Hot Stove

http://i.imgur.com/sg6FI3w.gif

Teamnasty and Splinty have been trolling, DD, but they have also contributed to the forum. You however came on this thread to only post that lovely picture of yourself. That makes you our official little troll...

This is a Hot Stove forum thread. So, feel free to stop trolling and actually contribute to the thread--as I have--anytime.

http://i.imgur.com/sg6FI3w.gif

Teamnasty and Splinty have been trolling, DD, but they have also contributed to the forum. You however came on this thread to only post that lovely picture of yourself. That makes you our official little troll...

This is a Hot Stove forum thread. So, feel free to stop trolling and actually contribute to the thread--as I have--anytime.

A) who said it was a reference to only you?

B) Participating and lurking are 2 different things. Multiple people (not just you) have spent the last 2 pages bickering like school girls, when this should be a "Hot Stove" thread as you alluded too. Let's just keep it on topic.

A) who said it was a reference to only you?

B) Participating and lurking are 2 different things. Multiple people (not just you) have spent the last 2 pages bickering like school girls, when this should be a "Hot Stove" thread as you alluded too. Let's just keep it on topic.

You reading is as poor as your trolling "contributions," Livedraft.

I never said it was a reference to me; I said it was a reference to Teamnasty and Splinty, who actually have been trolling.

Participating and lurking are different things. You have been lurking only to post your cute troll photo, without contributing anything at all. That's called trolling, and it's what school girls actually do; so stop projecting. I, on the other hand, have been participating and have contributed many sound baseball analyses to these boards. If you want to stop acting like a schoolgirl, stop trolling and "keep it on topic" yourself.

As I suggested in my last post, why don't you start with a baseball post? Or are you only able to bicker and troll?

An interesting aspect of these trades is that few of the comments here -- as is true with much of the media coverage -- address the quality of the replacement players that involved teams have for players traded away. So just taking the Heyward-Miller trade as an example, the Cards have quality arms like Gonzalez/Martinez/Wacha to replace Miller in the rotation which softens his departure significantly (arguably improves upon him). Whereas the Braves are replacing Heyward with a combination of Betancourt's offense and Gattis' outfield defense, which likely represents a 4-5 win loss in the standings for 2015 for a team otherwise good enough to compete for a playoff spot.



Similarly, you can evaluate free agent signings through the lens of local internal options. Laroche seems a curious player for the Chisox to acquire since they are really in rebuild mode, have Abreu already, and Laroche is 35 years old. V-Mart fills the DH spot that the Tigers could otherwise employ to partially rest regulars (although it's certainly worth it if he repeats last year's career year. In my view highly doubtful). Toronto already had Navarro on board when they signed Martin to an expensive contract, so in that sense it seems expensive and silly. And yet they are playing in a competitive division where even small upgrades of 1-2 wins can have playoff implications.

In general I am surprised that the team contexts behind trades are relatively neglected in public analysis.

An interesting aspect of these trades is that few of the comments here -- as is true with much of the media coverage -- address the quality of the replacement players that involved teams have for players traded away. So just taking the Heyward-Miller trade as an example, the Cards have quality arms like Gonzalez/Martinez/Wacha to replace Miller in the rotation which softens his departure significantly (arguably improves upon him). Whereas the Braves are replacing Heyward with a combination of Betancourt's offense and Gattis' outfield defense, which likely represents a 4-5 win loss in the standings for 2015 for a team otherwise good enough to compete for a playoff spot.

Finally...back to baseball.

This is a legitimate point, although I always try to factor team aspects into mine. However, it is ironic--considering your errant dismissal of Jenkins-- you are so ready to consider Martinez and Gonzalez as solid replacements for Miller when they haven't proven that yet. Martinez obviously has an excellent arm and, admittedly, an even higher upside than Miller. However, he only started 7 games last year; and he had a 4.03 ERA and a 1.41 whip. Considering your dismisal of Miller who had a 2.94 ERA in the second half, your seeing Martinez as a quality SP replacement next year is dubious. The same goes for Gonzalez--who has a lower ceiling than Miller--who had a 4.15 ERA and doesn't throw hard. The Cardinals cannot count on these two to replace Miller.

As to the Braves, they are replacing Heyward's unimpressive .169 avg vs lefties, 11 hrs in 573 ABs, and dismal .389 slg pct. with Gattis' 22 hrs in 369 abs and a whopping .493 slg. pct. Since they weren't going to be able to trade B.J., he was going to play CF no matter what. So, while their outfield defense does slide a little, the huge offensive jump there will at least make up for it. As to Bethancourt, he is a superior defensive catcher to Gattis, which will be huge for Atlanta. I have no idea how you figured out that 4-5 game loss and don't agree with it. With the Phillies and the Mets in the division, and the Marlins still gelling, the Braves have a very strong chance for the Wild Card, especially with Miller.

Laroche seems a curious player for the Chisox to acquire since they are really in rebuild mode, have Abreu already, and Laroche is 35 years old.

I'ts a good signing. For 2 yrs/25 mil they get a left-handed DH who can fill in at 1b and who hit 26 homers, with 92 RBis, a .362 Obp, and a .456 sg. pct. You can't do much better than that for 12.5m a year.

Tyrell Jenkins, at 22, pitched at single A and put up a 1.30 whip and only struck out 41 guys in 72 innings. Unimpressive is an understatement.

Tyrell Jenkins, at 22, pitched at single A and put up a 1.30 whip and only struck out 41 guys in 72 innings. Unimpressive is an understatement.

When I referred to your errant dismissal of Jenkins, I was referring to your dismissing him for not having accomplished anything yet, not for dismissing him as a prospect. As I mentioned above, Gonzalez and Martinez haven't really accomplished anything either.

Your being unimpressed with him as a prospect, however, is your prerogative. You see a 22 year-old with a 1.30 WHIP (which isn't bad); I see a 95-mph thrower who had a respectable 3.28 ERA in the regular season, and who has been tearing it up (2.22 ERA) in the AFL against solid competition. However, as I said before, Jenkins making it would just be a bonus for the Braves. As I showed above, they already got the better part of the deal.

In other news the Chisox signed Laroche to 2/25 today. That seems like an awful lot of money to throw at a slow 35 year old first baseman with decent power but shoddy on base skills. And plus they already have Abreu. I don't like the signing for the Pale Hose.

Indeed. Based on what I know about Laroche with Abreu in town they just signed a DH for 12.5 per season. Much better ways to spend that much money.

Red Sox sign Panda and Han Ram.

Red Sox sign Panda and Han Ram.

so now what? what happens to Bogarts and Middlebrooks?