Division-Watching (2009)

[PANatsFan]

Florida Marlins | Sun-Sentinel

I never thought I'd say this, but "Thank God Loria is a cheap bastard!"

Has Loria forgotten that he let Gregg go due to cheapness? Or maybe he thinks he can get a bargain now that Gregg isn't closing. Or maybe he's been seeing sounds and smelling colors again

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Florida Marlins | Sun-Sentinel

I never thought I'd say this, but "Thank God Loria is a cheap bastard!"

Why did they not get back in on Joe Nelson?  he only signed a minor league contract. yes, the walk rate ballooned a bit, but he was effective for them in 2008.

[NatsAddict]

Why did they not get back in on Joe Nelson?  he only signed a minor league contract. yes, the walk rate ballooned a bit, but he was effective for them in 2008.

Because retaining him and Arthur Rhodes would have made sense.  Beinfest lets the good ones go so he can retain dreck like Gregg, Pinto, or anyone else having no business wearing an MLB uniform, for 2+ years.

[PANatsFan]

Because retaining him and Arthur Rhodes would have made sense.  Beinfest lets the good ones go so he can retain dreck like Gregg, Pinto, or anyone else having no business wearing an MLB uniform, for 2+ years.

GIRARDI UNDERVALUED AMEZEGA!!!11!!!111

Rhodes is getting kind of ancient, though. I like him, but he's been around forever. Eventually players turn into Villone sized pumpkins.

PS I hope Rizzo can hire on Villone as a pitching instructor.

[NatsAddict]

GIRARDI UNDERVALUED AMEZEGA!!!11!!!111

Rhodes is getting kind of ancient, though. I like him, but he's been around forever. Eventually players turn into Villone sized pumpkins.

PS I hope Rizzo can hire on Villone as a pitching instructor.

Rhodes: 1.07 WHIP, .198 BAA, 48 K & 3 HR (in Cincinnati) in 53.1 IP, 2 BS in 27 chances, 2.53 ERA.  Versus lefties, 0.83 WHIP and .141 BAA.

Pinto: 1.60 WHIP, .237 BAA (can hit when he walks you), 45 BB in 61.1 IP, 4 BS in 17 opps (usually, after loading bases, Fredi pulled Pinto to give somebody else the BS).  As a lefty specialist, lefties had a 2.00 WHIP and .277 BAA.


I'll take the old fart.

[NatsAddict]

Your 2010 Marlins rotation:

Johnson and Nolasco and then a fiasco

[PatsNats28]

Your 2010 Marlins rotation:

Johnson and Nolasco and then a fiasco

[Kevrock]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere.

Bobby Bonilla is back on the Mets' payroll.

That’s right.  Starting July 1, 2011, and on every July 1 until 2035, the Mets will send a check  to Bobby Bonilla worth $1,193,248.20.

When the Mets released Bonilla in January of 2000, instead of picking up the $5.9 million owed to him for that year, they agreed to pay him nearly $1.2 million over the course of 25 years.  That’s almost $30 million.

Bernie: It is actually correct, and a horrible deal...for Bonilla. Ahh the power of compounded interest. The way it works, the Mets set aside $6 million in 2000 @ a rate of 12% per year. They are not allowed to withdraw any funds until year 11, in which they can withdraw $1,200,000 per year for 25 years. After the 25 years, and after paying off Bonilla, the Mets will have...drum roll please....$138 million. So they took the $6 million he was supposed to receive and invested it themselves and made $132 million for themselves on it. They also have a similar deal with Bret Saberhagen. Now here comes the problem with this deal and others. Madoff is the one that was guaranteeing them the 12%. So the Mets are now going to be paying the players out of their pockets, with new 2011 dollars, not 2000 compounded dollars, and on top of that, never receiving the $138 million lump sum. Much of the speculated $700 million the Mets lost was not what they lost out of pocket, but what was supposed to be there after this great compounded rate.

http://theropolitans.com/2009/08/bobby-bonillas-back-on-payroll-in-2011.html

http://elifrombrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009/08/bobby-bonilla-on-payroll.html

[PANatsFan]

Holy crap who would ever believe 12% guaranteed?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Holy crap who would ever believe 12% guaranteed?

Someone who bought US Government bonds in 1981.  Wow, those 30 years mature next year!

[tomterp]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere.

