MLB Hotstove

[Mets]

Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Yankees, D-Backs and Tigers have agreed to a deal.

According to Heyman, OF Curtis Granderson will go the Yankees, Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy will head to Arizona, and prospects Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke will go to the Tigers.

[Cardinals]

No clue what Arizona is thinking there.

[Royals]

Someone in the Yankee org is going to hell for that trade, talk about bending a team over...

[Cardinals]

Lackey to Boston and another three team trade today is pretty interesting.

[Mets]

I thought the purpose of getting Halladay was a 1-2 punch of Halladay and Lee.

Do the Phillies get that much better by spending the extra money if the rumors are true?

Also, Seattle is looking pretty serious. LHP play well at Safeco.

[Cardinals]

Halladay/Hamels is probably pretty potent nonetheless. I don't think they could afford Lee and Halladay longterm so they'd rather dish out big bucks to Halladay for another 5 years, which makes sense to me.

[Phillies]

Lee wouldnt sign a contract extension, said he wanted to test the market. Halladay on the other hand is signing one.

[Cardinals]

Looks like Damon overplayed his hand.

[BlueJays]

Looks like Damon overplayed his hand.

it's too bad, he's worth the 2 year $20 mil he asked for and at this point he's probably going to have to settle for a 1 year deal worth less than $10 mil. CHONE projects him to be worth over $14 mil next year and even with a 30% drop in value the year after that he'd be worth about $10 mil (which would come out to a 2 year deal being $24 mil).

[Giants]

Couple things. Perception trumps reality, and I'm sure other GMs are looking at Damon's home/road splits (.795 OPS vs. .915), doing their rough calculations about expected declines of a 36 year old who is probably not a big plus on defense, and who wants to pay that guy anything? He's a victim of market forces, yes, but he also should have seen it coming.

[BlueJays]

Couple things. Perception trumps reality, and I'm sure other GMs are looking at Damon's home/road splits (.795 OPS vs. .915), doing their rough calculations about expected declines of a 36 year old who is probably not a big plus on defense, and who wants to pay that guy anything? He's a victim of market forces, yes, but he also should have seen it coming.

Almost everybody performs better at home outside players who play at hardcore pitchers parks

He was still at 126 OPS+ (park adjusted stat) and while his UZR sucked last year, the previous year and the year before that he showed to be fantastic defensively in left.

I do give props to the Yankees for giving Boras a big middle finger though.

[Royals]

Couple things. Perception trumps reality, and I'm sure other GMs are looking at Damon's home/road splits (.795 OPS vs. .915), doing their rough calculations about expected declines of a 36 year old who is probably not a big plus on defense, and who wants to pay that guy anything? He's a victim of market forces, yes, but he also should have seen it coming.

Almost everybody performs better at home outside players who play at hardcore pitchers parks

He was still at 126 OPS+ (park adjusted stat) and while his UZR sucked last year, the previous year and the year before that he showed to be fantastic defensively in left.

I do give props to the Yankees for giving Boras a big middle finger though.

it's not just Boras getting the one finer salute, it's Damon as well. The guy is a prick and that's something teams consider.
I'm not buying that 126 OPS+, yankee stadium played as a HUGE hitters park this year and i don't think B-R factored it properly, there's no way he was worth 26% over average when taking ballpark into account.

[Yankees]

it's not just Boras getting the one finer salute, it's Damon as well. The guy is a prick and that's something teams consider.
I'm not buying that 126 OPS+, yankee stadium played as a HUGE hitters park this year and i don't think B-R factored it properly, there's no way he was worth 26% over average when taking ballpark into account.

Damon's a prick? Good fuck get over him leaving the Red Sox. I can't find anyone who has nothing but great things to say about Damon as a teammate.

So if it's not being a teammate - it's overvaluing himself? Here's a better question: When has Damon NOT lived up to the contract he's signed? The Yankees were ridiculed for the contract they gave Damon, but he was outstanding outside of one 1/2 year when he played hurt. As a Yankee fan, it's unfortunate he won't be in Pinstripes next year, but I'm very thankful for the 4 years he gave us - it was a blast rooting for him.

[Giants]

Johnny Damon is a pretty serious prick whatever team he plays for (read his book, particularly the part about cheating on his wife if you want evidence about that). A guy can be a prick and you can still root for him when he's on your team then boo him when he leaves, and how you react to his baseball playing has no bearing on whether or not he's a prick.

[Yankees]

Johnny Damon's a prick for cheating on his wife? If that's the standard, than pretty much every pro athlete who's not a Mormon is a prick. Damon is an excellent teammate, and every organization has said he was a good guy and a good teammate. I trust the people who played 162 games with him more than our outside judgments...

[Rangers]

Johnny Damon's a prick for cheating on his wife? If that's the standard, than pretty much every pro athlete who's not a Mormon is a prick.

That's not really true. A lot of them do it, but a lot of them also don't, and the fact that a lot of them do it doesn't make it okay.

[Yankees]

Johnny Damon's a prick for cheating on his wife? If that's the standard, than pretty much every pro athlete who's not a Mormon is a prick.

That's not really true. A lot of them do it, but a lot of them also don't, and the fact that a lot of them do it doesn't make it okay.

Sure - but cheating on someone's wife doesn't make them a prick. An idiot, a sexaholic, a bad husband - sure - but to generalize someone as a bad person because they have an indiscretion is very dangerous.

