Tag: MLB

Maybe I should start some sort of petition. Kind of something useful instead of my usual crap. How the heck is Dale Murphy not even being considered for the baseball Hall of Fame?

Two Most Valuable Player Awards. Five Gold Gloves. Four Silver Sluggers. Seven All-Star Games. Seven seasons with 30-plus home runs, and 398 homers in his career (which ranks 46th all-time). A six-season span (1982-87) in which he averaged 36 home runs and 105 RBI.

In this day and age of over inflated stats, you know that Murph was about as wholesome as milk and apple pie. Call it the end of the age of innocence. The virgin slugger; no steroids here. It is a f’ing shame and disgrace that the great Dale Murphy is not anywhere near 75% of “worthiness” needed to get into the Hall of Fame.

Shame on the Hall voters. They need to get a f’ing clue!

Please tell me that the Braves are not going to let Smoltz tarnish his career by signing with the Red Sox. It was bad enough when the Braves let Galvine skip town to the Mets, but Smoltz to Boston is f’ing ridiculous.

Why are the Braves going after SS Rafael Furcal and his bad back?  I do not get this one.  Could they really be considering signing Furcal as the precursor to trading current SS Yunel Escobar?  Please say it’s not true!

Rumors are flying.  Furcal to 2B, and current 2B Kelly Johnson to left field.  I am not sure WTF the Braves are thinking, but when desperation sets in, the wolves get careless.  Crazy talk.  Unprotected sex. Whatever you want to call it, call it bad news.

I could see the Braves putting Escobar as the centerpiece of a deal to trade for a number two pitcher.  You know, a reach.  The Braves are not going to land a top flight ace of the rotation, so the front off brass will grit their teeth, and pull off a horrendous deal that may set the Braves back for years.

So A.J. Burnett decided to play closer to home, and opted to sign with the Yankees instead of the Braves. Good for the Braves.

ESPN.com reported the Yankees’ offer to Burnett was worth $82.5 million. The Braves’ offer was believed to be worth $80 million, after the Braves increased an initial four-year, $64 million offer by turning a fifth-year option into a guarantee.

Burnett, who will be 32 in January, struggled with injuries throughout his career before having his best season for the Blue Jays. He never had more than 12 wins before 2008.

I can understand there is a shortage of good arms, but I think it would have been a poor move to give Burnett such a huge contract. It may turn out that Burnett is worth every penny, but I like where a writer from the Boston Herald (right, no bias here) takes this one.

The Yankees have committed five years, with an average annual value (AAV) of $16.5 million to a pitcher who has won more than 12 games exactly once in his major league career. That’s a curiously modest track record for someone with Burnett’s stuff.

But there are times – too many times – when Burnett looks like a classic underachiever. Despite the quality of stuff, he’s a mere 11 games over .500 in his 10-year career. And durability is hardly his calling card, topping 200 innings only three times.

So the premise here is that Burnett has great stuff, is frequently injured, and only pitches big in contract years. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Yankees.

Now maybe the Braves will focus on trying to shore up the farm, and only signing (or trading for) a value pitcher instead of going after an overvalued big name pitcher.