Major League Baseball has managed to complete a new collective bargaining agreement without a strike, a lockout, or having to have Todd Ricketts turn a hose on anyone. It’s not quite turning water into wine or raising the dead or anything, but it’s pretty damn amazing.
In fact, now that they have the CBA all figured out, maybe we should let them take a crack at solving the latest Federal budgetary crisis. What the hell. It’s not like they could do worse. But I digress.
I’ve been a bit distracted lately with non-bloggy things so I regret to announce that I have not read every word, but from skimming through the comments in the last thread and Twitter, there seems to be a fair amount of concern about how the new rules are going to throw the Cubs carefully laid plans of recovery down the pooper.
The draft now involves a pool of money to spend on their picks, with some substantial penalties for going over that designated amount. Remember when we were so happy that the Ricketts were spending like they have hardly ever spent before in the last draft? That strategy isn’t going to fly anymore.
There is also now a pool designated for the signing of international players. While we may be happy that there won’t be any more Kosuke Fukudomes that didn’t live up to the hype, or plain old busts for other teams like Hideki Irabu, there also won’t be the giant risks that paid off, like Ichiro or Hideki Matsui.
In Jayson Stark’s rundown on the CBA, he puts the international pools into perspective pretty well:
Those bonus pools will be set at only $2.9 million per team in the first year of the agreement — a figure that wouldn’t even pay for one year of Aroldis Chapman. The pools will then range from $4.5 million down to $1.7 million per team in the second year.
So if there was any hesitancy to post and become free agents this year, Yu Darvish and Yoenis Cespedes and any of the others better get that paperwork together tootsweet or they will be costing themselves millions of dollars.
It also means the Cubs can’t just rely on outspending other teams for the elite talent that comes available on the world market in the future.
Obviously, this isn’t the best news for the Cubs apparent current plan they had set in motion this year (and perhaps this could be why they got so aggressive in the last year in which they could), but I’m not terribly worried.
The rules may have changed a bit, but the goal is still the same: accrue as much talent within the organization as humanly possible. The means to doing that is now slightly different.
It’s like when Las Vegas occasionally changes the conditions when playing blackjack. Once they figured out that players could gain an unfair advantage by counting into a single deck, they changed the payouts in some cases, and in other cases added multiple deck shoes of cards that were more difficult to count.
When people figured out how to count into a multi-shoe deck, they added the continual shuffle machines so a deck never got “hot” or “cold.” They eliminated the surrender option. They made it so you could only split aces once. They eliminated paying off on “5 Card Charlie.”
But in the end, a good analytical mind who understood the math behind the rule changes could still come out further ahead than someone sloshing down margaritas and playing by hunches and old wives tales.
Theo and the Superfriends will analyze how the new rules change the values of talent available and will look for windows of opportunity to exploit them as a major market. Let’s face it, every system is going to have holes and flaws that may not have been foreseen (or if they were, they were not considered important). They may even already know where some of the holes are. It’s not like they are going to hold a press conference to share what they know with all the other teams.
Really, is there any other group you would want in charge of the Cubs as all of these new rules get implemented?
My unironic confidence in the Cubs is really starting to freak me out.
Comments
I believe the international rules only apply to players under 23. If not, please disregard all my posts in the previous thread (dying laughing)
GWQuote Reply
Jed Hoyer is appearing in your dreams, admit it.
Suburbankid 22Quote Reply
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburbankid 22]Jed Hoyer is appearing in your dreams, admit it.[/quote]Yeah, but then Crane Kenny comes in and elbows him out of the way.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]
[/quote]It all started on an island in the middle of the ocean (and strangely, stayed there – normally my dreams’ locations are all over the fucking place) with a new, hardcore variation of Wacky Races that I was participating in. I replaced Dick Dastardly, my familiar was a monkey instead of Mutley and the new version was called Zany Deathrace. The speed at which the cars travelled around the island course was nigh on supersonic, and the game was deadly – the lumberjack had at one point cut a knight’s horse who was in the race in half with the buzzsaw on the front of his wooden car.
