torts

McCann confronted Fernandez last month for doing the same thing, he's a goon, what he did was nothing less than that. he didnt "do the right thing", he's an instigator and a bully

I just want to point something out that back in March Clint Hurdle was quoted by the pittsburgh media that this pirates team will win 95 games this year. he was basically laughed at by everyone with that notion... yet here we are, 6 games from the end of the season with 92 wins. amazing

i mean, I feel pretty excited about next season considering howq the team has played in the second half of this season since the allstar break: 33-29 record no braun, no weeks for the majority of that record, no hart ARAM has hit .302/.543/.936 since returning early august with 7 HR and 23 RBI in 33 games the emergence of Davis, Gennett, Halton and Gindl (sorta) the rotation stabalized to an extent, just not getting the wins loshe has had a 3.25 ERA in 12 starts since the break going 5-3 gallardo has had a 3.22 ERA in 11 starts since the break going 4-2 peralta has had a 3.99 ERA in 12 starts since the break going 4-7 estrada has had a 2.26 ERA w/ 48/11 K/BB since beginning of august when he came off the DL (3-0 record)

except for the cardinals.

good thing we've got 10 games to go to drop by .2 more to be the champs!

[sarcasm]he's got two first names?[/sarcasm]

heck, i'd be surprised if they gave him 50%, I feel like they'll offer him a good bit less, like a $1 - 2 mil contract with tons of incentives based on games played/yaddayadda like Liriano got with the Buccos this year.

yes, currently its at $90 million for next season, but come april 1st, it wont be. there will be moves made to lower payroll

ive always been a fan of Estrada

Grilli and Burnett have done it two years in a row. Burnett in 2012: 202 IP, 3.51 ERA Burnett in 2013: 170 IP (so far), 3.43 ERA Grilli in 2012: 58 IP, 2.91 ERA Grilli in 2013: 46 IP (so far), 2.91 ERA (30 saves compared to 2 in 2012) he's given up 4 runs in the 4 IP since he came back this season, bringing his ERA up from 2.28 to 2.91. he hasnt looked very good at all

I think AJ will be back, he wont retire and has said multiple times the only team he wants to play for next year is Pittsburgh, and I definitely think Liriano regresses next year, lets not forget he didnt start until mid May this season, so he's a month and a half behind in terms of wear and tear of a season. Wandy will be back, the Astros are paying $5 mil of that salary, so its only $8 million for the pirates to pay. Locke and Cole are ???? for next season in terms of their success since none of them have a complete MLB season under their belts and Morton has a history of injuries, so you really cant count on him for a full MLB season IMO. I would not be surprised if you see Connley open the purse a tiny bit to sign someone for the rotation.

yes. 1 year ban for first failed test.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/06/14/japan-nippon-professional-baseball-ball-switch-apology/2422873/

didnt that league change the baseball this season without telling anyone until last month? I am pretty sure I just read that at the same time reading about this guy on the verge of breaking this record

thornburg dealin

oh yeah, I know, especially if the brewers keep Gallardo and Loshe, just wanted to post this going forward... If management feels good about this team for next year with Braun back, a healthy rammy and possibly Hart coming back at 1B, I wouldnt be surprised if they tried to get another arm for the rotation to go with Estrada/Peralta

