Hot Stove NT 4.0

by nihil67 on Jan 14, 2008 10:03 AM EST

The NT stands for New Trades... it's a computer joke, sorry.

Anyway... it was a busy week/weekend.

The A's signed LF Emil Brown. I'm guessing this is because they just traded for a lot of younger and likely more capable players, so they needed that obligatory veteran cork to stop up the flow.

The Brewers signed Mike Cameron to a 1 year deal. I've read reports that it's worth $7 mil. I hope they're kidding. This likely slides Bill Hall back to 3rd where he's just slightly less of a butcher then Ryan Braun, who moves to LF. Cameron is no longer an elite CF defensively and is even worse with the bat. Thumbs down from me on this one.

The Braves, apparently desperate for a CF, traded very promising RP prospect Joey Devine to the A's for CF Mark Kotsay. Kotsay was one of my favorites for a long time, but this guy just doesn't have anything left in the tank. I suspect the Braves will regret not just giving the job to Josh Anderson or moving Kelly Johnson to CF. The only bright side for the Braves is that the A's are reportedly going to pay $5 mil of the $7 mil that Kotsay is owed this year.

The Cardinals and Blue Jays traded for eachother's problems at 3rd base. Scott Rolen and his shredded shoulder go to Toronto while Troy Glaus and his bad left foot will move on to St Louis. There is money involved in this deal somewhere, but I haven't seen final word on how much and to where. This is a 100% win for the Cardinals. Rolen was a cancer in their locker room and quite honestly is a waste of roster space at this point. Glaus, if he can get the foot issue sorted, is still one of the best power hitting third basemen in the game (for those that like that sort of thing).

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Cameron

"Updating previous reports, Milwaukee Brewers OF Mike Cameron, who signed a one-year contract worth $7 million, with a club option for 2009, received a $125,000 signing bonus and will receive $5 million next season, according to the Associated Press. Cameron could also receive $750,000 annually in performance bonuses, for reaching 475 plate appearances in 2008 and 575 plate appearances in 2009. The club option is worth $10 million, with a $750,000 buyout."

The Brewers are currently renting out space in their minds to help finance this deal. You know... because they're not living in them.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 14, 2008 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Wow....

First Gagne, and now Cameron!?? I feel kinda bad for the Brew Crew's fans. They really looked like they took a step forward this year.

Anyone who is surprised that Scott Rolen has been a total douche in St. Louis has forgotten where Rolen came from: He complained and bitched so much in Philadelphia that the Phillies finally just said f#*% it and traded him to the Redbirds. I completely agree that in gaining Glaus, the Cardinals haven't lost anything.

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Jan 14, 2008 10:54 AM EST reply actions

hometown hero, Rolen is

all of us around here just close our eyes and pretend it isn't happening. I plan on seeing another manager player fist fight sometime in the future.

Tippecanoe and Pena too! (let's hope pena doesn't die after 30 days in office)

by seton hall snake pit on Jan 14, 2008 11:18 PM EST up reply actions

Will the real Emil Brown please stand up?

This guy has just had a weird career. After failing for 5 straight years to make anything of his callups and opportunites, he then has 3 more indifferent years in the minors where he doesn't even make it back to the majors.

Then all of a sudden he's posting OPS+ of 113 and 109 in back to back seasons with over 600 PA's?????

WTF??? Where did that come from?

So of course last year he reverts back to 68 OPS+ and his OBP, BB/K ratio, power, everything just craters. He has a 90 Career OPS+, but seems more likely to put up a 65.

About Cameron: Isn't he suspended for the first 25 games?

Oh, and last year Rolen had 4.1 WARP1 and Glaus had 4.0 The gap in defense is THAT large that it actually offsets the difference in offense they provided last year.

I just have a hunch that Rolen's surgery to give him a little more flexibility allows him to have one more good season at the plate before he falls apart completely. With shoulders it's always a trade off when they tie things back up. Make it tight enough that it won't fall apart, and it's hard to play baseball. Loosen it up enough to play, and the injury risk is much higher.

In Roto, I actually have Rolen as a late round sleeper/bounceback candidate if nobody takes him by round 20 or so. If I'm lucky, he'll have a good first half and I can sell high before he gets hurt.

