Over at SI.com, Cliff takes a look at the Lackey signing:
The Red Sox rotation behind Jon Lester and Josh Beckett struggled mightily in 2009. In the 98 games not started by Lester or Beckett this past season, Red Sox starters went 36-36 with a 5.40 ERA, and 1.57 WHIP. With Clay Buchholz having emerged as a legitimate mid-rotation starter in August and Daisuke Matsuzaka having made a strong comeback in mid-September, the Red Sox already had hope for improvement in their rotation heading into 2010, but the addition of Lackey, easily the best starting pitcher in a weak free agent market, ramps that improvement up from modest to drastic. That Lackey might be only the third-best starter in the Red Sox’s rotation is a testament to the depth and strength his signing gives Boston’s staff. Indeed, the Red Sox’s rotation suddenly looks like the best in baseball’s best division, at least for the moment.
Having posted a good-but-not great 3.79 ERA (118 ERA+) in just 339 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, the latter figure due to his starting both seasons on the disabled list with arm aches, including elbow inflammation this past spring, Lackey is more of a No. 2 starter than a proper ace, but that makes him particularly well cast as the No. 3 in Boston. Concerns about those DL stays linger, but Lackey returned in mid-May in both 2008 and 2009 and pitched into the playoffs without reoccurrence of his discomfort both years, throwing a cumulative 196 innings in 30 starts between the regular and postseasons in ’09. In the five seasons prior to 2008, he averaged 210 2/3 innings a year in the regular season alone, establishing a reputation as a horse that his early-season aches have yet to fully undermine. He also arrives in Boston as a strong postseason performer, having famously pitched and won Game 7 of the World Series as a rookie in 2002 and having bettered his career regular season ERA in his 12 postseason starts.
I can't tell. Is that picture Lackey or Youk?
This signing underscores the Yanks' reliance on Hughes and Chamberlain this year. Boston's rotaion will only be the best if both of those guys struggle this year.
Well at least the Sawx got a whole lot uglier. And, Halladay is out of the division. Yipee!
[2] At some point we must give Phil and Joba every chance to succed. What's the point of drafting well, if we don't give the kids at least a decent shot at showing their stuff?
A poster at RLYW has an interesting point:
"Would you rather have M. Holliday in 2010 or C. Lee in 2011? "
Lee will be a FA next year, yes?
Does anyone know/have heard anything about what Nick the Stick is looking for/worth, in terms of $$$ and years? He can't run, but I would love him in the #2 hole.
Baseball Think Factory on 'The Trade"
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/granderson_jackson_scherzer_3_way_jamboree/
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"The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson for Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, and Phil Coke.
Here is the easiest part of the trade to like. It just feels so unfair for the Yankees to essentially reduce payroll (by having Granderson instead of the replacement) and acquire a solid player without giving up much of crucial value. "
HA!
An interesting statement from 'Baseball Analysts'
http://baseballanalysts.com/
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While 2009 could have been just a bad year for free agents - this is further evidence that the $4.5 million per win mark commonly used may be, if not wrong, at least obsolete. Using this 2009 data from two different data sources, again shows the dollars per win value above $6 million. While estimates based on projected WAR may yield a different figure, the reality is that teams are paying much more than that (or at least they did in 2009). Interestingly, 2009 was seen at the time as being a depressed free agent market, where teams could pick up relatively cheap bargains. At $6.5 to $7.5 million per win, there were very few bargains to be had.
Dodgers trade Pierre to White Sox ...
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=4744955
hmmmm ....
[8] That seems odd to me.
ESPN via MLBTR:
" ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Cardinals don't believe many teams are competing for Holliday on the level they are. Olney says the Cards intend to stand by a five-year offer - that's considerably short of the eight-year deal hinted at yesterday.
The Yankees have no intention of bidding on Holliday, according to Olney's sources."
Umm...if we can get Holliday for "only" a 5 year commitment, or even 6, I'd go there.
i was always in favor of trying for holliday, but if it's going to be for over $16/year, even for 5 or 6 years, he isn't worth it. there are too many questions about how much of his production was due to coors field, and how well he'd hit in the al. i know that yankee stadium is a better hitting park than the coliseum, but it's still pretty big for righties, and he'd be facing better pitching in the al east. i think we need to look elsewhere, and i wouldn't be too upset if we focus more on pitching at this point.
am i missing something in this halladay/lee trade? it's called a 3 team trade, but it sounds to me like it's just 2 simultaneous 2-team trades. philly gives toronto 3 prospects for halladay, and seattle gives philly 3 prospects for lee. so why did philly feel it necessary to trade lee to seattle? is it just financial? are those 3 prospects all that good (it doesn't sound like it)? why not keep lee for this year at least and dominate the nl?
[12] The Phils traded Lee because he wants to test free agency.
[13] right, next year. but why not keep him for 2010 and have a ridiculous 1-2 punch and a pretty good 3rd starter in hamels? lee makes $9 million in 2010. is that too much to pay for a clear shot at another championship? i'd think they'd be clear favorites in any matchup with that rotation and their offense.
What's bothering me at the moment are the reports that we have no intention on bidding on either Holliday or Bay. That might be posturing in negotiations with one or both. However, isn't it also playing right into Boras/JD's hands?!? If we go to 3 years on JD I'm gonna be awfully pissed.
[12-14] Lee's agent says they were not unwilling to sign on long-term. Sounds like Philly just couldn't afford to keep both, so they went with the better of the two and reloaded their farm.
[15] I think we're counting too much on the after-meetings to be the end-all of improving the team. I still think that it's too early to tell.
[17] I hear you. I'm being impatient, but it's partly b/c I'm so pissed about Hideki. If he were still a possibility, I'd feel better, rational or not :)