Top 34 Free Agent Starting Pitchers By Tim Dierkes [september 10 at 4:18pm CST] Sometimes, there's just not a $100MM free agent pitcher out there. C.J. Wilson benefited from a weak free agent starting pitching class after the 2011 season, nabbing $77.5MM to lead the group. In the upcoming offseason, the top end of the starting pitcher segment is similarly uninspiring. Here are my early rankings, which are subject to change. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section or on Twitter. 1.Matt Garza - In terms of pure free agent starters, I think Garza will receive the largest contract this offseason. He's ineligible to receive a qualifying offer because he was traded midseason, which boosts his value. He may have quieted health concerns by making all of his starts since his May 21st big league season debut and averaging nearly seven innings per start. 2.Masahiro Tanaka - Tanaka, a righty with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, is not technically a free agent but belongs here since he can be obtained by bidding the most (assuming he is posted). I don't want to give too much credit to the unknown, but there are some who would take Tanaka over Garza, especially since Tanaka will pitch next year at age 25. 3.Ervin Santana - A quality arm whose stock will be damaged by a qualifying offer, if he turns one down and reaches the open market. 4.Hiroki Kuroda - He'll play next season at age 39, but in feedback on early drafts of this list, most thought he should be this high. 5.A.J. Burnett - Burnett said in March he wouldn't want to play anywhere but Pittsburgh, and I imagine the team's success this year only solidifies that stance. 6.Tim Lincecum - I had Lincecum ranked better in earlier versions of the list, as a case can be made he's at least equal to Santana, if you're willing to look past ERA. Like Santana, a qualifying offer could suppress his market. 7.Ricky Nolasco - I'd want to pay Nolasco like a 4.00 ERA guy, despite a 2.07 mark since joining the Dodgers in a July 6th trade. He doesn't have to worry about a qualifying offer, and could sign a new deal with the Dodgers during the exclusive signing period. 8.Bronson Arroyo - He's not flashy, and he'll pitch at 37 next year, but he supplies innings and avoids the free pass. Arroyo spoke recently about wanting a multiyear deal, but turning down a qualifying offer from the Reds could put him in a bind on the market. I don't expect the Reds to chance it. 9.Dan Haren - Haren will likely avoid a qualifying offer from the Nationals, as they won't want to risk giving him a raise on this year's $13MM. Despite a 5.23 ERA, Haren's K/BB ratio remains sparkling, and I still think there's hope for a sub-4.00 ERA given a few more groundballs and BABIP and HR/flyball swinging back his way. 10.Scott Feldman - Ineligible for a qualifying offer, Feldman is in line for a multiyear deal. He's re-established himself as a solid mid-rotation arm, and he'll pitch at 31 next year. 11.Paul Maholm - Maholm started his season with 20 1/3 scoreless innings, after which he's posted a 5.09 ERA in 120 1/3 frames. He also missed a month with a wrist contusion, and may have to settle for another one-year deal. 12.Roberto Hernandez - I like Hernandez more than most. Though he hasn't done it since 2010, I see the skills of a sub-4.00 ERA pitcher. His combination of a decent strikeout rate and big-time groundball rate is rare, but among the flyballs he has allowed, a whopping fifth of them have left the yard. 13.Scott Kazmir - There's a lot to like about Kazmir, who I originally had inside my top ten. He's still young, he's got strikeout stuff from the left side, and he's sporting the lowest walk rate of his career. But he should finish the season with around 160 innings, a total he last reached in 2007. The Indians signed Kazmir to a minor league deal in December; MLBTR's Steve Adams covered his rise and fall in a June post. I think he could find a multiyear deal. 14.Ubaldo Jimenez - He has the second-best strikeout rate in this free agent class, behind Burnett. If he can push his walk rate back under four per nine innings, as it was with the Rockies, he'd be close to the front-rotation hurler the Indians thought they acquired at the 2011 trade deadline. Some feel he's among the ten best in this free agent class, and he will be able to score a multiyear deal. 15.Bartolo Colon - I reluctantly pushed Colon up to 15th, as over 300 innings of 3.22 ball since 2012 can't be ignored. Colon's career, elbow, and shoulder were resurrected in an April 2010 stem cell procedure, and he was later suspended 50 games for a positive PED test in August of last year in an apparently unrelated incident. He'll pitch most of next season at 41, and is succeeding with a subpar strikeout rate. 16.Josh Johnson - Johnson's final start of the year came on August 6th in Seattle, and at least that one outing was reflective of what we used to say about him: he pitches well when he's on the field. His final injury was a strained forearm that will not require surgery, but unlike years past, Johnson did not pitch well while on the field this year, with a 6.20 ERA in 16 starts. His downfall was a fluke in theory, in that his strikeout and walk rates were solid while his BABIP and HR/flyball went through the roof. A qualifying offer is unlikely -- Johnson would probably accept, and that would not be a good deal for the Blue Jays. 17.Phil Hughes - Hughes was demoted to the Yankees' bullpen earlier this month. He had a respectable 2.85 K/BB ratio in 26 starts, but the extreme flyballer also allowed 23 home runs. There's a 4.00 ERA pitcher in there somewhere, especially away from Yankee Stadium, where he allowed 17 of those longballs. Hughes won't turn 28 until June next year, and as the youngest free agent starter, the former phenom should be a popular one-year deal reclamation project target. 18.Jason Vargas 19.Chris Capuano 20.Roy Halladay - The former ace had labrum and rotator cuff surgery in May, returning to make a few starts this month. 21.Tim Hudson - Hudson was pitching well before his season ended in July with an ankle fracture. 22.Jason Hammel 23.Wandy Rodriguez 24.Andy Pettitte 25.Joe Saunders 26.Jake Westbrook 27.Ryan Vogelsong (club option) 28.Edinson Volquez 29.Chad Gaudin - Gaudin has been quietly solid in a dozen starts for the Giants, with a 3.53 ERA. 30.Mike Pelfrey 31.Shaun Marcum 32.Scott Baker 33.Colby Lewis 34.Randy Messenger - The 32-year-old is a sleeper MLB deal candidate this offseason, with a 2.83 ERA as a starter for the Hanshin Tigers from 2011-13. Jon Lester, Jorge De La Rosa, and James Shields were excluded from this list, under the expectation their club options will be exercised.