Suddenly, there was a gigantic black mechanical spider-like machine stomping after us and it annihilated all of the other racers and spectators, reducing the populated section of the island to ash. It was like a flatter, squatter version of the steampunk spider from Wild Wild West, but then as it caught my car, all of the outer machinery crumbled away to show its true form, a slick, space-age monstrosity that suggested it was capable of anything. Inside the cockpit the original Professor Fate from The Amazing Race (but wearing a cowboy hat) announced that it felt good to be a member of the League of Evil Geniuses and with a twist of his machine’s neck, hurled my car across to the other side of the island.
Injured, I recouperated for the next week at my dad’s private chateau in that section of the island, until I gained the strength to join him on one of his explorations of the island. During the foray, however, I got lost and was eventually discovered by a secret society of ultra-feminist lesbians who took me prisoner, but after questioning me on my views on gender and sexuality, eventually swore me in as one of their own. They gave me some very manly clothes (it was what they wore), but I ran down to the Myer Centre (apparently the Brisbane Central Business District was located inside this island) which was suddenly a Vegas-like circus of colour, sound and performers, a sin city with flashing lights, and I ran into a dress store and bought the most expensive dress I could find because they had wired thousands into my bank account. I found a poofy purple silk dress and bought it. I was ready to go.
They gave me a magic talking chicken who was big enough for me and my monkey to ride (I swear to god I am not making any of this up), and I taught him how to go in the exact direction I wanted him to (after many mishaps) by pulling his right wing in different directions. Together we flew around the island and eventually I stopped him and we grabbed onto the side of a tree to watch a huge swarm of dog-sized galahs fly from one tree to the other in a strongly orange dawn sun. The sight was so beautiful that I cried tears of joy. My monkey and chicken both commented that if I filled up some buckets with them we could get very rich selling them to a dark city where tears were the currency, and tears of joy were especially valuable. I probably got that bit from the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Then I woke up.
Suburbankid 22Quote Reply
Some Muppets baseball stuff
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15571
MishQuote Reply
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/11/draft-cap-may-not-be-so-harsh/
Rice CubeQuote Reply
.
fang2415Quote Reply
Also, per http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/cba-details-luxury-tax-draft-.html, Japanese postings and most Cubans don’t count. For anything.
fang2415Quote Reply
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=espn&pollId=127706
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=espn&pollId=127706[/quote]Pretty much.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=espn&pollId=127706[/quote]Not a lot of Brewer fans in West Virginia I guess
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Not a lot of Brewer fans in West Virginia I guess[/quote]Or Washington
binkyQuote Reply
hello peoples –
Pardon the advertisement, but I wanted to let you know that the former proprietors of chuckie hacks and i have joined forces to launch the Daily Big Ten (http://dailybigten), which will be for the Big Ten what WV23 and Chuckie were for the Cubs and Brewers.
We have about 1/3 of the conference covered, so if you know of anyone who can write without saying really bad words all the time … we’d be interested (Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska especially).
Carry on, citizens of Obstructed View.
wv23Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Also, per http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/cba-details-luxury-tax-draft-.html, Japanese postings and most Cubans don’t count. For anything.[/quote]
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=wv23]hello peoples –
Pardon the advertisement, but I wanted to let you know that the former proprietors of chuckie hacks and i have joined forces to launch the Daily Big Ten (http://dailybigten), which will be for the Big Ten what WV23 and Chuckie were for the Cubs and Brewers.
We have about 1/3 of the conference covered, so if you know of anyone who can write without saying really bad words all the time … we’d be interested (Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska especially).
Carry on, citizens of Obstructed View.[/quote]
Hilarious. Good luck with your blog.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I actually might know someone who could be interested in writing about Nebraska. They don’t swear as much as I do.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I actually might know someone who could be interested in writing about Nebraska. They don’t swear as much as I do.[/quote]Cool. Let me know. dailybigten@gmail.com.
wv23Quote Reply
This is just fascinating.
http://xkcd.com/980/huge/#x=-1072&y=-1264&z=2
Aisle424Quote Reply
Looks like the Pirates won the Jake Fox lottery. I forget, are they trying to get better or actively get worse?
