[Otters27]

I think no post season for the J's this year.

Ya the made that run mostly on momentum. Last year. Tulowitski great fielder but average hitter away from coors

[Chi_archie]

I can't wait to see the Cubs own the Bucs and Cards for years to come.

no thank you

[koz-man]

I can't wait to see the Cubs own the Bucs and Cards for years to come.

That division will be owned by the Reds...

[yisman]

if the Cubs don't win a WS soon, they'll have to start another 100 year rebuilding plan

[Andy117]

I think no post season for the J's this year.

I wouldn't count them out just yet. The division isn't that good.

[Otters27]

This is the cubs year. Question is Argenta going to the man he is expected to be. Lights out that is

[EmpireMaker]

Mets GM Sandy Alderson said at yesterday’s Yoenis Cespedes press conference that the significant signing illustrates that the team is working without payroll limitations, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. Alderson was asked if it’s possible that he can retain his entire rotation for the long haul, and while the GM unsurprisingly didn’t want to commit to anything, he did note that the increased payroll flexibility creates the possibility for some long-term deals. “I don’t want to foreclose any possibility,” said Alderson. “…I think maybe if the Cespedes signing says anything, it’s that there are no possibilities that will be dismissed out of hand strictly for financial reasons.” Alderson said the team will get a better feel for any mutual interest in extensions over the next several weeks as Spring Training looms and eventually kicks off. Of the team’s excellent rotation core, Matt Harvey is the only one that has already reached arbitration eligibility, although as a Scott Boras client, he’s perhaps an unlikely candidate to sign long-term in the first place. Next winter will see Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler reach arbitration. (MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and I discussed extensions — and not just for the Mets’ rotation — at length on today’s MLBTR Podcast, for those interested in the matter.) Perhaps most notable of all of Alderson’s payroll comments, however, is the fact that he said he doesn’t anticipate returning to the club’s previous payroll levels even if Cespedes opts out after this season. New York’s payroll will be in the $140MM vicinity for the 2016 season.

[BigSpoon]

I wouldn't count them out just yet. The division isn't that good.

It's either the Jays or Red Sox winning that division.

[Chi_archie]

This is the cubs year. Question is Argenta going to the man he is expected to be. Lights out that is

Arrieta threw too many Innings last year, I thnk we see a big regression

[koz-man]

Happy 82nd birthday to Hank Aaron

[Shortstop]

Happy 82nd birthday to Hank Aaron

Happy Birthday, Homerin' Hank!


How fitting that Vin Scully was calling this game...

[Shortstop]

if the Cubs don't win a WS soon, they'll have to start another 100 year rebuilding plan

Awesome!

[EmpireMaker]

Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Jake Arrieta

By Jeff Todd | February 5, 2016 at 11:00pm CST
The Cubs have agreed to a $10.7MM deal with righty Jake Arrieta to avoid arbitration, Jay Cohen of the Associated Press (Twitter link). There was plenty of incentive for both sides to get something done, as Arrieta filed at $13MM and the team countered at $7.5MM, setting the stage for what would have been quite a high-stakes hearing.
Instead, Arrieta will land $450K above the midpoint. As MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz has explained in detail, Arrieta’s case provided a test for assessing arbitration raises. While the MLBTR arb model projected a $10.9MM salary after Arrieta’s monster 2015 season, Swartz revised that downward to $10.4MM as a limitation on the predicted record raise for a second-year-eligible player. Obviously, Arrieta landed right between those figures.

[Chi_archie]

Happy Birthday, Homerin' Hank!


How fitting that Vin Scully was calling this game...

always enjoy watching that clip

[oiler]

yes sir,one of the better clips out there

[El Nino]

Arrieta threw too many Innings last year, I thnk we see a big regression

Not to mention the favorable strikes he was getting. Lot of love from the umps in the 2nd half when he was on his tear.

[koz-man]

12 more days until pitchers and catchers start reporting....yahoo!!!!

[Cross]

Arrieta is a physical beast, not afraid that he threw too many innings.

