2011 MLB Season

[gunnar hendershow]

Angels have a lot of money that will get freed up for Reyes, I really can see them making a push for him. Tigers would likely make a pitch too. I'd like to see the Orioles go after him with the uncertain future of Roberts, but Reyes will have to move to 2nd since SS belongs to Machado in a few years. There's been talk of an extension for Hardy, and if the O's do that it won't make sense to make a push for Reyes when Pujols and Fielder will be on the market.

If Einhorn wants to endear himself to Mets fans he'll find a way for Reyes to stay. That'll be real hard though, it's gonna be a huge contract and a ton of teams going after him.

[JStarr]

Probably the best way the Mets can ensure they keep Reyes is to bite the bullet and trade David Wright. Moot point, though, if he can't get himself healthy again by the deadline.

Interesting piece here on Athlon Sports about who's been spending money well. Bummer that it's one that gives props to a couple of teams throwing money around like water, but winning is winning, I suppose.

[sahyder1]

So Reyes didn't change agents after all. I wonder if he ends up giving the Mets a home team discount.

[sahyder1]

Jim Riggleman has resigned as the manager of the Nationals. They are 38-37, he was in a contract year and was unhappy that his option for next year wasn't picked up. Riggleman will probably get a bad rap here but having a lame duck manager is quiet stupid.

[Toe]

Riggleman was doing a great job of dealing with key injuries too. I hope he gets another job soon.

[gunnar hendershow]

No reason for the Nats not to pick up his option. He'll land on his feet real soon.

[The Buscher]

I think it was incredibly selfish of him. Don't get me wrong, I can understand why he'd be upset with not having his option picked up - but there was plenty of time for that still. Quitting with no warning like that won't exactly endear himself to other teams and also shows his players that he was really only in it for himself.

[The Buscher]

Anyway, there's a week to go before the preliminary All Star Game rosters are announced. I was bored so I tried to take a stab at the rosters.

American League

Starters

C: Russell Martin, New York Yankees (pretty much a crime, but I don’t see the Yankee fans letting his lead slip)

1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox (AL MVP, as predicted by me at the start of the season)

2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees (slam dunk choice)

3B: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (wins in a landslide)

SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians (Jeter might still squeak by with the win in the vote, but he might still be injured by then and even if he wasn’t, he'd only be a couple games removed from the injury and would probably bow out)

LF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers (not really an All Star year, but he’s probably got enough fan support to hold on to the last outfield spot)

CF: Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees (another landslide)

RF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (yet another landslide)

DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (predicting the AL starters really leaves nothing to the imagination this year)

P: Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox (fucking nasty this year, Weaver is probably the only other option)

Reserves

C: Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers (reallllllly should have been the starting catcher)

1B: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

1B: Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox

2B: Howard Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

3B: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

SS: Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers

OF: Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins

OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox

OF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles

OF: Matt Joyce, Tampa Bay Rays

DH: Michael Young, Texas Rangers

Pitchers

Aaron Crow, Kansas City Royals

Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians

Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers

Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays

Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Jordan Walden, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Final Vote Candidates

Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers

Kyle Farnsworth, Tampa Bay Rays

Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees

National League

Starters

C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves (slam dunk choice here)

1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds (Pujols may still win the vote despite being injured, Votto is second in voting and a better defender than the only other logical choice to start at first)

2B: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers (passes Brandon Phillips in the final week)

3B: Placido Polanco, Philadelphia Phillies (man, he’s decent enough and all but what a shitty year for NL third basemen)

SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies (I love Reyes, but I think Troy will get enough support to last the final week)

LF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers (got his spot all but sealed up with his huge lead)

CF: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers (passes Holliday for the third OF spot in the final week, Kemp NEEDS to start)

RF: Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals (him and Holliday are close in votes, but Berkman is the choice here – Holliday just hasn’t played enough to warrant making the team)

DH: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers (there are DHs even in NL parks now, there’s no vote on this but Prince seems like the easy choice to fill the spot)

P: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (Others have a case to start, but Roy is the biggest name and the reigning Cy Young so he gets the nod)

Reserves

C: Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks

1B: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

1B: Gaby Sanchez, Florida Marlins

2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (again – weak 3B choices this year. Every position needs a backup, this might be more of a “congrats on a great career” respect selection from the players)

SS: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs

SS: Jose Reyes, New York Mets

OF: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

OF: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros

OF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

Pitchers

Mike Adams, San Diego Padres

Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado Rockies

Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies

Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh Pirates

Jair Jurrgens, Atlanta Braves

Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks

Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

J.J. Putz, Arizona Diamondbacks

Jonny Venters, Atlanta Braves

Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants

Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Final Vote Candidates

Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks

Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves

Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals

Michael Morse, Washington Nationals

Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies

---

I think it's kind of funny how little say the managers actually get in putting together the All Star team. The starters are selected by the fans. Plus 5 starting pitchers, 3 relievers, and a backup at each position get voted on by the players in the respective leagues. That leaves 8 or so spots for the managers to fill on their own, and if there are teams not represented they get handcuffed too.