Bobby Bonilla is back on the Mets' payroll.

http://theropolitans.com/2009/08/bobby-bonillas-back-on-payroll-in-2011.html

http://elifrombrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009/08/bobby-bonilla-on-payroll.html

 

[HalfSmokes]

Bernie: It is actually correct, and a horrible deal...for Bonilla. Ahh the power of compounded interest. The way it works, the Mets set aside $6 million in 2000 @ a rate of 12% per year. They are not allowed to withdraw any funds until year 11, in which they can withdraw $1,200,000 per year for 25 years. After the 25 years, and after paying off Bonilla, the Mets will have...drum roll please....$138 million. So they took the $6 million he was supposed to receive and invested it themselves and made $132 million for themselves on it. They also have a similar deal with Bret Saberhagen. Now here comes the problem with this deal and others. Madoff is the one that was guaranteeing them the 12%. So the Mets are now going to be paying the players out of their pockets, with new 2011 dollars, not 2000 compounded dollars, and on top of that, never receiving the $138 million lump sum. Much of the speculated $700 million the Mets lost was not what they lost out of pocket, but what was supposed to be there after this great compounded rate.

I wonder if it was Madoff guaranteeing them 12%

[Kevrock]

It says in that paragraph that it was Madoff guaranteeing them the 12%. So now they are screwed.

[HalfSmokes]

It says in that paragraph that it was Madoff guaranteeing them the 12%. So now they are screwed.

I need to read more carefully

[tomterp]

While on the subject of Mets' finances....

NEW YORK (AP)
Citi Field's bonds have been lowered to junk status by Standard & Poors and Moody's Investors Service because the company that insures the reserve fund for many of them is having financial troubles.

The bonds' underlying rating was dropped from Baa3, an investment grade, to Ba1, a speculative grade, by Moody's last Thursday.

Standard and Poors cut the bonds from BBB to BB+ on Tuesday while still giving them a "stable outlook."

The Mets sold $613.1 million of three types of bonds in 2006 and an additional $82.28 million of bonds last year. Ambac Assurance Corp., the company having financial difficulty, insured $547.6 million of the 2006 PILOT bonds (payment in lieu of taxes).

"We lowered all the bonds ratings because the 2006 PILOT bonds do not have a reserve fund with adequate liquidity to support any disruption in project cash flow," Standard & Poors said. "Because Ambac is currently rated speculative grade, the creditworthiness of the debt service reserve fund supported by the surety policy is below the creditworthiness of the bonds."

S&P said the stable outlook "reflects the expectation that the project will perform in line with expectations."

The $800 million ballpark opened last year, and the Mets went a dismal 72-90. The team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/New-York-Mets-Citi-Field-bonds-given-junk-status-021010

[Nathan]

While on the subject of Mets' finances....

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/New-York-Mets-Citi-Field-bonds-given-junk-status-021010

When did NatsAddict change his screen name?

[HalfSmokes]

How does Omar still have a job?

[NatsAddict]

My 2010 Marlins "What the Hell are These Guys Doing in MLB?" list:

Front Office:
  Loria, Samson, Beinfest

Coaches:
  St. Clarie, Presley

Players - Division I:
  Uggla

Players - Division II:
  Pinto, Miller

Players - Division III:
  Bonifacio,

Jury Still Out:
  Maybin, 3-5 in the starting rotation (Miller's Div II status supercedes this spot if he somehow makes the rotation), whoever ends up being called up too early and playing 1B for the league minimum.

Maybin's (CF) going to be batting 2nd, between Coghlan (LF) and Hanley (SS), and should get some nice opps.  He stunk in the 8 hole.  If he can't make it hitting between those two, it's time to hang it up.  Cantu (returning to 3B) is hitting 4th, which may as well be 8th with Uggla (so-called 2B) hitting behind him.  Ross  (RF) is 6th, 1b 7th, and Baker (C) is 8th.  Baker should do a decent job at clearing the pitcher's spot in the batting order so it doesn't lead off innings.  He can't do worse than Maybin did in that spot, and went .305 BA, .367 OBP in the 27 games he batted 8th last year.  If Maybin doesn't keep his spot, either 1B or Baker will move to the top of the order.

Samson has gone public that if the Fish don't make the playoffs, Fredi is gone.  If he makes the playoffs with St. Claire as pitching coach, he should immediately be enshrined in the HOF.  Instead, he'll be eligible to return to his home in Atlanta and take over for Bobby Cox.

The Marlins are going into spring training with 62 players, including with Nunez as the closer.  The rotation is Johnson, Nolasco, and then a toss-up between Rick Vanden Hurk, Sean West, Andrew Miller, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad and Hayden Penn (most writers seem to believe Penn will be among the first of the group to be released/traded - he's out of options).  If neither Miller nor West make the rotation, it will be all RHP.  Sanchez has no durablility after his labrum tear, and has no control over his pitches, though he's my sentimental favorite.  At best, I think he has a couple years left as a mid-relief/mop-up guy putting in 40-50 IP/year.  Volstad, Vanden Hurk, and West are my guesses for the 3-5.  Volstad can be either awesome or a souvenir vendor; he'll either make a fool of you or give up a HR.  Vanden Hurk was developing a nice change last year, and was showing a bit more velocity on his fastball.  Batters adjusted to West, and he needs to make some adjustments after the first time through the order.  He gets hammered the 2nd and 3rd times he faces a guy.  Miller gets hammered during warm-ups, where he posts a 8.92 ERA without actually having a batter in the box.  If Penn makes the team at all, it's a losing season.  Fortunately, I don't think that will be the case.  Of course, in my worst nightmares, I didn't think think Uggla would be a Marlin through last Thanksgiving either.  You can't put any absurdity beyond Beinfest.