[Astros]

I would say someone that cheats on their wife is a bad person. I don't know how you can say they're a good person if they do

[Yankees]

I would say someone that cheats on their wife is a bad person. I don't know how you can say they're a good person if they do

How? There are dead marriages. There are also a TON of professional relationships that allow cheating as long as it's not brought back to the house. There are a ton of people who marry early. There are people who simply make bad decisions.

Everyone in life makes bad decisions - whether small or big (like drunk driving or cheating) - certainly a bad decision does not make someone a bad person. Professional athletes get tested with temptations that we would never begin to understand - or have the ability to put ourselves in their shoes. To say I - or for anyone to say - they would respond differently when being mauled by a Playboy Playmate is an impossible assumption to make - and VERY easy for people on the sidelines to cast aspersions.

[Giants]

Johnny Damon's a prick for cheating on his wife? If that's the standard, than pretty much every pro athlete who's not a Mormon is a prick. Damon is an excellent teammate, and every organization has said he was a good guy and a good teammate. I trust the people who played 162 games with him more than our outside judgments...

He wrote this whole chapter in the book about how his wife kept accusing him of cheating when he wasn't and that's what drove him to cheat. Take some responsibility for your actions. Cheating on your wife by itself doesn't make you a prick (though it's certainly a step in that direction), having the outlook that nothing around you is your fault and blaming other people for your transgressions does. As someone who has worked in professional sports I'm surprised that you take anything that any of his teammates or his organizations say to the press at face value. You should know as well as anyone how carefully that stuff is spin controlled, to the point that it's rare for even ex-athletes long out of the game who are now broadcasters to criticize players personally. I understood the company man line about the Sonics when you were working for the NBA, but seriously, take the rose-colored glasses off.

[Yankees]

He wrote this whole chapter in the book about how his wife kept accusing him of cheating when he wasn't and that's what drove him to cheat. Take some responsibility for your actions. Cheating on your wife by itself doesn't make you a prick (though it's certainly a step in that direction), having the outlook that nothing around you is your fault and blaming other people for your transgressions does. As someone who has worked in professional sports I'm surprised that you take anything that any of his teammates or his organizations say to the press at face value. You should know as well as anyone how carefully that stuff is spin controlled, to the point that it's rare for even ex-athletes long out of the game who are now broadcasters to criticize players personally. I understood the company man line about the Sonics when you were working for the NBA, but seriously, take the rose-colored glasses off.

Hey - I'm not condoning cheating by ANY stretch of the imagination. I'm also well aware of spin control that pro sports teams use - I have to do it almost every day with the league I'm in (gay/lesbian, team folding, financial stability, smaller stadiums, etc etc etc).

I obviously can't attest to if Damon and David Robertson privately abhor each other - but it's not like news of Damon being a "good teammate" is late-breaking to his leaving the Yankees. It was a constant news story in his first year, and continued to be the song and dance when he was on fire earlier this year. It was also a constant news story with the Red Sox. Unless he has an incredible PR person, or is paying off his teammates - it's not a stretch to think his teammates enjoy the guy.

CLEARLY Damon isn't in the ballpark of perfect - but it also seems like he's a pretty good dude. Professional athletes have never had to take responsibility for anything they've done - unless it includes jail - and thus it's the rare athlete who thinks enough to understand real consequences for their actions - which was a big part of why Barkley still defends "I'm not a a role model." But trangressions don't just doesn't mean they are bad people...

[Yankees]

He wrote this whole chapter in the book about how his wife kept accusing him of cheating when he wasn't and that's what drove him to cheat. Take some responsibility for your actions. Cheating on your wife by itself doesn't make you a prick (though it's certainly a step in that direction), having the outlook that nothing around you is your fault and blaming other people for your transgressions does. As someone who has worked in professional sports I'm surprised that you take anything that any of his teammates or his organizations say to the press at face value. You should know as well as anyone how carefully that stuff is spin controlled, to the point that it's rare for even ex-athletes long out of the game who are now broadcasters to criticize players personally. I understood the company man line about the Sonics when you were working for the NBA, but seriously, take the rose-colored glasses off.

Hey - I'm not condoning cheating by ANY stretch of the imagination. I'm also well aware of spin control that pro sports teams use - I have to do it almost every day with the league I'm in (gay/lesbian, team folding, financial stability, smaller stadiums, etc etc etc).

I obviously can't attest to if Damon and David Robertson privately abhor each other - but it's not like news of Damon being a "good teammate" is late-breaking to his leaving the Yankees. It was a constant news story in his first year, and continued to be the song and dance when he was on fire earlier this year. It was also a constant news story with the Red Sox. Unless he has an incredible PR person, or is paying off his teammates - it's not a stretch to think his teammates enjoy the guy.

CLEARLY Damon isn't in the ballpark of perfect - but it also seems like he's a pretty good dude. Professional athletes have never had to take responsibility for anything they've done - unless it includes jail - and thus it's the rare athlete who thinks enough to understand real consequences for their actions - which was a big part of why Barkley still defends "I'm not a a role model." But trangressions don't just doesn't mean they are bad people...

[Rangers]

I found this amusing in light of our discussion.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/ ... 901&ver=us

Terry had one of those unimpeachable reputations just a year or so ago.