Memphis was apparently a major competitor for the services of James Martin; GM sully712 had some choice comments on Martin's decision to take a lesser offer from Charleston:
"We offered a 5-year deal for 92 million with a 10 million dollar bonus. Plus, I offered a no trade clause.
'The franchise was quite disappointed that Martin decided to take a lesser offer to play with a less talented team. With Martin we felt we were locks to reach the World Series. Someone else will have to step up."
TLoM wonders if Charleston GM mnnorthstars has anything to say in response...???
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Colberts Sign Martin
The Charleston Colberts nabbed the biggest price in this year's free agent class, James Martin, with a 5-year, $94 million contract.
Martin was AL Rookie of the Year in Season 2 and has 2 MVP's (Seasons 6 and 7), 6 All-Star appearances and 5 Silver Sluggers. He's a lifetime .307 hitter with 308 homers and 314 stolen bases. Martin was a 2B with the Gangsta' Chimps but is expected to shift to LF with the Colberts.
The bidding was undoubtedly brisk on Martin, with at least 1 team (Memphis) claiming to have topped Charleston's bid.
In other A/B Free Agent news:
Scranton picked up tough reliever Jerome Ross (255 career saves) for a 1-year, $3.95 million deal.
Iowa City added a good lefty bench bat and versatile utility man in Jorel Benosn (1 year, $3.8 million).
Shane Leius joins the Detroit Dome Drivers for 2 years, $5.6 million. He can play 1B, 3B and COF and is expected to get the full compliment of AB's against lefties.
Toledo may have a real sleeper in Mark Austin (3 years, $3.945 per year). He seems to be one of those rare players who gets the job done without having good ratings.
Kansas City gets a nice 3B for a good price in Magglio De La Vega (2 years, $7.1 million).
Atlanta corrals Pedro Beltre, he of the still-electric and always-wild arm, for 2 years, $5.6 million.
SP Rob Spencer inks with the Chicago Gangsta' Chimps for a mere $1.2 million a year for 2 years. Spencer has gotten better as he got older and his ratings are intact; could be quite a bargain.
Martin was AL Rookie of the Year in Season 2 and has 2 MVP's (Seasons 6 and 7), 6 All-Star appearances and 5 Silver Sluggers. He's a lifetime .307 hitter with 308 homers and 314 stolen bases. Martin was a 2B with the Gangsta' Chimps but is expected to shift to LF with the Colberts.
The bidding was undoubtedly brisk on Martin, with at least 1 team (Memphis) claiming to have topped Charleston's bid.
In other A/B Free Agent news:
Scranton picked up tough reliever Jerome Ross (255 career saves) for a 1-year, $3.95 million deal.
Iowa City added a good lefty bench bat and versatile utility man in Jorel Benosn (1 year, $3.8 million).
Shane Leius joins the Detroit Dome Drivers for 2 years, $5.6 million. He can play 1B, 3B and COF and is expected to get the full compliment of AB's against lefties.
Toledo may have a real sleeper in Mark Austin (3 years, $3.945 per year). He seems to be one of those rare players who gets the job done without having good ratings.
Kansas City gets a nice 3B for a good price in Magglio De La Vega (2 years, $7.1 million).
Atlanta corrals Pedro Beltre, he of the still-electric and always-wild arm, for 2 years, $5.6 million.
SP Rob Spencer inks with the Chicago Gangsta' Chimps for a mere $1.2 million a year for 2 years. Spencer has gotten better as he got older and his ratings are intact; could be quite a bargain.
Friday, December 10, 2010
1-On-1 With vandydave
Who is vandydave in real life?
I am a shepherd in the Kansas City area. Went to Duke for grad school, thus why I chose Durham for my HBD team.
Is there some reason you hate pitching?
Heh, in actuality I hate fielding. I like pitching, just nowhere near as much as hitting. More specifically, I like slugging.
Do you develop "man-crushes" on your HBD players?
The only HBD players I've ever really developed man-crushes on are the ones who eventually spurn me for free-agency despite my desire to re-sign them, especially in the Shtickless world, Eugene Weston and Wiki Armas. I want to be wanted.
