I'm a bit tired and won't analyze much, just give my very early predictions
Chelsea beats Juventus
Villarreal beats Panathinaikos
Bayern Munich beats Sporting
Atletico beats Porto
Barcelona beats Lyon
Liverpool beats Real Madrid
Arsenal beats Roma
Manchester United beats Inter
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Here we go again...
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid...
Sure, feel free to take this skeptically (I do). But that would take care of Real's right wing, wouldn't it? :-)
Cristiano Ronaldo will sign for Real Madrid in the summer according to a director of the Spanish giants.
Newspaper El Mundo is quoting director Pedro Trapote as saying Real already have a deal in place but cannot announce it officially.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Methusalah
Jamie Moyer re-upped, 2 years
He might get to 270 wins should he pitch effectively through this contract. Maybe a run at 300? He'll also be closing in on 50.With his return, the Phillies have four certainties in the starting rotation -- Moyer, Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton. A crew of others, including J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Carrasco and new acquisition Chan Ho Park -- with whom the Phillies agreed to a deal on Monday -- will battle for the fifth spot.
Rank the pitchers
ESPN asks you to
When you look at the options, you'll see some... notable omissions. The list dates back to the mid-1940, so segregation-era stars such as Walter Johnson, Cy Young and Lefty Grove need not apply. But what about Bob Gibson, Robin Roberts, Jim Palmer (and Bert Blyleven, for that matter)?
Anyway, this is fun, so I ranked them (with, admittedly, some guesswork with the active/recently retired ones):
When you look at the options, you'll see some... notable omissions. The list dates back to the mid-1940, so segregation-era stars such as Walter Johnson, Cy Young and Lefty Grove need not apply. But what about Bob Gibson, Robin Roberts, Jim Palmer (and Bert Blyleven, for that matter)?
Anyway, this is fun, so I ranked them (with, admittedly, some guesswork with the active/recently retired ones):
- Clemens
- Maddux
- Seaver
- Carlton
- Big Unit
- Spahn
- Pedro
- Perry
- Ryan
- Niekro
- Koufax
- Glavine
- Wynn
- Sutton
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Hall of Fame
It's that time of the year again.
I had done a post on this last year, so go read it for further reference. Since back then, Gossage got elected and Concepción exhausted his 15-year period. The other five (Blyleven, McGwire, Murphy, Raines and Trammell) keep my support, along with:
DAVID CONE: Yes, this might turn some heads, and while he is quite the borderline choice, I feel comfortable placing him among the best 200 or so major leaguers of all time, which is more or less where the Cooperstown borderline lies. His case is built on his mid-90's peak, reaching its top with a Cy Young award in the strike-shortened 1994 season. While he is at best the tenth starter of his era, I think that's a safe number of HOFers to have, given expansion.
RICKEY HENDERSON: What else is there to say? He's the greatest of all time.
I had done a post on this last year, so go read it for further reference. Since back then, Gossage got elected and Concepción exhausted his 15-year period. The other five (Blyleven, McGwire, Murphy, Raines and Trammell) keep my support, along with:
DAVID CONE: Yes, this might turn some heads, and while he is quite the borderline choice, I feel comfortable placing him among the best 200 or so major leaguers of all time, which is more or less where the Cooperstown borderline lies. His case is built on his mid-90's peak, reaching its top with a Cy Young award in the strike-shortened 1994 season. While he is at best the tenth starter of his era, I think that's a safe number of HOFers to have, given expansion.
RICKEY HENDERSON: What else is there to say? He's the greatest of all time.
Bats are coming
Yanks will chase Manny, Tex
According to several baseball officials, the Yankees remain in the Mark Teixeira hunt. But the same connected voices insist if the Yankees don't land the switch-hitting first baseman, they will turn their money toward controversial slugger Manny Ramirez.
"If they can't get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny," an official with knowledge of the Yankees' plan said yesterday.
All else being equal, I'm trending towards preferring Teixeira. But things will not be equal.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
More... Arms....
AJ Burnett, Yankee:
While the rotation right now looks good, a five-year deal has the potential of ending up not-so-goodly. Now, how about some bats? Please?
Free agent right-hander A.J. Burnett has reached preliminary agreement on a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the New York Yankees, a baseball source told ESPN.com.
While Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker are still negotiating final contract terms, the deal is expected to be complete once Burnett passes a physical exam, the source said.
While the rotation right now looks good, a five-year deal has the potential of ending up not-so-goodly. Now, how about some bats? Please?
Ibañez to Phillies
They agree to 3/30 deal
Ibañez is a gifted and graceful defender who takes solid routes to get to the ball, has soft hands and a powerful arm.
(GIFs courtesy of Lookout Landing)
The Phillies have agreed to a three-year contract with free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez, pending a physical. The deal is believed to be worth $30 million over three years.
The 36-year-old Ibanez will become the Phillies' new everyday leftfielder, and his signing means the Phillies no longer will pursue their longtime leftfielder, Pat Burrell, who is also a free agent.
Ibañez is a gifted and graceful defender who takes solid routes to get to the ball, has soft hands and a powerful arm.
(GIFs courtesy of Lookout Landing)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The nerve...
From Mr. "I spend in payroll less than what I get from revenue sharing":
Marlins President David Samson, whose team had the lowest payroll in baseball last year at $22 million, said he hopes the signings don't send the wrong message to fans in lower-revenue markets like South Florida.
"The Yankees can do they want to, but I would caution the public to draw any relationship between how the Yankees operate and how other teams operate,'' he said.
This year, the Marlins are projected to have a $35 million payroll. Sabathia himself will earn an average of $23 million per season.
"I very much feel like the producer of an independent film trying to compete with a big-budget studio blockbuster,'' Samson said. "That's hard.
No comments from me here.
Dayton Moore goes crazy with relievers!
Ramirez, Waechter, Farnsworth...
Left-hander Horacio Ramirez returns to the Royals with the opportunity to win a job in the rotation, while right-handed relievers Doug Waechter and Kyle Farnsworth replenish a bullpen depleted by previous trades.
“Based on the opportunities that we had to acquire talent,” Moore said, “I think we were able to do what we needed to do. Horacio Ramirez and Doug Waechter are great make-up guys. We think there is still upside for both of those players.”
The Royals confirmed one-year agreements for Ramirez and Waechter but declined to comment on Farnsworth, although a two-year deal should be confirmed in the next few days.
Even if we were talking about good pitchers... what's the point?
Cameron to Yanks?
So says the Daily News
I guess the Yanks have really changed direction in their team-building priorities. Besides Swisher, all their actual and expected acquisitions make their impact on the run prevention side of things. Sure, Cameron should be an offensive improvement over what the Yanks put in CF this past season, but over his career his glove has won more accolades than his bat.
Cameron has a pretty good deal with the Brewers, and haven't send much indication of a desire to shed salaries. So, I'm not sure about this deal from their point of view. They must really really like Melky. Maybe there are prospects heading to Milwaukee...
The Yankees have found their center fielder for 2009, as they are set to send Melky Cabrera to Milwaukee for veteran outfielder Mike Cameron on Thursday, according to two major league sources.
I guess the Yanks have really changed direction in their team-building priorities. Besides Swisher, all their actual and expected acquisitions make their impact on the run prevention side of things. Sure, Cameron should be an offensive improvement over what the Yanks put in CF this past season, but over his career his glove has won more accolades than his bat.
Cameron has a pretty good deal with the Brewers, and haven't send much indication of a desire to shed salaries. So, I'm not sure about this deal from their point of view. They must really really like Melky. Maybe there are prospects heading to Milwaukee...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A Three-Way
Rumor making the rounds...
Mariners get P Aaron Heilman, 1B Mike Carp, OF Endy Chavez, OF Franklin Gutierrez
Indians get P Joe Smith, IF Luis Valbuena
Mets get P JJ Putz, P Sean Green, OF Jeremy Reed
With this and the K-Rod signing, the Mets bullpen should get better in a hurry, although Putz is more of a question mark. They still made a very good deal here, they'll miss Chavez on their bench but maybe Reed can make up for some of his lost defense.
The Mariners probably could have gotten a bit more offensive upside for their closer, although Carp might become useful, and Gutierrez can still become a league-average bat (which, given his glove, would make a darn good player). On the other hand, anything short of an upper-deck homer would get caught by an Endy/Guti/Ichiro outfield.