[EmpireMaker]

• Cuban veterans Alexei Bell and Yordanis Linares will hold workouts on February 15 and 16 in Baja California, tweets Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Bell, 32, was reported to have left Cuba on January 13 and could fit as a right fielder. Linares’ defection was reported last summer. The 26-year-old doesn’t have enough professional experience in the Serie Nacional to avoid international spending restrictions. Bell, however, can be signed by any team.
• The White Sox should target Yasiel Puig, opines Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Chicago has shown curiosity about the Dodgers outfield depth and could obviously stand to improve in the outfield. Rumors have tied them to veteran lefty Andre Ethier who could provide a useful platoon bat. However, Puig represents a more definitive upgrade with a star ceiling. Unfortunately, young talent comes with a price. Merkin lists pitchers Carson Fulmer, Spencer Adams, and shortstop Tim Anderson as possible targets for the Dodgers. Trading any of that trio would be a bitter pill to swallow.
• The Indians could be a fit for free agent outfielder Austin Jackson, suggest Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Center field depth would be useful considering that Michael Brantley will start the season on the disabled list. Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, and Abraham Almonte figure to form the Opening Day outfield, and it’s not hard to see a way to improve upon that trio. At the very least, additional depth in case of injury would be valuable.
• The Rays should consider three more offseason moves, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The bullpen could use additional depth – perhaps Tyler Clippard or Tommy Hunter. Either Desmond Jennings or Brandon Guyer can be traded. The team is deepest with them on the roster, but they may be expendable. Jennings’ health may make a trade difficult. Lastly, Ian Desmond looks more and more attractive as a buy low option. The Rays have to be willing to discard their 13th overall selection in the draft if they’re to sign Desmond.

[Cross]

So excited for some baseball, not too far away!

[Shortstop]

Great list when you have a few minutes to check it out...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...R_career.shtml

[Andy117]

Happy Birthday, Homerin' Hank!


How fitting that Vin Scully was calling this game...

I'd only heard this call



Scully really is the best.

[Chi_archie]

Great list when you have a few minutes to check it out...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...R_career.shtml

sometime in the late 80's when Mike Schmidt hit his 500th HR, I memorized the entire 500+ HR list by name and number and added, Gehrig, Musial, and Stargell to get down to 475.


the list is alot longer now

[yisman]

Arrieta will regress. Watch and see.

[Shortstop]

sometime in the late 80's when Mike Schmidt hit his 500th HR, I memorized the entire 500+ HR list by name and number and added, Gehrig, Musial, and Stargell to get down to 475.


the list is alot longer now

April 18th, 1987 at Three Rivers Stadium... The count was 3-0, should've walked him!


The late Harry Kalas calling the shot...

[EmpireMaker]

Now is the time for the Cubs to try to sign ace Jake Arrieta to a long-term deal, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes. Arrieta and the Cubs recently agreed on a one-year, $10.7MM contract to avoid arbitration in Arrieta’s second year of eligibility. Arrieta can currently become a free agent after the 2017 season. Of course, Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras would surely agree that an extension for Arrieta shouldn’t be cheap after his Cy Young award-winning 2015 season, and since Arrieta turns 30 next month, he might only have one shot at a big free agent deal, meaning he might not be inclined to sign now unless the deal is quite long. Also, Arrieta’s incredible stretch run changed the landscape since we last closely considered his extension candidacy. Levine proposes a four-year deal at an average of $23MM per season, with two club options. While it’s true that Arrieta’s salaries for the next two seasons are essentially set via the arbitration process, a $92MM deal with options would, in my opinion, be unlikely to bring Boras and Arrieta to the table. Recent history suggests Arrieta has a shot at a deal in the $200MM range if he waits until after 2017. Here’s more from the National League.

• The Pirates won 98 games last season and have a strong core in place, but many of their top competitors in the National League have improved, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Cubs have had a busy and productive offseason, and while the Cardinals have lost talent (some of it to their rivals in Chicago), they should benefit somewhat from better luck with injuries. The rest of the league, too, has become increasingly polarized, with several very bad teams, but lots of potentially strong ones, including the Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks. The Bucs, however, continue to believe in themselves. “There’s no question the Cubs did a fantastic job on balancing amateur player acquisition and timing it with those young players being ready to hit the major league level and then pouring a ton of money into free agency,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “They are going to be good going forward. The Cardinals are going to be good going forward. Our belief is, with this core that we have, that we are going to continue to be good going forward.”
• The Phillies don’t figure to be one of the NL contenders in 2016. They should, however, be fun, as FanGraphs’ Paul Swydan writes. They suddenly have only a handful of over-30 players, and the younger ones offer a mix of power (Maikel Franco), defensive ability (Odubel Herrera), speed (Cesar Hernandez) and, among the Phillies’ young pitchers, control (Aaron Nola). Then there’s top prospect J.P. Crawford, who could make his debut in 2016, along with a number of other very interesting minor leaguers, including Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Dylan Cozens, Jake Thompson, Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel.