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]This is just fascinating.
http://xkcd.com/980/huge/#x=-1072&y=-1264&z=2%5B/quote%5D
Now that is one hell of a cost of living adjustment for CEOs.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
HJE bitching about the holiday packs:
http://hirejimessian.com/2011/11/22/the-gift-that-keeps-on-getting-you-disowned/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hirejimessian%2FLmfp+%28Hire+Jim+Essian+RSS+Feed%29
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15571
(dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]Some Muppets baseball stuff
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15571%5B/quote%5D%5Bquote name=Rice Cube]http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15571
(dying laughing)[/quote].
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=WaLi].[/quote]What a shitty time to be forced to skip dinner.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]What a shitty time to be forced to skip dinner.[/quote]You’ll never learn otherwise.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]HJE bitching about the holiday packs:
http://hirejimessian.com/2011/11/22/the-gift-that-keeps-on-getting-you-disowned/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hirejimessian%2FLmfp+%28Hire+Jim+Essian+RSS+Feed%29%5B/quote%5D
That’s pretty much what I would have written, had I bothered to write anything. Those packages fucking blow.
Aisle424Quote Reply
WV, I could write about Iowa on occasion, but it’s not something I can commit to doing regularly. Don’t know if that helps or not.
mb21Quote Reply
Grady Sizemore —–> 1 year, $5M (+ incentives) to stay in CLE
I would have loved him here at that price.
MishQuote Reply
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]Grady Sizemore —–> 1 year, $5M (+ incentives) to stay in CLE
I would have loved him here at that price.[/quote]I’m thinking he took a big discount to stay in Cleveland. Easier than moving, I guess.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]That’s pretty much what I would have written, had I bothered to write anything. Those packages fucking blow.[/quote]Yeah don’t really see the point in buying any of them.
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I’m thinking he took a big discount to stay in Cleveland. Easier than moving, I guess.[/quote]Keep in mind Cleveland declined his $9 million option so he wasn’t going to get $9 million anywhere. $5 million is about right.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=WaLi]Yeah don’t really see the point in buying any of them.[/quote]
I think you get a slight discount on the prices, but I’d bet you can get most of them for cheaper by going to StubHub and taking the rock-bottom prices there from season ticket holders. Probably get better seats too.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Keep in mind Cleveland declined his $9 million option so he wasn’t going to get $9 million anywhere. $5 million is about right.[/quote]Didn’t really sound like he even tried looking around.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I think you get a slight discount on the prices, but I’d bet you can get most of them for cheaper by going to StubHub and taking the rock-bottom prices there from season ticket holders. Probably get better seats too.[/quote]Yeah, I usually get the cheap or free tickets from the U and then move to whatever seat I want by the fourth inning.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Some really good stuff here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-new-cba-tht-reacts/
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=josh]Didn’t really sound like he even tried looking around.[/quote]I think he wanted to return to Cleveland, but if he was worth more than he signed for the Indians would have picked up the option. Realistically speaking he’s a 1-1.5 WAR player. He’s got a lot of upside in that if he’s healthy he could be quite valuable, but $5 million is about right for him.
mb21Quote Reply
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/travelers-check/201111/can-you-identify-wisconsin-map-can-espn
(dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Looks like the Pirates won the Jake Fox lottery. I forget, are they trying to get better or actively get worse?[/quote]
Did they give him 2 years and 12 million dollars?
