With the regular season over, some heads have already rolled.

Someone already mentioned in another thread that the Tigers fired manager Alan Trammell. The Tigs didn't waste any time, hiring Jim Leyland.

The Dodgers fired manager Jim Tracy.

And the Rangers have already announced they will sever ties with Kenny Rogers. The Rangers also fired GM John Hart and he'll be replaced by 28 year old Jon Daniels . Daniels now replaces Theo Epstein as baseball's youngets GM, but not the hottest.

Crap. There was some talk around here that Hart might be the one who would take Jim Thome off the Phillies' hands because of their past history in Cleveland. Oh well...

Edit to add: Hart actually resigned, it seems. Not that it makes a difference -- either way, he's not around to take Thome. wink

[ October 04, 2005, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

I read that article and it doesn't mention anything about Buck Showalter. I think Buck would be a perfect fit with the Marlins should the Rangers go in a different direction. The Marlins some have said, and I agree, seemed to lack discipline under Jack McKeon. I think Showalter would be a remedy for that. Plus, he's aggressive. Might be able to help bridge the gap between the Marlins league-leading batting average and 8th place run-scoring.

per mlb.com, the A's will announce today that Ken Macha won't be back:
Mr Beane Saves Money Again

What an idiot! Does this guy actually think he can command 3.1 or even 2.6 million elsewhere? He's a fool if he thinks he can pull one over on Beane. Billy is one shrewd negotiator.
The bench coach will be promoted and Beane just saved the club another couple million.

WOuld they pony up the money for a Lou Piniella? Not really sure he's all that, but would the A's pay big money for a big name?

Helll no. I like Lou but he won't be the next coach of the Oakland A's. Billy Beane coaches the team and he's just looking for someone he can control. Lou isn't that type of guy.

Bench coach, Bob Geren is the front runner.

Looks like Jim Tracy won't be unemployed very long. ESPN is reporting that the Pirates will hire the former Dodgers manager.

The press conference annoucing Jim Tracy as the Pirates new manager is scheduled for 11 (pdt.)

As for the Dodgers, in addiiton to the previously announced Jerry Royster, Terry Collins, Alan Trammell, and Torey Lovullo, they've interviewed Ron Wotus (currently the Giants bench coach) as possible managers.

~Adam

ESPN is reporting that the A's are trying to woo Orel Hershiser to fill their managerial opening.

Not sure what to make of that. He strikes me as a buttoned-down, humorless conservative guy (maybe because he's a Mormon?) and you gotta be kinda easy-going to handle the young A's clubhouse. He doesn't seem like a guy who'd do whatever Billy Beane says, either. But maybe Billy feels a little more discipline is needed?

Oh that wacky Billy Beane! he's bringing back Ken Macha after all...

Macha II

WTF!!!! :mad:
I don't know about you, but I am not a Ken Macha fan.

I know, it's sad too. When the news broke of the "resignation" of Jon Hart and the hiring of Jon Daniels, the talk on "The Ticket" 1310 AM here in Dallas was all about who was going, who was staying, and who could possibly be coming in.

I had also heard of the "Jim Thome to the Rangers" rumors. When I heard that I just about creamed my pants. I'd buy a Texas Rangers Jim Thome jersey immediately. But as far as that being a "Jon Hart Idea", i'm not sure. It could very well be a Buck Showalter move. Speaking of which, THE BUCK STAYS HERE IN TEXAS! He's not going anywhere, IMO. He's done a terrific job with what players he's got here in Texas, and I think with the new GM, a young, fresh, baseball mind, I think the Rangers can go far.

That may be a "homer call" on my part, but hey, I'm entitled just like anyone else, right Joe in Philly? Cowboys suck, don't they?

Wow! I hope Macha can handle all the changes that took place in his absence.

~Adam

I nominate this for Post of the Week.
wink

Though he was reportedly waiting for Dusty Baker to leave the Cubs, Joe Girardi is the new Marlins manager.

And longtime Braves pitching coach will now rock back and forth on the Orioles bench as their new pitching coach.