I don't get this deal from the Indians' point of view. Maybe they expect Valbuena to perform their expected Jhonny Peralta to 3B/Asdrubal Cabrera to SS switch. Any help?
ADDENDUM: Done deal
Mariners get P Aaron Heilman, 1B Mike Carp, OF Endy Chavez, OF Franklin Gutierrez
Indians get P Joe Smith, IF Luis Valbuena
Mets get P JJ Putz, P Sean Green, OF Jeremy Reed
With this and the K-Rod signing, the Mets bullpen should get better in a hurry, although Putz is more of a question mark. They still made a very good deal here, they'll miss Chavez on their bench but maybe Reed can make up for some of his lost defense.
The Mariners probably could have gotten a bit more offensive upside for their closer, although Carp might become useful, and Gutierrez can still become a league-average bat (which, given his glove, would make a darn good player). On the other hand, anything short of an upper-deck homer would get caught by an Endy/Guti/Ichiro outfield.
I don't get this deal from the Indians' point of view. Maybe they expect Valbuena to perform their expected Jhonny Peralta to 3B/Asdrubal Cabrera to SS switch. Any help?
ADDENDUM: Done deal
Salary caps and other stuff....
Assorted Phil Holland thoughts
One has to consider the differences between American and European sports leagues when thinking about equalizing measures. A few notable differences that come to my mind at the moment: 1) American leagues enforce regional monopolies or duopolies for their teams, their European counterparts don't (at least not to the same extent). 2) There are more different definitions of success on the eastern shores of the Atlantic. 3) Relegation, which makes the Florida Marlins, welfare queen lifestyle a lot riskier. 4) International competitions which put the Europeans on a greater fight for talent than their American counterparts.
If I had to guess, I'd say that the biggest sources of inequality in European football are tradition and the Champions League windfall (as opposed to the States, where my best guess for the source of inequality would be the aforementioned regional monopolies; many analyzes indicate New York could handle a third, maybe even a fourth MLB team). One of them only changes on the reaaaaaaallllyyy long term, the other one I'm not sure it's worth messing much with, so one would have to find other equalizing measures. Remember that the more heavy-handed measures, such as a salary cap, are also the most likely to have all sorts of unpleasant unintended consequences. And that's before even asking if there is such a thing as too much equality, and how much is that. If I come up with something interesting, I'll blog about it.
As for the second part of the column, I'm a PES man all the way. Specially if we're talking about the Wii version(s).
One has to consider the differences between American and European sports leagues when thinking about equalizing measures. A few notable differences that come to my mind at the moment: 1) American leagues enforce regional monopolies or duopolies for their teams, their European counterparts don't (at least not to the same extent). 2) There are more different definitions of success on the eastern shores of the Atlantic. 3) Relegation, which makes the Florida Marlins, welfare queen lifestyle a lot riskier. 4) International competitions which put the Europeans on a greater fight for talent than their American counterparts.
If I had to guess, I'd say that the biggest sources of inequality in European football are tradition and the Champions League windfall (as opposed to the States, where my best guess for the source of inequality would be the aforementioned regional monopolies; many analyzes indicate New York could handle a third, maybe even a fourth MLB team). One of them only changes on the reaaaaaaallllyyy long term, the other one I'm not sure it's worth messing much with, so one would have to find other equalizing measures. Remember that the more heavy-handed measures, such as a salary cap, are also the most likely to have all sorts of unpleasant unintended consequences. And that's before even asking if there is such a thing as too much equality, and how much is that. If I come up with something interesting, I'll blog about it.
As for the second part of the column, I'm a PES man all the way. Specially if we're talking about the Wii version(s).
Well, pinstripes do make you look thinner
Yanks getting the big guy
Well, personally I preferred to spend big money on Teixeira rather than Sabbathia, given the team's weaknesses last year, but having either of them is not a terrible sight.
As for the contract, it's almost as big as the guy himself (which makes the K-Rod Mets contract look a bit better, as the perspectives of general disinflation/deflation in MLB salaries go down a bit). And I'm uncomfortable guaranteeing so many years to a pitcher, but that seems to be the price of doing business with stars like him. The opt-out clause in there might even be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees.