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Did they give him 2 years and 12 million dollars?[/quote]Minor league contract, I guess.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/travelers-check/201111/can-you-identify-wisconsin-map-can-espn
(dying laughing)[/quote](dying laughing)
Scott Van Pelt gave the speech at my brother’s UW graduation and he still doesn’t know what the state looks like. (dying laughing)
Granted, from what I recall I think he may have been drunk the whole time he was there, so.
fang2415Quote Reply
Fox was worth at least $25 million a year.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Fox was worth at least $25 million a year.[/quote]His flexibility is the key. He can stand anywhere you put him in the field defensively.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]WV, I could write about Iowa on occasion, but it’s not something I can commit to doing regularly. Don’t know if that helps or not.[/quote]sounds good. let me know whenever you’re interested.
wv23Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Some really good stuff here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-new-cba-tht-reacts/%5B/quote%5D
Albert Lyu’s blurb at the end was pretty good. I guess with the shorter negotiation window and the knowledge that their bonuses may be capped will swing the pendulum towards “take it or leave it” for the team, and it’ll be up to the draftee whether he really wants to turn down a couple million bucks.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]That’s pretty much what I would have written, had I bothered to write anything. Those packages fucking blow.[/quote]I’ll gladly sell my seats to any of those games for any amount even close to face value (dying laughing)
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]I’ll gladly sell my seats to any of those games for any amount even close to face value (dying laughing)[/quote]I think the Cubs should come up with penalties for selling your own tickets. 0-5% percent over cost would result in a 75 percent tax; a 5-10 percent increase would result in a 75 percent tax and the loss of a finger; a 10-15 percent increase would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of two fingers; and a 15 percent or higher increase would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of your life.
Fair?
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I think the Cubs should come up with penalties for selling your own tickets. 0-5% percent over cost would result in a 75 percent tax; a 5-10 percent increase would result in a 75 percent tax and the loss of a finger; a 10-15 percent increase would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of two fingers; and a 15 percent or higher increase would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of your life.
Fair?[/quote]
Yes, but only if you’re foreign and/or sit in the bleachers. If the team sells tickets for seats around you for $10 and you complain, you must be castrated.
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]I’ll gladly sell my seats to any of those games for any amount even close to face value (dying laughing)[/quote]I wouldn’t mind going to that Cardinals game. I guess they have to try to sell the shitty dates somehow.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Tango runs some numbers and finds that MLB may have done a damn good job with their sliding scale in the draft: http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/cba_how_much_signing_bonus_pool_should_each_team_be_allocated/
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]Yes, but only if you’re foreign and/or sit in the bleachers. If the team sells tickets for seats around you for $10 and you complain, you must be castrated.[/quote]I like that, but I also think half the population should be castrated.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]I wouldn’t mind going to that Cardinals game. I guess they have to try to sell the shitty dates somehow.[/quote]
Just buy those tickets, then. They’ll sell, but while everyone is creaming themselves trying to get Red Sox tickets and White Sox tickets, that series will be available a lot longer.
Nothing but the Yankees series sold out quickly last year. even the White Sox series took a little while into the day to be gone. Then they released all of those extra tickets they held back for the 6 packs that never sold and I bought the Friday Yankee game for face value the day before (maybe 2 days before).
Aisle424Quote Reply
How quickly would I have to purchase Astros tickets? (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]How quickly would I have to purchase Astros tickets? (dying laughing)[/quote]Hurry! They’re changing leagues!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I like that, but I also think half the population should be castrated.[/quote]Is that like removing one’s balls?
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I like that, but I also think half the population should be castrated.[/quote]the male half?
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Hurry! They’re changing leagues![/quote]It would not surprise me to learn that the Cubs will actually take this angle.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]It would not surprise me to learn that the Cubs will actually take this angle.[/quote]I wonder if that angle will sell more or less than a Cubs-Astros interleague series (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]I wonder if that angle will sell more or less than a Cubs-Astros interleague series (dying laughing)[/quote]
(dying laughing)
The first Pirates-Astros interleague series will be the really hot ticket.
Suburbankid 22Quote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/23/occupy-yankee-stadium-the-yankees-raise-the-price-of-bleacher-seats/
Something is wrong here. I paid $60 for a bleachers seat to a Phillies game at Wrigley last season. I call shenanigans.
Although it’s my fault for paying full price, but still!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube] I call shenanigans.[/quote]New favorite word?
/persnickety
Suburbankid 22Quote Reply
[quote name=Suburbankid 22]New favorite word?