wow, was not aware of the league 2B stats... yikes.

even if gennett ended up hitting .250 next season, that'd be days better than the .200 weeks has given us for the last two years. i dont expect him to be a .300+ batter, I just expect him to be better than weeks has been.

me too, this fan base needed this season, 20 years of losing, first winning season and they're within striking distance of winning the division for the playoffs? so awesome. I will say, getting 82 wins doesnt have the same hurrah that the brewers had when they ended their streak... probably because they've got 20 games to go and milwaukee did it on the last game of the season. this is what cutch tweeted last night. @TheCUTCH22 On to the next one... the team is not resting on a winning record, they're shooting for it all right now

yeah, I realize that, still bugs me some

forgot it was insider... i'll just cut/paste the brewers part http://assets.espn.go.com/i/mlb/future_power_rankings/2013/r2/mil.jpg The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category. The Overview The Brewers deserve credit for making some all-in moves in an effort to win while Ryan Braun is in his prime, but some of those deals have left them with an awkward roster that saw them giving Yuniesky Betancourt extensive time at first base. They surely regret the Kyle Lohse signing, which cost them a first-round draft pick, and now face a bleak future with their hopes pinned to Braun, who has become a league-wide pariah. The Brewers will get a first read this winter on how much Braun's situation will impact their fan base's enthusiasm for ticket-buying. -- Buster Olney The Dilemma Milwaukee must decide if the rotation of Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta and PCL pitcher of the year Johnny Hellweg is good enough to build around, or if they need to try to trade Gallardo and Lohse in an effort to add some young arms. -- Jim Bowden The New "Guy" Center fielder Tyrone Taylor was the team's second-round pick in 2012 out of Torrance (Calif.) HS, but has outplayed its two first-rounders, with great athleticism and a high contact rate thanks to a simplified swing, as well as doubles power at age 19 in the Midwest League. -- Keith Law

thats really impressive that he's doing this

yup, I agree. if a personal call doesnt quell their anger at him nothing will.

Mobility: Do they have a lot of young, cheap players? Or old, immovable guys? that is the definition of mobility for that "review", not whether or not they can afford to eat money on a contract if a player stinks. They were given a 30 in finance, which would account for paying for bad players... but hypothetically, in 3 years when Adrian Gonzalez is 33/34, getting $21 million, and he stinks, is he movable still? or Greinke? or Crawford? and I get the Weeks comment, but theres only one year left of weeks under contract, not 4 or 5, so I can understand the brewers having a low score, but a 5, and ranked the worst mobility in baseball? not buying it.