Update on managerial revolving door from ESPN:

Managerial changes:

Detroit Tigers
OUT: Alan Trammell
IN: Jim Leyland

Florida Marlins
OUT: Jack McKeon
IN: Joe Girardi

Los Angeles Dodgers
OUT: Jim Tracy
IN: --

Oakland Athletics
OUT: Ken Macha
IN: Ken Macha

Pittsburgh Pirates
OUT: Lloyd McClendon
IN: Jim Tracy

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
OUT: Lou Piniella
IN: --

3,000-hit, 500 HR man available. Make offer.

Roger McDowell to be Braves pitching coach. McDowell was previously pitching coach of the Dodgers AAA team.

35-year old Red Sox asst. GM Eric Byrnes to be Diamondbacks GM.

Minor correction: it's Josh Byrnes who'll take over in AZ. Eric Byrnes will still be crashing into walls as he plays the game. wink

~Adam

At the 11th hour, boy wonder Theo Epstein has re-upped as the Red Sox' GM -- at a substantial increase in salary, of course, "that would position him among baseball's best-compensated general managers."

---

Oops, scratch that...

[ October 31, 2005, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: fenwayguy ]

ESPN is reporting that Epstein has stepped down as the Red Sox GM.

So much for the story that he signed up again...from Boston.com:

[Discussion of the Epstein resignation continues in the thread Sitting Shiva for the Red Sox - Epstein Resigns - Outsports moderator]

[ November 02, 2005, 06:10 AM: Message edited by: m1 ]

Elias player rankings has Albert Pujols as the top-rated player in the league.

The A-player rankings

AL top 5 by category: (note: rankings are based on 2 years stats)

Designated hitters, first basemen and outfielders
1. Mark Teixeira, Rangers 98.462
2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 97.183
3. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 96.056
4. Hideki Matsui, Yankees 94.507
5. Travis Hafner, Indians 94.286
Catchers
1. Victor Martinez, Indians 88.095
2. Javy Lopez, Orioles 87.619
3. Jorge Posada, Yankees 84.286
4. Jason Varitek, Red Sox 83.095
5. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox 79.048
Second basemen, third basemen and shortstops
1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 92.857
2. Derek Jeter, Yankees 92.208
3. Placido Polanco, Tigers 88.360
4. Adrian Beltre, Mariners 88.095
5. Miguel Tejada, Orioles 87.662
Starting pitchers
1. Johan Santana, Twins 98.333
2. Randy Johnson, Yankees 95.185
3. Mark Buehrle, White Sox 94.259
4. Bartolo Colon, Angels 88.333
5. Curt Schilling, Red Sox 87.963
Relief pitchers
1. Mariano Rivera, Yankees 95.421
2. Joe Nathan, Twins 94.113
3. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels 93.536
4. Tom Gordon, Yankees 92.497
5. B.J. Ryan, Orioles 92.228


NL top 5 by category:

First basemen and outfielders
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 98.519
2. Lance Berkman, Astros 94.800
3. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins 93.800
4. Todd Helton, Rockies 93.333
5. Bobby Abreu, Phillies 91.900
Catchers
1. Michael Barrett, Cubs 87.645
2. Paul Lo Duca, Marlins 87.452
3. Johnny Estrada, Braves 82.625
4. Mike Piazza, Mets 81.467
5. Ramon Hernandez, Padres 80.695
Second basemen, Third basemen and shortstops
1. Mark Loretta, Padres 88.961
2. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs 88.670
3. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies 87.192
4. Scott Rolen, Cardinals 85.222
5. Marcus Giles, Braves 83.117
5. Jeff Kent, Dodgers 83.117
Starting pitchers
1. Roy Oswalt, Astros 95.072
2. Roger Clemens, Astros 90.412
3. Jake Peavy, Padres 89.964
4. Pedro Martinez, Mets 87.634
5. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs 87.545
Relief pitchers
1. Billy Wagner, Phillies 93.854
2. Brad Lidge, Astros 93.658
3. Scott Linebrink, Padres 87.512
4. Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals 85.943
5. Eric Gagne, Dodgers 85.289

AL Gold Gloves announced.

