NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

Really sad to hear. Been a huge Norris fan since he was a HS pitcher in Tenn. Poor guy lives clean as hell and gets cancer. Life is fucked.

That's what Badler said a couple of months ago. This shit happens all the time in the IFAM.

 

My thoughts as well, or if the Fox family heard someone that they trusted in the negotiations was not going to be around by the end of the year, they may not have wanted to sit and see how it all played out.

 

Tigers GM expects Norris to be ready for Spring Training. For whatever that is worth.

 

They'll take it out, maybe leave some of it still in there (good tissue, obviously), as it regenerates itself possibly, and he'll be OK. His para thyroid/medication will take over.
Had mine removed the day after Christmas...he'll be ready.
I think an AZ pitcher had it done some years ago, too.

 

http://www.truebluela.com/2015/10/20/9576733/zack-greinke-contract-extension-risk-dodgers

The risk of a Zack Greinke contract extension
By Eric Stephen @ericstephen on Oct 20, 2015, 1:31p

There are many large roster decisions facing the Dodgers this offseason, but what they do with Zack Greinke remains likely the most important choice this winter.

Greinke can opt out of the remaining three years and $71 remaining on his contract and become a free agent. He hasn't yet, though that is most likely a technical formality more than anything. It is a no-brainer that he will opt out by the third day following the World Series, his deadline to do so. Unless of course the Dodgers can strike a deal with him before then.

But the plan for Greinke is to hit the open market. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has reported that Greinke will opt out, which is the smart play because of simple economics. It will be more lucrative for Greinke to have up to 30 teams bidding on him instead of just one.

From a performance standpoint, there is no better time than for Greinke to be available. He is coming off one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory, going 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA with the Dodgers with 200 strikeouts in 222⅔ innings. He lasted at least six innings in all 32 starts, and put up 30 quality starts.

Greinke in 2016 will be entering his age-32 season, one year older thanJon Lester was last offseason when he signed with Chicago for six years, $155 million.

But there is risk in the deal. Pitchers like Greinke are quite rare, which is why they command such a high price tag, and risk is an accepted part of the deal.

After 2011, CC Sabathia was 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA, a 138 ERA+ in three years with the Yankees, averaging 235 innings and 208 strikeouts per year. He had an opt-out clause after three years of his initial seven-year, $161 million deal with New York, and utilized that leverage to add $30 million guaranteed onto the back end of the deal with one extra year plus a vesting club option.

In the four years since, Sabathia is 38-33 with a 4.35 ERA, a 93 ERA+, averaging 156 innings and 139 strikeouts per season.

Sabathia was a year younger after 2011 than Greinke is now.

With that in mind, here is a rudimentary look at the risk of signing a pitcher from age 32 to 37. Let's look at the six-year periods before and after age 32, from 1990-2015.

Age 26-31

• 87 pitchers with 1,000 IP
• 9 with 30 WAR (Baseball-Reference version)
  
• 20 with 25 WAR
• 23 players with 6 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 61 players with 5 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 6 players with 6 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR
• 17 players with 6 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR

Age 32-37

• 30 pitchers with 1,000 IP
• 4 with 30 WAR
• 7 with 25 WAR
• 8 players with 6 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 16 players with 5 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 1 player with 6 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR (David Wells)
  
• 5 players with 5 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR

As we said, risk comes with the territory in paying for ages 32-37. The key, it seems, is to find as many pitchers in that age 26-31 group as possible.

Then again, there is also the risk of not having Greinke or someone of his ilk at all.

The quartet of 30-WAR pitchers in this six-year age frame are Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, and Kevin Brown, all basically Hall of Fame pitchers (Brown has a strong case but is destined for Veterans Committee). So a six-year deal for Greinke is a bet that he will continue a path toward Cooperstown.

Another wrinkle in Greinke's offseason is that he has plenty of competition on the pitching market. His three top competitors - David Price, Johnny Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann - are all heading into their age-30 seasons, two years younger than Greinke.

Let's take another look at pitchers from 1990-2015, but looking at ages 30-35.

Age 30-35

• 47 pitchers with 1,000 IP
• 9 with 30 WAR
• 11 with 25 WAR
• 10 players with 6 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 27 players with 5 seasons of 162 IP, positive WAR
• 3 players with 6 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR
• 10 players with 5 seasons of 200 IP, positive WAR

The takeaway here is what you might expect. In general, a pitcher is more likely to produce value from ages 30-35 than 32-37.

Of course, every pitcher is different and the Dodgers know more medically about Greinke than any other team. If there is any team built to absorb the risk of a six-year contract for a 32-year-old pitcher, it's the Dodgers. But it's also perfectly understandable for the front office to deem the risk too high.

 

Huh?

 

I'm sure glad I don't have to make the decision to sign Greinke or not. This is a tough one.

 

Yup, its mostly about value
Dodgers FO thought they werent getting a good return in the international market
They were spending too much on the players you listed as well as others, and not getting the return on talent they felt they should be (outside of Puig and Urias)

Don't think the Fox situation directly led to anyone getting fired

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/losangeles/...gers-could-be-in-for-a-long-winter-of-changes

Sounds like a return to small team/small dreams.

:friedman:

 

One can hope. The strategy doesn't seem right. We were a SP and one good reliever away from doing some damage. One more bat would be cool too.

 

I read that, most ridiculous off-season plan ever.

 

We'll see. The days leading up to last off-season's trade bonanza were full of " do somethin! " and " OMG they're not gonna do anything! " The media jumped on board and pleaded with them to do somethin and then they did.

 

He also said "They are set at first and third base with Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner, though they'll have to be mindful of Gonzalez's age (he'll be 34 in May) and Turner's chronic bad knee."

If anyone reading this thinks the Dodgers are "set at 3rd base with Justin Turner", then you need to put down the pipe and walk away. Yes, he has been fantastic in his two years in blue, but (for the umpteenth time) he is NOT an every day guy. He's looking at a large payday too, so as good as he's been, it may be time to part ways and let another team pay his salary for 2016.

 

I think it's a no brainer. You sign him.

There isn't a free agent out there that is close to him.

How do you even think about splitting up Clayton and Zack?

Sandy and Don 2.0