That being said, the player votes are a bit wonky so I'm sure I got a few of them wrong. Wouldn't shock me at all if Yadier Molina grabs the backup C spot instead of the hometown boy Montero, because Molina is the consensus best defensive catcher in the game. Likewise, as much as I love him, Ichiro's not having an All Star caliber year but might still get voted in by the players based on reputation alone.

[sahyder1]

I think it was incredibly selfish of him. Don't get me wrong, I can understand why he'd be upset with not having his option picked up - but there was plenty of time for that still. Quitting with no warning like that won't exactly endear himself to other teams and also shows his players that he was really only in it for himself.

I really don't look at him that way at all. Coaches/Managers have a hard enough time these days as it is because everyone knows that the players make so much more money and hence the players most of the times can get away with a lot in an organization. A lame duck manager has next to no credibility in a clubhouse because the players are aware that they will be there longer then the manager. If the Nationals don't take the next step under a new manager in the year or two they will end up looking pretty stupid here.

[The Buscher]

I never really bought into the concept of a lame duck manager in baseball because all contracts are guaranteed. Whereas in football, teams like the Giants will intentionally extend their coaches' contract an extra year just to ensure they aren't lame ducks - since NFL contracts are written on toilet paper and can be terminated without pay at pretty much any time.

I don't think Rizzo was trying to disrespect Riggleman, he just didn't want to guarantee his option would be picked up at this point in the season. Much like impending free agents don't want to negotiate extensions during the season, Rizzo didn't want to negotiate next year. For Riggleman's sake, I hope he bounces back. But he may have committed professional suicide and it wouldn't shock me at all if he never manages in the big leagues again, or at least not for several years.

[sahyder1]

I never really bought into the concept of a lame duck manager in baseball because all contracts are guaranteed. Whereas in football, teams like the Giants will intentionally extend their coaches' contract an extra year just to ensure they aren't lame ducks - since NFL contracts are written on toilet paper and can be terminated without pay at pretty much any time.

I don't think Rizzo was trying to disrespect Riggleman, he just didn't want to guarantee his option would be picked up at this point in the season. Much like impending free agents don't want to negotiate extensions during the season, Rizzo didn't want to negotiate next year. For Riggleman's sake, I hope he bounces back. But he may have committed professional suicide and it wouldn't shock me at all if he never manages in the big leagues again, or at least not for several years.

I'm almost 99.99% sure that the front office and coaches contracts are guaranteed in the NFL.

I don't think Rizzo had any intention of extending him. If he did he would have extended him before the season. Riggleman reached out to the organization last October. The matter should have been settled in Spring Training. Heck, if not before the season it should have been done early in the season. In a year with Strasburg and Zimmerman being hurt chances were that the teams was going to slip and sooner or later the will he get fired talks would have started.

I completely respect what Riggleman did. My reaction might have been different if I was a Nationals fan but I doubt it. I have left a gig in the past where it was becoming apparent that people higher up had no intention of letting me grow in the company. Pride and self respect does come into play. I think Riggleman will manage again. If someone like Terry Collins got another job (remember how much he was hated around baseball?) a guy like Riggleman who is respected around baseball will get it.

[gunnar hendershow]

Most of the Nats fans I know are all on Riggleman's side here. They're mad at the organization for not keeping him around. He was popular with the players and the fans. Those of us in Maryland know all too well what happens when you mess with a respected manager (Davey Johnson, coincidentally).

[naiwf]

Football contracts are guaranteed, but the general rule of thumb is that you extend a coach ahead of time because a 2-4 start in a walk year generally means there will be a new coach before the 7th game.

At the end of the day, the Nats gave Riggleman the ultimate FU by giving Davey Johnson a contract that covers this year, next year and an option for a 3rd after they wouldn't discuss an extension with him.

[SeanDMan]

When I first watched this I was cringing, because I've had that happen and it fucks like a motherhurter, but then he did a Flair flop and I felt better.

[naiwf]

Jose Reyes just got hurt, and given how long it take the Mets to recover from injury he's probably gone for the year. I'd like to know what the baseball gods have against the Mets franchise.

[gunnar hendershow]

I heard it was just tightness.

But since this is the Mets he's probably gone for the year and with that his trade value is gone. At least he's not an Oriole, poor guy would have a bad back and post-consussion symptoms to go with the hamstring injury.

[Meacon Keaton]

Or he'd just be terrible.

[Damian WayLNKe]

All Star rosters coming up on TBS in less than 15 minutes.

[gunnar hendershow]

Wooo Yankees vs The World!

[EddieG]

Yankees/Red Sox/Bautista vs the world.