2013 Major League Baseball: World Series- Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals

Apparently Felix Hernandez is about to sign a 7 year, $175m extension with the Mariners. As a Mariners fan, I'm conflicted. Giving that long of a deal to any pitcher is scary, but he's also been the only reason to watch the team the last few years (and I assume, for the next few as well). So sure - why not? It's not my money.

billt721 wrote:

Apparently Felix Hernandez is about to sign a 7 year, $175m extension with the Mariners. As a Mariners fan, I'm conflicted. Giving that long of a deal to any pitcher is scary, but he's also been the only reason to watch the team the last few years (and I assume, for the next few as well). So sure - why not? It's not my money.

You're not excited by the prospect of Jason Bay?!

Apparently, this would be the biggest contract for a pitcher ever. An average of $25 million a year. Yikes, that's a lot of money.

The seven years actually begins this year, and as he was already under contract for the next two, it only adds five additional years to his contract. He'll only be 33 when it ends. That said, there's no predicting how a pitcher is going to age.

EDIT: ...and, not so fast. Felix Hernandez deal in jeopardy due to concerns about his elbow.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8933548/cleveland-indians-ink-daisuke-matsuzaka-minor-league-deal-report-says

I have to say, Dice-K was the most aesthetically displeasing pitcher I've ever seen in my life. Even worse than Steve Traschel. His games were like pulling teeth. His 2008 season was the worst 18-3 season I've ever seen.

Also, I never saw the gyroball.

B Dog wrote:
billt721 wrote:

Apparently Felix Hernandez is about to sign a 7 year, $175m extension with the Mariners. As a Mariners fan, I'm conflicted. Giving that long of a deal to any pitcher is scary, but he's also been the only reason to watch the team the last few years (and I assume, for the next few as well). So sure - why not? It's not my money.

You're not excited by the prospect of Jason Bay?!

Apparently, this would be the biggest contract for a pitcher ever. An average of $25 million a year. Yikes, that's a lot of money.

The seven years actually begins this year, and as he was already under contract for the next two, it only adds five additional years to his contract. He'll only be 33 when it ends. That said, there's no predicting how a pitcher is going to age.

And no - Jason Bay isn't remotely interesting. Neither, for that matter, is Raul Ibanez.
EDIT: ...and, not so fast. Felix Hernandez deal in jeopardy due to concerns about his elbow.

I think they'll still sign him to the deal. If they're still negotiating, the elbow issue can't be too big. If it was, there'd be no reason for the M's to not just walk away and see how the next two years play out. My guess is they put some text into the contract that gives the team an opt-out if he misses much time with an elbow injury.

B Dog wrote:
ukickmydog wrote:

You're a Mets fan? I'm sorry.

Yep. Grew up 10 miles from Shea Stadium. It's in my blood. Nothin' I can do about it.

But thanks for the condolences. ;)

One of us.. one of us.. 9 miles away for me

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/GdFrZTv.jpg)

I saw the Cards play at Shea Stadium back in the 80's. I was even serenaded by the Pond Scum to a rousing chant of "Cardinals Suck! Cardinals Suck!"

Tanglebones wrote:
B Dog wrote:
ukickmydog wrote:

You're a Mets fan? I'm sorry.

Yep. Grew up 10 miles from Shea Stadium. It's in my blood. Nothin' I can do about it.

But thanks for the condolences. ;)

One of us.. one of us.. 9 miles away for me

Excellent. We can commiserate this season.

Here's a photo from my first trip to Shea:
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/FnklJs2.jpg)

July 5, 1971. A doubleheader against the Expos. Nolan Ryan started the first game and pitched 7.2 innings of 3-hit ball, but the Mets lost 2-1. In Game 2, the Mets scored 3 in the bottom of the 1st and Cleon Jones hit a 3-run homer in the 4th. Final score: Mets 8, Expos 0.

Two quick notes: 1) I was very young, so I'm not quite the geezer this makes me out to be and 2) I remembered it was a doubleheader and I remembered Nolan Ryan pitching, but all the other details were dug up on Baseball-Reference.com after I found the photo last year.

Nice. I think my first game would have been around '85 or so.

King Felix deal is now official. Details will be released at a news conference tomorrow.

Totally missed this during the off-season, the Astros get a new look after moving to the AL

They have a Detroit Tigers look to them.

Kush15 wrote:

Totally missed this during the off-season, the Astros get a new look after moving to the AL

They have a Detroit Tigers look to them.

Those look pretty slick.

The new Astros uniforms look great.

I think that's the last time you'll see "Astros" and "look great" in the same sentence this season.

Definitely an improvement from last year's model

Those are nice unis. Too bad they won't be playing real baseball next year.

DR vs USA tonight in the WBC. Does anyone care?

I'll be watching (for the most part). The tournament has been pretty entertaining so far: the unexpected runs of Italy and the Netherlands, the Canada-Mexico brawl, and lots of late-inning lead changes (including Puerto Rico's last night).

It also doesn't suck for me as a Mets fan that David Wright has been playing so well.

I want to care, but I barely have time for anything these days. Woud be nice if the current baseball games had a WBC mode, or at least National teams like the NHL series has.

The braves have a game at 7pm as well so I'll be watching that on mlbtv. Maybe I'll keep that on my laptop instead of streaming it to my tv like I normally do so that I can have the WBC game on the tv at the same time...

Edit: mlbtv lied to me, the braves played at 1pm today. Guess that means I'll have the WBC on.

B Dog wrote:

It also doesn't suck for me as a Mets fan that David Wright has been playing so well. :)

So we have you to blame for jinxing him into a late scratch with sore ribs?