Now, I still think the Yanks might want to focus in adding another bat, but who is there? If they can still make a Teixeira-sized investment, that would be fine. If not, well... I'll have to get back to you later.
LAS VEGAS -- CC Sabathia will be a New York Yankee.
The Yankees are "very close" to a preliminary agreement with Sabathia on Wednesday morning, following an in-person meeting between general manager Brian Cashman and Sabathia in California, a baseball source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN.com.
Well, personally I preferred to spend big money on Teixeira rather than Sabbathia, given the team's weaknesses last year, but having either of them is not a terrible sight.
As for the contract, it's almost as big as the guy himself (which makes the K-Rod Mets contract look a bit better, as the perspectives of general disinflation/deflation in MLB salaries go down a bit). And I'm uncomfortable guaranteeing so many years to a pitcher, but that seems to be the price of doing business with stars like him. The opt-out clause in there might even be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees.
Now, I still think the Yanks might want to focus in adding another bat, but who is there? If they can still make a Teixeira-sized investment, that would be fine. If not, well... I'll have to get back to you later.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
More trading action
Ramon Hernandez to the Reds
Obviously, from the O's point of view, this trade is all about clearing the way from Wieters and shedding some salary in the process.
As for the Reds, are they really so close to contention that adding pieces like this is worthwhile (I'm also thinking of the erstwhile Dye rumor)? I guess third place could be had if things break right, but I'm not seeing any further gains.
LAS VEGAS - Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty today announced the acquisition of C Ramon Hernandez and cash from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for IF/OF Ryan Freel and minor league infielders Justin Turner and Brandon Waring.
The trade was announced at the Bellagio in Las Vegas during baseball's annual winter meetings.
Obviously, from the O's point of view, this trade is all about clearing the way from Wieters and shedding some salary in the process.
As for the Reds, are they really so close to contention that adding pieces like this is worthwhile (I'm also thinking of the erstwhile Dye rumor)? I guess third place could be had if things break right, but I'm not seeing any further gains.
The Return of Scott Erickson
He wants back
LAS VEGAS -- Scott Erickson, who essentially has not pitched a full major-league season since 2002 and mostly has been out of baseball since 2005, is making noises about a comeback.
Erickson, 40, has contacted the Minnesota Twins about coming to spring training in 2009 and apparently was met with a tepid response.
Of course, you all know why I posted this, so why put up the charade?
A signing!
K-Rod, Met
So, the guy breaks the save record and gets 3/37 in the free agent market? One still needs to see how other big free agents end up, but this is evidence of the recession affecting baseball (or the owners using it as an excuse to do some "market correction").
Anyway, well done for the Mets. I expect them to add at least one more arm, but I don't know if that will be a starter or a reliever.
The New York Mets agreed to a three-year deal with free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.
Rodriguez's deal, worth $37 million plus additional incentives, is pending a physical, which the New York Post reported will take place Wednesday.
So, the guy breaks the save record and gets 3/37 in the free agent market? One still needs to see how other big free agents end up, but this is evidence of the recession affecting baseball (or the owners using it as an excuse to do some "market correction").
Anyway, well done for the Mets. I expect them to add at least one more arm, but I don't know if that will be a starter or a reliever.
PANIC!
Schuster walks the plank, Ramos in
Well, there's the little matter of a match against the aforementioned Barcelona next Saturday. And they are playing kinda well as of now...
I don't care much for Schuster as a coach, but it's clear that the rot starts at the top. It seems him and Mijatovic weren't in the same page, and squad planning suffered for it. Then injuries came (another issue that will have to be reviewed), and the team was caught it its collective pants down.
Anyway, I don't think this will solve anything, and might even make things worse. This club needs a cleanup.
Former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur coach Juande Ramos has been handed a six-month contract at Real Madrid after the Spanish giants parted company with Bernd Schuster on Tuesday.
Schuster's departure, described by the club as being by mutual consent, comes after a poor run of form which has seen the defending Spanish champions slip to fifth place in the Primera Liga, nine points behind arch-rivals Barcelona.
Well, there's the little matter of a match against the aforementioned Barcelona next Saturday. And they are playing kinda well as of now...
I don't care much for Schuster as a coach, but it's clear that the rot starts at the top. It seems him and Mijatovic weren't in the same page, and squad planning suffered for it. Then injuries came (another issue that will have to be reviewed), and the team was caught it its collective pants down.