WINNERS (No. of gold gloves)
P Kenny Rogers (4)
C Jason Varitek (1)
1B Mark Teixeira (1)
2B Orlando Hudson (1)
SS Derek Jeter (2)
3B Eric Chavez (5)
OF Torii Hunter (5)
OF Vernon Wells (2)
OF Ichiro Suzuki (5)

Let me see if understand this--Chavez commits 50% more errors than Joe Crede, so Chavez is given the Gold Glove award? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Not.

One cannot tell me the voters don't have offensive performance in the back of their minds when choosing such winners. Ridiculous.

C'mon, Kenny Rogers? Numbers be damned, they should have passed him by this year.

Errors can be an incredibly misleading barometer; a fielder with greater range can get to many more balls, thus making more errors but helping his team more than the low-error fielder.

Brandon Inge of the Tigers had the best range among AL 3Bs, but obviously not the rep that wins these awards. Chavez, Crede and Beltre were close to him by sabermetric measures.

Well, I'm not sure that Lou is the type of guy that would fit well with a team like Oakland. Although, he did show that he could handle the young players somewhat with Tampa Bay.

NL Gold Gloves:

P-Greg Maddux
C-Mike Matheny
1B-Derrek Lee
2B-Luis Castillo
SS-Omar Vizquel
3B-Mike Lowell
OF-Andruw Jones
OF-Jim Edmonds
OF-Bobby Abreu

Wasn't Lowell benched much of the year? And Abreu -- what a joke!

Greg Maddux wins his 15th Gold Glove, one shy of the record held by Jim Kaat and Brooks Robinson. Omar Vizquel wins his 10th and Andrew Jones and Jim Edmunds win their 8th.

MLB's Players Choice Awards announced.

Player of the Year Andruw Jones - Braves
Man of the Year Mike Sweeney - Royals
AL Outstanding Player David Ortiz - Red Sox
NL Outstanding Player Andruw Jones - Braves
AL Outstanding Pitcher Bartolo Colon - Angels
NL Outstanding Pitcher Chris Carpenter - Cardinals
AL Outstanding Rookie Huston Street - Athletics
NL Outstanding Rookie Willy Taveras - Astros
AL Comeback Player Jason Giambi - Yankees
NL Comeback Player Ken Griffey Jr. - Reds

Neifi Perez signs 2-year deal with the Cubs. Perez filled in admirably when Nomar (now a free agent) went down with injury.

-------------------

Bartolo Colon wins AL Cy Young. The voting:

Player, Club 1st 2nd 3rd Points

Bartolo Colon, Angels 17 11 118
Mariano Rivera, Yankees 8 7 7 68
Johan Santana, Twins 3 8 12 51
Cliff Lee, Indians 2 2 8
Mark Buehrle, White Sox 5 5
Jon Garland, White Sox 1 1
Kevin Millwood, Indians 1 1

NL Cy Young winner: Chris Carpenter. Dontrelle Willis was second and Roger Clemens third.

Managers of the Year: NL-Bobby Cox, AL-Ozzie Guillen.

The BBWAA awards definitely belong under Transactions, because they pad contracts rather than reward merit. 2 out of 30 voters recognized that Clemens inarguably pitched better than anyone else? Pure idiocy.

(then again, Roger certainly didn't deserve the Cy he won with the Yankees)

The Mets have traded Mike Cameron to San Diego for utility outfielder Xavier Nady pending the results of an eye exam for Cameron.

Nady is hot, and it'll be nice if he gets more playing time. But it might just be for a year. It didn't sound, from news reports, that the Mets got Nady to be a star. Poor thing, sounds like he's going to have a career as a platoon player unless he can somehow improve on his swing and get bigger numbers. He had a hot streak this past season, but it was early and didn't last long. Luckily he's only 27 so he should be around for awhile.

At first glance, I'm not thrilled with this trade. There are a lot of teams that need CF's, and I think we could have gotten a bit more for someone as good as Cameron---especially this early in the offseason.

If the trade parlays into something else, then OK, but if Nady is our opening day RF, I might be worried.

Josh

At first glance, I'm not thrilled with this trade. There are a lot of teams that need CF's, and I think we could have gotten a bit more for someone as good as Cameron---especially this early in the offseason.

If the trade parlays into something else, then OK, but if Nady is our opening day RF, I might be worried.