[Chi_archie]

April 18th, 1987 at Three Rivers Stadium... The count was 3-0, should've walked him!


The late Harry Kalas calling the shot...

I was listening to it on KDKA Radio in the dining room as I "helped" my Dad paint.

remember it like yesterday

[BigSpoon]

Arrieta will regress. Watch and see.

Yeah, don't see another sub 2.00 ERA happening from him in 2016.

[EmpireMaker]

The D-backs have signed right-hander Tyler Clippard to a two-year, $12.25MM contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Clippard is represented by Excel Sports Management. Rosenthal further tweets that the deal is official and will give Clippard a $4MM signing bonus plus salaries of $4.1MM and $4.15MM in the next two seasons, respectively. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported earlier today that the two sides had made progress on a deal, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick later added that an agreement was close.

[El Nino]

Another good signing for the Dbacks

[Shortstop]

I was listening to it on KDKA Radio in the dining room as I "helped" my Dad paint.

remember it like yesterday

Great stuff, Arch!


It was a Saturday. I guarantee I was out playing ball somewhere that day...


Announcing had to be Frattare, Rooker, Sanders, or Blass?

[Cross]

Great home run list. I wish injuries didn't get to Griffey, if he took some steroids he would have 800 bombs easy!

[EmpireMaker]

The Diamondbacks have struck a two-year deal to avoid arbitration with outfielder A.J. Pollock, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He’ll receive $10.25MM in the contract, Buster Olney of ESPN adds (Twitter link).

Pollock filed at $3.9MM, with the team countering at $3.65MM — both of which fell below his $4.3MM projection — so there wasn’t much room for movement on his 2016 salary. But Arizona may have saved a bit of cash on next year’s bill in order to help ease a settlement on this season’s payday.
And for Pollock, he won’t have to worry about injury or a performance decline sapping his earning power for 2017. Certainly, the new deal builds in a substantial raise for the burgeoning star. He’ll be promised nearly a $6.5MM raise — assuming the filing numbers’ midpoint as a baseline for 2016 — for the added season covered in the pact.
As a 3+ service-time player, Pollock will still have one year of arb eligibility remaining after his new deal is up. A longer-term arrangement still seems plausible for the 28-year-old, who cemented himself as the D-Backs’ center fielder with an excellent 2015 campaign. If nothing else, the major raise baked into the deal suggests that the team doesn’t expect him to fall off in the coming year.

[oiler]

as much as a cub fan that I am.I know he will never have that great of a year as last but needs to pitch a lot of quality starts for cubs to win

[Chi_archie]

The Diamondbacks have struck a two-year deal to avoid arbitration with outfielder A.J. Pollock, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He’ll receive $10.25MM in the contract, Buster Olney of ESPN adds (Twitter link).

Pollock filed at $3.9MM, with the team countering at $3.65MM — both of which fell below his $4.3MM projection — so there wasn’t much room for movement on his 2016 salary. But Arizona may have saved a bit of cash on next year’s bill in order to help ease a settlement on this season’s payday.
And for Pollock, he won’t have to worry about injury or a performance decline sapping his earning power for 2017. Certainly, the new deal builds in a substantial raise for the burgeoning star. He’ll be promised nearly a $6.5MM raise — assuming the filing numbers’ midpoint as a baseline for 2016 — for the added season covered in the pact.
As a 3+ service-time player, Pollock will still have one year of arb eligibility remaining after his new deal is up. A longer-term arrangement still seems plausible for the 28-year-old, who cemented himself as the D-Backs’ center fielder with an excellent 2015 campaign. If nothing else, the major raise baked into the deal suggests that the team doesn’t expect him to fall off in the coming year.

Pollock solid and a bit under rated