Kush15 wrote:
B Dog wrote:

It also doesn't suck for me as a Mets fan that David Wright has been playing so well. :)

So we have you to blame for jinxing him into a late scratch with sore ribs? 8-)

Yep. I'll take responsibility for that one. Us Mets fans don't learn so good.

Apparently, Wright has felt discomfort for the better part of a week, but it was only when he sought treatment from the Team USA staff that the Mets became aware of the situation (USA Baseball must report treatment to the player's MLB organization) and shut him down. Can't blame them, seeing as they just committed $138 million to him.

He's out for tonight's game as well, and I imagine the Mets will ask to have him replaced in the next round should the US advance.

That aside, it was a pretty exciting baseball game last night -- particularly for March. I was pulling for the US, but it was awesome to see how excited the DR players and fans were.

Johan Santana has a probable re-tear of the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. Same one he had previous surgery on. Likely another surgery. Likely out for entire 2013 season. Given how long it took him to recover from the last surgery, it could be career-ending. Owed $31 million this year including buyout for 2014. Contract isn't ensured.

Another day in the life of a Mets fan.

B Dog wrote:

Johan Santana has a probable re-tear of the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. Same one he had previous surgery on. Likely another surgery. Likely out for entire 2013 season. Given how long it took him to recover from the last surgery, it could be career-ending. Owed $31 million this year including buyout for 2014. Contract isn't ensured.

Another day in the life of a Mets fan. :(

Yeah, but how much help was he really going to be this season. His best days were in the past and he was already going to start the season on the DL. I think this paves the way for the Mets to eventually bring up Zach Wheeler. The Mets are finally going about things in the right way. They stood firm on not giving Bourn a 4-year deal, and I think that will pay off for the Mets in the end. They're trimming dead weight and could really start to contend in 2 years.

Kush15 wrote:
B Dog wrote:

Johan Santana has a probable re-tear of the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. Same one he had previous surgery on. Likely another surgery. Likely out for entire 2013 season. Given how long it took him to recover from the last surgery, it could be career-ending. Owed $31 million this year including buyout for 2014. Contract isn't ensured.

Another day in the life of a Mets fan. :(

Yeah, but how much help was he really going to be this season. His best days were in the past and he was already going to start the season on the DL. I think this paves the way for the Mets to eventually bring up Zach Wheeler. The Mets are finally going about things in the right way. They stood firm on not giving Bourn a 4-year deal, and I think that will pay off for the Mets in the end. They're trimming dead weight and could really start to contend in 2 years.

The deadest weight of all is the Wilpons, and their debt. No way they're selling, and no way anyone's buying without getting SNY thrown in.

Kush15 wrote:
B Dog wrote:

Johan Santana has a probable re-tear of the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. Same one he had previous surgery on. Likely another surgery. Likely out for entire 2013 season. Given how long it took him to recover from the last surgery, it could be career-ending. Owed $31 million this year including buyout for 2014. Contract isn't ensured.

Another day in the life of a Mets fan. :(

Yeah, but how much help was he really going to be this season. His best days were in the past and he was already going to start the season on the DL. I think this paves the way for the Mets to eventually bring up Zach Wheeler. The Mets are finally going about things in the right way. They stood firm on not giving Bourn a 4-year deal, and I think that will pay off for the Mets in the end. They're trimming dead weight and could really start to contend in 2 years.

Completely agree. I wasn't expecting much from Johan this season and he is the final big-money gamble from the previous leadership to come off the books (along with the money we're paying Seattle to play Jason Bay this year.)

That said, it's sad nonetheless. He was just never the same after throwing 134 pitches in the no-hitter last season. 2.75 ERA before, 8+ ERA afterward. I remember Terry Collins choking up in the press conference after the game, not because of finally delivering a Mets no-hitter, but because of the difficulty of watching Santana throw 134 pitches on a surgically repaired shoulder.

Who knows if that night directly led to the re-tear or not, but Johan Santana might go down in Mets history as the pitcher who sacrificed his career to give the team its first no-hitter.

A-Rod will make more than Astros

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez will make more this year than all the Houston Astros combined -- a lot more.

And he won't even play the first half of the season -- if at all.

A-Rod's $29 million salary tops the major leagues for the 13th consecutive season, according to a study of major league contracts by The Associated Press.

Rodriguez's Yankees are on track to have the highest payroll on Opening Day for the 15th straight year, climbing above the Los Angeles Dodgers to a projected $228 million with this week's acquisition of Vernon Wells.

With teams due to set Opening Day rosters Sunday, the Yankees' payroll will be nearly 10 times the spending of the Astros, who have shrunk their payroll to about $25 million.

Rodriguez, recovering from hip surgery, is followed on the money list by Philadelphia pitcher Cliff Lee at $25 million.

Three of the top six will start the season on the disabled list, with A-Rod joined by New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana (third at $24.6 million) and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (sixth at $23.1 million). Wells is fourth at $24.6 million and CC Sabathia fifth at $24.3 million, giving the Yankees four of the top six.

As an AL East guy, I absolutely LOVE how the Yankees are starting the season. Here's hoping they get the 5th place finish that they so richly deserve.

Jayhawker wrote:

Alex Rodriguez will make more this year than all the Houston Astros combined

This is insane.

No, THIS is insane.

HAPPY OPENING DAY EVERYONE!!!!!

I don't know if I can deal with this. There is one pitcher on the Twins roster that doesn't suck balls. And, the one that doesn't won't get to pitch much since he's the closer. How am I supposed to not get work done if I don't watch baseball during the day?

That was a very entertaining opening day. Two extra innings games (including one walk-off), a game-winning homer by a pitcher, two homeruns in two at-bats for Harper, a grand slam from the lead-off batter for the Mets, and several top-notch pitching performances.

Baseball's back!