/persnickety[/quote]
Cheapest ticket is during “bronze” games at $17. Next price level is “silver” at $27.
To be fair, Yankees’ bleachers are farther away than Cubs bleachers from home plate.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/seating_pricing.jsp
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]
Cheapest ticket is during “bronze” games at $17. Next price level is “silver” at $27.
To be fair, Yankees’ bleachers are farther away than Cubs bleachers from home plate.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/seating_pricing.jsp%5B/quote%5D
And nobody in New York buys into the romance of sitting in shitty seats while watching a shitty team year in and year out.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Is that Sandusky UV pretty much dead?
Either way:
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]the male half?[/quote](dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]And nobody in New York buys into the romance of sitting in shitty seats while watching a shitty team year in and year out.[/quote]Why should they? They never had to endure it for any length of time, so they never had to incorporate it into their team identity, else look like suckers who don’t know when to say quit.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburbankid 22](dying laughing)
The first Pirates-Astros interleague series will be the really hot ticket.[/quote]I’m already in the virtual waiting room.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/23/occupy-yankee-stadium-the-yankees-raise-the-price-of-bleacher-seats/
Something is wrong here. I paid $60 for a bleachers seat to a Phillies game at Wrigley last season. I call shenanigans.
Although it’s my fault for paying full price, but still![/quote]It costs more to see a game from the bleachers when you’re watching a team who isn’t any good. Just how it works.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]It costs more to see a game from the bleachers when you’re watching a team who isn’t any good. Just how it works.[/quote]Must be selling the ambiance or prestige or history or some other intangible bullshit.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I’m already in the virtual waiting room.[/quote]I can’t believe we’re not really not really in a waiting room
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]I can’t believe we’re not really not really in a waiting room[/quote]Triple negative?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Triple negative?[/quote]
Community reference
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Community reference[/quote]Ah…I’m only partway through Season 1 so I must have missed it.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Ah…I’m only partway through Season 1 so I must have missed it.[/quote]It’s in season 2.
binkyQuote Reply
Orton —> Chiefs
Josh McCown —> Bears
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]Orton —> Chiefs
Josh McCown —> Bears[/quote]How about we sing ‘Kyle’s mom is stupid bitch’ in D Minor?
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]How about we sing ‘Kyle’s mom is stupid bitch’ in D Minor?[/quote]
Aisle424Quote Reply
The part where they go international always cracks me up.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Waoh, the Twins signed Ryan Doumit. That’s like, an actual for-real major-league catcher. It’s as if they are finally acknowledging that they can’t rely on Mauer to play every single game.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=ACT]Waoh, the Twins signed Ryan Doumit. That’s like, an actual for-real major-league catcher. It’s as if they are finally acknowledging that they can’t rely on Mauer to play every single game.[/quote]
This part might be debatable (dying laughing)
Also, did you guys happen to read the Pete Rose interview from Big League Stew?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Pete-Rose-talks-Vegas-Sparky-Kool-?urn=mlb-wp27466&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Pete’s girlfriend is disproportionately hot.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Well, Doumit is a major-league hitter, at least, which is more than you can say for Mauer’s 2011 backups.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=ACT]Well, Doumit is a major-league hitter, at least, which is more than you can say for Mauer’s 2011 backups.[/quote]I can’t argue with you today.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Twins catchers put up a .185 /.250 /.259 last year. Including Mauer.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Ah…I’m only partway through Season 1 so I must have missed it.[/quote]Remember when everyone watched stuff all at the same time? No? Oh…
Suburbankid 22Quote Reply
[quote name=ACT]Twins catchers put up a .185 /.250 /.259 last year. Including Mauer.[/quote]I guess his backups really did suck. Mauer’s line was .287/.360/.368 which still isn’t pretty, but damn.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]I guess his backups really did suck. Mauer’s line was .287/.360/.368 which still isn’t pretty, but damn.[/quote]Mauer only went .239/.328/.324 as a catcher. His OPS was still more than .200 more than Butera, Rivera, or Holm.
ACTQuote Reply
Isn’t Doumit awful on defense?
