Red Sox Nation and MLB have lost a former All-Star/No-hitter pitcher. Bill Monbouquette has passed away at 78. In addition to being a 3-time All-Star, he threw a no-no in 1962 and won 20 games in 1963. He is a name from my early days as a baseball fan although, ironically, I knew his name mainly as a NYY pitcher at the end of his career in '67 and '68. RIP. -- Al
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A little less angst for O's fans as it appears Dan Duquette isn't going to Toronto this season. Toronto has extended their current president, Paul Beeston, through 2015. Reports say the compensation package wanted by the O's was too steep for the Jays. Good. -- Al
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Keeping good front-office personnel is as important as keeping good players.
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How is it that James Shields remains unsigned? He was rated as high as #3 on many of the available free agent lists.
Been watching that and the only thing I can think of is hesitation about the money he will demand and some doubt about his post-season performances. He is too good to by-pass. Someone will open their wallet eventually. -- Al
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Al:
The strange thing to me is that his name hasn't been mentioned at all?
I guess part of me hopes that the Giants will try and sign him. ^&grin
-Jason
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I am not sure how it is playing out locally (LA and Boston), but word is that the Dodgers and Red Sox are trying to trade for Hamels. The Dodger organization is apparently upset that the Nats now have the best rotation in baseball while the Sox want more pitching to compete in the AL East.
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George:
Agreed. There will be plenty of arms on the market once the trade deadline approachs. What the Sox have now should keep them in contention until that time.
-Jason
Jason, I have had no luck getting the Lerner's to go for the Strasburg/Panik trade. I am now working on the Dodgers to see if they'll take Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez for that over-payed Kershaw guy. I'm also approaching the Phillies about a Hamels for Gonzalez and Roark trade. One of them should go for it.:wink2: -- Al
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Al:
Perfect timing, I needed a laugh! Yeah, that Kershaw guy is over-rated too, he did lose 3 games in 27 starts last year and teams hit .196 against him. Terrible stats for a pitcher. Nats should offer a bag of baseballs for him in a trade.
On a serious note I think that the Nats are legit contenders, although I hope my Giants repeat I am also rooting for them.
-Jason
Jason, how is the Giant's pitching setting up? Who signed and who has left? And who is replacing the big guy at 3rd? -- Al
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Al:
The rotation seems solid. They will get Matt Cain back from injury but Lincecum will be the wildcard in the deck. My guess is that Bochy will not hesitate to send him to the bullpen if he is inconsistent. There is no replacement for Sandoval yet, trader rumors swirl around any number of names but the market is thin at 3rd base. The good news is that they really did not lose anyone else, except for a few role players.
The real problem is that the Padres and Dodgers have made big moves to bolster their rosters. As mentioned before, the Giants organization tends to ride their recent Championships as opposed to reloading (spending money) for the next season. For example, their local marketing is all about last year without any reference to the 2015 team.
-Jason
Sure hope Timmy L can get back to his old form (or something close) as I have always enjoyed watching him pitch and he is still young. Sandoval will be tough to replace but there is still time. We have 2 weeks until things start up.:smile2: -- Al
I see James Shields has landed in San Diego @ $75 million for 4 years. Relatively cheap.:rolleyes2: Certainly doesn't help SF or LA. SD has been busy and haved helped their already decent pitching but it was their offense that was a disaster. -- Al
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Al:
I was hoping he would go to Boston, LOL. THE NL West is going to be tough this year, I think the Giants will be shooting for the wild-card.
-Jason
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Well as surely as Sun rises so do the predictions of the Orioles finishing 4th or 5th in the AL East again this year,(say the experts at SI) it shouldn't surprise me as the team struggled for so long to right the ship sort of speak but I have come to realize the O's are a mirror of the Ravens a little, good management, some solid core all star vets, a bunch of utility players that can play different positions and a good group of young talent in rookies and 2nd year players.
NO the O's didn't sign any major big names as the Jays,Sox,Yanks do year in and year out but as we have all witnessed these last few years it doesn't take a billion dollar pay roll to compete, I believe the O's pitching staff can compete with any, and the offense with Machado, Weiters, Davis, Pierce, Jones, Hardy, Snyder (from Pitt) Stroop can score runs and win some series week in and week out with that line up, also a decent bull pen returns intact has me believing the Orioles will be in the thick of the AL East all year, let's play ball!! (soon)
...Sammy
NO the O's didn't sign any major big names as the Jays,Sox,Yanks do year in and year out but as we have all witnessed these last few years it doesn't take a billion dollar pay roll to compete, I believe the O's pitching staff can compete with any, and the offense with Machado, Weiters, Davis, Pierce, Jones, Hardy, Snyder (from Pitt) Stroop can score runs and win some series week in and week out with that line up, also a decent bull pen returns intact has me believing the Orioles will be in the thick of the AL East all year, let's play ball!! (soon)
...Sammy
jazzeum
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Don't know where I heard it but some are predicting the Os to repeat. Red Sox are better so maybe they will fight it out with the Os and Blue Jays. Yankees won't be that good and Tampa probably about the same. Should be a competitive division.
After following the way the O's have built the team back to a competitive level, I am not surprised that there were no big signings/deals. While still lacking a big name horse as a #1 pitcher, the O's have an abundance of good, competent pitchers that can be plugged in to get the job done and are perfectly suited to a long season. Their no-name rotation isn't glamorous but has been getting results the last couple of years and I see no reason that it won't continue. Sammy points out the O's strengths, and with their ability to always find contributors off the bench, I too like their chances in the AL East. But I'm still ticked over Markakis going bye-bye, even if it was the smart business move. Only a few days until the pitchers and catchers report.:wink2: -- AlWell as surely as Sun rises so do the predictions of the Orioles finishing 4th or 5th in the AL East again this year,(say the experts at SI) it shouldn't surprise me as the team struggled for so long to right the ship sort of speak but I have come to realize the O's are a mirror of the Ravens a little, good management, some solid core all star vets, a bunch of utility players that can play different positions and a good group of young talent in rookies and 2nd year players.
NO the O's didn't sign any major big names as the Jays,Sox,Yanks do year in and year out but as we have all witnessed these last few years it doesn't take a billion dollar pay roll to compete, I believe the O's pitching staff can compete with any, and the offense with Machado, Weiters, Davis, Pierce, Jones, Hardy, Snyder (from Pitt) Stroop can score runs and win some series week in and week out with that line up, also a decent bull pen returns intact has me believing the Orioles will be in the thick of the AL East all year, let's play ball!! (soon)