I seriously doubt Glaus plays more than 100 games either.

by shoewizard on Jan 14, 2008 10:58 AM EST reply actions

Funny

All of the analysis of this trade that I've read either goes 100% saying the Cardinals won or goes how you did, saying it's even. Does that average out to a win for the Cardinals?

It's really a battle of who can be healthier. Hard to say who will win that. Cardinals with the slight edge because of Glaus having the shorter contract?

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 14, 2008 11:25 AM EST up reply actions

Glaus has 2009 player option

And his agent indicated he WILL exercise it. The Blue Jays actually sent 1.8 million to the Cardinals....go figure.

So 2 years of Glaus for 3 years of Rolen.

Whichever team has the best band aids and witch doctors wins this trade.

by shoewizard on Jan 14, 2008 2:24 PM EST up reply actions

both

just passed their physicals.
Hmmm... what kind of doctors are they getting checked out by? Must be the folks from General Hospital.

by johngordonma on Jan 14, 2008 2:30 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, probably

"Mr. Glaus, Mr. Rolen, your physicals were fine, but... I don't know how to tell you this... We did a few more tests and realized you're actually identical twin brothers!"

gasp! and dramatic music!

I'm not superstitious- it's bad luck.

by kishi on Jan 14, 2008 2:32 PM EST up reply actions

LOL!

by johngordonma on Jan 14, 2008 3:44 PM EST up reply actions

Agree

with you Ben across the board.

Emil Brown -- the only reason I see the A's signing him is they don't want the arb clock starting on their young guys.
Cameron -- I wouldn't be thrilled with this if I was a Brewers fan, but the upside is that when they realize this was a mistake they're not tied in beyond '08
The Braves need to take look in the mirror (the same one the Astros need to look in) and realize it is NOT happening for them in '08. Then they need to get whatever they can for Smoltz and Hudson. My bet is that those two would net a pretty nice return. The Mets for one would salivate all over these two.
Interesting to read the message board on the Glaus-Rolen trade. There seems to be a ton of pro-Blue Jay sentiment on this one. You got people all excited about the potential Blue Jay defense and the boost to their pitchers. That's nice, but now they've got a lineup without ANY power threats. One could say about the D'Backs, but at least we've got a bunch of offensive players who will be on the rise in the next few years. Aaron Hill and Alex Rios are their only hopes to turn into big time sluggers. Throw in the fact that Glaus is only locked up for two instead of three years and I think the Cards are substantial winners in this deal.

by johngordonma on Jan 14, 2008 2:13 PM EST up reply actions

Shoe

Does WARP1 include difference in league? Do you think it matters enough to make a difference? I would think that the numbers would lean more to Glaus when you factor in the AL East pitchers versus the pathetic ones from the NL Central. Am I totally way off base here?

by AZSEAfan @ AZ Snakepit on Jan 16, 2008 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Great Question

WARP2 actually takes this into account. From their Glossary

Wins Above Replacement Player, with difficulty added into the mix. One of the factors that goes into league difficulty is whether or not the league uses a DH, which is why recent AL players tend to get a larger boost than their NL counterparts.

Glaus 5.8
Rolen 5.7

Still a push

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/dt/rolensc01.php

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/dt/glaustr01.php

by shoewizard on Jan 16, 2008 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

David Pinto gives the slight edge to the Cardinals

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=338123

Interesting read.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 16, 2008 4:36 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks

Figured that it would have been more of a gap. This should work well for both sides as long as they can both get/stay healthy and Glaus isn't affected by the PED situation.

by AZSEAfan @ AZ Snakepit on Jan 16, 2008 6:14 PM EST up reply actions

In your post

you wrote glossary did you mean Glaus-ary. OH ha ha ho ho haha ha ho ha ha ha. :-| Sorry.

Tippecanoe and Pena too! (let's hope pena doesn't die after 30 days in office)

by seton hall snake pit on Jan 18, 2008 12:18 PM EST up reply actions

Cardinals thinking about signing Juan Gonzalez

Dan Szymborski weighs in.

You know... I'm all for the "see what sticks" method of reclamation... but this is out of control. Mark Mulder, Matt Clement, AND Juan Gonzalez? Come on.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 17, 2008 5:03 PM EST reply actions