MishQuote Reply
Nope.
ACTQuote Reply
Woops, I read that as offense. Yeah, his defensive number kinda suck.
ACTQuote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/23/cubs-hoping-to-hire-chris-bosio-as-pitching-coach/
Looks like Cubs are gonna hire some more Brewers people. I must admit, I’m happy any time they hire someone from TB.
Recalcitrant Blogger NateQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]This part might be debatable (dying laughing)
Also, did you guys happen to read the Pete Rose interview from Big League Stew?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Pete-Rose-talks-Vegas-Sparky-Kool-?urn=mlb-wp27466&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Pete’s girlfriend is disproportionately hot.
binkyQuote Reply
Ramirez, Pena —> arbitration
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Girlfriend? Or escort?[/quote]According to Charlie Hustle himself, ’tis a girlfriend.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]This part might be debatable (dying laughing)
Also, did you guys happen to read the Pete Rose interview from Big League Stew?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Pete-Rose-talks-Vegas-Sparky-Kool-?urn=mlb-wp27466&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Pete’s girlfriend is disproportionately hot.
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]According to Charlie Hustle himself, ’tis a girlfriend.[/quote]
According to her pimp, she’s a hooker.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]This part might be debatable (dying laughing)
Also, did you guys happen to read the Pete Rose interview from Big League Stew?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Pete-Rose-talks-Vegas-Sparky-Kool-?urn=mlb-wp27466&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Pete’s girlfriend is disproportionately hot.
Left the image in the quote so that I get to look at Kiana Kim again.
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]According to her pimp, she’s a hooker.[/quote]YOU’RE A HOOKER!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]YOU’RE A HOOKER![/quote]
You still owe me $50.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I probably should’ve posted the associated video for reference…
Wish there was a better quality one.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
This is better…2:00 mark:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Jesus, what an interview. Who knew that Paul Giamatti is Bart’s son?![/quote]Everybody?
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Everybody?[/quote]www.icantarguewithyoutoday.com
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]www.icantarguewithyoutoday.com[/quote]That’s my least favorite web site on the internet.
binkyQuote Reply
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7275505/chicago-cubs-offer-aramis-ramirez-carlos-pena-arbitration
I doubt Ramirez accepts arb and the fact that they offered it makes me think the chances Pena accepts arb are less than 50%.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7275505/chicago-cubs-offer-aramis-ramirez-carlos-pena-arbitration
I doubt Ramirez accepts arb and the fact that they offered it makes me think the chances Pena accepts arb are less than 50%.[/quote]Remind me why this still means anything under the new CBA? Aren’t arb offers to get compensation for free agents gone along with type As and Bs? Or is that part being grandfathered in or something?
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=josh]Everybody?[/quote]
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Remind me why this still means anything under the new CBA? Aren’t arb offers to get compensation for free agents gone along with type As and Bs? Or is that part being grandfathered in or something?[/quote]It’s still sort of unclear, at least to me, but I think Type B compensation is available for this offseason only.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
GBTSQuote Reply
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-1124-cubs-chicago–20111124,0,6911073.story
[quote name=Hobbit]Team sources said Hendry had convinced Ricketts before the June draft the Cubs should go all out on signing bonuses in 2011 because of the possibility of the tax threshold in the upcoming CBA.[/quote].
GWQuote Reply
KG’s Cubs prospects:
Five-Star Prospects
1. Brett Jackson, OF
Four-Star Prospects
2. Javier Baez, SS
Three-Star Prospects
3. Welington Castillo, C
4. Dillon Maples, RHP
5. Matt Szczur, OF
6. Josh Vitters, 3B
7. Jeimer Candelario, 3B
8. Trey McNutt, RHP
9. Marco Hernandez, SS
Two-Star Prospects
10. Junior Lake, SS/3B
11. Rafael Dolis, RHP
ACTQuote Reply
12. Dan Vogelbach, 1B
13. Jae-Hoon Ha, OF
14. Chris Carpenter, RHP
15. Tony Zych, RHP
16. Ryan Flaherty,
17. DJ Lemahieu, INF
18. Zeke DeVoss, OF
19. Reggie Golden, OF
20. Marwin Gonzalez, INF
ACTQuote Reply
Top 10 Talents 25 And Under (born 4/1/86 or later)
1. Starlin Castro, SS
2. Brett Jackson, OF
3. Javier Baez, SS
4. Andrew Cashner, RHP
5. Welington Castillo, C
6. Dillon Maples, RHP
7. Matt Szczur, OF
8. Josh Vitters, 3B
9. Jeimer Candelario, 3B
10. Trey McNutt, RHP
ACTQuote Reply
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15574
ACTQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
Aisle424Quote Reply
Happy Thanksgiving, fuckfaces!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
.
