Well, I guess the Aroldis Chapman hype was just that- hype! Why else would he be signing in Cincinnati as opposed to the traditional big spenders. 30 million bucks is no joke but that seems to be pocket change for the Red Sox, Angels, and Yankees. I’ll just choose to believe that he was too big of a risk and too likely to be the next Daniel Cabrera.
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Aubrey Huff is not coming back to Baltimore. It has been reported that he has signed with San Fran.
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The Vlad Guerrero rumors were also false. He signed a one-year deal in Texas.
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The Orioles announced their minor league field staff. Some things worth noting- Richie Hebner moves from managing Single A- Frederick to hitting coach at Norfolk. He is replaced by Orlando Gomez. Former Orioles Ryan Minor and Mike Devereaux are on staff in Delmarva. While former 3rd baseman, Leo Gomez is the fielding coach at Bluefield.
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Still waiting for things to pick up in Birdland. According to Eutaw Street Hooligans, the O’s have a few more needs to address.
A power hitter in the middle of the line up.
A first baseman if Snyder isn’t ready/doesn’t pan out.
A third baseman if Bell isn’t ready/doesn’t pan out. Eh…check?
A leader in the rotation. Check. Kind of.
A closer. Check
A new color commentator, preferably one who doesn’t sound like a drunk Bill Cosby (for the record, my vote is for Bill Ripken).
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Are you missing baseball as much as I am?
The rich can't win. If they spend the money they are ruining the game. If some one else spends 30 mil, the guy must be a bum.
That's about right. Cinci is gambling the farm that this guy works out. For their sake, I hope its worth it. Don't worry, if this guy is any good, he will be traded to the Yanks in the next 2 years. I think the Reds and Pirates are the Yankees farm system.
Name one current Yankee that came from the Reds or Pirates
Damaso Marte
Right you are. I think of him as a white sox, but you are correct, he did his time in small market hell. I hardly think 1 guy makes a farm team though
Let's not forget that Xavier Nady was on the roster last year as well. And it is clear that the lack of a salary cap in baseball creates a situation that the Pittsburgh's, Minnesota's, Florida's and Kansas City's do serve as a "farm team" for the teams in bigger markets with more money.
The only team that has been using the pirates antd reds as a farm team is the nationals, with mixed results. Quite franlky, the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels have better sources.
Jason Bay says hello.
last i checked he is a met
He wasn't exaxtly a home grown pirate either. Expo to met to pirates to red sox to mets
I know Jason Bay is a Met now, but he is an example of the Red Sox using the Pirates as a farm team. There are several small market teams that consistently watch young talent develop into all-star level players, and then have to trade them off to large market teams to avoid losing them to free agency. Johann Santana, Johnny Damon, Josh Beckett, Pedro Martinez and to an extent CC and Tex are example of this as well. Sure the Yanks, Sox and Angels have other sources for talent, but it helps when you are one of a handful of teams that can afford to pay the best players in MLB.
I really thought Huff was coming back when he was traded during the season. The move kind of surprises me.