What's the most under-appreciated player rating and why?
I'm not much into nuances, contributes to my general mediocrity in HBD. I do wish they'd depreciate how much health and stamina inflate overall ratings.
Favorite moment of your HBD career?
My one and only championship, in Aaron World. I'm good at getting to the playoffs, bad at winning once I'm there, normally due to a lack of ace starting pitchers.
F, Marry or Kill:
a) Angelina Joile, Jennifer Connelly, Marissa Miller
b) Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, Oprah
c) cbriese, mbriese, robusk
A) I like everyone but Jolie
B) no use for any of these people
C) If I had a life raft with three extra spots I'd probably let mbriese have one spot then I'd stretch out and take a nap. Or maybe I'd let cbriese have a spot, then veto that decision and kick him out anyway.
If you could change one thing about HBD, what would it be and why?
HBD is the best of WIS games, that said the maddening inconsistency of players from season to season should be reigned in a bit. I appreciate that HBD needs variability, but there should be some generally identifiable causation when players really suck or excel for no apparent reason.
I am a shepherd in the Kansas City area. Went to Duke for grad school, thus why I chose Durham for my HBD team.
Is there some reason you hate pitching?
Heh, in actuality I hate fielding. I like pitching, just nowhere near as much as hitting. More specifically, I like slugging.
Do you develop "man-crushes" on your HBD players?
The only HBD players I've ever really developed man-crushes on are the ones who eventually spurn me for free-agency despite my desire to re-sign them, especially in the Shtickless world, Eugene Weston and Wiki Armas. I want to be wanted.
What's the most under-appreciated player rating and why?
I'm not much into nuances, contributes to my general mediocrity in HBD. I do wish they'd depreciate how much health and stamina inflate overall ratings.
Favorite moment of your HBD career?
My one and only championship, in Aaron World. I'm good at getting to the playoffs, bad at winning once I'm there, normally due to a lack of ace starting pitchers.
F, Marry or Kill:
a) Angelina Joile, Jennifer Connelly, Marissa Miller
b) Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, Oprah
c) cbriese, mbriese, robusk
A) I like everyone but Jolie
B) no use for any of these people
C) If I had a life raft with three extra spots I'd probably let mbriese have one spot then I'd stretch out and take a nap. Or maybe I'd let cbriese have a spot, then veto that decision and kick him out anyway.
If you could change one thing about HBD, what would it be and why?
HBD is the best of WIS games, that said the maddening inconsistency of players from season to season should be reigned in a bit. I appreciate that HBD needs variability, but there should be some generally identifiable causation when players really suck or excel for no apparent reason.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
1-on-1 With Robusk
The Line on Mendoza recently sat down with the WS Champ Iowa Amiable Apartheid's owner robusk for a brisk back-and-forth on all things HBD.
Who is robusk in real life?
29 year old continuous improvement project manager for a transportation company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lived all over the world the last 10 years, but originally grew up in New York and Florida (summer/winter) and went to college in Hawaii.
What was the key to your championship run last season, and how do you rate your chances to repeat?
Well, my team started slowly (losing record at the break)as I didn't really have a lot of offense. I made a lineup swap and two massive trades at the All Star break, giving my team the best record in the world after the All Star break. I built the team around a couple of good young pitchers and a scrappy offense. I cut my post-season IP down to a couple of guys mostly and relied on clutch plays by the offense. I got lucky in the WS because on paper I was pretty outmatched. Repeating will be tricky. I believe I will have the best defensive team outside of Montgomery, and hopefully the strength of my bats will be enough to put me over him. My team is still young and the pitching is great. I would say 55% chance of making the LCS, 18% chance of repeating as WS champs.
Do you develop "man-crushes" on your HBD players?
I consider Woodie Jacobs on my Harold Reynolds team the best pure hitter in HBD. In my other worlds I have had a number of guys I always seem to bring back and have success with that no one else wants... and I do feel a sense of fondness for them. However, with the exception of Jacobs in HR, every player in every world is available for trade.