GWQuote Reply
Who’s having me today?
Eh?
Ehhh?
Hot Shit on a Silver PlatterQuote Reply
Good writeup by KG. Glad someone called him out in the comments about how Vitters went from a 5-star prospect a year ago to a 3-star prospect this year. The 5-star made zero sense last year.
mb∞Quote Reply
[quote name=Hot Shit on a Silver Platter]Who’s having me today?
Eh?
Ehhh?[/quote]We use real gold platters in our household.
mb∞Quote Reply
I know not how many are watching, but Suh is dumb.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=KG]Ryan Flaherty, UT: He hit 19 home runs in 2011, but he doesn’t have a defensive home and has to cheat for power.[/quote]
i don’t know what this means. does he have a game genie?
GWQuote Reply
[quote name=GW]i don’t know what this means. does he have a game genie?[/quote]I think it means something like he has to sit on fastballs (for example, or maybe he has to wait for a hanging curve) and get lucky to hit it out of the park.
Hot Shit on a Silver PlatterQuote Reply
[quote name=GW]i don’t know what this means. does he have a game genie?[/quote]It means he has to take steroids and HGH before each home run.
mb∞Quote Reply
[quote name=mb∞]It means he has to take steroids and HGH, steal signs from the scoreboard, and do the hidden ball trick before each home run.[/quote].
Hot Shit on a Silver PlatterQuote Reply
It’s kind of impressive he can cheat that many times and never get caught.
mb∞Quote Reply
[quote name=mb∞]Good writeup by KG. Glad someone called him out in the comments about how Vitters went from a 5-star prospect a year ago to a 3-star prospect this year. The 5-star made zero sense last year.[/quote]He was a 3-star prospect a year ago. He was a 5-star 2 years ago, but then he struggled in AA.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=Hot Shit on a Silver Platter]I think it means something like he has to sit on fastballs (for example, or maybe he has to wait for a hanging curve) and get lucky to hit it out of the park.[/quote]Yeah, it means he starts his swing early to catch up to fastballs, which would make him vulnerable to offspeed offerings at the major-league level.
ACTQuote Reply
It’s really sad how Simpson can’t even crack the top 20. I can’t believe they picked him in the first round.
ACTQuote Reply
11-0
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=mb∞]We use real gold platters in our household.[/quote]
I only use platinum.
Toppington Von MonocleQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]11-0[/quote]Eight more and those Dolphin fogeys can STFU.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The Cubs won more than 70 games this past season. They won 60 more games than the Packers have so far.
mb∞Quote Reply
[quote name=mb∞]The Cubs won more than 70 games this past season. They won 60 more games than the Packers have so far.[/quote]If the Packers had to suffer through 162 games I wonder how Aaron Rodgers would perform from a wheelchair…that’s a lot of punishment to take (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
There are several blog posts here about the Suh incident for anyone interested. Methinks he may miss the rest of the season.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]There are several blog posts here about the Suh incident for anyone interested. Methinks he may miss the rest of the season.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner%5B/quote%5DI wonder if the bad officiating they mentioned was a result of the league trying to crack down on the Lions for being a bunch of bastards.
binkyQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/cubs-open-to-trading-matt-garza.html
mb∞Quote Reply
It’s LITERALLY Black Friday!
Enjoy.
Aisle424Quote Reply