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2016 Hot Stove Thread

L K said:
Oh, I'm not annoyed at Shapiro on this.  I feel bad for the guy at this point.  Rogers is going full bore on letting Shapiro be the fall guy for their terrible team building strategies.  It's just the story itself.  The last ditch argument they had was that the Argos would tear up grass and they didn't want to have to replace the field constantly.  That excuse was gone...so the fact that Rogers showed that they don't give a rats ass is just frustrating.  I do get that Rogers likes to tell those little white lies and just delay the news until it's forgotten.  This one really bugs me though.
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I'm with you on how the news itself rubs me, I just don't think this really reflects any change in terms of how Rogers sees things(unless you buy the 200 million to 400 million estimated cost in which case it makes sense to think about a new stadium instead).
 
Anyone wondering why the Yankees or Dodgers weren't among the teams handing out 25+ million dollar contracts to pitchers probably has their answers. The two teams combined to pay almost 70 million in Luxury Tax this season:

https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/678008382335373312

Should you care? Well, if there's a labour stoppage in the next year or two, things like the luxury tax are almost certain to be at it's core. I've seen people saying players percentage of revenues in Baseball are at something like 37%.
 
How about a 20 year old stadium with several other capital improvements needed in addition to the grass? Plus it's not even known if it can be done and sustained (UofG already studying that one). My take on those comments was, it's not scrapped, just not the #1 priority for the facility.
 
Yankees land Aroldis Chapman. That's a lot of talent in that pen.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/12/28/new-york-yankees-aroldis-chapman-trade
 
Griffey and Piazza make the Hall of Fame. Bagwell, Raines and Hoffman are close. 2 writers voted for David Eckstein.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Griffey and Piazza make the Hall of Fame. Bagwell, Raines and Hoffman are close. 2 writers voted for David Eckstein.
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Bonds and Clemens had a 10% jump in their voting totals.  Still 30% shy of getting into the Hall of Fame.  The two voters who put Eckstein on their list should be removed from voting in future years.
 
L K said:
Bonds and Clemens had a 10% jump in their voting totals.  Still 30% shy of getting into the Hall of Fame.  The two voters who put Eckstein on their list should be removed from voting in future years.
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I don't even think that's the most egregious one. Mike Sweeney got 3 votes. Also, 3 voters didn't vote for Griffey.
 
Nik the Trik said:
L K said:
Bonds and Clemens had a 10% jump in their voting totals.  Still 30% shy of getting into the Hall of Fame.  The two voters who put Eckstein on their list should be removed from voting in future years.
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I don't even think that's the most egregious one. Mike Sweeney got 3 votes. Also, 3 voters didn't vote for Griffey.
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Although he did set the record for best voting percentage when getting into the hall of fame.  I also believe that any idiot who refuses to put clear-cut Hall of Famers on their ballot because "noone deserves it on their first attempt" should be barred from future voting.
 
L K said:
Bonds and Clemens had a 10% jump in their voting totals.  Still 30% shy of getting into the Hall of Fame.  The two voters who put Eckstein on their list should be removed from voting in future years.
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I'm at the point where I want to see Bonds and Clemens get elected.  Even without steroids, they are two of the greatest talents of their generation.  It's why I would put Alex Rodriguez in the Hall too when his time comes.
 
Greg Bird (1B) is out for the year after having surgery to repair a torn labrum.  He was going to start in AAA again for the Yankees but he was an important part of their 2nd half team.

The Rockies made a puzzling trade; sending OF Corey Dickerson to the Rays for Jake McGee and prospect German Marquez.  They are expected to trade McGee.
 
Jays acquire OF Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets for a PTBNL.
He made his major league debut last season and is a LH bat, which the Jays could use.

7 OF on the 40 man roster makes me think the Jays will be trading one of them for some pitching.
 
Captain Canuck said:
Jays acquire OF Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets for a PTBNL.
He made his major league debut last season and is a LH bat, which the Jays could use.

7 OF on the 40 man roster makes me think the Jays will be trading one of them for some pitching.
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Maybe, but keep in mind that LF is a total question mark at this point.
 
Via Blue Jays Facebook account:

NEW INFIELD AT ROGERS CENTRE

The Toronto Blue Jays are pleased to announce that work will begin the week of February 8th to install a regulation dirt infield in time for the 2016 regular season.
Following months of investigation and planning, the work will involve excavation of the cement floor at Rogers Centre in the affected base path and infield areas to a depth of 30.48 cm/12 inches and will impact an area of approximately 1,115 square metres/12,000 square feet. Layers of gravel, sand and clay will be inlayed in the excavated areas to ensure proper moisture content and conditions suitable to a major league playing surface.
?We are very excited to proceed with this project. This will both improve the surface for the players and also enhance the atmosphere of the stadium for our fans.? - Stephen Brooks, Senior Vice President, Business Operations.

Sounds like a good thing, hopefully less impact on the base runners and infielders. Just googled dirt infield and they are actually pretty ugly but if it's safer for the players I'm all for it. I wonder if it's the whole thing or just the base running lanes?
 
cabber24 said:
Via Blue Jays Facebook account:

NEW INFIELD AT ROGERS CENTRE

The Toronto Blue Jays are pleased to announce that work will begin the week of February 8th to install a regulation dirt infield in time for the 2016 regular season.
Following months of investigation and planning, the work will involve excavation of the cement floor at Rogers Centre in the affected base path and infield areas to a depth of 30.48 cm/12 inches and will impact an area of approximately 1,115 square metres/12,000 square feet. Layers of gravel, sand and clay will be inlayed in the excavated areas to ensure proper moisture content and conditions suitable to a major league playing surface.
?We are very excited to proceed with this project. This will both improve the surface for the players and also enhance the atmosphere of the stadium for our fans.? - Stephen Brooks, Senior Vice President, Business Operations.

Sounds like a good thing, hopefully less impact on the base runners and infielders. Just googled dirt infield and they are actually pretty ugly but if it's safer for the players I'm all for it. I wonder if it's the whole thing or just the base running lanes?
Click to expand...

I suppose this is more for the actual project details, because this was already announced in December?

It will be designed like Tampa and some of the other ballparks with the dirt running lanes and wide dirt swath behind the bases.
Personally I think it will make the place look more like a traditional ballpark as some of the turf will be removed.
This should really help our infielders save their knees and hopefully cut down on injuries. It may also help attract infielders in the future who had crossed the Jays off their lists in free agency due to having to destroy their knees playing on the old carpet.

It should be interesting to see how the ball plays on the new dirt infield. Will it play quicker or slower? More bad hops or less?
 
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