[NatsAddict]

JoeFrisaro  #Marlins Look for Marlins to explore trade options for lefty bat off the bench, even w Lamb and Jimenez in camp.
6 minutes ago from txt

Twitter

Frisaro is the Marlins beat writer for MLB.com

The Marlins opened spring training as the only team not to sign a FA to an MLB contract.  Lamb sign a minor league contract, and Jimenez is a Rule 5 pick.  It would have been nice to have kept Ross Gload, but Beinfest was too dumb to do that.  

The Fish should be looking for a real closer rather than thinking Leo "1st Batter HR" Nunez is going to do the job. He gave up something like 6 or 8 HR to the first batter he faced last year, which in Beinfest's world makes him a perfect closer to go along with his other top shelf guys like Kevin Gregg, Jorge Julio, and Matt Lindstrom, who have opened spring as his closers for the four previous years (Gregg twice - unfrigginbelievable - not even the Cubs were that stupid).  He'll probably be forced to hang it up with Nunez by June, and will insert Andrew "What's this strike zone thingy you guys keep talking about" Miller as closer.


The Marlins pitchers are surprised how little work they have to do in spring under St. Claire.  They get every other day off - explains a lot. Apparently St. Claire is spending more time fishing than coaching, but that's probably a good thing for the Marlins.  Where's Moby Dick when you need him?

Anibal Sanchez has dropped 30 pounds.  I'd love to see him make it back from the all the hard knocks life has thrown at him (he won his grievance against Loria who upon hearing of his shoulder injury demoted him, and then the next day put him on the MiLB DL list, refusing to pay him his MLB salary and give him credit for MLB service time - Loria is a world class bastard; and his infant son died from a mosquito bite).  The reporters seem to think Anibal is looking strong and have all but proclaimed him a lock for #3.  He's already done better than any other pitcher after the dreaded labrum surgery.

[Obed_Marsh]

The Marlins pitchers are surprised how little work they have to do in spring under St. Claire.  They get every other day off - explains a lot. Apparently St. Claire is spending more time fishing than coaching, but that's probably a good thing for the Marlins.  Where's Moby Dick when you need him?

No wonder FLop volunteered to pitch.

Anyone brave enough to stand by St. Claire? He seemed to drowning in praise from the club and fans until that house of con men and incompetents came crashing down.

[NatsAddict]

No wonder FLop volunteered to pitch.

Anyone brave enough to stand by St. Claire? He seemed to drowning in praise from the club and fans until that house of con men and incompetents came crashing down.

The Miami Herald and MLB.com  writers haven't covered him at all recently, mostly likely because he's never around.  Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post and Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel think he's clueless, not really having any idea of what he is doing.  There are some reports, to some extent confirmed by the local media that cover spring training by day and FAU at night, that Fredi and St. Claire are not getting along.  The consensus is that he knows nothing about how or when to throw a pitch (I had previously giving him credit for "how" but apparently was being generous).  All he every says, other than droning on about fishing or building a friggin' cabin in his backyard, is that he has to get into the pitchers minds so he can make them consistent.  It sounds like he fancies himself as Obewan, and the pitchers have to let The Force do the pitching.

His only backers are the FO since he was with Loria when Loria was screwing over Montreal.  Brian Sanches, formerly of the Nats, loves having every other day off.  Not coincidentially, Sanches had by far the worst year of his 4 MLB seasons the one previous year he was coached by St. Claire (.340 BAA, 1.91 WHIP, 7.36 ERA), so he can take his lazy attitude and have another dismal season after finally showing promise under Wiley last year ( .235 BAA, 1.35 WHIP, 2.56 ERA).

[PANatsFan]

I bet Klej closes for the Fish before long.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

This could be a nice signing for the Nats next year:

http://jorgesaysno.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-2010-jayson-werths-swan-song-with.html

[DPMOmaha]

Let's see what happens with Dukes first this year.  If Dukes still doesn't put things together, he'd be worth making a run at, but he'll be expensinve, plus, I'd prefer to not have to root against him.  Always kinda liked his game and how he plays, plus his sister plays vball here at Nebraska and pretty much dominates...

That's a lot of plusses right there.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

He could replace Willingham, y'know.