southsider2k5 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 jonmorosi Jon Morosi @ Source confirms #RedSox have signed Kelly Shoppach for one year and $1.35M. @jcrasnick was first to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Two days after broadly hinting at frustration with the Cardinals' approach toward her husband's high-profile free agency, Deidre Pujols insisted Monday that the club never guaranteed a 10-year offer to three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols. During a lengthy morning interview with local Christian radio station KLJY (99.1 FM), Deidre Pujols described the Cardinals' initial five-year, $130 million offer as an "insult" and inconsistent with the club's oft-stated desire to keep her husband as "a Cardinal for life." She also said she believes the city has "absolutely been deceived" by media reports regarding the Cardinals' level of commitment. Monday night, a source with the Cardinals maintained that the team did guarantee a 10-year contract for Pujols. That definition also could include a player-controlled option or series of options. Pujols agreed to terms Thursday with the Los Angeles Angels on a 10-year, $254 million contract and appeared Saturday at a news conference in Anaheim, Calif., to announce the signing. Blowback has been swift and, in some cases, severe. Deidre Pujols suggested that a number of people have used the Bible to criticize their decision. "The devil has overplayed his hand because I have Christian folk trying to throw the Word in my face," she said. The couple acknowledged Saturday afternoon that local support for their St. Louis-based Pujols Family Foundation has already eroded. Deidre Pujols said she has "never seen hatred spread so fast, and I understand why. Let me say that Albert and I never, not one time, intended to leave the city." Neither Albert nor Deidre Pujols took exception to descriptions of the Cardinals' offer during a series of interviews following Saturday's news conference. Deidre Pujols suggested to the radio station that misperceptions about the Cardinals' offer probably have fed the backlash. She insisted that at no time did the Cardinals make a 10-year guarantee but did not elaborate on what the club did offer beyond the introductory five-year framework. "It just didn't work out," she said. "The offers that people have seen on television, I'm going to tell you what, had that offer been the one that was given us, with guarantees, we would (be back with) the birds on the bat." Club officials declined to directly address the assertion that the offer was not guaranteed. "Obviously the process was fluid and a lot of different things were getting thrown out as we reached the final hour," said general manager John Mozeliak. "But we understood the economics of this and knew we were reaching a point that was becoming uncomfortable." The Cardinals' initial five-year bid stunned the Pujolses, who eventually insisted on being part of every teleconference call with Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., Mozeliak and Pujols' longtime agent, Dan Lozano. The couple contrasted the enthusiastic approach exhibited by Angels owner Arte Moreno with DeWitt's more reserved, clinical tack. The couple later gave an extended interview to KSDK (Channel 5) and reiterated many of the same comments made during and after Saturday's introductory news conference at Angels Stadium. While describing Moreno's aggressive, personal approach to negotiations, the former Cardinals first baseman said, "We just heard something that was different from business." Deidre Pujols, who spoke at length Saturday with the Post-Dispatch about her impressions of the process, could not be reached for further comment Monday. A family representative said the Pujolses were "ready to move on" and didn't anticipate further rehash of negotiations. Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/pr...l#ixzz1gRwxOtfC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 In this case I believe Mrs Pujols. The cards low-balled a guy who would have stayed for a discount. Pretty big mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunofgold Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 10:11 AM) jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick Dontrelle Willis close to agreement on one-year deal with #Phillies, source says. Would be for about $1M + performance bonuses This is a good signing. Phils know what they are doing. They are putting Willis in the bullpen. He has solid numbers against lefties. I wanted the White Sox to sign him and make him a LOOGY. And this guy is a decent hitter. Could be used in certain situations as a pinch hitter. Edited December 13, 2011 by sunofgold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 03:47 PM) In this case I believe Mrs Pujols. The cards low-balled a guy who would have stayed for a discount. Pretty big mistake. I don't believe her at all. I think she is bothered by some of the fan backlash Sir Albert has received, so she is trying to say whatever she can to help garner some support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm convinced Cardinals don't think Pujols will be able to stay healthy and/or not deteriorate mightily 6-10 years from now. I think it was definitely in their best interest to let him go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) I'm convinced Cardinals don't think Pujols will be able to stay healthy and/or not deteriorate mightily 6-10 years from now. I think it was definitely in their best interest to let him go. Not having a DH definitely plays a part in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) I'm convinced Cardinals don't think Pujols will be able to stay healthy and/or not deteriorate mightily 6-10 years from now. I think it was definitely in their best interest to let him go. Body breaking down from some illegal substances? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Oh, so they wait until 14 years after I stop going to Boy Scout meetings every Tuesday night to move the All-Star Game to Wednesday. MLB wants to expand replay to include fair-or-foul calls, "whether a fly ball or line drive was trapped" and fan interference all around the ballpark. Umpires still must give their approval and it's uncertain whether the extra replay will be in place by Opening Day. Video review began in August 2008, but only to look at potential home runs. The All-Star break will be expanded to four days, rather than the traditional three-day gap. The five-year deal says starting in 2013 that MLB "shall have the right to elect to switch the All-Star game from Tuesday to Wednesday and the Home Run Derby from Monday to Tuesday." Sixty-nine of 82 All-Star games have been played on Tuesday, according to STATS LLC. Gone, too, are the days of roommates, something that dates back decades, to the days players rode the rails to Florida. Now, all players on 40-man rosters are assured of single rooms during spring training. They've had that perk during the regular season since 1997. And for players thinking about selling ads on their bodies, MLB has thought ahead. The agreement says "no player may have any visible markings or logos tattooed on his body" as part of the uniform regulations. "Just trying to head something off at the pass," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. The NFL has a rule against "unauthorized commercial identification," according to spokesman Greg Aiello, and the NBA has a rule banning corporate insignia, spokesman Mike Bass said. Baseball appears to be the first U.S. major pro league to specifically ban commercial tattoos. .... The deal also bans players and team officials from asking official scorers to reconsider decisions -- clubs must instead send video to MLB to appeal calls -- and increases punishments for slow-moving hitters and pitchers, raising pace-of-game fines up to $10,000 each for the sixth violation and beyond. There are several provisions regarding players' conduct. They include: • A ban on players betting with illegal bookies on any sport. • New language allowing the commissioner to discipline players for violating federal, state or local law or for conduct "materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of baseball." • Possible suspensions for intentionally throwing a ball or equipment at non-uniformed personnel with the intention of causing bodily harm; for assaulting fans, media or umpires; or for making public statements that question the integrity of the game, the umpires, the commissioner or the commissioner's staff. "Just want to make sure our rules are up to date," Manfred said. "In general we looked at the rules and thought we had some things that could be tighter." Players also can be disciplined for violating MLB's social media policy, which still is being developed. The agreement calls for nicknames written on equipment to "not reasonably likely to offend fans, business partners, players and others associated with the game." Eliminating a practice of some teams, there is a prohibition on "taxi squads" -- calling up players from the minors and not activating them. Also, teams may only invite players to offseason minicamps if they are not yet eligible for salary arbitration. The deal includes a new schedule format starting in 2013, when there will be six five-team divisions, with no more than 20 interleague games per team. Teams will play 17 or 18 times against division opponents, with the exact format still to be worked out. And there's at least one issue still to be decided. For the postseason, the sides agreed to negotiate on tiebreaker rules -- do teams tied for the last wild-card berth meet on the field, or will the tie be broken by a formula? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 I can't believe Cowley hasn't reported this Marlins news yet! http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/whist...rs-cut-corners/ MIAMI (CBS4) – Roy Fastabend has been a welder for 35 years and a certified inspector for the last fifteen. It was his job to make sure the columns and beams connected to the retractable roof at the Marlins Stadium were constructed and welded correctly. But what Fastabend said he found shocked him. Engineering specifications ignored. Contractors cutting corners to save time and money. He even caught a fellow inspector falsifying records and signing off on welds he never examined. “If people knew what was going on there or how they did things, I mean, I won’t go to that stadium, I won’t take my kids to that place,” Fastabend told CBS4’s Jim DeFede in an exclusive interview. “Sadly, it looks beautiful but there are questions.” He’s not the only one with questions. Last month, the Inspector General sent a letter to the Marlins citing concerns with the welding procedure used on the retractable roof. “Some issues have recently arisen that need to be resolved,” Inspector General Chris Mazzella wrote on November 2, 2011. Mazzella specifically cited problems surrounding the weld inspections conducted by Mike Garcia on the project. “It has been determined that Mr. Garcia falsified some welding inspection documents and expense reports resulting in Mr. Garcia’s termination,” Mazzella noted. The Marlins now admit Garcia was fired back in September 2010 for falsifying inspection reports. But even though the Marlins knew more than a year ago that Garcia wasn’t properly inspecting roof welds, they only recently agreed to go back and re-test all of the welds he supposedly examined. Fastabend’s work on the project began in May 2010 when he was dispatched to Arkansas to oversee construction of the 52,000 pound wishbone columns that are key supports for the retractable roof. He stayed on site every day while that first batch was completed. “You have to be there, to be present, to make sure that they have the right welds on the inside,” he explained. But after he returned home, he learned inspectors were no longer going to be sent to Arkansas to oversee daily construction of the remaining columns. He said he was told it was to save money. “They had bid this contract very low, the budget was very low,” he said. In June and July 2010, Fastabend next assignment was inspecting the welds on the massive columns that would be used to support the east canopy of the stadium. The columns were being built at George’s Welding in Medley. The specifications called for a specific type of weld that would sear the columns deep into the plates. But the process was difficult and time consuming. Fastabend claims the owner of George’s Welding, Jorge Amador, ordered his welders to use a different method – one that would be easier but considerably weaker. “That’s a big no-no,” Fastabend said. Fastabend said he questioned the owner about the changes and told him he couldn’t just alter the specifications. “He was very mad at me, Jorge, the owner, he yelled at me, screamed at me and told me he wasn’t going to change that because he was the owner and I could call the police if I wanted but he wasn’t going to change anything,” he said. Fastabend, however, continued to press the issue, writing reports and emails to senior executives within the stadium project. A stress test on the welds was ordered. The welds cracked and failed. George’s welding was ordered to go back to the pre-approved procedures. Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Jorge Amador, Jr., said he recalled a disagreement over how the welds on the column were supposed to be done. He said it was possible his father, the owner of the firm, and Fastabend did get into an argument, but he doesn’t recall anything specific since he was out of the shop often on other projects. Amador said he was questioned several months ago by the Inspector General’s Office regarding the welds and he said he assured them that all of the welds were ultimately done properly. At the same time the debate at George’s Welding was taking place, Fastabend also began complaining about his fellow inspector, Mike Garcia. “He didn’t want to inspect,” Fastabend said, adding Garcia would show up briefly for work and then leave early. Fastabend said he tried to document everything Garcia did wrong. When Garcia learned about it, the two men got into a heated argument. The next morning, July 23, 2010, Fastabend wrote his boss an email. “So I sent it on Friday morning about 7 o’clock and by 4 o’clock I was terminated,” Fastabend said. Fastabend told CBS4 News believes he was fired because he was holding contractors accountable and because he was always questioning the way things were being done. He said he believed it was important to follow the plans as the engineers wrote them. Tuesday morning, Marlins President David Samson led reporters on a tour of the stadium, touting how it was 91 percent complete. “We’re going to open this stadium on time and on budget,” Samson bragged. But as the rest of the tour went on, CBS4 News asked Samson about Mike Garcia, the inspector who was caught falsifying records. It appears only samples of his welds were re-inspected after he was caught. CBS4 investigator Jim DeFede asked Samson why the team only recently, after the Inspector General began asking questions, agreed to have all of Garcia’s welds re-inspected. Samson bristled at the question and said, “Yeah, that’s not actually accurate. I don’t know who your sources are.” The source of the information was the Miami Marlins. In a letter dated November 29, 2011, from John Lloyd, the Marlin’s developer representative for the construction project, to the Inspector General, Lloyd provided numerous reports explaining how only a portion of Garcia’s welds were re-inspected in 2010. He then wrote, the team had now decided to go back and re-inspect the remaining welds. “In an abundance of caution, however, we have decided to re-inspect those welds originally inspected by Mr. Garcia,” Lloyd wrote. Samson says he has no doubts the stadium is safe. “The life of our fans and my life is more important than opening on time,” he said. “We would never endanger anybody — my kids, myself, our players, fans. We would never.” The Inspector General will likely produce their own lengthy report on the stadium early next year. In the meantime, one possibility the Inspector General has raised, is that the Marlins may need to go back to the City of Miami to have their stadium plans re-approved to accommodate the weaker welds they are now finding but can no longer repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick The #RedSox have traded pitcher Kyle Weiland to the #Astros, says a source. I'm hearing they got a bullpen piece in return Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick As @Ken_Rosenthal reported, the #RedSox have traded Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to the #Astros for reliever Mark Melancon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 11:11 AM) jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick As @Ken_Rosenthal reported, the #RedSox have traded Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to the #Astros for reliever Mark Melancon. Look at the Astros selling high on a closer. With Bard in the rotation, and Papelbon gone, the BoSox definitely needed the bullpen help. I doubt he would close in Boston though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal More than 50 scouts saw Zumaya throw today in Houston. Report from one in attendance: 93-96 mph, decent cb, OK cmd. "He'll get a job." #MLB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 11:46 AM) Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal More than 50 scouts saw Zumaya throw today in Houston. Report from one in attendance: 93-96 mph, decent cb, OK cmd. "He'll get a job." #MLB "And then his arm will fall off again by May." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 JonHeymanCBS Jon Heyman hearing punto will get about $3.5M for 2 years from boston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 02:48 PM) JonHeymanCBS Jon Heyman hearing punto will get about $3.5M for 2 years from boston. The Yankees are shaking in their boots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The bidding section of the "Posting" process for 25 year old Japanese RHP Yu Darvish ends in about 45 minutes, 5:00 EST today. After today, there is effectively 1 more pitcher off the market for 29 MLB teams, and it's entirely possible that some teams have been holding out on making trades for pitching until they see who wins this bidding process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewashed in '05 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 02:48 PM) JonHeymanCBS Jon Heyman hearing punto will get about $3.5M for 2 years from boston. I can't stand that guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 09:43 AM) And I'll use the good old "eye test" here, as in the games I watched, he was the only consistent Cubs player to fly out to the warning track when wind was howling in. I guess that its only my Cub fan friends that are privy to the knowledge that the winds always reversed to blow in with the forces of a gale whenever Darwin Barney was at bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 @DKnobler Still don't know what the number of winning bid for Darvish was, but sources say the Fighters were very excited by how high it was Rangers or Blue Jays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'm going to guess Nationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 06:33 PM) I'm going to guess Nationals. Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me either. The buzz is leaning toward Texas and Toronto. With Wilson gone now and their apprehension on going after Fielder, I'm thinking the Rangers really want Darvish, so maybe they overbid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Maybe Rockies or Red Sox too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 06:40 PM) Maybe Rockies or Red Sox too? The Red Sox did not bid according to the Boston Globe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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