Josh

Mariners sign Japanese all star catcher Kenji Jojima to a 3-year $16.5 million deal. Jojima is a 7-time gold glove winner in the Japanese league and hit ".309 with 24 homers and 57 RBIs in 116 games in a season cut short by a broken left leg."

I have no problem with this signing. All in all, it's closer to "home" for him in addition to his salary and anything else that would make him want to play in the United States. And the Mets haven't had such great luck with Japanese players on the team. Good luck and let's keep looking for Benji...or Hernandez...or Ausmus...or LoDuca...or.....

[ November 21, 2005, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Methead ]

Beckett and Lowell to Boston..Fire Sale part 2 is beginning in Florida....
Oh well, the last one ended in another World Series three years later....

The Marlins have sent Josh Beckett (!) and Mike Lowell (!!) to the Boston Red Sox. At least that's what's being reported by Peter Gammons, who revels in all things Red Sox so I'll believe it, even if this move seems unbelieveable.

~Adam

It would be a good move for Boston, especially if Lowell's bat comes around again...Supposedly, Boston is parting with their top minor league prospect....

The Rangers reportedly offered Hank Blalock and a minor league pitcher for Beckett and Lowell.

Boston would be forced to take on Lowell's hefty contract ($18 mil. over the next 2 years) and dismal performance (.236BA, 8HR, 58RBI in '05) in order to get Beckett (who's never pitched more than 179 innings a season) and arbitration eligible, I believe. And they're giving up highly-touted prospects in return. Considering their team is aged and filled with bloated contracts (Manny Ramirez, anyone?), it seems like they are continuing to follow in the footsteps of their nemesis Yankees. I think Theo left at the right time.

The Marlins are clearly dismantling (rumoured trade of Delgado, whom they just signed last season; trade of Lowell, Beckett; allowing A.J. Burnett to walk; Juan Pierre and Luiz Castillo, perhaps the next to go), and looking to build around Miguel Cabrera, who's still only 22, and the D-Train at 23.

Unfortunately for the Marlins, they cannot afford the luxury of keeping a Mike Lowell, who clearly under-performed this year. They were trying to link him with Burnett in a trade during the season, but no one bit. Losing Beckett is certainly a downer, but he has been inconsistent and injury prone. When he is on, there are few better. But again, this is not a luxury this low-revenue team can afford. Getting rid of these two salaries may increase the chances of the team being able to keep Carlos Delgado, who said he was assured by the team owner himself that he would not be traded. Only time will tell. As for the term 'fire-sale' and 'dismantling', I would disagree with that characterization. Back in '97 the team got rid of everybody to save money to prepare the team for sale. I don't think this regime is looking to do that. They are looking, with cost, production and longevity being very important, at being able to put the best team on the field that they can afford. Now if they start trading away people like Castillo, whom I believe is locked in and reasonably affordable for at least another year, then yes, they are throwing the baby out with the bath water. But I haven't seen that kind of decision-making from Jeffrey Loria and crew. The previous 2 owners, yes...they did that. But I honestly believe this owner wants to be able to make baseball last in South Florida. I just hope that the people here will warm up and start supporting this team. Then maybe the Marlins will be able to take chances on keeping a Mike Lowell or a Josh Beckett. Right now their margin for error is non-existent. Last season was about as wild as they're able to get, and we saw how well that went.

OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT

IMAGINE IT

BECKETT PITCHING TO VARITEK

BECKETT, VARITEK

TWO UNABASHED COUNTRY BOYS

ON THE SAME TEAM

IT BOGGLES THE MIND

Well, it's official. Beckett and Lowell to the Red Sox, and in return we get Henley Ramirez and two other players whose names escape me. Sounds like Ramirez is a superstar in waiting. And the Fish will need a new shortstop after Gonzalez leaves via free agency, so that part of the deal is indeed great. I might have been too optimistic in discounting the term 'fire sale.' According to local reports, Delgado will be the next to go. It's sad to see the team blown up, but like I said above, they took their shot this past year, and it failed. The team doesn't have the revenue needed to hold onto these players. It really is 'win and draw, or move on.'

[ November 22, 2005, 08:06 AM: Message edited by: so fla ref ]