To beat a dead horse into magma, pretty much everyone agrees that Bourn is not going to be an everyday major leaguer and he's the last guy that Dave hadn't dropped after his Schilling trade.

Dodgers wrote:Since when is a 4.57 ERA in 26 starts nasty?

To beat a dead horse into magma, pretty much everyone agrees that Bourn is not going to be an everyday major leaguer and he's the last guy that Dave hadn't dropped after his Schilling trade.

Shawn, jesus man. Do you have a sticky note next to your computer to reference this trade everytime you post?

Possibly...

I thought Shawn's comment was funny - and to make sure his other point is repeated - what the f is nasty about Samardzija having a .323 baa as an old 22 year old in A ball?

Adenhart is a nice pitcher, who I never said didn't have more upside, but he's also had a history of arm trouble. It's a gigantic chance that's being taken on two pitchers here - where, at worse, Kennedy is a B version of Mike Mussina - which would still make him a quality #2 or #3 starter in the MLB.

The potential for Samardzija to be very good is high. Much of this trade was purely based on how well those 2 arms can be. I said it to JP in our Milledge trade that Kennedy can be a longterm #3. I think the potential for Samardzija and Adenhart could be #1's or #2's. If you dont take chances when they present themselves, it could kick you in the face either way. I like this deal for its potential, rather than what they did this past season.

I happened to see Samardzija pitch in Daytona. #'s alone do not tell the story. I'd take him any day of the week.

Now I just totally disagree with that - if Samardzija continues to have erractic success, he may be destined for the bullpen. Harnessing his stuff was a problem at ND, and it's been a problem in the pros - not sure why that might change. And sure Adenhart's a very good talent - but he also allowed more h's then ip's in AA, a 1.46 whip, and an "eh" k rate.

Ian Kennedy was utterly dominant at 4 levels - including the MLB - with great secondaries across the board. When it comes to building your team, I just truly question trading one person for which there are very few questions about his potential effectiveness for two people who both come with many questions.

It's a monster risk, it pushes your team back AT LEAST 2 years, and you've almost cancelled out scoring any runs in the near future for it.

But, at the end of the day, it's not my team and I've never made the playoffs in this league - so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

I'm with Z on Kennedy/Samardzija. As a Sox fan, I'm actually more concerned about Kennedy than Joba.
Could Samardzija be good? yeah. But Kennedy already IS good.

And the Astros seem to think Bourn could be a decent regular.

I'm with Z on this one, but happy to see Kennedy's stay in the AL West was short and that he was swapped for a couple of "high potential" specs that are still a year or two from making the show or showing any real consistency.

Damn, the Evil Empire.......but its all good in the AL West.

Not that I have to defend my trade, but I think some of you are a little off on your assessment.

First, Bren there is no way in hell you are more concerned about IPK than Joba. That is just silly, even if Joba stays in the pen and sets up Mariano I'd still argue that is of more value to the MLB Yankees. Chamberlain's stuff is so good compared to Kennedy's and its not even close.

Second, Kennedy is already good, but he isn't a top of the rotation starter. He has a very limited upside, and while he is a safe bet to reach it, its probably that of a number 3-4 starter.

And for Samardzja I didnt want to include him in the deal. He throws a 95-mph power sinker. Now im not saying he will reach his upside, cause he might not, but if he does he is going to be really good. And Adenhart is very similar to IPK with a probably higher upside, but he isnt MLB ready yet.

ill have to agree with JB on kennedy/chamberlain on this one...when I saw kennedy pitch it looked like he had enough to get outs..but not like chamberlain who is just flat out overpowering

Yes, I think Joba stays in the pen, and yes, that matters a lot. The Yankees need starters, not relievers. Kennedy is clearly going to stay in the rotation whereas Joba is a 'maybe' at best to get moved there. If he wasn't, it'd be a different story, though we haven't seen how he'd do as a SP in the majors yet.

Kennedy's a good young pitcher, but he's nowhere near as good as his 1.89 ERA over 3 starts this season. His BABIP in about 25 minor league starts this year was somewhere around .260, and his BB/9 was around 3.00. In his short major league stint, his BABIP was .237, and his BB/9 was 4.26. We can probably dismiss the possibility that his BABIP dropped due to the defensive prowess of the Yankees (who are a below average team defensively). So the best explanation for why his ERA was so low despite walking more batters is probably that he had some good luck in his 3 big league starts. Of course, 19 IP is probably too small a sample size to even draw the conclusions I have, but my guess is he settles in as a capable middle-of-the-rotation starter with an ERA somewhere in the 3.80 to 4.20 range, which is not bad for a young SP. Adenhart at least has #2 SP potential, and Samardzija I don't know enough about to say what he'll become, but I've heard he's got pretty good stuff.

I remain flummoxed why people believe Kennedy will be middle of the rotation - and are so quick to slot him in there. And what on earth does "pitch just enough to get outs mean"? If I pitched "just enough to get outs," I'd probably be making a lot of money in the pros now too.

I watched Kennedy this year, and it was like looking at Mussina in the mirror - and not just from the stretch. They throw the same fastball, the both have out curveballs (different types, but both out pitches), they both have pinpoint control, and they both can strike people out but aren't afraid to pitch to contact. Kennedy controls the mound and executes a plan almost every time out. He's consistent with his stuff, and has had success every season he's stepped on the mound.

His era's, whip's, and k/ip at every level since USC:
2004 - USC - 2.91, 1.26, 120/92.2
2006 - USC - 3.90, 1.34, 102/101.2 (first season off TJ)
2006 - Staten Island - 0.00, 1.50, 2/2.2 (2.2 ip's)
2007 - Tampa - 1.29, 0.97, 72/63
2007 - Trenton - 2.59, 0.90, 57/48.2
2007 - Scranton - 2.08, 1.04, 34/34.2
2007 - NYY - 1.89, 1.16, 15/19

I mean, that's just insane amounts of success. Even that first year off TJ, against metal bats, in one of the best baseball conferences in America he was very strong. Will someone just tell me what I'm missing?

He doesnt have overpowering stuff like joba does. He will never be the ace of the yankees staff...