What's the most under-appreciated player rating and why?
r0b0t would say that I add like 20% to every rating if the hitter is a switch hitter... but that is probably an exaggeration. More than underrated, I think that Contact and Stamina are the two most overrated things for hitters and pitchers respectively. Things like velocity and patience and stuff suck too, but everyone knows that. I also don't care a lot about baserunning/speed.
Favorite moment of your HBD career?
World Series Championship in Shtickless world. I won over a team that tanked (and thus didn't deserve to win) and there are some of the sharpest minds (except for moy) in the game in that world. Also, in my championship in both that world and Harold Reynolds, everyone said my teams sucked, which made it better.
If you could change one thing about HBD, what would it be and why?
If I could change anything about HBD, it would be getting rid of the obsession to make the game more like real life and less like a game. Also, the simpler they make things, the easier it is for crappy owners to win. The game should be tricky, about exploiting things other people don't think of, and about effort.
Who is robusk in real life?
29 year old continuous improvement project manager for a transportation company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lived all over the world the last 10 years, but originally grew up in New York and Florida (summer/winter) and went to college in Hawaii.
What was the key to your championship run last season, and how do you rate your chances to repeat?
Well, my team started slowly (losing record at the break)as I didn't really have a lot of offense. I made a lineup swap and two massive trades at the All Star break, giving my team the best record in the world after the All Star break. I built the team around a couple of good young pitchers and a scrappy offense. I cut my post-season IP down to a couple of guys mostly and relied on clutch plays by the offense. I got lucky in the WS because on paper I was pretty outmatched. Repeating will be tricky. I believe I will have the best defensive team outside of Montgomery, and hopefully the strength of my bats will be enough to put me over him. My team is still young and the pitching is great. I would say 55% chance of making the LCS, 18% chance of repeating as WS champs.
Do you develop "man-crushes" on your HBD players?
I consider Woodie Jacobs on my Harold Reynolds team the best pure hitter in HBD. In my other worlds I have had a number of guys I always seem to bring back and have success with that no one else wants... and I do feel a sense of fondness for them. However, with the exception of Jacobs in HR, every player in every world is available for trade.
What's the most under-appreciated player rating and why?
r0b0t would say that I add like 20% to every rating if the hitter is a switch hitter... but that is probably an exaggeration. More than underrated, I think that Contact and Stamina are the two most overrated things for hitters and pitchers respectively. Things like velocity and patience and stuff suck too, but everyone knows that. I also don't care a lot about baserunning/speed.
Favorite moment of your HBD career?
World Series Championship in Shtickless world. I won over a team that tanked (and thus didn't deserve to win) and there are some of the sharpest minds (except for moy) in the game in that world. Also, in my championship in both that world and Harold Reynolds, everyone said my teams sucked, which made it better.
If you could change one thing about HBD, what would it be and why?
If I could change anything about HBD, it would be getting rid of the obsession to make the game more like real life and less like a game. Also, the simpler they make things, the easier it is for crappy owners to win. The game should be tricky, about exploiting things other people don't think of, and about effort.
**Snooze** Free Agency Lull Hits
Only 1 A/B free agent signed in the last few cycles. I'm not sure how many are left but we know one J. Martin is still out there sorting through megabucks offers. I think The Line on Mendoza needs to send a few reporters out to dig up a few clues as to the identity of Mr. Martin's next employer.
Menawhile, D'Angelo Owen has signed with Tucson for 5 years, $27MM (team option on the 5th year). A career-long member of the Montreal-now-Detroit organization, Owen has 101 wins and a 4.47 ERA over his 9 ML seasons. He sports a trio of pretty fair pitches to go with good control, sinking action on everything, and a tough delivery for righties to pick up. When he's not on, lefties give him fits. He has a long contract, but his health and makeup are good, and his ratings should hold up for the duration
Menawhile, D'Angelo Owen has signed with Tucson for 5 years, $27MM (team option on the 5th year). A career-long member of the Montreal-now-Detroit organization, Owen has 101 wins and a 4.47 ERA over his 9 ML seasons. He sports a trio of pretty fair pitches to go with good control, sinking action on everything, and a tough delivery for righties to pick up. When he's not on, lefties give him fits. He has a long contract, but his health and makeup are good, and his ratings should hold up for the duration
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