MLB 2012

[Ingmar]

NRI lists for spring training are starting to be announced, which means it is baseball time once again! 

Biggest question still to be answered: where is Prince Fielder going to land? The rumored front-runner seems to change daily.

[Paelos]

Texas seems to  him.

[WayAbvPar]

I hope they sign him to a deal that dwarfs the A-Rod contract...that should take care of them nicely in 3 years when he has to have a hip replaced and they are crippled by his contract.

[Bann]

Tigers sign Prince Fielder for a 9 year deal. I have no idea where he will play the field, but if/when Victor Martinez comes back the tigers lineup is going to give opposing pitchers nightmares.

[HaemishM]

Cabrera could play 3rd or the outfield (I think he even played SS at one point for the Marlins). Martinez can DH with Fielder at 1B. You'd probably want Fielder at 1B because he's a lot better fielder than those other two and better than his physique would make you think. I'm sad the Cubs didn't go after him, but after Soriano, I'm fine with them not going in for these crazy long contracts. Also, both Pujols and Fielder are now in the AL where they can't hurt my Cubs anymore.

[Ingmar]

Fielder is a defensive upgrade over Cabrera, who presumably is now the starting DH.

[WayAbvPar]

By maybe 1 or two runs a season. They are both godawful defensively. The real question- will the duo get to 600 home runs or 600 pounds first?

[Ingmar]

9 years is about 2 years too long for sure.

[Paelos]

9 years is about 2 years too long for sure.

I was thinking 4 years, but 2 years is a certainty.

[Ingmar]

You're always going to be paying for some years on the back end that aren't as good as the ones at the peak years with deals like this - otherwise someone else who is willing to will sign the player instead of you - but 9 years puts that number of years at around 4 as you say which is more than I would be willing to do personally. Maybe more like 3, I think Fielder will still be pretty good at 33.

Remember the Tigers owner is about 300 years old and wants to win before he kicks off, so their WIN NOW motivation is extremely high.

[HaemishM]

Huh. Apparently I'm wrong about Fielder. He ranks 21 out of 21 of 1B with a fielding pct. of .990 and had 15 errors (2 more than Cabrera). Good thing he can mash.

[ghost]

He's fat.   

[Paelos]

He's fat.   

Fat baseball players aren't fat. Only fat women are fat.

[ghost]

[Sjofn]

I won't lie, I love fat baseball players. Something about them amuses the shit out of me. Fat pitchers (who have to bat!) are my absolute favorite.

[Ingmar]

Yeah his defensive numbers are worse than what I had in my head. In any case it means at worst they can rotate Cabrera and Fielder back and forth between 1B and DH, which gives them 'days off' to reduce injury risk etc.

============

My favorite fat pitcher:



EDIT:

"Miguel Cabrera told a Venezuelan newspaper that he's moving to third base to accommodate the Detroit Tigers' newest slugger, first baseman Prince Fielder."

Wow that is going to be a really bad infield.

[WayAbvPar]

They are talking about playing Cabrera at 3rd and Fielder at 1st. That should prove to be extremely amusing for everyone but Tigers fans. What is the ML record for bunt base hits against? It is getting shattered if those guys take the field together more than 40 or 50 games.

[Paelos]

They will have to reserve 4 spots for them on the each week on ESPN's Not Top Ten

[Trippy]

They are talking about playing Cabrera at 3rd and Fielder at 1st. That should prove to be extremely amusing for everyone but Tigers fans. What is the ML record for bunt base hits against? It is getting shattered if those guys take the field together more than 40 or 50 games.

Teams bunt in the AL?

[Slayerik]

Bunt all you want, the Tigs will be busy crushing shit outta the park :) As I Tiger fan I like and dislike this move. A left-handed powerhouse we have needed for a while now. And you can't pitch around two killers in a row.  Us Detroit fans also love the "Fielders". Our infield is going to blow and cost us some games. Luckily we have Verlander, so there are some free wins to counter it.

And 9 years? WTF. I could see a title in the next year or two though.

With Martinez out, do people think this is bad for the team? I know we have one too many 1B but....with DH and injuries and shit, I'm doubting it will be THAT bad.

[HaemishM]

I don't see it being bad for the team. I do see this team being like the Yankees are - a team that strangles you with the long ball and hopes it can score 5-7 a night. When it doesn't, the team will look ugly. It appears your best defensive infielder is Pheralta, and he's never been known as a glove wizard. Adequate is the best you can probably hope for, TBH.

[Paelos]

Here's a name to keep track of this year.

Tyler Pastornicky. New SS for the Braves. Fast kid who put up .365 in AAA and has a solid glove. Could offer some more speed to the Braves lineup in addition to Heyward, Bourne, and Prado.

[Ingmar]

.365 with no power and a terrible walk rate (and was .299 at AA).

[Paelos]

SS isn't a power hitting position, though. Bat over .250 as a rook and don't tank a bunch of double plays. That's the standard.

[Ingmar]

The terrible walk rate is more concerning. You can't steal first. You're looking, basically, at a guy who will be make or break based on his ability to make contact with breaking balls, because that's all he's going to see. He appears to not strike out much, so that's a positive sign, but I think the odds are good that this guy is going to be a net drag on your offense.

[ghost]

Well this is a shocker.  Oil Can Boyd says that he frequently used cocaine throughout his career.  I'm absolutely floored by this news.   

[Ingmar]

Ha, yeah I saw that earlier. Oil Can would pretty much be the first guy I would guess.

[ghost]

I would think that you'd have to do cocaine regularly to get a name like "Oil Can".  Cocaine, or maybe shooting up heroin. 

[Ingmar]

5 days til pitchers and catchers!

Today's big news is the A's of all people signed Yoenis Cespedes. I like the move, he has a tremendous upside and 9 million a year could end up being a steal. He'll probably be rusty this year for a while, so get ready for a lot of OH GOD TERRIBLE hand-wringing from people for the short term.

[Paelos]

Braves are looking at their up and comers to replace some of the aging pitching talent we have/had over the past few years.

Julio Teheran got a taste last year, but he's very talented and looks to try for a spot in the rotation this year. He's by far the most likely to get a shot.

Randall Delgado is a 22 year old guy who spot started 7 games in September last year and held an ERA of 2.83. Despite only giving up 7 runs in 5 starts during the Braves collapse, he got ND on all but 1 due to our shitty hitting. He will contend for a starting job, but is less likely to get it with Medlen in the mix.

Arodys Vizcaino came out of the buillpen 17 times last year. With the exception of a horrific game against the Dodgers, he was a very good middle reliever.

[ghost]

I'm anticipating a return of the Braves to the latter part of the Dale Murphy era soon.   

[Paelos]

I'm anticipating a return of the Braves to the latter part of the Dale Murphy era soon.   

 

[Ingmar]

I can hope. Unfortunately I'm afraid the Giants may be returning to the Johnny LeMaster days themselves, I am pessimistic about the offense's potential to improve enough to get to 'average' and a major pitching injury is surely going to happen *eventually*. I can't see Vogelsong staying at that level either, and the 5th starter is probably going to be Zito and his 83 mph 'fastball'.

[ghost]

Shouldn't you be a Houston fan? 

[Sjofn]

I am READY. I am READY FOR BASEBALL for a SECOND SEASON IN A ROW. This is unprecedented!