Anyway, I don't think this will solve anything, and might even make things worse. This club needs a cleanup.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Everett to Tigers
From the Winter Meetings updates
Detroit could really use the run prevention help. Everyone knows Everett won't help on the run production side of things.
This could be risky. One has to see if his arm has recovered enough to make the throws from the hole. If Everett can't be a shortstop, he probably can't be a major leaguer.
The Tigers have reached agreement with free-agent shortstop Adam Everett, according to a major-league source.The one-year deal will be worth approximately $1 million, plus incentives, and is pending a physical.
Detroit also made official its deal with the Rangers to acquire catcher Gerald Laird, meaning the Tigers have addressed their catcher and shortstop needs in the span of about 24 hours.
Everett hit .213 in 48 games for the Twins last season. He spent seven seasons with the Astros prior to his stint in Minnesota.
Detroit could really use the run prevention help. Everyone knows Everett won't help on the run production side of things.
This could be risky. One has to see if his arm has recovered enough to make the throws from the hole. If Everett can't be a shortstop, he probably can't be a major leaguer.
Joe Gordon achieves inmortality after death
The various Veteran's Committees handed in their results, and Joe Gordon is the latest player to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.
Arguably the best Yankee second baseman of all time, Gordon combined excellent offense for an up the middle player (120 OPS+) with solid defense. Though at first sight his career looks short, one has to consider that he lost two years at the peak of his abilities to military service, and he was also stashed in the Yankee minor league system for a while before breaking through in 1938, arguably he would have made the majors earlier under other circumstances.
He is perhaps best remembered for winning the 1942 MVP, while taking the rare triple crown of strikeouts, errors and GIDPs. Still those stats hide a very solid season (155 OPS+ from a second baseman? I'll take two of those, thank you very much). However, there was this Williams guy....
Anyway, congratulations... wherever he is.
Arguably the best Yankee second baseman of all time, Gordon combined excellent offense for an up the middle player (120 OPS+) with solid defense. Though at first sight his career looks short, one has to consider that he lost two years at the peak of his abilities to military service, and he was also stashed in the Yankee minor league system for a while before breaking through in 1938, arguably he would have made the majors earlier under other circumstances.
He is perhaps best remembered for winning the 1942 MVP, while taking the rare triple crown of strikeouts, errors and GIDPs. Still those stats hide a very solid season (155 OPS+ from a second baseman? I'll take two of those, thank you very much). However, there was this Williams guy....
Anyway, congratulations... wherever he is.
UEFA Team of the Year 2008
I return with a soccer post. Why not?
My vote:
GK: Van Der Sar. Casillas' recent struggles made me go for the United man.
Defense: Bosingwa, Ferdinand, Vidic, Capdevila. Again, a poor second half keeps Sergio Ramos out of the team. I've been a fan of Man United's central defense pairing, so I went and picked both of them.
Midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Arshavin, Ribery. CR7 rightfully deserved his Golden Ball, as did Xavi with his Euro 2008 MVP award. Arshavin was capable of delivering fantastic performances, specially in the UEFA Cup final and Euro quarters against the Netherlands, and I have been very impressed by his creative abilities. I also got to see a lot or Ribery in the Bundesliga, so here he goes.
Forwards: Messi, Torres. The diminutive Barcelona man looks like the frontrunner for Golden Ball 2009. Torres finally turned his promise into results this year.
My vote:
GK: Van Der Sar. Casillas' recent struggles made me go for the United man.
Defense: Bosingwa, Ferdinand, Vidic, Capdevila. Again, a poor second half keeps Sergio Ramos out of the team. I've been a fan of Man United's central defense pairing, so I went and picked both of them.
Midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Arshavin, Ribery. CR7 rightfully deserved his Golden Ball, as did Xavi with his Euro 2008 MVP award. Arshavin was capable of delivering fantastic performances, specially in the UEFA Cup final and Euro quarters against the Netherlands, and I have been very impressed by his creative abilities. I also got to see a lot or Ribery in the Bundesliga, so here he goes.
Forwards: Messi, Torres. The diminutive Barcelona man looks like the frontrunner for Golden Ball 2009. Torres finally turned his promise into results this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)